PrepTest 108, Section 1, Question 18
Many people complain about corporations, but there are(441 more words not shown)
The discussion of the paper(13 more words not shown)
- Aoffer an actual(5 more words not shown)
- Brefute the contention(8 more words not shown)
- Cillustrate that ethical(8 more words not shown)
- Ddemonstrate that corporations(6 more words not shown)
- Edeny that corporations(5 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Making money while destroying a forest isn't obviously good for the public. That's why the paper mill appears here: the economists have claimed that maximizing profit produces the best public result, and the author gives us a situation where that could fail. We want the answer that identifies that challenge.
Working the answers
- A
“Actual” is the problem. This is an imagined possibility, not a report about a particular mill. Calling the behavior unethical also leaves out the specific claim the example challenges.
- BCorrect
The sentence just before the example says “there is no guarantee” that maximizing profit will benefit the public. The mill shows why: it could legally increase profits while damaging the environment. Profit for the company and benefit for the public can come apart.
- C
We aren't told that ethical restrictions would be hard to enforce. The example concerns what a mill could do legally, not difficulties enforcing a restriction.
- D
One possible harmful mill doesn't establish that corporations cause many social problems. That broad accusation appears in the opening; the example has the narrower job of disproving a guaranteed benefit from maximizing profit.
- E
A corporation's ability to do harm doesn't make it incapable of doing good. The author even acknowledges that corporate interests often contribute to the public good. The objection is to treating that tendency as a guarantee.
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