Reading ComprehensionDifficulty: Hard

PT141 S1 P4 Q22 Explanation

Rectification of Past Property Injustice

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

TopicsPrimary PurposeLaw

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Passage

Passage

There are two principles that are fundamental to a theory of justice regarding property. The principle of justice in acquisition specifies the conditions under which someone can legitimately come to own something that was previously not owned by anyone. The principle of justice in of property from one person to another is justified.

Given such principles, if the world were wholly just, the following definition would exhaustively cover the regarding property:

1. A person who acquires property in accordance with the principle of justice in acquisition that property.

2. A person who acquires property in accordance with the principle of justice in transfer, from someone else who is entitled entitled to the property.

3. No one is entitled to any property except by (repeated) applications and 2.

However, not all actual situations are generated in accordance with the principles of justice in acquisition and justice in transfer. Some people steal from others or defraud them, for example. The existence of past injustice raises the issue of the rectification of injustice. If past injustice has shaped present ownership in various should have resulted. Actual ownership of property must then be brought into conformity with this description.

Passage

In 1790, the United States Congress passed the Indian Nonintercourse Act, which requires that all transfers of lands from Native Americans to others be approved by the federal government. The law has not been changed in any relevant respect, and it remains in effect today. Its purpose is clear. It was meant tribes for recovery of lands held by them when the Nonintercourse Act took effect.

One natural (one might almost say obvious) way of reasoning about Native American claims to land in North America is this: Native Americans were the first human occupants of this land. Before the European invasion of North America, the land belonged to them. In the course of that invasion and its aftermath, easily be righted by returning the land to them—or by returning it wherever that is feasible.

What this question is testing

Primary Purpose

Your task

Pin down exactly what the question asks about the passage — a detail, the author's view, the structure, or the main point — before looking at the choices.

Common trap

Answers that restate a true detail from the passage but don't answer the specific question being asked.

Winning move

Anticipate the answer in your own words from the passage, then find the choice that matches that prediction.

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

The question
22.

Which one of the following most accurately describes the main purpose for which passage A was written and the main purpose for which

Answer choices

  1. Too Strong A6% picked this

    Passage A: to propose a solution to a

    Passage B: to criticize a proposed solution to a

    Too Strong A: propose Out of Scope B: criticize proposal The author of A seems too aloof and academic to say they were actively trying to propose a solution. The closest we get to a moral problem is in the last paragraph of A: If past injustice has shaped present ownership in various ways, what, if anything, ought to be done? That's a hypothetical problem and then the principle of rectification mentioned as a solution seems to be presented at arm's length, not as though it is the author's personal idea for what we should do. We could eliminate it at this point without worrying about B. But the B half of this answer is also broken. The author offers a proposed solution to a moral problem at the end of her passage; she doesn't criticize one. We can't consider the Indian Nonintercourse Act a proposed solution. It's more like an attempted solution, because it's went into effect in 1790.

  2. Correct56% picked this

    Passage A: to sketch a general outline of a branch of

    Passage B: to give a particular moral analysis of a

    Why this is right

    The concept of justice is synonymous with morality, so a theory of justice regarding property is asking, "What is right, what is moral, what is just, when it comes to property?" The author of A does indeed provide a general outline, even with numbered bullet points. The author of B, meanwhile, is not dealing in the theoretical world or enumerating abstract principles. She is analyzing a particular situation that involves potential property injustice with Native Americans. She makes some definite moral judgments: - the land was illicitly taken from them - the current owners lack a well-founded right to the land, which lies illicitly in their hands - ideally, the land should be restored to its rightful owners

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

  3. Trap32% picked this

    Passage A: to spell out the details of two

    Passage B: to examine a case that exemplifies a

    Weak Match for A Bad Match for B The easier way to eliminate this one is its description of B. The only case examined was the Nonintercourse Act of 1790, which was far from exemplifying a moral ideal. The author of B would be like, "The moral ideal is not to say, run your land sales by us first so that we can make sure people aren't trying to screw you". The moral ideal is "sorry we stole your land. Here, you can have it back." The description of A is not great, since we ended up hearing about 3 principles (acquisition, transfer, rectification) and it's a stretch to say we got details about any of them. Hearing what the principles are doesn't qualify as details, to me.

  4. Out of Scope B3% picked this

    Passage A: to argue for a particular

    Passage B: to question the assumption of a

    Out of Scope B: moral theory Too Strong A: argue for The author of passage A was more presentational, not prescriptive. He was informing us about principles in a theory a justice regarding property. He only comes close to sounding like he's making an argument in his last two sentences, but those seem to be more like, "Some people would say we should have a principle of rectification", not "I'm saying we should have one". Passage B doesn't discuss any moral theory that I can see. The Indian Nonintercourse Act definitely isn't a moral theory; it's just a piece of legislation. And the "natural (one might almost say obvious) way of reasoning about NA claims" is not a moral theory; it's just common sense. Even if we called that a moral theory, the author of B is endorsing it, not questioning its assumption.

  5. Out of Scope B3% picked this

    Passage A: to advance the use of certain

    Passage B: to provide a counterexample to some widely held

    Out of Scope B: widely held principles Passage B doesn't mention any "widely held moral principles". The part dealing with A also feels a little strong, in the sense that the author of A was mainly just informing. (A), (D), and (E) all accuse passage A of having a strong personal point of view: - proposing a solution - arguing for a particular ideal - trying to advance certain principles

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