Logical reasoning PrepTest 130 · Section 1 · Question 23

Incorrect. The Politician's tariffs aren't to help her country economically, but rather to protect a certain way of life. It seems, overall, it'd be better economically for the Politician's country to import fruit and use its own land for "more lucrative" industrial uses.

Incorrect. While the stimulus does feature a situation where domestic producers of fruit are assisted at the expense of consumers, that's not the rationale given by the Politician for why the tariffs should be supported. Principle (Strengthen) questions want us to strengthen the argument as a whole, so the reasoning behind the conclusion has to be taken into account.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Principle (Strengthen)

Stimulus Summary:
Goal: Protect a unique way of lifeMethod of achieving goal: Pass tariffs

Answer Anticipation:
There's a lot of causality in this stimulus, tracing the impact of competition between domestic and international fruit growers. At the end of the day, though, the argument establishes as a goal protecting a unique way of life, as it notes that the problem with not passing the tariff is that that way of life will disappear. In order to justify this argument, then, it needs to be established that we should protect unique ways of life. If that's not a goal we should have, then the whole argument falls apart. The principle, therefore, should establish that as a useful goal:

Legislation should be passed that protects unique ways of life.

Answer Explanation:
While this answer choice doesn't directly address the issue we raised in our anticipation, it does indirectly establish the principle that we determined needed to be established. In the situation outlined by the Politician, it would be more economical to import fruit, but social considerations—protecting certain ways of life—were deemed to be more important. This answer choice establishes that that is sometimes the case, thus lending credence to the Politician's argument.

Key Takeaway:
Principle (Strengthen) questions frequently have answers that serve as sufficient assumptions for the argument. Frequently, but not always—as we see here. Don't rule out an answer that addresses the gap in the reasoning just because it doesn't fully justify the conclusion—you just need an answer that helps the argument along.

Incorrect. While the tariffs would benefit some citizens ahead of citizens of other countries, it would also hurt other citizens of the Politician's country. The Politician is putting the interests of some citizens—the fruit farmers—ahead of other citizens—those who wish to purchase cheap fruit.

Incorrect. The Politician is advocating against economic efficiency in favor of protecting certain ways of life.