Lines 7 and 8 are freezing my comprehension, relegate, periphery and antecedents. Any suggestions. The author lost me.

When I get lost, it's hard for me to determine if the big picture of the passage is positive, negative or neutral, agree or disagree.

Please help. Thank you.

Admin Note: https://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-62-section-1-passage-4-passage/