QUESTION TEXT: Social scientist: Since the body of thought…
QUESTION TYPE: Sufficient Assumption
CONCLUSION: Some observers have misunderstood Marxism.
REASONING: Marxism should be taken as a scientific theory. So it isn’t a political program aimed at radically transforming society.
ANALYSIS: The author hasn’t shown that being a scientific theory causes Marxism to also not be a political program. It could be both.
We need to show that Marxism can’t be political because it is a science.
Here’s the diagram from the correct answer:
Science ➞ Not Political
We know Marxism is science, so therefore it is not political.
___________
- The author said Marxism should be regarded as a scientific theory because it claims to describe history rigorously. If the claims were not rigorous, then Marxism would simply be a bad scientific theory. It would still be science.
- This could just mean that Marxism has contradictory aims by being both science and a political program. Lots of ideas contain contradictions.
- This shows a necessary condition for science. It doesn’t help prove that Marxism isn’t political.
- CORRECT. This shows that because Marxism is science, it can’t be considered political.
- We’re trying to prove that Marxism is not a political program. This doesn’t help. It’s just a prediction about the future and the means of production.
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