For many years, historians thought that the development of capitalism

Question

For many years, historians thought that the development of capitalism had not faced serious challenges in the United States. Writing in the early twentieth century,  Progressive historians  sympathized with the battles waged by farmers and small producers against large capitalists in the late nineteenth century, but they did not question the widespread acceptance of laissez-faire (unregulated) capitalism throughout American history. Similarly, Louis Hartz, who sometimes disagreed with the Progressives, argued that Americans accepted laissez-faire capitalism without challenge because they lacked a feudal, precapitalist past. Recently, however, some  scholars  have argued that even though laissez-faire became the prevailing ethos in nineteen-century America, it was not accepted without struggle. Laissez-faire capitalism, they suggest, clashed with existing religious and communitarian  norms  that imposed moral constraints on acquisitiveness to protect the weak from the predatory, the strong from corruption, and the entire culture from materialist excess. Buttressed by mercantilist notions that government should be both regulator and promoter of economic activity, these norms persisted long after the American Revolution helped unleash the economic forces that produced capitalism. These scholars argue that even in the late nineteenth century, with the government's role in the economy considerably diminished, laissez-faire had not triumphed completely. Hard times continued to revive popular demands for regulating business and softening the harsh edges of laissez-faire capitalism.    1 
 1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) reveal the underlying similarities of certain arguments regarding the development of capitalism in the United States
(B) synthesize two competing arguments regarding the development of capitalism in the United States
(C) defend an established argument regarding the development of capitalism in the United States
(D) summarize a scholarly refutation of an argument regarding the development of capitalism in the United States
(E) discuss a new methodology for the study of the development of capitalism in the United States

2 
 2. According to the passage, the "Progressive historians" ( Highlighted ) and the "scholars" ( Highlighted ) disagree with regard to which of the following?

(A) Whether laissez-faire became the predominant ethos in the nineteenth-century United States
(B) Whether moral restraints on acquisitiveness were necessary in the nineteen-century United States
(C) The economic utility of mercantilist notions of government
(D) The nature of the historical conditions necessary for the development of laissez-faire capitalism in the nineteen-century United States
(E) The existence of significant opposition to the development of laissez-faire capitalism in the nineteen-century United States

3 
 3. The passage suggests that the "scholars" ( Highlighted ) would agree with which of the following statements regarding the “norms” ( Highlighted )

(A) They provided a primary source of opposition to the development of laissez-faire capitalism in the United States in the nineteenth century.
(B) Their appeal was undermined by difficult economic times in the United States at the end of the nineteenth century.
(C) They disappeared in the United States in the late nineteenth century because of the triumph of laissez-faire capitalism.
(D) They facilitated the successful implementation of mercantilist notions of government in the United States in the nineteenth-century.
(E) They are now recognized by historians as having been an important part of the ideology of the American Revolution.

4 
 4. The author of the passage mentions the Progressives as examples of historians who

A. saw farmers and small producers as having the potential to become a powerful force in American society
B. did not question the widespread acceptance of laissez-faire capitalism in the United States, in spite of their sympathy for farmers and small producers
C. did not agree that religious and communitarian norms were needed to soften the harsh edges of laissez-faire capitalism
D. saw the development of laissez-faire capitalism in the United States as a historical inevitability, in spite of their lack of sympathy for large capitalists
E. were somewhat out of the mainstream of the American historical profession

GMATNinja · Accepted Answer

Question 3 
 
 jawele  has already pointed out where the passage illustrates a clash between laissez-faire capitalism and "existing norms of religious and communitarian norms."

Here's how this fits into the passage:

Laissez-faire became the prevailing ethos in 19th century America. 
  However, laissez-faire was not accepted without a struggle. 
  And the thing that laissez-faire struggled against was these existing norms.

I'll also note that you've both referred to "the primary source of opposition" when evaluating choice (A).
However, this is NOT what answer choice (A) says.

Did you catch the difference?

Choice (A) refers to " a  primary source of opposition," not  the  primary source of opposition. This means these existing norms could be one of multiple primary sources of opposition (namely, the one the author chooses to highlight in this passage).

