Q40 · UPSC Prelims 2018 · Set A · Polity and Governance

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Which one of the following reflects the most appropriate relationship between law and liberty?

A If there are more laws, there is less liberty.
B If there are no laws, there is no liberty.
C If there is liberty, laws have to be made by the people.
D If laws are changed too often, liberty is in danger.

Correct answer: (b) If there are no laws, there is no liberty.

Explanation

  1. A

    If there are more laws, there is less liberty.

    (a) If there are more laws, there is less liberty. That anarchist or simple inverse view is not the most appropriate relationship in the constitutional-theory sense the question wants. Law can enable liberty. This is not the key.

  2. B

    If there are no laws, there is no liberty.

    (b) If there are no laws, there is no liberty. (b) Official key: In the liberal rule-of-law tradition, liberty exists through known general laws that restrain arbitrary power. Without law there is licence or domination, not liberty. That is the stored key.

  3. C

    If there is liberty, laws have to be made by the people.

    (c) If there is liberty, laws have to be made by the people. Popular law-making is democracy, not the definition of the law–liberty link. This is not the key.

  4. D

    If laws are changed too often, liberty is in danger.

    (d) If laws are changed too often, liberty is in danger. Legal stability matters, but it is not the most appropriate statement of the relationship. This is not the key.

Summary. Official key is (b). Classical liberal thought treats law as the condition of liberty, not its enemy: no law, no secure freedom. A mere count of statutes, popular authorship, or frequent amendment does not capture that relationship as well. Honour the stored letter (b).

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