Radical school of thought in human geography is mainly concerned with:

The correct answer is Option (1) → Basic cause of poverty, deprivation and social inequality.

In the 1970s, three new schools of thought grew in human geography: welfare (humanistic), radical and behavioural. Each looked at a different side of human life.

Option (1) Basic cause of poverty, deprivation and social inequality. — Correct. The radical school used Marxian theory to explain the basic cause of poverty, deprivation and social inequality. It related social problems to the development of capitalism.

Option (2) Perception of space based on ethnicity, race and religion. — Incorrect. This is the focus of the behavioural school, which stressed lived experience and the perception of space by social categories.

Option (3) The discovery and exploration of new areas. — Incorrect. This belongs to the early colonial period, when imperial and trade interests led to the discovery and exploration of new areas.

Option (4) Understanding each local context in its own way. — Incorrect. This idea came with post-modernism in the 1990s, which stressed understanding each local context in its own right.

Note: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2023 on 18-06-2023 (Slot 3).