LSAT 119 – Section 4 – Question 09

LSAT 119 - Section 4 - Question 09

June 2005

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT119 S4 Q09
+LR
+Exp
Main conclusion or main point +MC
Value Judgment +ValJudg
A
2%
156
B
1%
152
C
96%
162
D
0%
156
E
1%
151
120
130
140
 +Easiest 145.1 +SubsectionEasier

Journalist: A free marketplace of ideas ensures that all ideas get a fair hearing. Even ideas tainted with prejudice and malice can prompt beneficial outcomes. In most countries, however, the government is responsible for over half the information released to the public through all media. For this reason, the power of governments over information needs to be curtailed. Everyone grants that governments should not suppress free expression, yet governments continue to construct near monopolies on the publication and dissemination of enormous amounts of information.

Summarize Argument
This argument concludes that governmental power over information must be reduced. The journalist supports this by saying that, in most countries, the government controls over half of the information that the public receives. This governmental control restricts the free marketplace of ideas. The free marketplace of ideas is what allows all ideas to receive fair consideration, so limiting this free marketplace can limit beneficial outcomes that come from free exchange of ideas. Further, the journalist claims that everyone concedes that governments should not suppress free expression, yet governments hold near monopolies on information.

Identify Conclusion
The conclusion is that the government should be restricted in its control over information: “The power of governments over information needs to be curtailed.”

A
The freedom of the marketplace of ideas is in jeopardy.
This is not the main conclusion. The argument makes a claim about the freedom of the marketplace of ideas in order to support the overall conclusion, which is that governmental control over information should be reduced.
B
Preserving a free marketplace of ideas is important.
The importance of the free marketplace of ideas is an unstated idea that provides support for the overall conclusion, which is that governmental control over information should be reduced, so this is not the main conclusion
C
The control that governments have over information needs to be reduced.
This is the main conclusion. The rest of the argument supports this claim by demonstrating the value of the free marketplace of ideas, and by showing that governmental monopolization of information can restrict free expression.
D
Ideas that have malicious content or stem from questionable sources can be valuable.
The argument says that ideas with malicious content can prompt beneficial outcomes; the argument does not say if the ideas themselves are valuable. Further, the value in the outcomes of these ideas exists as support for the main conclusion.
E
Governments have near monopolies on the dissemination of many kinds of information.
This claim about governmental control of information acts as a premise to demonstrate that governments are acting in a way that may impede the free expression of information. Further, we only know that governments “continue to construct” near monopolies, not that they have them.

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LSAT PrepTest 119 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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