Question

which central ideas about good government does the author develop?
a. the main difficulty in forming a government is creating a cohesive assembly, and representative government should be kept small.
b. the interests of government should be the interests of all the people, and people cannot be happy and free unless they are governed.
c. those in government should come from among the people, and a representative government should reflect the interests of the people.
d. those in government tend to act more virtuously, and a representative body cannot do the work of the judicial system.

Explanation:

To determine the central idea, we analyze each option:

• Option A: The passage doesn't focus on the difficulty of forming a government but on good governance principles. Eliminate A.
• Option B: The text states "the interests of the people should be the supreme consideration" and "a representative assembly... should be taken to effect this and to prevent unfair control elections", implying government should reflect people's interests and people can't be happy if interests are ignored. This matches.
• Option C: The passage says "the prime end the duty has... its greatest care should be employed in contriving the representative assembly" (government from the many), but the key is about interests, not just origin. Eliminate C.
• Option D: The passage is about good governance, not the inefficiency of authoritarian/representative bodies. Eliminate D.

Answer:

B. The interests of government should be the interests of all the people, and people cannot be happy and free unless they are governed