Question

Those men who survived—those eager to obey, eager to live for one another, since they had nothing else to vindicate them—those men could neither carry on, nor preserve what they had received. Thus did all thought, all science, all wisdom perish on earth. Thus did men—men with nothing to offer save their great number—lose the steel towers, the flying ships, the power wires, all the things they had not created and could never keep.
What connection does the narrator make between collectivism and human invention?
People in a collective society often dismiss the need for human progress and creativity.
People who prefer collective thought are unable to contribute new ideas to mankind’s progress.
Societies in which people live for one another tend to cooperate and produce innovative developments.
Societies that have the greatest number of people need to have more inventions and produce more.

Answer 1

Answer:

People who prefer collective thought are unable to contribute new ideas to mankind’s progress.

Explanation:

"Thus did men—men with nothing to offer save their great number—lose the steel towers, the flying ships, the power wires, all the things they had not created and could never keep."

The men being spoken of have "nothing to offer"  "lose all the things they had not created and could never keep." We can see that the narrator believes that these men, who are "eager to live for one another" (collectivism) are incapable of creating and keeping other creations (human invention). It is not the first answer, because that one implies that the men do not desire creation. The third answer is the opposite of the main idea, and the fourth is irrelevant.