Aside from being a stickler for precise reading, here's why I bring this up: If we were dead set on confirming that these norms were  THE  one and only source of opposition, we might not find evidence in the passage to support that claim. Consequently, we might eliminate (A), when in fact it's the correct choice.

I'm not sure that's what was causing confusion in the first place, but in any case, I hope this breakdown helps!

GMATNinja · Answer

Question 2 
 
It means that these two groups of people disagree on something.

I'll offer an example that clarifies the usage of "disagree with" and "disagree with regard to":

"Jenny and Anu disagree with Bill's actions." Here, Jenny and Anu each disagree with Bill's actions. 
  "Jenny and Anu disagree with regard to Bill's actions." Here, Jenny and Anu disagree with each other. What are they disagreeing about? Bill's actions.

I hope this helps!

willacethis · Answer

GMATNinja   GMATNinja Two  egmat

In question 3, how do we figure out that the norms are the "primary" source of opposition?

Thanks!

vikhyathsuvarna · Answer

I have doubt in the second question. What does it really mean? Does it mean that "Progressive Historians" and "Scholars" both disagree on something or Does it mean that "Progressive Historians" disagree with "Scholars" on something.

waytowharton · Answer

Hey experts,

KarishmaB   GMATNinja   ExpertsGlobal5   AjiteshArun

Could you help me understand why option D is incorrect in Q3. It is mentioned in the passage- "Buttressed by mercantilist notions that government should be both regulator and promoter of economic activity, these norms persisted long after the American Revolution helped unleash the economic forces that produced capitalism."

GMATNinja · Answer

Question 3 
 
(D) asks us what some recent "scholars" would think about certain "norms." The scholars' main argument is that capitalism wasn't accepted without a struggle. The "norms" are part of this struggle against unrestrained capitalism. Specifically, "religious and communitarian norms" promoted protections for people in who would potentially be harmed by capitalism.

So, would the scholars agree with (D)?
 
Hmm. We know that laissez-faire capitalism largely won out against mercantilism after the American Revolution. Sure, the norms themselves lasted, and laissez-faire capitalism "had not triumphed  completely ," but the scholars don't think that mercantilism was "successfully implemented" in the US. So they wouldn't agree that the "norms" helped to implement mercantilist notions of government.

(D) is out for question 3.

I hope that helps!

KittyDoodles · Answer

Hi

KarishmaB   GMATNinja   GMATGuruNY   ReedArnoldMPREP

Please advise for QS 1. I was stuck between B & D and ended up choosing B as the passage stated two view points and Option D just covers one of the view points for a "Laissez-faire capitalism". Is option B wrong because the passage never really reconciles/synthesize the two opposing view points?

Thanks
Kitty

KarishmaB · Answer

3. The passage suggests that the "scholars" (Highlighted) would agree with which of the following statements regarding the “norms” (Highlighted)

(A) They provided a primary source of opposition to the development of laissez-faire capitalism in the United States in the nineteenth century.
(B) Their appeal was undermined by difficult economic times in the United States at the end of the nineteenth century.
(C) They disappeared in the United States in the late nineteenth century because of the triumph of laissez-faire capitalism.
(D) They facilitated the successful implementation of mercantilist notions of government in the United States in the nineteenth-century.
(E) They are now recognized by historians as having been an important part of the ideology of the American Revolution.

Recently, however, some scholars have argued that even though laissez-faire became the prevailing ethos in nineteen-century America, it was not accepted without struggle.  Laissez-faire capitalism, they suggest, clashed with existing religious and communitarian norms  that imposed moral constraints on acquisitiveness to protect the weak from the predatory, the strong from corruption, and the entire culture from materialist excess. Buttressed by mercantilist notions that government should be both regulator and promoter of economic activity,  these norms persisted long after the American Revolution helped unleash the economic forces that produced capitalism .

The highlighted shows us that the answer is (A).

(B) Their appeal was undermined by difficult economic times in the United States at the end of the nineteenth century.

