PrepTest 137, Section 1, Question 27
Can a sovereign have unlimited legal power?(461 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(16 more words not shown)
- AAfter 1688, commercial(10 more words not shown)
- BThe paradox of(11 more words not shown)
- CIn England, the(16 more words not shown)
- DIn the seventeenth(14 more words not shown)
- EThe constitutional settlement(11 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
North and Weingast describe the constitutional change as a successful solution: the Crown was restrained, lenders expected repayment, and borrowing improved. The author accepts the practical improvement but objects that unlimited sovereign power simply moved to Parliament.
What we’re looking for
So locate the disagreement precisely. It concerns whether the problem was solved, not whether creditors had distrusted the monarchs or whether the Crown later obtained better terms.
Working the answers
- A
The account of Parliament protecting commercial interests is part of the explanation of the borrowing improvement. The author doesn't reject it; the later criticism concerns the unlimited authority Parliament retains.
- B
North and Weingast's example doesn't establish that the paradox has vanished from every actual government. This extends their position well beyond the English constitutional change being discussed.
- C
The decrease in the Crown's interest rates is part of the accepted history. The author can accept that benefit while denying that it eliminates the underlying problem.
- D
Both sides rely on the earlier reputation for failing to honor commitments. That common starting point isn't their disagreement.
- ECorrect
North and Weingast present the settlement as resolving the sovereign's problem, whereas the author says it merely transferred the difficulty between governmental branches (paragraph 6). The Crown's restraint is real, but Parliament's remaining authority prevents the author from treating the paradox as solved.
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