Although Philanthropy—The Volunteering of Private Resources for Humanitarian Purposes GMAT Reading Comprehension

Reading Passage Question

Although philanthropy—the volunteering of private resources for humanitarian purposes—reached its apex in England in the late nineteenth century, modern commentators have articulated two major criticisms of the philanthropy that was a mainstay of England’s middle-class Victorian society. The earlier criticism is that such philanthropy was even by the later nineteenth century obsolete, since industrialism had already created social problems that were beyond the scope of small, private voluntary efforts. Indeed, these problems required substantial legislative action by the state. Unemployment, for example, was not the result of a failure of diligence on the part of workers or a failure of compassion on the part of employers, nor could it be solved by well-wishing philanthropists.

The more recent charge holds that Victorian philanthropy was by its very nature a self-serving exercise carried out by philanthropists at the expense of those whom they were ostensibly serving. In this view, philanthropy was a means of flaunting one’s power and position in a society that placed great emphasis on status, or even a means of cultivating social connections that could lead to economic rewards. Further, if philanthropy is seen as serving the interests of individual philanthropists, so it may be seen as serving the interests of their class. According to this “social control” thesis, philanthropists, in professing to help the poor, were encouraging in them such values as prudence, thrift, and temperance, values perhaps worthy in themselves but also designed to create more productive members of the labor force. Philanthropy, in short, was a means of controlling the labor force and ensuring the continued dominance of the management class.

Modern critics of Victorian philanthropy often use the words “amateurish” or “inadequate” to describe Victorian philanthropy, as though Victorian charity can only be understood as an antecedent to the era of statesponsored, professionally administered charity. This assumption is typical of the “Whig fallacy”: the tendency to read the past as an inferior prelude to an enlightened present. If most Victorians resisted state

control and expended their resources on private, voluntary philanthropies, it could only be, the argument goes, because of their commitment to a vested interest, or because the administrative apparatus of the state was incapable of coping with the economic and social needs of the time.

This version of history patronizes the Victorians, who were in fact well aware of their vulnerability to charges of condescension and complacency, but were equally well aware of the potential dangers of statemanaged charity. They were perhaps condescending to the poor, but—to use an un-Victorian metaphor—they put their money where their mouths were, and gave of their careers and lives as well.

“Although philanthropy—the volunteering of private resources for humanitarian purposes”- is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.

This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 6 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solution and Explanation

1. Which one of the following best summarizes the main idea of the passage?

(A) While the motives of individual practitioners have been questioned by modern commentators, Victorian philanthropy successfully dealt with the social ills of nineteenth-century England.
(B) Philanthropy, inadequate to deal with the massive social and economic problems of the twentieth century, has slowly been replaced by state-sponsored charity.
(C) The practice of reading the past as a prelude to an enlightened present has fostered revisionist views of many institutions, among them Victorian philanthropy.
(D) Although modern commentators have perceived Victorian philanthropy as either inadequate or self-serving, the theoretical bias behind these criticisms leads to an incorrect interpretation of history.
(E) Victorian philanthropists, aware of public resentment of their self-congratulatory attitude, used devious methods to camouflage their self-serving motives.

2. According to the passage, which one of the following is true of both modern criticisms made about Victorian philanthropy?

(A) Both criticisms attribute dishonorable motives to those privileged individuals who engaged in private philanthropy.
(B) Both criticisms presuppose that the social rewards of charitable activity outweighed the economic benefits.
(C) Both criticisms underemphasize the complacency and condescension demonstrated by the Victorians.
(D) Both criticisms suggest that government involvement was necessary to cure social ills.
(E) Both criticisms take for granted the futility of efforts by private individuals to enhance their social status by means of philanthropy.

3. Which one of the following best describes the attitude of the author of the passage toward the “Whig” interpretation of Victorian philanthropy?

(A) strong disagreement
(B) mild skepticism
(C) cynical amusement
(D) bland indifference
(E) unqualified support

4. Which one of the following best describes the primary purpose of the passage?

(A) providing an extended definition of a key term
(B) defending the work of an influential group of theorists
(C) narrating the chronological development of a widespread practice
(D) examining modern evaluations of a historical phenomenon
(E) analyzing a specific dilemma faced by workers of the past

5. It can be inferred from the passage that a social control theorist would be most likely to agree with which one of the following statements concerning the motives of Victorian philanthropists?

(A) Victorian philanthropists were driven more by the desire for high social status than by the hope of economic gain.
(B) Victorian philanthropists encouraged such values as thrift and temperance in order to instil in the working class the same acquisitiveness that characterized the management class.
(C) Though basically well-intentioned, Victorian philanthropists faced problems that were far beyond the scope of private charitable organizations.
(D) By raising the living standards of the poor, Victorian philanthropists also sought to improve the intellectual status of the poor.
(E) Victorian philanthropists see philanthropy as a means to an end rather than as an end in itself.

6. Which one of the following best describes the organization of the passage?

(A) Two related positions are discussed, then both are subjected to the same criticism.
(B) Two opposing theories are outlined, then a synthesis between the two is proposed.
(C) A position is stated, and two differing evaluations of it are given.
(D) Three examples of the same logical inconsistency are given.
(E) A theory is outlined, and two supporting examples are given.

Suggested GMAT Reading Comprehension Samples

• In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, many Western Pueblo settlements in what is now the southwestern GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Legal cases can be termed “hard” cases if they raise issues that are highly controversial GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Modern cultural anthropology has its origins in, and developed in reaction to, 19th century "ethnology" GMAT Reading Comprehension
• The person who, with inner conviction, loathes stealing, killing, and assault, may find himself performing these acts GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Many historians consider the Marshall Plan one of the United States GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Western Analytical Philosophy has Contributed two Major Elements to the Theory GMAT Reading Comprehension
• The original Hellenistic community was idealized, the Greeks‘ own golden dream". GMAT Reading Comprehension
• What it means to “explain” something in science often comes down to the application of mathematics GMAT Reading Comprehension
• The Encounter that a Portrait Records is Most Tangibly the Sitting Itself GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Most People Acknowledge that Not All Governments have a moral right to govern GMAT Reading Comprehension
• By the Time Bentham Turned his Interest to the Subject, Late in the Eighteenth Century GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Commonplace Items Sometimes Play Surprising Roles in World Development GMAT Reading Comprehension
• The Term Biomimicry Surfaces Frequently in Scientific Circles GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Once Surrounded and Protected by Vast Wilderness, Many of the National Parks are Adversely Affected GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Traditional Means of Reducing Traffic Congestion Promote Supply-Side Solutions GMAT Reading Comprehension
• As Urbanization Continues to Accelerate GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Recent Criticism has Sought to Align Sarah Orne Jewett GMAT Reading Comprehension
• Until Recently, Scientists did not Know of a Close Vertebrate Analogue GMAT Reading Comprehension
• What is the Relationship Between Science and Magic? GMAT Reading Comprehension
• After Suffering a Countercyclical Decline in the Prosperous 1920s GMAT Reading Comprehension