Which one of the following factors constitutes the best safeguard of liberty in a liberal democracy?
- A.A committed judiciary
- B.Centralization of powers
- C.Elected government
- D.Separation of powers
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is D, Separation of powers. In a liberal democracy the surest protection of individual liberty is to divide state power among the legislature, the executive and the judiciary so that no single body can make, carry out and judge the law all at once. Montesquieu set out this idea in The Spirit of the Laws in 1748, arguing that liberty is lost when these powers are joined in the same hands. Each organ then checks the others: courts can strike down unlawful laws and orders, the legislature holds the executive to account, and the executive cannot pass laws on its own. Option A is wrong because a committed judiciary, one loyal to the government of the day, would weaken rather than protect liberty; what liberty needs is an independent judiciary. Option B is wrong because concentrating power is exactly what threatens liberty. Option C is wrong because an elected government can still act against liberty if its power is not checked. Exam tip: separation of powers, from Montesquieu, guards liberty; Article 50 separates the judiciary from the executive.
Practice Questions
View allA special address by the Governor refers to the address delivered by the Governor
- A.when President's Rule is called for
- B.when a national emergency necessitates dissolution of the Legislative Assembly
- C.at the commencement of the first session after general election and at the first session of each year
- D.whenever he/she has concluded that such is necessary
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Article 176 of the Constitution requires the Governor to give this special address on these two occasions. In the address the Governor tells the legislature why it has been summoned and sets out the policies and programme of the state government, whose council of ministers actually prepares the text.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following Schedules of the Constitution of India has fixed the number of Members of the Rajya Sabha to be elected from each State?
- A.Fifth Schedule
- B.Third Schedule
- C.Sixth Schedule
- D.Fourth Schedule
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The Fourth Schedule allocates seats in the Rajya Sabha to each State and Union Territory, read with Articles 4(1) and 80(2).
Read the full explanation →Which one among the following is not a character of a secular State?
- A.It refuses theocracy.
- B.It separates religion from the State.
- C.A State in order to be secular must be democratic.
- D.It must prevent religious conflict and promote religious harmony.
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Secularism concerns the relation between the State and religion, and being democratic is not part of its definition. A secular State is not run by a religious order, keeps religious institutions and State institutions apart, and does not favour or persecute any religion.
Read the full explanation →In the context of polity, which one of the following would you accept as the most appropriate definition of liberty?
- A.Protection against the tyranny of political rulers
- B.Absence of restraint
- C.Opportunity to do whatever one likes
- D.Opportunity to develop oneself fully
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In political theory, and in the spirit of the Indian Constitution, liberty means positive freedom: the conditions and opportunities a person needs to develop their personality fully.
Read the full explanation →Constitutional government means
- A.a representative government of a nation with federal structure
- B.a government whose Head enjoys nominal powers
- C.a government whose Head enjoys real powers
- D.a government limited by the terms of the Constitution
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Constitutional government means limited government: those in power can act only within the limits that the constitution lays down. The essence of constitutionalism is that state power is restrained by a higher law, so that rights are protected and authority cannot be used arbitrarily.
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