IAS 2019

GEOGRAPHY
TEST SERIES
By: ROHIT LODHA

TEST: 4

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 Test - 04

Geography Test Series 2019

Geography
Time Allowed: 1 hrs.

1. ‘The ratio between effort and return can be looked upon as the price nature extracts from
man for the particular choice he makes.’ In the light of above statement, explain the relevance
of Neo Determinism in Indian context. (20)
2. “Positivism is a philosophy which is anti-idealism”. In the light of the above statement

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discuss the concept of Positivism and the contribution of Auguste Comte. (15)
3.

4.
Thomas Sadler. OR
Discuss the theory of Malthus theory of population and also elaborate the view of Michael
(15)
‘Rostov illustrates faith in a capitalist system and is highly biased towards a western model
of development’. In the light of above statement discuss the Non Communist Manifesto
presented by Rostov and its criticism. (20)
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5. Give the detailed note of Von Thunen's model of agricultural location and present its
usefulness in the contemporary world. (20)
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Geography [1]
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Geography Test Series 2019

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Geography
Answer Hints: Test No.4
1. ‘The ratio between effort and return can be looked upon as the price nature extracts from
man for the particular choice he makes.’ In the light of above statement, explain the relevance
of Neo Determinism in Indian context.
The concept of neo-determinism was put forward by Griffith Taylor in the 1920s. He coined the
term ‘Stop-and-go determinism’ in which he said that in short term people might attempt whatever
they wished with regard to their environment, but in long term, nature’s plan would ensure that

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the environment win the battle and forces a compromise out of its human occupants.
He believed that the best economic programme for a country to follow has in large part been
determined by nature, and it is geographer’s duty to interpret this programme.
Man at the best be able to accelerate, slow or stop the progress of a country’s development but he
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will not be able to alter the direction of the development which is sole prerogative of the nature.
The possibilists admits that the opportunities offered by any environment are not all equal. Some
demand little from man, others continual struggle; some yield large, other meager returns.
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The ratio between effort and return can be looked upon as the price nature extracts from man
for the particular choice he makes. But recognition of this inequality of opportunities gives no clue
as to which nature prefers, and the wise man should take.
The concept of neo determinism is quite applicable in all parts of the world so India is no exception.
When various disasters occurred in India such as Uttarakhand floods, Chennai floods, droughts in
Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh etc. it is said that all these are manmade disasters.
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Here according to the concept of Neo Determinism, we have taken ‘efforts’ in the direction of
unplanned urbanization, uncontrolled deforestation, excessive exploitation of groundwater and so
on. So we have given importance to economic development rather than sustainable development.
In the language of neo determinism we have acted foolishly as our choices were wrong.
Now the returns which we have got can be termed as economic benefits, rise in agriculture
production in short term etc. and the price which we had to pay to the nature for these follies are
in the form of disasters.
Thus the concept of neo determinism is quite applicable in India’s scenario.
2. “Positivism is a philosophy which is anti-idealism”. In the light of the above statement
discuss the concept of Positivism and the contribution of Auguste Comte.
Philosophers do not agree upon what is meant by science and knowledge. This means that there
are different views on the understanding of what science is. There are two traditional views: positivism
and humanism.
Positivism is a philosophical movement, characterized by an emphasis on science and scientific
methods as the only source of knowledge and makes a sharp distinction between the realm of fact
(data) and value (culture) and strong hostility towards religion and traditional philosophy, especially
metaphysics.
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The term positivism designates the thought of the French philosopher Auguste Comte (1798–1857).
Comte argued that social research, until the nineteenth century, was speculative, emotive and
romantic and that as a result it lacked rigour and analytical reasoning. Therefore Comte rejected
metaphysical and normative questions as they could not be answered scientifically. Instead he
posited to concentrate on facts and truths in order to explain and predict human behaviour.
It means science is concerned with objects in the world. Thus, what is not derived from the evidences
of the senses is not knowledge. Reliable knowledge can only come from basic observations of actual
conditions. According to positivism, to be scientific is to be objective, truthful and neutral.
There are various forms of positivism. The two most discussed are logical positivism (based on
verification) and critical rationalism (based on falsification). Logical positivism was further developed
by the Vienna Circle in the 1920’s. In their opinion social laws can be tested by doing measurements
with large sample sizes and in this way laws can be verified. Critical rationalism was developed in
response to logical positivism by Karl popper. In his opinion the truth of a law doesn’t depend on
the number of verifications but whether it can be falsified.
Thus, positivism is a philosophy which is anti-idealism (a view that reality is mental or mind

