Profit motive as a guiding principle is an important characteristic of

Step 1: Analyze the question The question asks which system of social, political or economic organisation is guided mainly by the profit motive, meaning the desire to make gains from business and investment.

Step 2: Explain the concepts

• Capitalism: Means of production (land, factories, capital) are privately owned. Individuals and firms operate to make profit, and competition and market forces (demand and supply) drive the economy.
• Communalism: Property is owned and shared by the community. The focus is on collective welfare, not individual gain.
• Fascism: An authoritarian, nationalist political ideology with dictatorial power and strong state control. It is not mainly defined by profit.
• Feudalism: Land is held in exchange for service and loyalty, as in medieval Europe. A lord gives land to vassals, who give service and loyalty in return. The focus is land and loyalty, not profit.
• Totalitarianism: The state controls all aspects of public and private life. Individual profit-seeking is not the guiding principle.

Step 3: Solve by elimination

• B is out because communal systems stress sharing.
• C and E are out because they are political systems based on control by the state or a dictator.
• D is out because feudalism is based on land tenure and service.
• A fits because private ownership and the pursuit of profit are the core features of capitalism.

Step 4: Answer The correct answer is A. capitalism.

Tip: Link keywords to systems. "Profit motive", "private ownership" and "competition" point to capitalism. "Sharing" points to communalism or socialism. "Land and loyalty" points to feudalism. "State control" points to totalitarianism or fascism.