LSAT Explanation PT 23, S2, Q12: Political theorist: The vast majority of

LSAT Question Stem

If all of the political theorist's statements are true, which one of the following must also be true? 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is a Must Be True question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is B. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

First, let's understand the passage. The political theorist states that most single-party countries have corrupt national governments, and some multi-party countries also have corrupt national governments. The common factor in all corrupt countries is weak local governments.

Let's represent this information using formal logic notation:

SP = Single-party countries

P = Multi-party countries

CG = Corrupt national governments

WLG = Weak local governments

1. Most SP -> CG

2. Some P -> CG

3. All CG -> WLG

Now let's analyze the question. This is a Must Be True (MBT) question, which means we need to find an answer choice that must be true based on the given information.

Let's go through the answer choices:

a) Every country with weak local government has a single political party.

This answer choice is incorrect because it reverses the relationship between single-party countries and weak local governments. It also changes a "most" statement into an "all" statement, which is not supported by the passage.

b) Some countries with weak local governments have a plurality of political parties.

This answer choice is correct because it follows from the second statement in the passage (Some P -> CG) and the third statement (All CG -> WLG). If some multi-party countries have corrupt national governments and all corrupt countries have weak local governments, then it must be true that some countries with weak local governments have a plurality of political parties.

c) Some countries with weak local governments do not have corrupt national governments.

This answer choice could be true, but it does not have to be true based on the information given in the passage. We know that all corrupt countries have weak local governments, but we don't have enough information to conclude that some countries with weak local governments do not have corrupt national governments.

d) The majority of countries with weak local governments have a single political party.

This answer choice is incorrect because it improperly reverses the first inference (Most SP -> CG) and assumes a majority relationship between weak local governments and single-party countries, which is not supported by the passage.

e) Fewer multiparty countries than single-party countries have weak local governments.

This answer choice is incorrect because the passage does not provide enough information to compare the total number of single-party and multi-party countries with weak local governments. The "most" and "some" statements in the passage refer to different entities, so we cannot draw a comparative inference.

Based on our analysis, the correct answer is (b): Some countries with weak local governments have a plurality of political parties.