LSAT Explanation PT 35, S4, Q17: Politician: All nations that place a

LSAT Question Stem

Each of the following, if true, weakens the politician's argument EXCEPT: 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is a Weaken question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is E. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

The question type for this problem is Weaken, and we are looking for the answer choice that does not weaken the politician's argument.

First, let's break down the argument in the passage:

1. High tax on income (HT) ‚Üí Negative incentive for technological innovation (NI)

2. Negative incentive for technological innovation (NI) ‚Üí Fall behind in the international arms race (FB)

3. Fall behind in the international arms race (FB) ‚Üí Lose voice in world affairs (LV)

4. Therefore, if a nation wants to maintain its value system and way of life, it must not allow its highest tax bracket to exceed 30 percent of income.

The argument is structured as a chain of conditional statements, where each premise leads to a subsequent conclusion. Now, let's analyze the answer choices:

a) This answer choice weakens the argument by suggesting that the negative incentive for technological innovation only occurs when the top level of taxation reaches 45%, not 30% as the politician claims.

b) This answer choice weakens the argument by stating that making a lot of money is not a significant factor in driving technological innovation, which implies that high taxes might not have a negative impact on innovation.

c) This answer choice weakens the argument by suggesting that falling behind in the international arms race does not necessarily lead to a strategically less advantageous position, breaking the chain of premises.

d) This answer choice weakens the argument by stating that losing influence in the world community does not necessarily threaten a nation's value system or way of life, which is the main concern of the politician's conclusion.

e) This answer choice does not weaken the argument, as it merely states that allowing one's country to lose its technological edge would be foolish rather than a historical accident. This does not impact the premises or the conclusion of the argument.

Therefore, the correct answer is (E), as it does not weaken the politician's argument.