In the modern era, society should accept the premise that

Question

In the modern era, society should accept the premise that equality before the law is not appropriate to the marketplace, where modern methods of marketing, packaging, and financing have reduced the ordinary consumer to a subordinate position. To protect the consumer from the hardship and oppression that could result from this inferior position, the law should limit the freedom of action of the enterprises with which the consumer deals.

Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the argument above?

a)When a consumer buys a product in a cardboard box or can, there is no way to know what there is inside.

b)The concept of equality is contradicted by the reality that the consumer is not equal in power to the supplier

c)The health and well-being of consumers are protected by a variety of statutes that have been in effect for decades.

d)Equality before the law is an essential part of the American way of life and should not be restricted.

e)Society should recognize the right of consumers not to be subjected to unfair and deceptive advertising practices.

This question is of poor quality and has a debatable OA.

kidchaos · Accepted Answer

hat the hell does the "American way of life" have to do with the question???

vwjetty · Answer

https://images.paraorkut.com/img/funnypics/images/y/you_fail-12825.jpg

i wish i could take away kudo's...that'd be so useful right about now. i want my click back!

gautrang · Answer

Ha ha, I deduce the question somehow Weaken so I pick D. :D

ramana · Answer

How is that possible!?!? deducing question from the OA given?

gautrang · Answer

It said on the title of the Thread: 700-Level Questionsx Weakenx CR Resourcesx Debatable OAx So I know it relates to Weaken

elevinty · Answer

is it me, or the answer to this question is just too gullible 
I think this is a joke

arundas · Answer

Totally agree where did the "American way of life" come from. Whats the source for this question.

It would be really helpful if some body could provide an OE.

vwjetty · Answer

the source of this question is evidently from beatthegmat.com practice questions content. A lot of the answers in their practice question banks are pretty flawed. Bad question. End of story.

This is their explanation for it.

(D) is the credited response.

Here, the conclusion appears in the last sentence. The author takes a firm stance in declaring that equality before the law is not appropriate in the marketplace and that the consumer should be protected.

(D) rejects the fundamental premise of the argument— that equality before the law is not appropriate to the modern marketplace.

(A), (B) and (E) is incorrect.

(A), (B), and (E) all support the argument.

(C) is incorrect.

(C) tells us that consumer protection laws (which may restrict equality before the law) are already in effect, but it does not contradict the premise of the argument.

---------------

Something tells me this is from LSAT or something and should not be accredited to study materials on the GMAT.

shrive555 · Answer

It's not even debatable, i can understand "kidchaos's" frustration

vwjetty · Answer

yeah it's bad. Their CR & RC is terrible. But their SC is pretty on-point and their Quant is quite tricky. GMATclub one is better in my opinion, and I'm not even trying to be bias, because it has a good mix of questions rather than just bombarding you with all the most intense ones.

Chembeti · Answer

I don't want to argue the quality of the question but IMO, the appearance of 'American Way..' in D does not hurt.

As long as something neither supports not weakens the argument, it can be there in answer choices. That something can be safely assumed that, that is what the author wanted to discuss about.

any comments please?

aks456 · Answer

What is the source of this question?

geezer0305 · Answer

I think the answer is C.

The question states "which of the following  if true "...

C. The health and well-being of consumers are protected by a variety of statutes that have been in effect for decades.

As per choice C, the health and well being  ARE  protected ( we are supposed to consider this true). Hence, if consumer rights are already protected by a variety of statutes, there is no need for laws that limit the freedom of action of any enterprise.

scofield1521 · Answer

Can someone please explain the options here?
Is my screen faulty or some problem with my net connect? :D
How America came into the picture?

usre123 · Answer

Agreed! this weakens the conclusion that freedom should be restricted. The consumers are ALREADY protected, so there is no need for further action.
Also, a pretty low level question and not likely to show up on GMAT IMO.

manhasnoname · Answer

Why did this question show up as "Tough and tricky question of the day!" on my workbook. I believed it and fell into a hole. :-(

. This question doesn't make sense, and forget about the answer.

banerjeeankush99 · Answer

In this question, the main idea is regarding preserving equal equations before the consumer and the supplied. Wouldn't B weaken the idea better than D.

Your reply/comment, please

sayantanc2k · Answer

The passage is about equality before the law (i.e. law should treat everyone equally), not equality of power (i.e., everyone should have equal power). Hence B is irrelevant.

sriamlan · Answer

The confusion between C and D is indeed valid,,, question needs to be improved.

In the modern era, society should accept the premise that

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In the modern era, society should accept the premise that

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