LSAT 119 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q16

LR Question 16 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: In countries where government officials are neither selected by…

QUESTION TYPE: Necessary Assumption

CONCLUSION: Countries without free elections or a free press are prone to disorder because the lives of citizens are controlled by policies they had no role in creating.

REASONING: When people do not understand the purpose of restrictions placed on them, they tend to engage in civil disorder as an expression of their frustration.

ANALYSIS: We’re trying to get from “had no role in creating policies” to “do not understand policies.” The argument is implying that it’s automatic.

Note that the argument is only dealing with countries that don’t have free elections or a free press. Comparisons to free countries are most likely irrelevant. When the conclusion says people have a “greater” tendency to engage in civil disorder, the comparison is to people who do know the purpose of policies. They are not making a comparison to free countries.

___________

1. We’re talking about people who don’t have a role in creating the laws. Further, whether people act even slightly more rational or not won’t do anything to the argument.
2. If the free press is also bad at conveying information maybe free countries also have a lot of unrest. But the argument doesn’t depend on this. Nowhere does it compare the tendency to riot in free vs. unfree countries: it only says that unfree countries are often prone to unrest.
3. Even if security forces could theoretically stop disorder, that doesn’t mean they always can. The argument only says that unfree countries are prone to disorder.
4. CORRECT. Yes. If people can understand restrictions despite not having been involved in creating them…the only evidence for the conclusion becomes worthless.
5. Not necessary, the argument is only making claims about unfree countries. Free countries could have unrest too, but perhaps for different reasons.

Recap: The question begins with “In countries where government officials are neither selected by”. It is a Necessary Assumption question. Learn more about LSAT Necessary questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.