Since the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, societies have wr

Question

Since the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, societies have wrestled with the question of how to balance the benefits of new technologies with the loss of employment these changes may engender. In our own time, not only have jobs in manufacturing disappeared with the expanding implementation of robotics but also professional careers are now threatened by social media. While many people believe that those enjoying lofty levels of compensation resist redistribution of wealth, a recent book by social media multimillionaire Chris Hughes argues for a guaranteed minimum income, funded primarily by a marginal tax rate of 50 percent on individual annual incomes over $250,000, to offset reduced employment due to technological advances.

Reflecting on his own fortuitous life story, Hughes recounts how his chance selection of Mark Zuckerberg as his roommate in college was the primary determinant of Hughes’s own success.  Zuckerberg recruited Hughes and a few other friends to help with his side project, Facebook, and within a few years, Hughes’s ownership share was worth an inconceivable amount of money.  Hughes recognizes that his meteoric rise from the middle class was a product not only of his education and effort but also of luck. In addition, Hughes believes that opportunities for upward economic mobility are becoming less accessible as developments in technology supplant employment opportunities. Social media, Hughes's own vehicle for success, for example, may reduce the number of salespeople or human resource recruiters employed because social media algorithms can connect people to products or to other people more efficiently than can a human intermediary.

While Hughes may be commended for his ethos of generosity and his recognition of an impending social dilemma, his solution suffers the same failings as those offered by other technology moguls. There is no consideration of the formidable political obstacles to his plan or how these obstacles could be overcome.    1 
 1. Which of the following best describes the function of the second sentence in the second paragraph ( Highlighted ) in the context of the passage as a whole?

A. To illustrate that Hughes is wealthy
B. To contradict the hypothesis that introduced the passage
C. To explain Hughes's motivation for writing his book
D. To argue against a view stated previously in the passage
E. To support a proposition stated previously in the passage

2 
 2. It can be inferred from the passage that the author would likely agree with which of the following proposals for change to the economic system?

A. Because the redistribution of wealth would be rejected by most of the individuals whose income would be taxed at higher rates, voluntary charitable contributions should be encouraged to support the unemployed.
B. Recent innovations in technology, such as the widespread adoption of social media to conduct business and personal interactions, should be curtailed to prevent widespread loss of employment.
C. The role of luck as a factor that enables rapid accumulation of wealth should be mitigated by providing more opportunities for education, especially in technological fields.
D. Chris Hughes's plan for the redistribution of wealth is an important development and should be implemented with little modification.
E. A system to remedy the impact on personal income when technological advancement reduces the supply of jobs should be considered.

RC Butler 2023  -  Practice Two RC Passages Everyday.   
Passage # 256 Date: 28 Jul-2023
 This question is part of RC Butler 2023 .  Click here for Details

Kaplan GRE Verbal Workbook 2018

Ruchi007 · Answer

Sajjad1994  Explanation to #1 please?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

1. Which of the following best describes the function of the second sentence in the second paragraph (Highlighted) in the context of the passage as a whole?

Difficulty Level:   650-700

Explanation

This is a Logic question. The correct answer will describe why or how the author used this sentence in constructing the passage. Refer to the second sentence in the  second paragraph  and ask this question:  "Why did the author describe Hughes's relationship with Zuckerberg?"  A good prediction can be found in the sentences before and after. The first sentence of this paragraph says that Hughes's success was due to his  "chance selection"  of Zuckerberg as a roommate, and the third sentence says his success was partly a product  "of luck."  So a good prediction would be  "to show why Hughes believes luck was important to his success." (E) , though stated in the abstract, matches this prediction and is correct. The second sentence illustrates why Hughes considered his wealth to be the result of luck, the proposition presented in the first sentence of the second paragraph.

(A)  is the content of the clue sentence but not its function.

The author does contradict the idea that the wealthy will resist redistribution of wealth, but this is not the purpose the third sentence; eliminate  (B) .

Cross (C)  off the list; Hughes didn't write the book because he became wealthy. Eliminate  (D)  as well. The third sentence includes only facts, not an argument.

Answer: E

carcass · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION QUESTION #2

E

The correct answer to this question will follow from the author's point of view expressed in the passage. The only place the author expresses an opinion is in the third paragraph, with "Hughes may be commended for his ethos of generosity and his recognition of an impending social dilemma." Specifically what Hughes has proposed is discussed at the end of the first paragraph-a plan to offset job loss due to changes in technology. However, in the last paragraph, the author views Hughes's specific proposal as impractical. Thus, what the author agrees with is the general belief that something should be done to help people who lose their jobs.
(E) is a match for this prediction. While the author never makes this statement directly, her only criticism of Hughes's plan is that it cannot be implemented. Since she commends Hughes's "recognition of an impending social dilemma," she would likely want to consider some solution to this problem. While the passage includes the opinion in the first part of (A), this is the point of view of "many people," not of the author. Moreover, charitable contributions are not discussed. (B) is not supported by the passage, which implies that technological change is inevitable and discusses only what might be done to offset its effects. (C) misuses some details from the passage about Hughes's life. The author does not imply that more education is a means to reduce the role of chance in allocating wealth; indeed, Hughes had access to education, yet luck was still the dominant factor in his great good fortune. (D) is half-right, half-wrong. Since the author commends Hughes, she likely believes his plan to be important, but she also identifies a significant problem that must be addressed before his plan could be implemented.

Since the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, societies have wr

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Since the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, societies have wr

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