Professor A: We must make a strong moral statement against Country X’s

Professor A: We must make a strong moral statement against Country X’s policies. Only total divestment—the sale of all stock in companies that have factories or business offices in X—can do this. Therefore, the university should divest totally.

Professor B: Our aim should be to encourage X to change its policies. Partial divestment is the best way to achieve this aim. Therefore, the university should sell its stock only in companies that either sell goods to X’s government, or do the majority of their business in X, or treat their workers in X unfairly.

Which of the following, if true, would be evidence that the university would not be harmed economically if it followed Professor A’s recommendation.


(A) Very few of the companies in which the university owns stocks sell goods to X’s government.

(B) Most companies that have factories or business offices in X and in which the university owns stock actually do little of their business in X.

(C) Some companies that have factories or business offices in X and in which the university owns stock have instituted fair treatment policies for their workers in X at very little additional cost to the companies.

(D) The expected financial return to the university from stocks that the university could own under a policy of total divestment is approximately the same as the expected financial return from the same as the expected financial.

(E) If the university sold large blocks of stock under a policy of total divestment, the prices of the stocks of the companies whose stocks were sold would probably decrease somewhat.