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- Thu Apr 07, 2016 5:26 pm
#22835
Complete Question Explanation
Must Be True. The correct answer choice is (B)
This argument suggests that even if the human rights offenses committed by dictatorships are more violent than those committed by democracies, it is more important to criticize the latter than the former. The author gives two reasons for such seemingly counterintuitive proposal: (1) violations committed by governments that represent the will of the people are more reprehensible, and (2) such governments are more likely to be affected by such criticism. Because we are dealing with a Must Be True question, the correct answer must pass the Fact Test, i.e. we must be capable of proving it by referring to the facts in the stimulus.
Answer choice (A): This is not necessarily true. It is perfectly possible that some governments commit no reprehensible or inexcusable acts. The stimulus is not meant to refer to all governments, only to those that have committed human rights violations.
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. If the violations committed by governments that represent the will of the people are more reprehensible than those committed by dictatorships, and the latter have committed more violent human rights offenses, then answer choice (B) is correct — some less violent offenses are more reprehensible than other, more violent ones.
Answer choice (C): This answer choice is an exaggeration. While criticism is more likely to have an effect on democratic governments than on dictatorships, this does not mean that it is certain to have no effect on a dictatorship. You cannot infer an absolute statement from a comparative premise. Likewise, you cannot infer certainty from mere possibility.
Answer choice (D): While criticism of human rights violations is more likely to have an effect on democracies, this does not mean that such violations are more likely to occur in democracies. The frequency with which violations occur in either type of regime is unknown.
Answer choice (E): Since criticism is more likely to have an effect on democracies than on dictatorships, and democratic governments are the ones that represent the will of the people (unlike dictatorships, which — we can presume — merely claim to do so), this answer choice states exactly the opposite of what we need.
Must Be True. The correct answer choice is (B)
This argument suggests that even if the human rights offenses committed by dictatorships are more violent than those committed by democracies, it is more important to criticize the latter than the former. The author gives two reasons for such seemingly counterintuitive proposal: (1) violations committed by governments that represent the will of the people are more reprehensible, and (2) such governments are more likely to be affected by such criticism. Because we are dealing with a Must Be True question, the correct answer must pass the Fact Test, i.e. we must be capable of proving it by referring to the facts in the stimulus.
Answer choice (A): This is not necessarily true. It is perfectly possible that some governments commit no reprehensible or inexcusable acts. The stimulus is not meant to refer to all governments, only to those that have committed human rights violations.
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. If the violations committed by governments that represent the will of the people are more reprehensible than those committed by dictatorships, and the latter have committed more violent human rights offenses, then answer choice (B) is correct — some less violent offenses are more reprehensible than other, more violent ones.
Answer choice (C): This answer choice is an exaggeration. While criticism is more likely to have an effect on democratic governments than on dictatorships, this does not mean that it is certain to have no effect on a dictatorship. You cannot infer an absolute statement from a comparative premise. Likewise, you cannot infer certainty from mere possibility.
Answer choice (D): While criticism of human rights violations is more likely to have an effect on democracies, this does not mean that such violations are more likely to occur in democracies. The frequency with which violations occur in either type of regime is unknown.
Answer choice (E): Since criticism is more likely to have an effect on democracies than on dictatorships, and democratic governments are the ones that represent the will of the people (unlike dictatorships, which — we can presume — merely claim to do so), this answer choice states exactly the opposite of what we need.
