(a) The crisis of ethical values in modern times is traced to a narrow perception of the good life. Discuss. (10 marks, 150 words) (b) Increased national wealth did not result in equitable distribution of its benefits. It has created only some “enclaves of modernity and prosperity for a small minority at the cost of the majority.” Justify. (10 marks, 150 words)

(a) Ethical crisis and a narrow view of the good life

When the good life is reduced to material acquisition, consumption and status, life becomes a competition for possessions, crowding out virtue, community and meaning. This narrow perception fuels the modern ethical crisis:

• Success is measured by wealth, legitimising unethical means to acquire it — corruption, exploitation, tax evasion.
• Self-interest displaces compassion, duty and social responsibility.
• Consumerism strains the environment and widens inequality.

A richer conception — the Aristotelian idea of eudaimonia, or Gandhian trusteeship and simplicity — locates the good life in virtue, relationships and service, restoring ethical balance.

(b) Growth that did not benefit all

The statement holds that rising national wealth, without equitable distribution, created 'enclaves of modernity' for a few amid deprivation for many.

• India's high GDP growth coexisted with persistent inequality; a small share owns a disproportionate portion of national wealth.
• Gleaming urban and IT enclaves stand beside rural distress, informal-sector precarity and jobless growth.
• Disparities in health, education and nutrition persist despite aggregate prosperity.

This justifies the critique: growth is ethically incomplete unless its benefits reach the majority.

Conclusion

Both parts affirm that neither individual life nor national development is truly 'good' if it is measured only by material accumulation and not by justice, virtue and shared well-being.