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dependent). Positivists further stress that since we cannot investigate and test moral norms we
should keep away from normative questions. In other words, our tastes, traditions, likings, attitudes
and aesthetic satisfactions cannot be justified scientifically. The essence of the positivist philosophy
is that ideally speaking science is value-free, neutral, impartial and objective.
In Geography, positivism was introduced in the 1950’s. Before that time Geography had very much
been a descriptive science but many argued geography should be more scientific and focus on
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finding laws to explain processes. The Quantitative revolution (1950’s) changed Geography from
an ideographic to a nomothetic science.
In the 1980’s and 1990’s positivist methodology received more and more criticism. Critics doubted
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the objectivity of positivism, they did not believe in the purely objective and neutral scientist. Positivism
did not take agency and structure into consideration, it assumed social systems were closed which
is hardly ever the case, and many doubted whether the natural sciences approach was the appropriate
methodology to study complex human relationships. Also, by limiting research to observable facts,
positivism ignored a lot of geographical questions. Although there’s criticism positivism stays strong
within the field human geography today. Many geographers agree that geography is based on
scientific principles and laws.
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3. Discuss the theory of Malthus theory of population and also elaborate the view of Michael
Thomas Sadler.
The Theory of Population is a theory of
exponential population growth and
arithmetic food supply growth. Thomas
Population
Robert Malthus explained this in his essay
on “Principle of Population.” Resources

Major Elements of the Malthusian Theory:

• Population and Food Supply: Malthus
theorized that populations grew Point of Crisis
in geometric progression, sequence of
numbers where each term after the first
is found by multiplying the previous one
• He stated that food production
increases in arithmetic progression, a
sequence of numbers such that the Malthus’s Basic Theory
difference between the consecutive
terms is constant.
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• Population Control: Malthus then argued that because there will be higher population than
the availability of food, many people will die from the shortage of food.
• He theorized that this correction will take place in the form of Positive Checks (or Natural
Checks) and Preventative Checks.
• He believed that natural forces will correct the imbalance between food supply and population
growth in the form of natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes and man-made
actions such as wars and famines.
• To correct the imbalance, Malthus also suggested using preventative measures to control the
growth of the population. These measures include family planning, late marriages, and
celibacy.
Theory of Michael Thomas Sadler
A contemporary of Malthus, Micheal’s natural law of population growth was exactly opposite of
that propounded by Malthus. According to him, man’s tendency to increase in numbers would

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diminish as the density of population in the territory increased. All other things being equal, the
population numbers would cease to grow beyond a point where it had secured the utmost degree
of happiness for the largest possible number of human beings.
4. ‘Rostov illustrates faith in a capitalist system and is highly biased towards a western model
of development’. In the light of above statement discuss the Non Communist Manifesto
presented by Rostov and its criticism.
O
Geographers often seek to categorize places using a scale of development, frequently dividing
nations into the “developed” and “developing,” “first world” and “third world,” or ”core” and
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“periphery.” All of these labels are based on judging a country’s development, but this raises the
question: what exactly does it mean to be “developed,” and why have some countries developed
while others have not?
Prior to Rostow, approaches to development had been based on the assumption that
“modernization” was characterized by the Western world. Using these ideas, Rostov penned his
classic “Stages of Economic Growth” which is also called as Non Communist Manifesto in 1960,
which presented five steps through which all countries must pass to become developed:
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In this model, Rostov argued that all societies may pass through the five stages to achieve socio-
economic development as follows:
Stage 1:- Traditional Society
It is characterized by ‘primitive’ technology, hierarchical social structure and behavior influenced
more by customs and accepted practices than by what Rostov takes to the rational criteria. Acceptance
of new ideas & innovations are minimum. Production per capita is low. Raw material is exported
and finished goods are imported.
Stage 2:- Precondition to take off
This is transitional stage. Here, possibly because of outside stimuli viz. colonization, investment rise,
the infrastructure begins to be developed and there is growth in the agricultural & industrial sectors.
This stage emphasizes a rise in the rate of productive investment, a statement on the provision of
social & economic infrastructure. However the opportunities for the profitable investment presented
by this stage are likely to be ignored by capital & thus pave the way for third stage.
Stage 3:- Take off
This stage is of short duration during which the economy and society are transformed. Investment
and saving rise and new industries grow in primary and manufacturing sectors. This leads to
urbanization & industrialization. The literacy rate, longevity & per capita income also rise.
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Stage 4:- Drive to maturity

This stage is characterized by diversification as most sectors grow, import falls & productive
investment ranges between 10 to 20% of national income. The increasing importance of consumer
goods & services and the establishment of the welfare state indicate that the final stage of age of
high mass consumption has reached.
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Stage 5:- Age of high mass consumption

In this stage every citizen of the country has access to all the available goods of comfort and luxury.
The sources of recreation are enormous, the leisure time is, however reduced as people have to
work extra time to obtain latest goods and the services for the consumption. The literacy rate is
almost 100% and the longevity is high & per capita income is also very high.
Criticisms of Rostov’s Model
While Rostov illustrates faith in a capitalist system, scholars have criticized his bias towards a
western model as the only path towards development. Rostov lays out five brief steps towards
development and critics have cited that all countries do not develop in such a linear fashion; some
skip steps or take different paths. Rostov’s theory can be classified as “top- down,” or one that
emphasizes a trickle-down modernization effect from urban industry and western influence to
develop a country as a whole. Later theorists have challenged this approach, emphasizing a “bottom-
up” development paradigm, in which countries become self- sufficient through local efforts, and
urban industry is not necessary.
Rostov also assumes that all countries have a desire to develop in the same way, with the end goal
of high mass consumption, disregarding the diversity of priorities that each society holds and different
measures of development.
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5. Give the detailed note of Von Thunen's model of agricultural location and present its usefulness
in the contemporary world.

