XAT 2023 - Essay

Choose ONE of the three arguments given below and develop a coherent essay that critically evaluates it. Support your analysis with relevant claims, reasons and/or examples. The essay should not exceed 250 words.

Argument I. Risk is the essential need of soul. The absence of risk produces a kind of boredom which paralyses in a different way from fear, but almost as much.
Argument II. Rapid decarbonization to fulfill India’s Net Zero commitment will have business consequences.
Argument III. Someone with half your IQ is making 10X as you because they aren’t smart enough to doubt themselves.
Answer Question no. 1 if you choose Argument I.
Answer Question no. 2 if you choose Argument II.
Answer Question no. 3 if you choose Argument III.

In today's world, when people talk of risk, they are mostly discussing a financial investment or a business decision. However, there are several types of risk - many of which are never considered or factored in while making decisions. For example, most people understand credit risk or financial risk, but rarely do we consider the moral risk or social risk of a decision. However, when it comes to the mind and soul of a person, these are exactly the types of risks that are relevant. And as people are risk-taking or risk-averse in a financial sense, they are similarly risk-taking or riskaverse
when it comes to the other risks. Often, risk averse behaviour, in moral or social spheres, leads to an atrophy of the mind and a decay of the soul. When one thinks of social risk, the first example that comes to mind is the oftrepeated refrain - 'what will people say'. This one refrain prevents people from seeking out happiness and doing things that would truly make them happy. When people choose not take any social risk, they end up being inauthentic versions of themselves- an imposter of their true self. Similarly, when some one cannot risk failure in life choices, be it by leaving a job to start a business or choosing a field that they are well-suited for which isn't mainstream, they risk ossifying in life choices that prevent them from reaching their true potential. At a society level,
when people refuse to testify to the truth or refuse to rise up to a tyrant because they cannot take the risk of failure, the society and the individual both suffer. Thus, risk is essential to reach one's true potential and to become one's authentic self. Without risk, there is no growth, and without growth, and individual will be a stunted version of themselves. The risk-reward framework that is often quoted for investment returns is also true for other forms of risk - the higher the risk, the greater the reward; for a person's mind and soul.

Argument II. Rapid decarbonization to fulfill India’s Net Zero commitment will have business consequences.

Argument III. Someone with half your IQ is making 10X as you because they aren’t smart enough to doubt themselves.