Some political thinkers hope to devise a form of government in which

Question

Some political thinkers hope to devise a form of government in which every citizen’s rights are respected. But such a form of government is impossible. For any government must be defined and controlled by laws that determine its powers and limits; and it is inevitable that some individuals will learn how to interpret these laws to gain a greater share of political power than others have.

Which one of the following is an assumption required by the argument?

(A) In any form of government that leads to unequal distribution of political power, the rights of the majority of people will be violated.
(B) A government can ensure that every citizen’s rights are respected by keeping the citizens ignorant of the laws.
(C) Not all the laws that define a government’s power and limits can be misinterpreted.
(D) In any form of government, if anybody gains a greater share of political power than others have, then somebody’s rights will be violated.
(E) People who have more political power than others have tend to use it to acquire an even greater share of political power.

m1033512 · Answer

IMO D

Govt must respect citizens rights

Govt run by laws.

and laws can be misused to have greater political power.

So here author is assuming that by manipulating laws , someone may disrespect the citizen rights ,

D is just saying that

Posted from my mobile device

sumitkrocks · Answer

Conclusion is "such a form of government is impossible"

Statement :some individuals will learn how to interpret these laws to gain a greater share of political power than others have.

However our conclusion is about -> government in which every citizen’s rights are respected.

Even if people will learn gain a greater share of political power than others we are not sure rights of people will be misused or not ...D provides the missing link ,hence the correct assumption .

mykrasovski · Answer

Let me try to explain the passage.

Premise 1:  some politicians want a Gvt in which all citizens' rights are respected.
 Premise 2:  any Gvt must be controlled by laws that regulate power.
 Premise 3:  some ppl can learn how to "manipulate" the laws so that they can gain more power than others can.

Conclusion:  such Gvt is impossible.

Goal:  one needs to link the "citizens' rights" and the fact that some people can gain power. In other words, is the "ideal" Gvt impossible because some individuals can maneuver the laws, gain power, and possibly breach some citizens' rights?

(A) In any form of government that leads to unequal distribution of political power, the rights of the majority of people will be violated.
-  Candidate.  This option resembles what we stated in our goal. But the last piece of this option choice is a bit too strong. Would majority of people have their rights violated if the power in the Gvt is distributed unevenly? Maybe yes, maybe not...

(B) A government can ensure that every citizen’s rights are respected by keeping the citizens ignorant of the laws.
-  Incorrect . Does not really address the issue that we identified.

(C) Not all the laws that define a government’s power and limits can be misinterpreted.
-  Incorrect . Sure, but how does that affect the citizens' rights? The answer choice should somehow touch on citizens' rights.

(D) In any form of government, if anybody gains a greater share of political power than others have, then somebody’s rights will be violated.
-  Candidate . This one matches our pre-thinking. Let's keep it.

(E) People who have more political power than others have tend to use it to acquire an even greater share of political power.
-  Incorrect . This option does not address citizens' rights.

Okay, now we need to decide between A and D. Option A talks about the government in general. Let's say the government has several political parties. If the power is unevenly distributed across the parties, it does not necessarily mean that some individuals will be able to exploit the power. So, A seems to be an exaggeration, while D matches what we were looking for. Hence,  D is the answer.

nightblade354  can you please comment on the above? I find this question quite hard (I would say this is a 650+ lvl question), because the difference between A and D is very subtle.

rck1099 · Answer

Some political thinkers hope to devise a form of government in which every citizen’s rights are respected. But such a form of government is impossible. For any government must be defined and controlled by laws that determine its powers and limits; and it is inevitable that some individuals will learn how to interpret these laws to gain a greater share of political power than others have.

Which one of the following is an assumption required by the argument?
I like D

(A) In any form of government that leads to unequal distribution of political power, the rights of the majority of people will be violated.
No where in the paragraph can we assume that the rights of the majority of people will be violated. Paragraph indicates that only some will

(B) A government can ensure that every citizen’s rights are respected by keeping the citizens ignorant of the laws.
This is impossible. Someone would have to know the laws in order to keep others ignorant of the laws, which in turn would give them power over others

(C) Not all the laws that define a government’s power and limits can be misinterpreted.
While true, some laws can be misinterpreted which would lead to a greater share of political power

(D) In any form of government, if anybody gains a greater share of political power than others have, then somebody’s rights will be violated.
This is correct, because as long as one person has greater power someone else's rights will be violated

(E) People who have more political power than others have tend to use it to acquire an even greater share of political power.
Not stated anywhere in the passage

VerbalBot · Answer

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Some political thinkers hope to devise a form of government in which

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Some political thinkers hope to devise a form of government in which

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