LR Drill Set 13, Question 6
Sometimes individuals must choose between two courses of(77 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(11 more words not shown)
- AIn order to(38 more words not shown)
- BIn order to(22 more words not shown)
- CIn order to(29 more words not shown)
- DIn order to(26 more words not shown)
- EIn order to(28 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Make the choice that helps the community also help the person making it.
The passage takes self-interest as a predictable feature of decisions. If people must choose between their own benefit and the community's, they tend to choose their own. The proposed response isn't simply to tell them to care more. It's to change the incentives so those interests conflict less often.
What we’re looking for
For an application, I'd look for a government action that changes what private individuals gain or lose from a choice. Then ask two questions: why would an individual respond, and how would that response help the community? The individual's personal reason to choose the action should also point toward what the community needs. We need the link between private advantage and public benefit.
Working the answers
- A
Choosing a different contractor may help the government avoid an appearance of favoritism. But the policy doesn't change private individuals' incentives so that serving themselves serves the community. It explains the government's selection between two equal bids, not an effort to align private choices with a public goal.
- B
The legislature satisfies one powerful group despite broader popularity of the rejected bill. That's a choice between competing political preferences. It doesn't create an incentive for private individuals to act in a way that benefits the community while also benefiting themselves.
- C
Job training could help workers and could also benefit the community. But the answer describes reallocating funds to answer a demand for assistance. It doesn't show an adjustment of incentives or disincentives that makes a private choice line up with a community goal. A useful program isn't automatically an example of this particular principle.
- D
This is an effort to redirect voters' attention after legislators raise their own salaries. Denying a raise to appointed officials doesn't change private individuals' incentives so their self-interested choices help the community. The described purpose is political distraction.
- ECorrect
The city needs people to use less electricity to avoid shortages. Raising the rate makes electricity use more expensive for each resident. Now a resident has a personal financial reason to conserve: turning off unnecessary lights or using less power reduces the bill.
That individually attractive response also serves the community's goal by lowering demand. The government hasn't assumed everyone will sacrifice private benefit for the public. It has changed the cost of the choice so that reducing personal expense helps prevent the public problem.
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