by ohthatpatrick Wed Jan 29, 2014 6:02 pm
It's not quite a "type" of flaw, because this is the only time I can remember seeing what (E) describes.
There IS a recurring type of flaw answer choice that accuses the author of mixing up "subjective ideas" and "objective ideas".
So we could say that (E) is an example of that type of answer choice. (It's specifically about 'definitions', which is the part I've never seen before)
But I want to emphasize that I can't remember EVER having seen a CORRECT answer choice that discusses "subjective vs. objective". It just shows up a lot in incorrect answer choices.
Here's an example of what that flaw might look like if it ever actually happened in an LSAT argument:
The school's charter explains that "the most beautiful girl in the school should be Homecoming Queen". Since Reggie thinks that his girlfriend Mable is the most beautiful girl in the school, then according to the school's charter, Mable should be Homecoming Queen.
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Here's a complete explanation of Q26, since we don't have one up yet.
Flaw
Mini-argument to reach Intermed. Conc
Govt. has no right to tax earnings
+
this kind of taxation forces laborers to spend some hours working for the govt.
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this kind of taxation forces laborers to work, in part, for another's purpose
From there, the argument is:
Govt. taxing earnings forces laborers to work, in part, for another's purpose
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"involuntary servitude" can be defined as "forced work for another's purpose"
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involuntary servitude is pernicious
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Govt. taxing earnings is pernicious
Hopefully, you're uncomfortable with the author comparing taxes on your wages to SLAVERY!
The former seems way more benign to me than the latter. The author gets us to that conclusion by highlighting an aspect of taxing wages that conforms to the definition of "involuntary servitude".
Okay, so maybe we're "forced" to pay taxes, and servants are "forced" to work for someone else. But taxes help pay for tons of social benefits, such as roads, hospitals, parks, national defense, etc. Taxes are more like being "forced to chip in to a communal savings account that buys us cool stuff", while slavery is being forced to work without enjoying any of those benefits later on.
So something about this Flaw is probably that the author is failing to see how being forced to pay taxes provides us with benefit while being forced into servitude does not provide benefits. Maybe that's why it feels so wrong to equate them.
Let's look at the answer choices
(A) Okay, this could work. This answer is essentially saying, "the author is focusing on what is similar about taxation and slavery but ignoring the ways in which they're different". Keep it.
(B) Hmmm, did higher tax rates for the wealthy vs. lower tax rates for the poor enter into our assessment of his reasoning? No.
(C) That's an extreme assumption: ALL work is taxed? Can we find the author saying or implying such a thing? I can't. The author definitely implies that SOME work is taxed.
(D) Hmmm, were we bothered by the argument because the author didn't bring up taxes on stocks, bonds, and dividends? No we were bothered that he was equating paying income taxes with being enslaved.
(E) There is one definition here, that of "involuntary servitude". I'm not sure if the author considered it a subjective or objective definition. Either way, my problem with the author's argument was not that he was making subjective feelings seem like objective truths. It was that he was equating taxable wages with slavery. I didn't have a problem with the definition he provided of "involuntary servitude". I had a problem with the fact that he was saying, "since taxable earnings has THIS in common with involuntary servitude, it is essentially the same thing."