PrepTest 130, Section 1, Question 6
When a nation is on the brink of(83 more words not shown)
The argument does which one(3 more words not shown)
- Atries to show(26 more words not shown)
- Binfers a claim(13 more words not shown)
- Cpresents numerous experimental(7 more words not shown)
- Dattempts to demonstrate(21 more words not shown)
- Eapplies an empirical(9 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
A government tells foreign investors they can't withdraw as much of their money as they want. That certainly looks like an intervention in the market. Why does the author say it doesn't violate free-market principles?
The answer comes through a comparison. The passage treats free speech as a right with a limit when exercising it would cause a dangerous theater stampede. It then compares that harm with the harm of investors all rushing to withdraw their money during a financial crisis. The suggested lesson is that a freedom can contain limits designed to prevent serious harm.
What we’re looking for
We could question whether the two freedoms are comparable in the relevant way. A limit on one doesn't automatically justify a limit on the other. But the question asks what the argument does, rather than whether we agree with it. I want a description of using the limit on free speech as an analogy for a limit on free-market principles.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
The set of principles is free-market principles; the proposed limit is restricting withdrawals to prevent economic collapse. The similar principle is the right to free speech, which the passage describes as limited to prevent harm from a theater stampede. Those are the two sides of the analogy. The author uses the accepted limit on one freedom to argue for a comparable limit on the other.
- B
This would require observed facts followed by a proposed explanation that accounts for them better than alternatives. For example, the author might offer a theory to explain an observed economic event. Here the author argues about whether a restriction violates a principle, using the theater comparison as support.
- C
There are no experiments or experimental results. The two situations are used for a comparison, not presented as numerous tests from which a general rule is drawn.
- D
The author doesn't identify an explanation that fails to account for a particular event. The argument offers its own defense of a restriction on withdrawals. It doesn't refute someone else's explanation by producing a case that explanation cannot handle.
- E
An empirical generalization is a broad claim based on observation, which could then be applied to a particular case. This argument instead compares two freedoms and their limits. Nor does it conclude that a particular named country's action was justified; the claim concerns nations facing this kind of crisis generally.
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