April 28 – GS4/Ethics: 2026 | UPSC Daily Answer Writing Practice PDF Download

What do each of the following quotations mean to you in the present context?
(A) “The true rule, in determining to embrace, or reject anything, is not whether it has any evil in it; but whether it has more evil than good. There are few things wholly evil or wholly good. Almost everything, especially of governmental policy, is an inseparable compound of the two; so that our best judgement of the preponderance between them is continually demanded.” Abraham Lincoln (UPSC MAINS GS4)

• This statement by Lincoln strikes at the heart of our beliefs in modern values of good/bad, right/wrong as absolute. He means that actions, policies and programs however good they seem to be, produce negative impacts. One should gauge them rationally so that they give maximum good or least negatives. 
• He also advocates that this assessment should be a process where it is researched, revised, updated continually to make most of the positives and least of the negatives. One can use debates surrounding Aadhaar identification number. As a technological tool, it can bring manifold socio-economic change through Direct Benefit transfer, rapid poverty alleviation, tracking /prevention of crime/criminals, pre-empting generation and accumulation of black money, greater coordination in governance apart from other social good. 
• However it also has bottlenecks like fear of surveillance, privacy curtailment, authoritarianism, targeting of minorities. This statement rightly points out that we have to weigh pros and cons not as a one-off policy but as a process. Though today we have considered using Aadhar for social good, in future if we find it a threat to individual rights we should be ready to change the policy. 
• Similarly, Supreme Court declares practices like Triple Talaq and restriction of women to Sabrimala temple illegal, because although religious groups have right to manage their own affairs (Article 26), but still such derogatory practiceswere against right to equality (Article 14) and right to live with dignity (Article 21). 
• So these are quashed by the apex court. Other examples that may be quoted are- Loan waiver to farmers, construction of large dams, interference in Personal laws of the community; all these have pros and cons. It is up-to us to weigh them and use them accordingly is what the statement means to me in today’s context.

Topics Covered- Values

(B) “Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding.” – Mahatma Gandhi

• Anger and intolerance are antithetical to reasons and correct understanding. They cloud our judgment and affect peace of mind. It is not possible to think clearly and make the right decisions if one is angry or intolerant. Anger makes a person lose calmness and forces them to take hasty decisions which may not be correct. 
• Anger makes a person to lose patience which drives him towards intolerance. Angry person is a constantly stressed person; such a person cannot think with clarity. Balanced decision making, social progress and development is made possible through leaders who have a cool head on their shoulders and not by people who are easily irritated or who are not tolerant of others, conflicting viewpoints, ways of living and thinking or world views. 
• Today, it is common to find people and leaders losing steadiness of mind when faced with stress. Angry and intolerant people are often bad decision makers. The World Wars and other wars in history were often fomented by people who easily grew angry and intolerant (such as Hitler who is responsible for millions of murders). 
• Correct understanding of a situation requires mental composure and equanimity. Angry and intolerant people cannot differentiate between correct and incorrect understanding.

Topics Covered- Anger

(C) “Falsehood takes the place of truth when it results in unblemished common good.” – Thirukkural. (UPSC MAINS GS4 )

• Tirukkural, the classic Tamil text deals with everyday virtues of an individual. This couplet implies that lie could be classed with truth if it blesses someone with good. Even falsehood has the nature of truth, if it confers a benefit that is free from fault. 
• In other words, a falsehood such as a lie, has the same respect as a truth if it has benign goals resulting in unblemished common good. In the present context, it could mean that some actions may appear bad manifestly but they could be latently good if they are fully beneficial for the public. 
• It could be analyzed in the light of heroes in films or everyday life breaking some rule to get the right done for some social good. Such a falsehood or illegality is equal to truth because it brings flawless (unblemished) common good. 
• A help given to exploited labourers may appear illegal given that they are legally tied to the zamindar or the money lender but such an action is actually truthful because it brings untarnished common good. A ‘free from fault’ or ‘free from blemish’ action gives even a falsehood the nature of truth because it actually results in blessings. The overriding goal is the common good.

Topics Covered - Truth