Question: Each of the questions below consists of a set of labelled sentences. These sentences, when properly sequenced, form a coherent paragraph. Choose the most logical order of sentences from the options.
I. The dangers of conflicting irrational majoritarianism with enlightened consensus are, indeed, great in developing democracy.
II. Real democracy is about mediating the popular will through a network of institutional structure and the law of the land.
III. While law making and governance are meant to articulate the latter, the judiciary is supposed to protect the former from any kind of excess that might occur, unwittingly or otherwise, in the conduct of legislative and governmental functions.
IV. The principle of separation of powers is meant to embody a desirable tension between individual rights and social consensus.
Statements IV and III are a pair. The “latter” in statement III refers to “social consensus” in statement IV while the “former” in III refers to “individual rights” in statement IV. Therefore, options 1, 2 and 4 are eliminated.
Statement III mentions that the judiciary is meant to secure and protect the individual rights for the individual against the excesses of legislative and governmental functions. Where do the excesses occur? This is answered by statement I with the phrase“ irrational majoritarianism”-in other words, “irrational majoritianism” poses a threat to “enlightened consensus” and thereby to the development of democracy- as mentioned in statement I.
Statement II effectively concludes the paragraph by defining “Real democracy”- viz. mediating the popular will- not necessarily the will of the majority- with the help of institutions and laws.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.