Question

Which one of the following is most closely analogous to pluralist democracies as they are described in relation to the democratic principle of political equality?

• A. an approximate copy of an ancient artifact that is on display in a museum
• B. a performance of a musical score whose range of tonality cannot be completely captured by any actual instruments
• C. the mold from which a number of identical castings of a sculpture are made
• D. the commemoration of a historical event each year by a historian presenting a lecture on a topic related to the event（B）

Answer 1

The correct option is B

a performance of a musical score whose range of tonality cannot be completely captured by any actual instruments

Let us look at the lines -
“if no society can guarantee perfect equality in the resources that may give rise to political influence, the democratic principle of political equality is incapable of full realization. So, actual systems can be deemed democratic only as approximations to the ideal.”
The democratic principle of equality is incapable of realization in any pluralist democracy.
So the best answer is Option (b).
The key word is “cannot be completely captured”.
The author states ‘incapable of realization’. This is not equal to saying “it is approximate”. We have to match each element of the reasoning with the analogy. Though option (a) is very close, option (b) is the best as the elements of this option match better with the reasoning in the passage.