Reading comp PrepTest 106 · Section 4 · Question 18

Passage

Questions 14-21  .        Recently, a new school of economics called steady–  . state economics has seriously challenged neoclassical  . Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary

Topic: Social Science


Paragraph 1

  • Paragraph note
    • Steady-state economics, a new school of economic thought, offers an alternative to neoclassical economics
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Neoclassical economics: dominates Western economic thought
      • Holds that economy is a closed system with no noneconomic constraints (second - third sentences)
      • Growth is limitless (third sentence)
      • Growth is crucial to eliminating economic problems that arise (fourth sentence)
    • Author’s attitude: “seriously challenged” (first sentence); “reigning school” (first sentence); “circular flow” (second sentence); “no noneconomic constraints” (third sentence); “some argue “ (fourth sentence); “they claim” (fourth sentence)

Paragraph 2

  • Paragraph note
    • Steady-state economics holds that economy is limited by natural resources and has an optimal size
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Natural resources enter and exit economy; economy grows, stagnates, or shrinks depending on availability of resources (second sentence)
    • Because natural resources are limited, there is an optimal size to the economy beyond which cost to nature is greater than benefit to people (third sentence)
    • Economy should be maintained in equilibrium with nature (fourth sentence)
    • Neoclassical economists hold that, if natural resources are depleted, human-made resources can be substituted (fifth sentence)
    • Author’s attitude: “unrealistic” (first sentence); “they argue” (second sentence); “nature’s limited capacity” (third sentence); “optimal size” (third sentence); “dangerous” (fourth sentence); “only alternative” (fourth sentence); “equilibrium with nature” (fourth sentence)

Paragraph 3

  • Paragraph note
    • Steady-state economists propose that conservation can be used to satisfy human wants without using more natural resources
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Steady-state economists:
      • Disparity b/w monetary value of goods/services and sustainable personal consumption (first sentence)
      • Western economies already larger than optimal size (first sentence)
        • End economic growth by using conservation (second-third sentence)
        • Conservation through recycling is still qualitative growth; is not quantitative (fourth sentence)
      • Successful steady-state economy will conserve without growth, while still meeting human wants (fifth sentence)
    • Author’s attitude: “widening disparity” (first sentence); “already exceeded” (first sentence); “alternatives to growth” (second sentence); “differs from growth in that it is qualitative, not quantitative” (fourth sentence); “success of a steady-state economy” (fifth sentence)

Main Point: Steady-state economics, which holds that Western economies are limited by nature and should opt to conserve rather than grow white still satisfying human wants, presents an alternative to neoclassical economics, which holds that economies are not limited by nature and should aim to grow as much as possible.

Key Lines?

Paragraph 1, Sentence 1 (P1 S1) - Steady-state vs. neoclassical economics

P2 S4 - Steady state economists: economy must be in equilibrium with nature

P3 S1 - SS economists: Western economies already larger than they should be

P3 S4 - SS economists: conserve resources rather than grow economy

Meta-Structure?

Describing a Debate: This passage highlights the points at which steady-state economic thinking and neoclassical economic thinking clash, principally, the degree to which Western economies are limited by natural resources and the optimal goal of economic activity (growth vs. conservation/recycling). The author of the passage first summarizes neoclassical economic thinking. According to neoclassicists, the economy is not limited by any noneconomic factors, and the major goal of participants in the economy should be to maximize growth. The author then lays out the steady-state economic model: the economy is limited by the availability of natural resources and Western economies have already grown beyond their optimal size. Thus, peoples’ economic goal should be to conserve resources by recycling rather than to use more natural resources because nature can’t replenish them as fast as humans use them.

The debate, then, is this: neoclassicists say that the economy is not too big and it should continue to grow while steady-staters say the economy is too big and should not continue to grow. The reason steady-staters give for their position is that natural resources are being depleted too fast.

The minor Meta-Structure used in this passage is Comparison. The author is continually comparing neoclassical economics with steady-state economics; indeed, it is the contrast with neoclassical economics that helps give steady-state economics its character.

The author’s own position is hinted at throughout the passage and particularly in P3 S5, where the author implies that it is possible to conserve resources by recycling and still to satisfy human wants, thus proving that an economy can be considered successful, even in a steady (or stagnant) state. However, these hints are not enough to tip this passage over into the “Resolving a Debate” Meta-Structure, because the author does not explicitly take a side in the debate or try to reconcile the two sides of the issue.

Last Thoughts?

