#20 - Maria: Calling any state totalitarian is misleading

[biskam]

Maria is saying: calling a state totalitarian is misleading as it implies total control, but total control is inefficient, so therefore it's not in a state's interest to be totalitarian. (she's assuming here that all states act in their interest/care about efficiency/are aware the totalitarianism is inefficient.) I'm assuming the conclusion is: "calling a state totalitarian is misleading."

James replies by: providing the necessary criteria of a state to meet totalitarianism (tried and managed to control its society), then refutes the idea of inefficiency ruling out the applicability of the term totalitarianism (adding the premise that totalitarianism is more concerned with ambitions than the actual degree of control. I'm assuming the conclusion is: "A one party state that has tried to exercise control..."

I'm confused by the "logical inconsistency betw 2 statements" pointed out in choice A... Here's how I interpret it but I'm afraid I'm wrong because I initially chose choice D.

The two statements to make the conclusion that totalitarianism is misleading: no one exercises full control and even so such control in inefficient/not in a state's interest. James points out the inconsistency between these two statements by saying... what? here's where I'm stalling. Is it that a state can and does indeed exert control or that inefficiency is irrelevant/not a limitation?

THank you!! I'm struggling with understanding the what the method q stem answer choices actually refer to via their weird LSAT-y language

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Biskam,

Thanks for the question! This may clear things up for you: answer choice (D) is the correct answer, and answer choice (A) is wrong. So, you actually got this one right!

A few comments:

Maria is saying: calling a state totalitarian is misleading as it implies total control, but total control is inefficient, so therefore it's not in a state's interest to be totalitarian.

There's nothing in Maria's comments about the state's interests or preferences. She's simply saying how things are, not what a state wants to happen.

James replies by: providing the necessary criteria of a state to meet totalitarianism (tried and managed to control its society), then refutes the idea of inefficiency ruling out the applicability of the term totalitarianism (adding the premise that totalitarianism is more concerned with ambitions than the actual degree of control. I'm assuming the conclusion is: "A one party state that has tried to exercise control..."

I don't see this exchange between the two so much in necessary criteria terms, but rather in definitional terms: Maria says that totalitarian states don't control everything, so they aren't really totalitarian; James says they try and somewhat achieve their goal, so they are totalitarian. This difference in what "totalitarian" really means drives the difference, and supports answer choice (D).

The good news is that you got this one right, so we don't have to worry about how (A) applies here—it doesn't!

Thanks!

[willmcchez]

Just a heads up, Powerscore staff:

The Answer Key PDF file for the LR Question Type Training book lists this as #19 on September 1995 LR 2. Obviously, this is listed as #20 on the forum. I don't have a copy of this PrepTest, so I can't say for sure which is correct: the title of this thread or the number given on the PDF file.

[Stephanie Oswalt]

Hi Will!

There's actually 2 questions with the same stimulus on the Sept. 1995 test.

The answer to #19 "Maria: Calling any state totalitarian..." (which you're referring to) is A.
The answer to #20 "Maria: Calling any state totalitarian..." (which this thread is referring to) is D.

I hope this helps clarify! Let us know if you have any questions!

Thanks!

[rpark8214]

What is the issue with answer choice (B)? Maria states there is no totalitarian state because of inefficiencies, while James argues that those inefficiencies do not preclude a state from being labeled totalitarian. Does he not offer an alternative explanation?

[Malila Robinson]

Hi rpark8214,
The problem with B is that James does not offer an alternative explanation for the political conditions that Maria mentions (that there are no political situations where an authority rules over everything). James may agree that those political conditions do not exist, which is why it is not an alternative explanation. Instead what James is arguing is that a totalitarian state does not require those political conditions (absolute control over everything), instead it relies more on the intent of the state. That is what leads us to D as the correct answer.
Hope that helps,
-Malila

[tetsuya0129]

Hi Powerscore, thanks for the great explanations but I still have a question about (B), which seemed very attractive since I took its text as saying "offering an alternative explanation for totalitarian."

So I was not sure:
(1) Why is it wrong to interpret "political condition" as "totalitarian", and
(2) Is it wrong that I interpret "an alternative proposal of a definition" (James' reasoning) as "an alternative explanation" (the text of B)?

[KelseyWoods]

Hi tetsuya0129!

Answer choice (D) states "offering an alternative explanation for political conditions she mentions." But Maria does not offer an explanation for the existence of totalitarian states. Instead, Maria argues that totalitarian states do not exist. It's not that a totalitarian state could not be considered a political condition. It's that Maria does not believe totalitarian states exist and so she does not believe those political conditions exist. James, on the other hand, does not offer an alternative explanation (because, again, Maria had no explanation for their existence because she said they did not exist), but instead takes issue with Maria's definition of totalitarian. Careful not to equate "explanation" with "definition." An explanation is an answer to the question "why?". An explanation for totalitarian states would have to include some sort of reason as to why totalitarian states exist. A definition, on the other hand, is about when it's appropriate to apply the term "totalitarian."

Hope this helps!

Best,
Kelsey