UPSC Prelims 2022 CSAT Paper II · Q14 of 78 Comprehension medium

Passage

Passage—2 The poverty line is quite unsatisfactory when it comes to grasping the extent of poverty in India. It is not only because of its extremely narrow definition of ‘who is poor’ and the debatable methodology used to count the poor, but also because of a more fundamental assumption underlying it. It exclusively relies on the notion of poverty as insufficient income or insufficient purchasing power. One can better categorize it by calling it income poverty. If poverty is ultimately about deprivations affecting human well-being, then income poverty is only one aspect of it. Poverty of a life, in our view, lies not merely in the impoverished state in which the person actually lives, but also in the lack of real opportunity given by social constraints as well as personal circumstances—to choose other types of living. Even the relevance of low incomes, meagre possessions, and other aspects of what are standardly seen as economic poverty relate ultimately to their role in curtailing capabilities, i.e., their role in severely restricting the choices people have to lead variable and valued lives.

What does the author mean by 'poverty of a life'?

  1. (a) All deprivations in a human life which stem not only from lack of income but lack of real opportunities ✓ UPSC's answer
  2. (b) Impoverished state of poor people in rural and urban areas
  3. (c) Missed opportunities in diverse personal circumstances
  4. (d) Material as well as non-material deprivations in a human life which restrict human choices permanently

Why the answer is (a)

• The passage explicitly defines 'poverty of a life' as lying not merely in the impoverished state but in the 'lack of real opportunity given by social constraints as well as personal circumstances'.

• It argues that poverty is fundamentally about deprivations affecting human well-being, which extends beyond just 'income poverty' or insufficient purchasing power.

• The author states that economic aspects like low income relate to poverty only insofar as they curtail 'capabilities' and restrict the choices people have to lead valued lives.

• Therefore, 'poverty of a life' encompasses all deprivations stemming from both the lack of income and the lack of real opportunities to choose different types of living.

• This aligns perfectly with option (a), which captures the dual aspect of income and opportunity deprivation.

Why the other options are wrong

(b) Impoverished state of poor people in rural and urban areas
Option (b) is incorrect because the author explicitly argues that poverty is not merely about the 'impoverished state' in which a person lives, but rather about the lack of opportunities.
(c) Missed opportunities in diverse personal circumstances
Option (c) is incorrect because it focuses only on 'missed opportunities' and ignores the fundamental aspect of 'lack of income' or economic deprivation discussed in the text.
(d) Material as well as non-material deprivations in a human life which restrict human…
Option (d) is incorrect because the passage does not state that the restriction of human choices is 'permanent'; it refers to the current lack of real opportunity and capabilities.

Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2022, held on 5 June 2022. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

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