LSAT 156 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q23

LR Question 23 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: When a resource’s price reflects its full cost to society …

QUESTION TYPE: Sufficient Assumption

CONCLUSION: Sound management of a resource requires its price to reflect environmental harm.

REASONING: Sound management requires deterring misuse, and deterring misuse requires pricing in externalities.

ANALYSIS: The whole argument is about externalities, which are defined as harms to society.

Then the conclusion shifts to talking specifically about environmental harm.

Now, you’re probably thinking: well, environmental harm is harmful to society. It is an externality.

You know that. I know that. But strict logic doesn’t know that!

We need it to be stated for the conclusion to follow. Otherwise, the earlier reasoning about externalities wouldn’t apply to the environment at all.

___________

1. CORRECT. This bridges the gap by making environmental harm count as societal harm, so it fits into the argument’s reasoning about externalities.
2. This says prices already reflect externalities, which just adds a new claim.
3. This is too strong. The argument doesn’t require perfect forecasting of all effects.
4. This goes the wrong way. It says sound management ensures externalities are assessed, rather than helping derive that requirement.
5. This introduces other unnecessary factors.