From the passage:
 Hard times continued to revive popular demands for regulating business and softening the harsh edges of laissez-faire capitalism. 
Hard times revived the demand for norms; they did not undermine the appeal of the norms.

(C) They disappeared in the United States in the late nineteenth century because of the triumph of laissez-faire capitalism.

From the passage:
 These scholars argue that even in the late nineteenth century, with the government's role in the economy considerably diminished, laissez-faire had not triumphed completely. 
The norms did not disappear. Laissez-faire had not triumphed completely.

(D) They facilitated the successful implementation of mercantilist notions of government in the United States in the nineteenth-century.

Mercantilist notions were not successfully implemented in US in the 19th century.
We are given that laissez-faire capitalism was implemented. It was opposed by the norms and the mercantilist notions but still capitalism was implemented.

(E) They are now recognized by historians as having been an important part of the ideology of the American Revolution.

We are given that American Revolution helped unleash the economic forces that produced capitalism. The norms were not a part of the ideology of AR. The norms opposed the ideology (capitalism).

Answer (A)

KarishmaB · Answer

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) reveal the underlying similarities of certain arguments regarding the development of capitalism in the United States
(B) synthesize two competing arguments regarding the development of capitalism in the United States
(C) defend an established argument regarding the development of capitalism in the United States
(D) summarize a scholarly refutation of an argument regarding the development of capitalism in the United States
(E) discuss a new methodology for the study of the development of capitalism in the United States

From the passage:

For many years, historians thought that the development of capitalism had not faced serious challenges in the United States...
...
Recently, however, some scholars have argued that even though laissez-faire became the prevailing ethos in nineteen-century America, it was not accepted without struggle. Laissez-faire capitalism, they suggest, clashed with existing religious and communitarian norms that imposed moral constraints on ...

The passage starts with how historians thought something for many years. 
And then it goes on to tell us that now some scholars are arguing otherwise.

(A) reveal the underlying similarities of certain arguments regarding the development of capitalism in the United States

The passage discussing two conflicting ideas, not similar. Incorrect.

(B) synthesize two competing arguments regarding the development of capitalism in the United States

What put me off this option is the use of "synthesize" which means "create." The author only quotes historians and scholars and hence I do not like this option.

(C) defend an established argument regarding the development of capitalism in the United States

The author is opposing an established argument by talking about recent claims of some scholars.

(D) summarize a scholarly refutation of an argument regarding the development of capitalism in the United States

Correct. The author summarizes the scholarly refutation of an argument. He doesn't synthesize the refutation. He summarizes how the scholars are refuting.

(E) discuss a new methodology for the study of the development of capitalism in the United States

Out of scope.

Answer (D)

guddo · Answer

4. The author of the passage mentions the Progressives as examples of historians who

The passage says Progressive historians sympathized with farmers and small producers, but still did not question the widespread acceptance of laissez-faire capitalism throughout American history. So the author uses them as examples of historians who thought laissez-faire was broadly accepted even while supporting the underdogs.

(A) saw farmers and small producers as having the potential to become a powerful force in American society

Not stated. Sympathy is mentioned, not a claim about their future power.

(B) did not question the widespread acceptance of laissez-faire capitalism in the United States, in spite of their sympathy for farmers and small producers

This matches exactly what the passage says.  It is essentially a paraphrase of the first paragraph’s description of the Progressives.

(C) did not agree that religious and communitarian norms were needed to soften the harsh edges of laissez-faire capitalism

The passage does not attribute that disagreement to the Progressives; it is part of the newer scholars’ view.

(D) saw the development of laissez-faire capitalism as inevitable, in spite of their lack of sympathy for large capitalists

“Inevitable” is not claimed, and the Progressives are described as sympathetic to farmers, not as lacking sympathy for capitalists in general.

(E) were somewhat out of the mainstream of the American historical profession

Nothing like this is mentioned.

Answer: (B)

For many years, historians thought that the development of capitalism

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For many years, historians thought that the development of capitalism

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