Commentator: The Duke of Acredia argued long ago that only virtuous Acredian rulers concerned with the well-being of the people will be able to rule successfully. Since then, when Acredian governments have fallen, their falls have always been during the rule of one who viciously disregards the people's needs. The Duke, then, was right about at least one thing: Concern for the welfare of the people is necessary for the successful governance of Acredia.
The reasoning in the commentator's argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that the argument
* (A) ignores the possibility that the conditions that are necessary for the welfare of the people are likely to change over time - Irrelevant
* (B) infers the necessity of a certain condition for success from the fact that its absence has always led to failure - Incorrect - The argument states that-
"when Acredian governments have fallen, their falls have always been during the rule of one who viciously disregards the people's needs" and not the opppsite -
When people's needs have been disregarded by Acredian rulers, then the Acredian governments have fallen-- B would be correct if the highlighted part was present in lieu of part quoted above.
Since then, when Acredian governments have fallen, their falls have always been during the rule of one who viciously disregards the people's needs.--> there might have been cases when an Acredian ruler has viciously disregarded the people's needs but still the Acredian government did not fall. So, the biggest issue in B is the word ALWAYS.
* (C) appeals to evidence from sources that are likely to be in some way biased or unreliable - Incorrect - we are given no basis for this
* (D) infers that a certain condition is required for success from the fact that the lack of that condition is associated with failure - Correct
* (E) presumes, without providing justification, that the character of past rulers can be assessed in some completely objective way - Incorrect
Answer D
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