LSAT 118 | Section 1 | Logical Reasoning: Q1

LR Question 1 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: The obsession of economists with consumption …

QUESTION TYPE: Identify the Conclusion

CONCLUSION: Economic well-being cannot be properly understood if it is measured solely by consumption.

REASONING: Many forms of consumption don’t provide much satisfaction.

ANALYSIS: The first sentence gives us the main point, and the second sentence explains why.

The point is that consumption alone cannot capture economic well-being. Why? Because we don’t get much satisfaction from many things that count as consumption.

___________

1. CORRECT. This is the main point. It doesn’t go as far as attacking consumption itself, only the idea that consumption alone measures well-being.
2. Out of scope. The author never discusses whether satisfaction can exist without consumption.
3. There’s no claim that consumption is difficult to measure. The complaint is that consumption is the wrong measure of well-being.
4. The examples involve products wearing out, but the author never suggests this is intentional.
5. Too strong. The author does imply satisfaction may be more relevant than consumption, but never claims it is an adequate quantitative measure.