Reading ComprehensionDifficulty: Easy

PT123 S1 P4 Q21 Explanation

Victorian Philanthropists

A free, expert breakdown of this official LSAT Reading Comprehension question.

TopicsMain PointSociety

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Passage

Although philanthropy—the volunteering of private resources for humanitarian purposes—reached its apex in England in the late nineteenth century, modern commentators have articulated two major criticisms of the philanthropy that was a mainstay of England’s middle-class Victorian society. The earlier criticism is that such philanthropy was even by the later nineteenth century obsolete, failure of compassion on the part of employers, nor could it be solved by well-wishing philanthropists.

The more recent charge holds that Victorian philanthropy was by its very nature a self-serving exercise carried out by philanthropists at the expense of those whom they were ostensibly serving. In this view, philanthropy was a means of flaunting one’s power and position in a society that placed great emphasis on status, a means of controlling the labor force and ensuring the continued dominance of the management class.

Modern critics of Victorian philanthropy often use the words “amateurish” or “inadequate” to describe Victorian philanthropy, as though Victorian charity can only be understood as an antecedent to the era of state-sponsored, professionally administered charity. This assumption is typical of the “Whig fallacy”: the tendency to read the past as an inferior of the state was incapable of coping with the economic and social needs of the time.

This version of history patronizes the Victorians, who were in fact well aware of their vulnerability to charges of condescension and complacency, but were equally well aware of the potential dangers of state-managed charity. They were perhaps condescending to the poor, but—to use an un-Victorian and gave of their careers and lives as well.

What this question is testing

Main Point

Your task

Capture the passage's overall primary point — the claim everything else supports.

Common trap

Answers that are true but too narrow (a single paragraph) or too broad (beyond the passage's scope).

Winning move

Summarize the whole passage in one sentence first, then match it to a choice.

Reading along? Open the full official question in LawHub — we show a fragment here and keep the reasoning in our own words.

The question
21.

Which one of the following best summarizes the main idea of

Answer choices

  1. Too Strong: successfully dealt7% picked this

    While the motives of individual practitioners have been questioned by modern commentators, Victorian philanthropy successfully dealt with the

    The main clause here is somewhat tempting, because it's an affirmational positive about the Victorian philanthropists: Victorian philanthropy successfully dealt with the social ills of the 19th century England. While the author has a positive view, he is more saying, "Hey, at least they tried to fix social ills", not "they succeeded in fixing social ills". The author agrees in the 1st paragraph with the notion that "industrialism had already created social ills that were beyond the scope of small, private voluntary efforts". He says, "Indeed, these problems required substantial legislative action by the state".

  2. Wrong Emphasis: missing central topic2% picked this

    Philanthropy, inadequate to deal with the massive social and economic problems of the twentieth century, has slowly been

    The main clause of this answer is: Philanthropy has slowly been replaced by state-sponsored charity. Since the main clause doesn't even mention our central topic (Victorian philanthropy) this is not worth reading on a first pass. Also this main clause has nothing to do with the author's Challenge Position purpose. The author's main point wasn't "philanthropy has been replaced by state-sponsored charity". His main point was, "Stop hatin' on my Victorian philanthropists, critics. At least they tried to do good."

  3. Wrong Emphasis: missing central topic4% picked this

    The practice of reading the past as a prelude to an enlightened present has fostered revisionist views of many

    The main clause of this answer is: The practice of reading the past as a prelude to an enlightened present has fostered revisionist views of many institutions. Since the main clause doesn't even mention our central topic (Victorian philanthropy) this is not worth reading on a first pass. Yes, the answer does mention Victorian philanthropy, but only as an aside. It was one example of many. Meanwhile, the passage is only about Victorian philanthropy!

  4. Correct84% picked this

    Although modern commentators have perceived Victorian philanthropy as either inadequate or self-serving, the theoretical bias behind these criticisms leads to

    Why this is right

    The main clause of this answer is: The theoretical bias behind these criticisms [of Victorian philanthropy] leads to an incorrect interpretation of history. This main clause by far has the strongest sound of a Challenge Position purpose. "An incorrect interpretation" of history sounds like what an author would say if he's rejecting the way critics interpret these Victorian philanthropists. Let's see if we can sign off on all the details. Do modern commentators perceive Victorian philanthropy as either inadequate or self-serving? Yes! There are two major criticisms: 1. (P1) This type of philanthropy was already obsolete, since industrialism had already created problems beyond the scope of small, private voluntary efforts (thus, inadequate) 2. (P2) The more recent charge holds that Victorian philanthropy was by its very nature self-serving. The author rejects these in the 3rd paragraph by calling out the Whig fallacy assumption that undergirds these two criticisms. That Whig fallacy is the "theoretical bias" the answer is referring to.

    Skill tested: Main Point · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

  5. Wrong Emphasis: devious methods3% picked this

    Victorian philanthropists, aware of public resentment of their self-congratulatory attitude, used devious methods to camouflage

    The main clause of this answer is: Victorian philanthropists used devious methods to camouflage their self-serving motives. That sounds really negative! That doesn't sound like our author. Our author is defending the Victorian philanthropists / sticking up for them / Challenging the Position of critics who belittle them.

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