This passage can be thought of as a bit of a hybrid, or a Resolving a Debate Plus. The “plus” is the hint that the author gives as to their perspective in P2 S4 (referring to the neoclassical model as “dangerous” and asserting that living in harmony with nature is the “only alternative” to the current model) and P3 S4 (referring to the fact that conservation constitutes qualitative rather than quantitative progress and leads to increased efficiency of resource use). Though all of these references are ostensibly the author referring to the views of steady-state economists rather than giving their own opinion, the language is strong, especially the word “dangerous,” and it is possible to infer that the author inclines to the steady-state model. We can be even more sure of this when we remember that in P1 S1, the author said that steady-state economics “seriously challenged” neoclassical economics.

That said, the author’s opinion is not explicit enough to reclassify this passage as either Resolving a Debate or Old Approach/New Approach.

Question prompt

Based on the passage, Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: C

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Question Type

Social Science

Strategy Overview

Review the passage’s references to what the steady-state economists believe a successful economy will do, consult notes, and choose the answer choice that ties the author’s evidence to the conclusion the author reaches.

Answer Anticipation

First, what even is this question? The phrase “following principle” in the question stem might ring a bell if you’ve been working on Principle questions in Logical Reasoning. This phrase shows up in Principle (Strengthen) questions in Logical Reasoning and Reading Comp. In these questions, we have to pick the answer choice with the principle — or rule — that connects the author’s evidence to the conclusion the author reaches. This question adds another wrinkle — it tells us to focus specifically on the author’s argument about what steady-state economists believe a successful economy will accomplish. So, we’ll have to find the relevant part of the passage first.Luckily, there is one key sentence where the passage discusses this topic: P3 S5. The author explains that one way in which a steady-state economy could be considered successful is if it is able to implement conservation or other alternatives to growth without compromising its ability to satisfy human wants (P3 S5). So the right answer will touch on this point for sure.

Answer choices

  1. A
    A successful economy uses Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited

    (A) Does this answer choice include a reference to the fact that a successful steady-state economy will implement alternatives to growth without compromising its ability to satisfy human wants?

    No. This answer choice departs not only from our anticipation, but from the passage’s characterization of a steady-state economy. Though the author discusses the neoclassicists’ belief that human-made resources can be substituted for natural resources (P2 S5), they never say that steady-state economists believe there is any role for human-made resources in a steady-state economy.

    So this is not the right answer choice.

  2. B
    A successful economy satisfies Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited

    (B) Does this answer choice include a reference to the fact that a successful steady-state economy will implement alternatives to growth without compromising its ability to satisfy human wants?

    No. This answer choice again brings an irrelevant concept into the world of the steady-state economy. The passage never discusses the economy’s ability to create human wants, either according to the neoclassicists or the steady-staters. It merely discusses satisfying human wants (P3 S2, P3 S5).

    So this answer choice is not the right one.

  3. C
    A successful economy maintains Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C matches the stem

    (C) Does this answer choice include a reference to the fact that a successful steady-state economy will implement alternatives to growth without compromising its ability to satisfy human wants?

    Yes. This answer choice mentions satisfying human wants, which is important. While it does not say explicitly that the economy implements alternatives to growth, it does say that the economy maintains an equilibrium with nature, which is what the steady-staters believe an economy should do (P2 S4). The way in which people achieve this equilibrium with nature is, of course, conservation (P3 S 2-3).

    So this answer choice does indeed match our anticipation and is the right answer.

  4. D
    A successful economy implements Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited

    (D) Does this answer choice include a reference to the fact that a successful steady-state economy will implement alternatives to growth without compromising its ability to satisfy human wants?

    No. The goal of a steady-state economy is not to prevent growth at all costs, but merely to halt the unbridled usage of natural resources at a faster rate than nature can replenish them (P2 S3, P3 S1). Stamping out growth is not the goal of a steady-state economic model, but conserving natural resources is (P2 S4, P3 S3). That conservation may happen to cause economic stagnation, but if it does, that stagnation is a byproduct of the process of conservation rather than the goal.


    This is not the right answer.

  5. E
    A successful economy satisfies Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited

    (E) Does this answer choice include a reference to the fact that a successful steady-state economy will implement alternatives to growth without compromising its ability to satisfy human wants?

    No. The first part of this answer choice, that the economy satisfies the wants of producers and consumers, is right (P3 S5), and the idea that natural resources spur growth is shared by neoclassicists (P2 S5) and steady-staters (P2 S2). However, the ideal steady-state economy is one in which conservation prevails and resources are used merely to satisfy human wants without necessarily spurring growth (P3 S5). Indeed, steady-state economists believe that Western economies have already grown past their optimal size and that they should not grow any further (P3 S1).

    This is not the right answer choice.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 5%
  2. B 3%
  3. C Credited 92%
  4. D 1%
  5. E 1%

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