LSAT 117 – Section 2 – Question 16

LSAT 117 - Section 2 - Question 16

October 2004

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT117 S2 Q16
+LR
Main conclusion or main point +MC
A
11%
156
B
16%
157
C
2%
153
D
2%
154
E
68%
164
147
155
163
 +Harder 146.765 +SubsectionMedium

Sociologist: Some economists hold that unregulated markets should accompany democratic sovereignty because they let people vote with their money. But this view ignores the crucial distinction between the private consumer and the public citizen. In the marketplace the question is, “What do I want?” At the voting booth the question is always, “What do we want?” Hence, supporters of political democracy can also support marketplace regulation.

Summarize Argument: Counter-Position
In this argument, the sociologist is arguing that one can support both political democracy and marketplace regulation. To support this, the sociologist cites the distinction between the private consumer, who makes individual decisions, and the public citizen, who makes decisions that consider a broader community. Because people are considering different factors in the market and the voting booth, support for market regulation and democratic sovereignty can coexist.

Identify Conclusion
The sociologist concludes that support for two ideas that some view as contradictory can coexist: “Supporters of political democracy can also support marketplace regulation.”

A
Voters think of themselves as members of a community, rather than as isolated individuals.
This idea is implied when the argument says that voters ask “What do we want?” However, this implication is not the main conclusion; it provides some support for the distinction made between voters and customers.
B
Unregulated markets are incompatible with democratic sovereignty.
Our conclusion discusses what ideas people can support; this answer says that two institutions/structures themselves (unregulated markets and democratic sovereignty) are (in)compatible. We are want to know that support for two ideas is compatible.
C
Where there is democratic sovereignty there should be unregulated markets.
This answer choice is the conclusion made by some economists; this is the claim that the sociologist’s conclusion works to refute.
D
Private consumers are primarily concerned with their own self-interest.
This idea is implied when the argument says that consumers ask “What do I want?” However, this implication is not the main conclusion; it provides some support for the distinction made between voters and customers.
E
Opposition to unregulated markets is consistent with support for democracy.
This is the conclusion of the argument. This answer is a paraphrase of the last sentence, which we identified as the main conclusion of the argument. The rest of sociologist’s argument works to provide support for this idea.

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LSAT PrepTest 117 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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