LSAT 2 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q3

LR Question 3 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: The United States has never been a great international trader…

QUESTION TYPE: Method of Reasoning – Exception

CONCLUSION: A country cannot live without foreign trade.

REASONING: Because America initially lived without foreign trade it is now at the mercy of foreign investors.

ANALYSIS: This isn’t a great argument, but that’s alright. We only have to figure out which methods it uses. But there is no reason to suppose that present foreign debt is due to limited trading that occurred in the past. Japan had very little foreign trade and now has a trade surplus.

___________

1. The analogy is to a dog eating its tail.
2. The historical fact is that America did not trade much in the past.
3. The cause is that it found most of its raw materials and customers within its borders. The effect is that it did not trade much.
4. The cause is that America did not trade much in the past. The effect is that the current economic situation is bad.
5. CORRECT. This is a bit tricky to choose, because the stimulus says “the moral is clear.” That does not refer to ethics however: it refers to the lesson we can draw from the situation.

Recap: The question begins with “The United States has never been a great international trader”. It is a Method of Reasoning question. Learn how to master LSAT Method of Reasoning questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.