byRituparna Nath Content Writer at Study Abroad Exams
Reading Passage Question
The transformation of European economies from pre-capitalist to capitalist, between the 16th and 18th centuries, is often portrayed as a process that followed the iron logic of the pursuit of economic self-interest by all its participants, with traders acting as the primary catalysts for the transition.
In fact, this portrayal neglects a crucial element of the pre-capitalist, subsistence-oriented economic production—namely, its tendency for self-perpetuation. Self-interest dictated that both the peasants and the feudal lords maintain the pattern of diversified subsistence production rather than embark on specialized production for exchange. The peasants were owners of the land on which they farmed, and did not yet have to face threats of competition for land leases or eviction by the landowners, common in the era of capitalist economic organization. They produced nearly everything they needed in order to survive and had little incentive to abandon their economic autonomy. As for the feudal lords, they lived off the surplus produced by the peasants, which they easily commandeered by force of arms rather than by economic means. It can be argued that they also had little incentive to change this arrangement.
Yet despite the strong force of inertia evident in pre-capitalist economic arrangements, they ultimately gave way to a new capitalist system of production, even though this process was more unevenly paced in different countries than is sometimes assumed. There is a very general explanation for this whose central tenet is that while the pre-capitalist economist actors strove to perpetuate the system of subsistence production, some of the actions they chose in pursuit of this goal had the unintended consequence of undermining the very system they wanted to preserve and ushering in an economic revolution.
“The Transformation of European Economies from Pre-Capitalist” - is a reading comprehension passage with answers for the GMAT. Candidates must have a strong understanding of English GMAT reading comprehension. This GMAT Reading Comprehension section contains 8 comprehension questions.
The reading comprehension element of competitive tests is one of the most difficult. With a variety of abstract subjects followed by inferential questions, this portion will give you the broadest opportunity to demonstrate your abilities. To aid candiadtes preparation, they have included several GMAT Reading Comprehension in this section that you can use as practice questions. Make sure to solve one to two GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions every day to get the most out of this area and to ensure that you are improving.
Solutions and Explanation
Question 1. What is the primary purpose of the passage?
a) To give a detailed evaluation of a new explanation for the origin of capitalist economy in Europe.
b) To detail a flaw in the traditional description of the transformation of European economy and propose a new account.
c) To portray the exploitation of peasants in pre-capitalist Europe by the feudal lords.
d) To explain why the economic productivity in Europe started rising between the 16th and the 18th Century.
e) To demonstrate that capitalist economy was more in tune with the self-interest of its participants than the pre-capitalist economy.
Answer- B
Explanation- most effectively expresses the passage's intention. (A) is erroneous since the new explanation is not fully evaluated; it is only suggested at the end of the passage. Peasant exploitation, which is only mentioned in (C), is a minor point. (D) is not relevant because the passage does not explain productivity gains. The sentence makes it clear that pre-capitalist agreements were in line with the self-interest of the pre-capitalist economic actors. Hence option (E) is entirely out of place.
Question 2. According to the passage, what is the main flaw of the traditional portrayal of the transition from pre-capitalist to capitalist economies in Europe?
a) It falsely represents the capitalist mode of production as both a goal and a product of economic self-interest.
b) It does not account for the uneven pace of the transition in different European countries.
c) It assumes that the economic power wielded over peasants by traders was exercised more benevolently than that of feudal lords.
d) It assumes that the economic processes of innovation and specialization are driven by economic self-interest.
e) It denies the importance of innovation for pre-capitalist producers.
Answer- A
Explanation - The shortcomings of the representation described in (A) are thoroughly explained in paragraph 2. The lack of focus on the varied pace of the transition to capitalism is addressed in option(B). So, in the conclusion, but only as a minor weakness of conventional narratives of the shift. Because the paragraph makes no mention of traders' authority over peasants or how it compares to that of lords, the answer (C) is erroneous. Additionally, (D) is eliminated because the sentence only suggests that producers who existed before capitalism should have had the same kind of self-interest. The sentence does not say that pre-capitalist innovation is typically not given its proper importance, so (E) is false as well.
Question 3. The passage mentions peasant competition for land leases primarily in order to:
a) prove the existence of incentives to better productivity in the capitalist system.
b) highlight the continuity of peasant hardship from the old to the new era.
c) contrast it with the lack of such economic pressures in the pre-capitalist era.
d) strengthen the point that peasants continued to be the main economic producers.
e) indicate the main reason for greater agricultural productivity in the capitalist system.
Answer- C
Explanation - It is said that since pre-capitalist peasants owned the land, they were exempt from the need to compete for land leases. The presence of capitalist incentives is outside the purview of feudalism, a pre-capitalist system, hence (A) is incorrect. (B) is not acceptable because the passage's content does not address the persistence of peasant poverty, hence it is not necessary to highlight it. With (D), the argument that peasants were the primary economic producers is implied and doesn't require further development.
Question 4. What can one infer from the passage about economic innovation?
a) That its pace was similar in most European countries.
b) That its only agents were traders.
c) That the European agriculture was in sore need of it.
d) That it does not always accompany the capitalist system of production.
e) That it was not likely to take place in the pre-capitalist economic system.
Answer- E
Explanation - Contrary to (D), innovation is described in paragraph 1 as something that the capitalist system both encourages and forces. Contrarily, it is suggested that the pre-capitalist system lacked incentives for innovation. Contrary to popular belief, if innovation is a component of capitalism and capitalism developed unevenly, then innovation most likely did as well (A). (B) is erroneous because merchants are only cited as "main agents" of transition, not the "sole" ones. This is because they are mentioned as initiators of the shift to capitalism rather than as agents of innovation. And (C) is eliminated because there is no mention of the requirements for European agriculture.
Question 5. Which of the following would be a likely place where one could find this passage?
a) As the conclusion of an essay criticizing the inequities of the capitalist system of production.
b) As a part of a review of a book that presents as its main thesis that transition to capitalism was a goal of economic producers.
c) As a part of a larger article arguing that the waning of the chivalric virtue carried by pre-capitalist lords is to be lamented.
d) As an introduction to a fuller description of a new historical model of transition to capitalism.
e) As a short correction of views expressed earlier in a recent longer article by the same author.
Answer- D
Explanation - The line could serve as an introduction to a more detailed historical account (D). The chapter is not organized in a way that makes (B), a review, suitable because any criticism in this passage just serves to set up the presentation of a remedy. Since the verse does not discuss the lords' virtue or valor, (C) is completely improper.
Question 6. Which of the following is indicated in the passage as the primary reason for the inertia of the pre-capitalist economic system?
a) The fact that perpetuating that system was in the self-interest of its participants.
b) The fact that its participants were strongly resistant to the introduction of innovative farming methods.
c) The fact that the traders did not command enough goods for exchange prior to the 16th Century.
d) The force wielded over the peasants by the lords.
e) The modest subsistence needs of pre-capitalist farmers.
Answer- A
Explanation - The participants' self-interest supported the system. Although the continuation of pre-capitalist systems is not primarily due to a lack of exchangeable items, (C), this would prevent capitalism from existing. Contrary to what (D) implies, peasants are shown to adhere to the pre-capitalist method of production out of self-interest, not force. And (E), the farmers' demands for sustenance, are not mentioned as a reason for the immobility.
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