Johann Heinrich von Thünen´s (1783-1850) model of agricultural land from the first half of the
19th century is considered the first ever location model. The main objective of von Thunen’s analysis
was to show how and why agricultural land use varies with the distance from the market. He
had two basic postulates
1. The intensity of production of a particular crop declines with the distance from the market.
Here the intensity of production means the amount of inputs per unit area of the land.

2. The type of the land use will vary with distance from the market.

He observed that particular activities were focused in certain zones around the center - ideally, this
would then lead to a system of concentric rings with every ring specializing in different agricultural
activities based on transportation costs, weight and perishability.
Assumptions:

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1. There is an ‘isolated state’ (as von Thunen called his model economy), consisting of 1 market
city and its agricultural hinterland.

2. This city is the market for surplus products from the hinterland and receives products from
no other areas.
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3. The hinterland ships its surpluses to no other market except the city.

4. There is a homogeneous physical environment, including a uniform plain around the city.
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5. The hinterland is inhabited by farmers who wish to maximize their profits, and who adjust
automatically to the market’s demands.
6. There is only one mode of transport – the horse and wagon (as this was 1826).

7. Transportation costs are directly proportional to distance, and are borne entirely by the
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farmers, who ship all produce in a fresh state.

According to Thunen, all the farmers will produce on their land that commodity which will yield
maximum rent i.e. profit. He termed net profit or land rent as L, and its value is controlled by
production cost per unit of the commodity (a), its market price (p), the yield per unit of the land (E),
and the distance from the market to the production point (k),
L= E(p-a)-Ek or
Net Profit= Yield per unit area(market price- production cost per unit)- Yield per unit area* distance
from the market to the production point
Here he did not take into account the opportunity costs and thus ignored what might be earned
from the alternative uses of the land.
The transport cost varies with the bulk and the perishability of the product. The crop with the
highest locational rent for the unit of land will always be grown, since, it gives the greatest returns
and all farmers attempt to maximize their profit. Two crops may have the same production costs
and yields but difference in transport costs (per ton/kilometre) and market prices influence the
decision-making of the farmers. If commodity A is more costly to transport per ton/kilometre and
it has a higher market price, A will be grown closer to the market than B

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Crop A
Locational Rent

Crop B

Crop A Crop B
Market Distance from Market

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Locational Rent and Distance from Market
The locational rent of A decreases more rapidly than that of B, because of A’s higher transport
costs. As the market price of A is greater than B, the total revenue is higher at the market for
A than B.
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Thus, the market of the locational rent of A is greater than B, because production costs are the same
and no transport costs are incurred. If the market price of  was greater than that of A, A would
not be grown at all.
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The perishable, bulky and/or heavy products, according to this model, would be produced in the
belts nearer to the town. The more distant belts would specialize in products which were less in
weight and volume but fetched higher price in the market as they could afford to bear relatively
higher transportation costs.
The final model was conceived as having specialized agricultural enterprises and crop-livestock
combination. Each belt, according to von Thunen, specializes in the production of those agricultural
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commodities to which it was best suited

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It becomes clear from Figure that the production of fresh milk (in the context of Europe) and vegetables
was concentrated in the Zone I nearest to the city, because of the perishability of such products.
In this zone, the fertility of land was maintained by means of manuring and, if necessary, additional
manure was brought from the city and transported to short distances to the farm.
The Zone II was used for production of wood, a bulky product in great demand in the city as a fuel
and forestry yielded a higher locational rent.
The Zone III represents crop farming where rye was an important market product, followed by
other farming zones with a difference of the intensity of cultivation. As the distance from the market
increased, so the intensity of rye production decreased with a consequent reduction in yields. There
was no fallowing and manuring to maintain soil fertility.
In the next Zone IV the farming was less intensive. Farmers used a seven-year crop rotation in
which rye occupied only one-seventh of the land. There was one year of rye, one of barley, one of
oats, three of pastures and one of fallow.
The products sent to the market were rye, butter, cheese, and occasionally, live animals to be

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slaughtered in the city. These products did not perish so quickly as fresh milk and vegetables and
could, therefore, be produced at a considerably greater distance from the market. In the most distant
of the zones supplying rye to the city Zone V, farmers followed the three-field system.
The farthest zone of all, i.e., Zone VI was the one of livestock farming. Because of the distance to the
market, rye did not produce so high a rent as the production of butter, cheese or live animals
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(ranching). The rye produced in this zone was solely for the farm’s own consumption. Only animal
produce were marketed.
It may be seen from Figure simplified von Thunen’s model that Zone 1 in which the economic rent
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is high is devoted to horticulture (fruits and vegetables), while Zone II was devoted to forest products
(like fuel wood) as the transportation cost of fuel wood is high. The Zone III is that of intensive
arable land devoted to cereal crops.
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Increasing
land rent

Margin of
Transference
between
1&2

x
Margin of Zone 1
Horticulture Increasing
Transference
from market
between
3&4
Zone 2
Forest Products

Zone 3
Intensive arable

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