PrepTest 128, Section 1, Question 10
In many Western societies, modern bankruptcy laws have(424 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(17 more words not shown)
- ADebt that has(24 more words not shown)
- BBecause insolvency ultimately(13 more words not shown)
- CThe insolvency of(25 more words not shown)
- DThe dissolution of(29 more words not shown)
- EThe employees of(18 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Switch sides for this question. We need the position of someone defending punishment, not the economic case the author makes against it.
What we’re looking for
The second paragraph gives their reasoning: excessive debt reflected unwillingness to pay or negligence, and debtors had broken important social obligations. I'd expect a claim about blame and deserved consequences.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
Treating unpayable debt as a moral failing fits that account. The language about “sacrosanct social contracts” and removing people who violate them supports punishment based on the debtor's perceived wrongdoing.
- B
A defender might conceivably make an economic argument, but this isn't the rationale attributed to the punitive view here. B adds a policy of deterrence justified by harm to the entire economy; the described defense centers on blame and violated obligations.
- C
The account doesn't give defenders this exception for debt incurred through potentially productive risk-taking. We can't supply a tolerance they weren't shown to have.
- D
Avoiding the economic damage of dissolving businesses belongs to the author's response to punishment. It isn't the view attributed to its defenders.
- E
No one assigns employees the same negligence as business owners. The harm workers suffer is a consequence used against the punitive approach, not evidence that they deserve blame.
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