Economist: In the interaction between

Answer choices

1. A

   Correct74% picked this

   It is never in the best interests of producers for a producer to reveal

   Why this is right

   This is what we were looking for. It just feels strong because of the "never", since we're always wary of accusing an author of Too Strong an assumption on Necessary Assumption. But it's not automatically wrong because it's strongly worded. It just means that we have to check the strength of the conclusion to see whether the author really was thinking in terms as black and white as conditional language. This conclusion says that producers are never obligated to reveal defects. We could defeat this conclusion with one measly counterexample where a producer was obligated to reveal defects because it was in their best interests. If we negated this answer choice, that's precisely what we'd get: at least sometimes, it's in the best interests of producers to reveal a product defect. thus, at least sometimes, producers are obligated to reveal a product defect. That would contradict the conclusion (the correct answer, when negated, doesn't need to contradict the conclusion. It just needs to weaken the argument, but here it would seemingly refute the argument.)

   Skill tested: Necessary Assumption · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   74%
2. B

   Out of Scope: expects7% picked this

   No one expects producers to act in a manner counter to their

   The author is never talking about what people do or don't expect, so we have no way to say that the author is assuming anything about what people expect. If we negated this answer and said, "at least one person expects producers to act in a manner counter to their best interests", it wouldn't weaken, especially since we have no idea what is / isn't in the best interests of producers.

   7%
3. C

   Too Strong: any2% picked this

   Any product defect is likely to be discovered

   The author has not committed herself to an insanely strong notion that 100% of product defects are likely to be discovered. As it pertains to discovering defects, the only thing the author has said is that "when a consumer discovers one, they are always obligated to report it".

   2%
4. D

   Unknown Comparison: more likely5% picked this

   A product defect is more likely to be discovered by a consumer than

   The author never said anything indicating whether it's more likely that a consumer or a producer would discover a defect.

   5%
5. E

   Too Strong: never13% picked this

   The best interests of consumers never coincide with the best interests

   The author has to assume that, when it comes to product defects, the best interests of consumers never coincide with those of producers. But she doesn't have to assume it never happens. Maybe when it comes to environmental regulations, the best interests of consumers and producers converge.

   13%