LSAT 128 | Section 3 | Logical Reasoning: Q20

LR Question 20 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Professor Gandolf says that all political systems that aim …

QUESTION TYPE: Necessary Assumption

CONCLUSION: Professor Gandolf’s principle (all political systems that aim at preventing conflict are legitimate) must be false.

REASONING: Totalitarian political systems are usually good at preventing conflict, and all totalitarian systems are illegitimate.

ANALYSIS: There’s a concept switch here that’s crucial to solving this question. Gandolf’s principle says systems that aim at preventing conflict. The argument says totalitarian systems are usually good at preventing conflict. Aiming to do something and being good at doing that thing aren’t equivalent, yet the argument currently treats it as such.

For this to hold, we must assume that at least one totalitarian political system aims at preventing conflict. Otherwise, there would be no contradiction. If no totalitarian system aims at preventing conflict, then Gandolf’s principle wouldn’t apply to them, and the argument would fall apart.

You should look for an answer that connects totalitarian political systems with aiming to prevent conflict.

___________

1. This doesn’t affect the argument because it doesn’t depend on whether legitimacy can exist outside of conflict prevention. Gandolf’s principle only addresses those that do aim to prevent conflict.
   Negation: No political system that does not aim at preventing conflict is legitimate.
2. The argument doesn’t rely on whether conflict prevention is an incidental or primary goal of totalitarian regimes. It just needs at least one totalitarian regime to aim to prevent conflict in order to create a contradiction with Gandolf’s principle.
   Negation: If a totalitarian political system prevents conflict, such prevention is not incidental to its true aims.
3. CORRECT. The negation of this destroys the argument. If totalitarian systems do not aim at preventing conflict, then Gandolf’s rules don’t apply to them, so there’s no contradiction with his principle.
   Negation: At least one totalitarian political system aims at preventing conflict.
4. Legitimacy doesn’t depend on their actual success at preventing conflicts, just their aim to do so.
   Negation: Some political systems that fail to prevent conflict are legitimate.
5. This is too broad and unsupported.
   Negation: All political systems that are not totalitarian are legitimate.