LSAT 33, RC Passage 1, GNP

This is an explanation for passage 1 of LSAT preptest 33, the December 2000 LSAT. This passage is about GNP and how it is not a good measure of the general well-being of a country. Instead, human indicators are a more useful measure.

This section has paragraph summaries and an analysis of the passage, links to the explanations for the questions are below.

Paragraph Summaries

1. Many economists like GNP, but it is misleading. Human indicators are harder to measure, but better.
2. Economists say a higher GNP means higher human indicators. But this isn’t always true. Also, a high GNP can disguise inequality.
3. Some countries realize this, and are focussing on human indicators instead of GNP.

Analysis

This passage makes an argument. There is a clear target: GNP, and the economists who think it is a good measure of a society’s wellbeing. 

The argument is reasonably strong because it allows the economists to make a counterargument in the second paragraph. The argument then refutes the counterargument. 

The argument ends by showing us that its proposal isn’t just some theory with no application in the real world: some countries are putting it into practice. 

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