PrepTest 137, Section 1, Question 21
Can a sovereign have unlimited legal power?(461 more words not shown)
The passage most strongly supports(26 more words not shown)
- AThey did not(11 more words not shown)
- BThey focused on(9 more words not shown)
- CThey were trying(9 more words not shown)
- DThey clearly understood(5 more words not shown)
- EThey were more(8 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Before 1688, creditors charged monarchs higher interest rates than wealthy subjects. The author connects those terms to the monarchs' reputation for breaking financial commitments. That comparison tells us something about the creditors' assessment: lending to wealthy subjects looked more reliable. It doesn't require assuming that every wealthy borrower always repaid a debt.
Working the answers
- A
The account doesn't assess whether wealthy subjects contributed a fair share to imperial expansion. Their borrowing terms don't establish an opinion about what they ought to contribute.
- B
The reputation for sacrificing credibility by breaking commitments belongs to the monarchs. Nothing assigns that behavior to their wealthy subjects.
- C
We aren't told that wealthy subjects were trying to establish a different government. Getting better loan terms doesn't establish a political project.
- D
No knowledge of the paradox is attributed to them. A borrower can be viewed as reliable without understanding a theory of sovereignty.
- ECorrect
Creditors took the monarchs' unreliable conduct into account and demanded higher rates from them than from wealthy subjects. In that context, the lower rates for subjects support a belief that they were more likely to honor their commitments. The answer states a comparative judgment, not a guarantee of repayment.
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