LSAT 105 | Section 1 | Logical Reasoning: Q24

LR Question 24 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Editorial: Our society has a vested interest in maintaining …

QUESTION TYPE: Principle – Justify

CONCLUSION: Governments should assume the cost of candidates’ campaigns.

REASONING:

1. Society has a vested interest in a political system where candidates govern by their own principles.
2. But running for office is very expensive, so only the wealthiest can self-fund. Most rely on private donors.
3. Private funding forces candidates to compromise their principles.

ANALYSIS: This makes sense, but there’s an implicit principle here that needs to be justified. Why should the government be responsible for this?

The assumption here is that because it’s an important societal interest, the government should fund it.

___________

1. This sets limits on who should run, but that’s not what the editorial says. It simply suggests how to fix this problem.
2. The argument never claims wealthy candidates should be restricted.
3. This would imply voters are responsible for fixing the problem, but the argument says the justified solution is government funding.
4. CORRECT. If this principle is true, then government funding is justified, since it would further the societal interest of having free candidates.
5. The argument wants to replace private funding to the extent that no one has to rely on it. This suggests reforming private funding.