2. 职称英语
  3. A hundred years ago it was assumed and scientifically "proved" by econom

A hundred years ago it was assumed and scientifically "proved" by econom

游客2024-01-14  20
问题         A hundred years ago it was assumed and scientifically "proved" by economists that the laws of society make it necessary to have a vast army of poor and jobless people in order to keep the economy going. Today, hardly anybody would dare to voice the principle. It is generally accepted that nobody should be excluded from the wealth of the nation, either by the law of nature or by those of society.
        The opinions are outdated, which were current a hundred years ago, that the poor owed their conditions to their ignorance, lack of responsibility. In all western industrialized countries, a system of insurance has been introduced which guarantees everyone a minimum of subsistence in case of unemployment, sickness and old age. I would go one step further and argue that, even if these conditions are not present, in other words, one can claim this subsistence minimum without having to have any "reason". I would suggest, however, that it should be limited to a definite period of time, let’s say two years, so as to avoid the encouragement of an abnormal attitude which refuses any kind of social obligation.
        This may sound like a fantastic proposal, but so, I think, our insurance system would have sounded to people a hundred years ago. The main objection to such a scheme would be that if each person were entitled to receive minimum support, people would not work. This assumption rests on the fallacy of the inherent laziness. In human nature, actually, aside from abnormally lazy people, there would be very few who would not want to earn more than the minimum, and who would prefer to do nothing rather than work.
        However, the suspicions against a system of guaranteed subsistence minimum are not groundless, from the standpoint of those who want to use ownership capital for the purpose of forcing others to accept the work conditions they offer. If nobody were forced to accept work in order not to starve, work would be sufficiently interesting and attractive in order to induce one to accept it. Freedom of contract is possible only if both parties are free to accept and reject it ; in the present capitalist system this is not the case.
        But such a system would not only be the beginning of real freedom of contract between employers and employees; its principal advantage would be the improvement of freedom in interpersonal relationships in every sphere of daily life. [br] The writer argues that a system of social insurance should_____________.
选项 A、provide benefits for the sick, old and unemployed
B、encourage people to take on more social obligations
C、guarantee everyone the right to be employed
D、provide everyone with the right to a minimum subsistence for a certain period
答案 D
解析 作者认为，社会保险制度应该在一定时间内为人们提供最低的生活保障。从第一段末可以看出，西方国家都采用保险制度，即使不具备这样的条件，每个人都有权获取赖以生存的财富的权力。不过，作者建议最低社会保障制度应该限于某一时间，故选D。
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