PrepTest 142, Section 4, Question 12
Prime minister: Our nation's government should give priority(64 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(15 more words not shown)
- AA nation's government(30 more words not shown)
- BA nation's government(32 more words not shown)
- CThe priority a(30 more words not shown)
- DWhen the people(25 more words not shown)
- EA nation's government(30 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Putting on your own oxygen mask first doesn't mean the person beside you is worth less. Priority can come from a responsibility or practical role rather than a ranking of people's value.
That's how I initially understand the prime minister's position. A government can focus on its own people while still caring about people elsewhere. 'Give priority' doesn't mean 'help nobody else.'
The question asks us to reconcile an apparent conflict, so let's state it plainly: everyone's needs are equally important, yet this government should put one nation's people first. Why should equal importance lead to different priorities?
What we’re looking for
Perhaps each government has a particular responsibility to its own population. Government A looks after the people of A; government B looks after the people of B. Both populations can be equally worthy while the governments have different primary responsibilities. A principle assigning those responsibilities would make the two claims fit together.
Working the answers
- A
This requires one group's needs to be objectively more important before a government should even attempt to meet them. The prime minister says the groups' needs are equally important. A therefore blocks assistance under the stated facts instead of explaining the proposed priority.
- B
This permits priority for a government's own people only if they are more worthy. But the prime minister explicitly denies that difference in worth. B makes the proposed priority harder to defend, which is the opposite of reconciling the claims.
- C
This puts objective importance at the center of the decision. Yet objective importance is equal in the situation we need to explain. 'Mainly' leaves room for other considerations, but C never supplies the particular responsibility that would justify favoring one's own population. It leaves our question unanswered.
- DCorrect
This assigns each government primary responsibility for its own people's needs even when the populations are equally worthy. Government A's priority for A doesn't imply that people in B matter less; B's government has the corresponding responsibility to B. Different duties explain different priorities without contradicting equal worth.
- E
We aren't told that government assistance is the only way these needs can be met. People might help themselves, receive private assistance, or turn to charities. E introduces an exclusive-source requirement that the prime minister's facts don't establish. It also doesn't explain why this government should prioritize its own population rather than another equally needy group.
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