Question

But because the idea of private property has been permitted to override with its selfishness, the common good of humanity it does not follow that there are not limits within which that idea can function for the general convenience and advantage. Which of the following is most likely to weaken the argument?

• A. All the people of the society should progress at an equitable rate and there should be no disparities and private property does bring about a tremendous disparity.
• B. One should not strive for the common good of humanity at all, instead one should be concerned with maximising one’s own wealth.
• C. One should learn from the experiences of former communist nations and should not repeat his mistakes at all.
• D. Even prosperous capitalist countries like the USA have their share of social problems.

Hint:

Target the key assumption in the argument. If you can show it fails even under the best conditions proposed, you strongly weaken the reasoning.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

The argument admits private property has selfish tendencies but argues it can still operate within limits to serve the common goo(d) To weaken this, we must show that private property inherently prevents the common good, even within supposed limits. - Option (a) does exactly that by claiming that private property leads to huge disparities, directly undermining the idea that it can benefit everyone equitably. - Option (b) is more of a rejection of altruism than a challenge to the claim. - Option (c) discusses learning from communism, unrelated to the claim. - Option (d) gives a general observation about capitalist countries but doesn’t address the mechanism of harm caused by private property.