Question

Historian: The Russian Revolution in the early 20th century was sparked not by the proletariat, but by the bourgeoisie, or intellectual middle-class, a fact that is widely accepted in modern academia. The French Revolution of 1789 was also largely ignited by a rising middle class. The idea that political upheavals are initiated by the populist "peasant-class" is widely accepted as a fallacy today. Therefore, political commentators analyzing the "Arab Spring" movement in the past two years are inaccurate in suggesting that the movement is truly populist.
Which of the following best describes the flaw in the historian's argument? 
 

• A. It accepts that movements cannot be both populist and spurred by the middle class.
• B. The argument draws a conclusion based on a claim which may not be universally true.
• C. The historian's argument is based on what is "widely accepted" by contemporary historians and not on established facts.
• D. The argument implies that the Arab Spring is relatively similar to historical revolutions with no concrete evidence.
• E. It overlooks the cultural and temporal differences between the Russian, French, and Arab political climates.

Hint:

When identifying flaws in reasoning, focus on whether the argument ignores important context or makes assumptions without evidence.

Answer 1

Answer: (E)

Step 1: Understanding the flaw in the historian's argument.
The historian compares the Russian and French Revolutions with the Arab Spring, but overlooks the different cultural and temporal contexts. The Arab Spring took place in a modern context with distinct socio-political factors from earlier revolutions.

Step 2: Analysis of options.
- (A) This is not the flaw in the argument because the historian does not reject that movements can be both populist and middle class.
- (B) The argument does not seem to draw a conclusion based on an uncertain claim, but rather on established academic opinions, so this is not the main flaw.
- (C) The historian does refer to what is "widely accepted," but this is not the key flaw. The issue is more about ignoring the different contexts of the revolutions.
- (D) While the historian does imply a comparison, the main flaw is overlooking the differences in political climates, rather than lacking evidence for similarity.
- (E) This option is correct because the historian fails to consider how the political climates in Russia, France, and the Arab world are quite different, making the comparison invalid.

Step 3: Conclusion.
The correct answer is (E) because the historian overlooks crucial contextual differences between the Russian, French, and Arab political climates, which is a major flaw in their argument.