LSAT Explanation PT 31, S3, Q13: Historian: Political regimes that routinely censor

LSAT Question Stem

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the historian's reasoning depends? 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is a Necessary Assumption question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is C. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

In this LSAT problem, we have an argument presented by a historian. Let's break down the argument and identify its structure:

Premise: Political regimes that routinely censor various forms of expression on the grounds that they undermine public morality inevitably attempt to expand the categories of proscribed expression to include criticisms that these regimes perceive to threaten their power.

Conclusion: Many totalitarian regimes classify as blasphemous or pornographic those writings that would, if widely influential, reduce public passivity.

The question type is Necessary Assumption, which asks us to identify an assumption on which the historian's reasoning depends. Before discussing the answer choices, let's come up with an "Evaluate" question: "Do totalitarian regimes perceive the loss of public passivity as a threat to their power?"

Now let's evaluate the answer choices:

a) Unless a piece of writing expresses something that is widely believed, it is unlikely to be very popular.

- This answer choice is not relevant to the argument. The argument is about the regimes' perception of threats to their power and their censorship practices, not about the popularity of writings.

b) Not all political regimes that routinely censor forms of expression on the grounds that they erode public morality are totalitarian regimes.

- This answer choice is not helpful because it doesn't address the connection between the regimes' perception of threats to their power and their censorship practices. It merely states a fact about different types of regimes.

c) A totalitarian regime can perceive loss of public passivity as a threat to its power.

- This is the correct answer. It directly addresses our "Evaluate" question and fills in the gap between the premise and conclusion. The historian's argument assumes that totalitarian regimes perceive the loss of public passivity as a threat to their power, which is why they censor writings that would reduce public passivity.

d) Widespread public passivity is usually needed for a regime to retain political power.

- This answer choice is not necessary for the argument. The argument is about the regimes' perception of threats to their power and their censorship practices, not about the actual conditions required for retaining political power.

e) Most writings that totalitarian regimes label blasphemous or pornographic would, if widely influential, reduce public passivity.

- This answer choice is not necessary for the argument. It talks about the relationship between censored writings and public passivity, but it doesn't address the regimes' perception of threats to their power or their reasons for censoring certain writings.

In conclusion, the correct answer is (C) because it directly addresses the gap in the historian's argument by connecting the totalitarian regimes' perception of threats to their power with their censorship practices.