Logical Reasoning

PT130 · S1 · Q6 When a nation is on the brink

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When a nation is on the brink of financial crisis, its government does not violate free-market principles if, in order to prevent economic collapse, it limits the extent to which foreign investors and lenders can withdraw their money.

Conclusion

It's not a violation of free-market principles if a government on the verge of a economic collapse needs to limit the extent to which foreign investors and lenders can pull out their money.

Evidence

It's not a violation of free-speech principles to say that you can't yell "Fire!" in a crowded movie theater, because that could lead to a harmful stampede. Similarly, letting foreign investors and lenders stampede to get their money out of an imperiled economy could do harm.

Evaluation

Our job is just to characterize the type of evidence or type of move the author made to support her conclusion. The most common type of correct answer on Method is questions is that the author used an analogy to support her argument, and that seems to be what's happening here. To make a point about governments limiting free-market activities, the author used an analogy about a case we already accept in which governments limit free-speech activities. In both cases, the point of doing so is the avoidance of harm.

Goal

Look for something saying that the author used an analogy to show that placing some limits on an activity in order to avoid harm can be a reasonable position and not a violation of the underlying principle of freedom.

6.

The argument does which one of the following?

  1. Correct

    tries to show that a

    Why this is right

    Yes, the author tries to show that free-market principles are limited in a certain way (can't rapidly withdraw money when system is on verge of collapse) by using the analogy that free-speech principles are limited (can't yell "Fire!" in crowded theater). They are limited in similar ways in that both limitations are an attempt to avoid potential harm.

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

    93% picked this

  2. infers a claim by arguing

    Bad Premise Match

    Does the author's conclusion infer a claim? Sure. That's so generic that it would apply to all conclusions. Does the evidence say, "After all, if this claim were true, it would offer the best explanation for something we've observed?" Heavens no. There are no observed facts in this argument. It's all hypothetical / theoretical stuff.

    1% picked this

  3. presents numerous experimental results as

    Bad Premise Match

    Does the author provide numerous experimental results? Not even close. Nothing here is empirical. It's all just theoretical / hypothetical ideas.

    0% picked this

  4. attempts to demonstrate that an

    Bad Conclusion + Premise Match

    Does the author's conclusion try to show that someone's explanation for a phenomenon is flawed? Not at all. An explanation for a phenomenon means that something happened and someone has proposed a causal story for why it happened. Nothing in this argument "happened". There are no past tense, real world facts. It's just an abstract debate about hypothetical's and political philosophy. We don't need to keep reading, but the premise also doesn't match, since there are no particular instances of a government limiting foreigners from withdrawing their money mentioned in the evidence.

    2% picked this

  5. applies an empirical generalization to

    Bad Conclusion + Premise Match

    Does the author reach a conclusion about a particular case? No, she reaches a conclusion about a whole category of hypothetical cases --- "whenever governments are considering limiting the rate at which foreigners can withdraw money from an imperiled economy".

    4% picked this

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