LSAT 101 | Section 4 | Reading Comprehension: Q22

RC Question 22 Explanation

DISCUSSION: In lines 30-39, Eltis disagrees with Drescher. Britain didn’t have strong ideals of liberty: some prominent Englishmen even wanted to enslave the unemployed!

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1. CORRECT. If prominent members of society wanted to literally enslave the poor, then perhaps the ideals of liberty were not overwhelmingly strong in Britain.
2. Lines 40-44 show that it was only in the 18th century that capitalists thought a strong labor force was important.
3. The notables “called” for slavery, but there wasn’t any actual enslavement of the poor. British slavery took place in the colonies.
4. Eltis never said whether laborers supported slavery. But in this case, the notables were calling for the enslavement of laborers. It’s doubtful any free laborer would support that.
5. The notables weren’t talking about enslaving all laborers. They only wanted to enslave the unemployed.
   Eltis wasn’t arguing that laborers had few civil rights. He’s just trying to undermine the idea that Britain had a long tradition of liberty.