Logical reasoning PrepTest 109 · Section 4 · Question 19

Incorrect. The conclusion is about businesses, so the applicability of this law to the government is out of scope.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Weaken

Stimulus Summary:
Society thinks power isn't being used responsibly → Society acts to reduce power
Therefore - If a business wants to retain power, it must use it responsibly

Answer Anticipation:
There's a lot of detail in this stimulus, but, at the end of the day, it actually boils down to a pretty short argument. And that argument features a key term that we need to train ourselves to look out for so we can see it and use it to anticipate an answer.

Let's start with the conclusion—Any business that wants to retain power must act responsibly. Why does the Speaker believe that to be the case? There's a lot of background to it, and a fancy name applied, but the statement immediately preceding the conclusion sums it all up—if society thinks power isn't being used responsibly, then it will act to reduce that power. This serves as the justification for businesses that want to retain power acting responsibly.

And that statement does connect using power responsibly with retaining that power—with a caveat. And this comes down to the key concept that we need to train ourselves to notice—the sufficient condition for society acting to reduce power isn't the power being used irresponsibly—it's society thinking that it's not being used responsibly.

That's a subjective assessment, not an objective one. It's possible that society thinks power is being used irresponsibly when it isn't; it's possible that power is being used irresponsibly but society thinks it is being used appropriately.

Since the conclusion is about acting responsibly but the conclusion is about being perceived to be acting responsibly, any answer that distinguishes between those concepts could weaken this argument.

Answer Explanation:
This answer establishes a means by which society might think a business is acting responsibly when it isn't. Since society acts to reduce power when it believes it's being misused, this answers brings up the possibility that a business could retain power by acting irresponsibly but convincing people of the opposite. This weakens the conclusion that a business must act responsibly to maintain power—instead, it could act irresponsibly and pay a PR firm to convince people that it isn't.

Key Takeaway:
Train yourself to notice words that highlight a premise as a subjective view—what people believe, think, say, or know. Qualifying a premise with this language will usually play into a flaw in the logic.

Incorrect. The speed at which the erosion of power takes place is out of scope, since the conclusion is about maintaining power. Whether that power erodes quickly or slowly, avoiding the erosion is what the businesses are setting out to do.

Incorrect. The conclusion is about maintaining power "as long as it can," not forever, so this answer doesn't affect the conclusion.

Incorrect. This answer establishes that responsible use of power isn't sufficient to its maintenance. However, the conclusion is that responsible use is necessary in maintaining it ("must"), so this answer doesn't undermine the argument.