Question:medium
Read the following passage and answer the question that follows.
In Hume's eyes productive labour was the greatest asset of a country, and foreign trade was valuable because it enabled a nation to use more and more varied labour than would otherwise be possible. But commerce was of mutual advantage to the nations involved, not a benefit to one and injury to the other. 'The increase of riches and commerce in any one nation,' added Hume, 'instead of hurting, commonly, promotes the riches and commerce of all its neighbours.' 'The emulation in rival nations serves ... to keep industry alive in all of them.'
As per Hume, free trade between nations was made advantageous by the outcome of:
Read the following passage and answer the question that follows.
In Hume's eyes productive labour was the greatest asset of a country, and foreign trade was valuable because it enabled a nation to use more and more varied labour than would otherwise be possible. But commerce was of mutual advantage to the nations involved, not a benefit to one and injury to the other. 'The increase of riches and commerce in any one nation,' added Hume, 'instead of hurting, commonly, promotes the riches and commerce of all its neighbours.' 'The emulation in rival nations serves ... to keep industry alive in all of them.'
As per Hume, free trade between nations was made advantageous by the outcome of:
In Hume's eyes productive labour was the greatest asset of a country, and foreign trade was valuable because it enabled a nation to use more and more varied labour than would otherwise be possible. But commerce was of mutual advantage to the nations involved, not a benefit to one and injury to the other. 'The increase of riches and commerce in any one nation,' added Hume, 'instead of hurting, commonly, promotes the riches and commerce of all its neighbours.' 'The emulation in rival nations serves ... to keep industry alive in all of them.'
As per Hume, free trade between nations was made advantageous by the outcome of:
Show Hint
Look for the cause behind the mutual benefit, the rivalry or emulation between nations, not the benefit itself.
Updated On: Jul 10, 2026
- mutual increases in riches and commerce.
- emulation of industrial activity by different nations.
- affable promotion of industrial activity among nations.
- productive employment of labour in different nations.
Show Solution
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks what outcome, according to Hume, made free trade between nations advantageous. We need the driving cause, not the resulting benefit, since the phrase made advantageous by the outcome of is pointing at a mechanism, not a description of the advantage itself.
Step 2: Key Approach:
Separate the two ideas in the passage, the benefit, a mutual rise in riches and commerce, and the cause of that benefit, rivalry between nations. Match the option to the cause, since that is what the question asks for, and treat any option that only restates the benefit as a trap.
Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
The passage's last line says the emulation, that is, rivalry, in rival nations serves to keep industry alive in all of them. This rivalry is what keeps each nation producing and trading hard, which then leads to the mutual rise in riches described earlier.
Option 1, mutual increases in riches and commerce, is the effect, not the cause, so it does not answer what made trade advantageous; it is a restatement, not an explanation. Option 3 wrongly turns rivalry into friendly cooperation, which the passage never claims, since emulation implies competing to keep up, not being affable. Option 4 brings in productive labour, a separate idea from an earlier part of the passage that is not linked here to trade's advantage.
Only option 2, emulation of industrial activity between nations, is the actual cause Hume names for why trade helps every nation involved.
Step 4: Final Answer:
Free trade was made advantageous by the emulation of industrial activity among different nations, so option 2 is correct.
The question asks what outcome, according to Hume, made free trade between nations advantageous. We need the driving cause, not the resulting benefit, since the phrase made advantageous by the outcome of is pointing at a mechanism, not a description of the advantage itself.
Step 2: Key Approach:
Separate the two ideas in the passage, the benefit, a mutual rise in riches and commerce, and the cause of that benefit, rivalry between nations. Match the option to the cause, since that is what the question asks for, and treat any option that only restates the benefit as a trap.
Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
The passage's last line says the emulation, that is, rivalry, in rival nations serves to keep industry alive in all of them. This rivalry is what keeps each nation producing and trading hard, which then leads to the mutual rise in riches described earlier.
Option 1, mutual increases in riches and commerce, is the effect, not the cause, so it does not answer what made trade advantageous; it is a restatement, not an explanation. Option 3 wrongly turns rivalry into friendly cooperation, which the passage never claims, since emulation implies competing to keep up, not being affable. Option 4 brings in productive labour, a separate idea from an earlier part of the passage that is not linked here to trade's advantage.
Only option 2, emulation of industrial activity between nations, is the actual cause Hume names for why trade helps every nation involved.
Step 4: Final Answer:
Free trade was made advantageous by the emulation of industrial activity among different nations, so option 2 is correct.
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