Critic: Some writers have questioned

Answer choices

1. A

   Unrelated to Goal1% picked this

   whether Stalin should be held guilty of the cruel deeds attributed

   Unrelated to Goal: should be held guilty The dispute is just over whether Stalin was always paranoid and mean, or whether he got especially that way during his later years as his sanity waned. There is no talk here of one side saying Stalin should be held guilty while another side is saying he shouldn't be held guilty for his deeds.

   1%
2. B

   Close, but Mismatched Terms17% picked this

   whether Stalin’s cruel misdeeds provide evidence of

   The dispute is over whether Stalin's cruel misdeeds and morbid suspiciousness in his later years provide evidence of him going insane.

   17%
3. C

   Not Choosing Better Reason10% picked this

   whether it is Stalin’s state of paranoia or rather his cruelty that gives the stronger reason

   This makes the debate out to be, "THEY think that Stalin's paranoia is the best reason for doubting his sanity" whereas "SHE thinks that Stalin's cruelty is the best reason for doubting his sanity". But the debate was, "THEY think that Stalin may have been losing his sanity in his later years since he was cruel, paranoid, and morbidly suspicious", whereas "SHE thinks that he was cruel, paranoid, and morbidly suspicious during his entire long standing rule, as all tyrants are, so that wouldn't really be evidence that something changed in his later years".

   10%
4. D

   Both Agree3% picked this

   whether tyranny tends to lead to

   They both think that tyranny at least sometimes leads to cruelty. They aren't fighting over whether it tends do (whether it's more than 50% of the time or less than 50% of the time).

   3%
5. E

   Correct69% picked this

   whether it was Stalin’s psychological state or rather his political condition that was the primary cause

   Why this is right

   The wording here is surprising, but we can make this answer fit the disagreement better than any other answer. The Soviet writers used Stalin's psychological state to explain his cruel misdeeds. "Yes, yes, he was committing terrible acts, but it was just because he was losing his sanity in his later years and getting really paranoid and morbidly suspicious of everyone." The critic doesn't buy that storyline. "Stalin was always this way, not just in his later years. He didn't suddenly become mean at the end. Instead, he was always this way because that's how tyrants need to be in order to retain their power. They have to aggressively seek out and snuff any attempts to subvert their rule, so they are all necessarily paranoid and suspicious as a result of their autocratic political position."

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

   69%