LSAT 124 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q11

LR Question 11 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: In order to maintain a high standard of living, a nation must…

QUESTION TYPE: Flawed Reasoning

CONCLUSION: If a nation’s living standard is rising, it must have invested in infrastructure.

REASONING: If a nation doesn’t invest in infrastructure, it will lose wealth. And if a nation does invest in infrastructure, it will eventually gain wealth.

ANALYSIS: The argument’s conclusion incorrectly reverses the second premise. Infrastructure leads to wealth, but that doesn’t mean wealth can only come from infrastructure. Maybe the country just found a lot of oil – easy money.

___________

1. This is not the flaw; we’re talking about a country with a rising standard of living, not a falling standard. This answer choice just contradicts a premise, which rarely leads anywhere.
2. The argument allows for this. Those nations will simply become poor.
3. The argument says “over time,” which includes the possibility of “a long time.”
4. CORRECT. Yes. There could be other ways of getting wealthy, apart from infrastructure.
5. So? If they neglect infrastructure for too long, they will get poor, according to the argument. That’s not a flaw in the conclusion.

Recap: The question begins with “In order to maintain a high standard of living, a nation must”. It is a Flawed Reasoning question. Learn how to master LSAT Flaw questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.