MCAT Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills Question 107: Answer and Explanation

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Test Information

Question: 107

1. The author states that Smith draws which of the following relationships between nature and economics?

  • A. Humans are selfish and always take as much from the marketplace as they can.
  • B. Humans are inherently communal beings and share all their resources.
  • C. Humans fundamentally act in their own interest.
  • D. Humans are generous and act in defense of others.

Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

C This is a Retrieval question.

A: No. This overstates Smith's contention that self-interest is the primary motivation of humans. While one might call acting in one's self interest "selfish," the author does not indicate that self-interest always involves taking as much as one can. For example, in the second half of paragraph 2 the author suggests that self-interest is more complex.

B: No. Although the passage mentions benevolence (paragraph 1) and Smith's acceptance of it as "the major virtue," this answer choice misrepresents how Smith saw human nature as fundamentally self-interested (paragraphs 1 and 2).

C: Yes. The author most directly discusses the relationship between nature and economics in paragraph 3: "In order to discover such a science of economics, however, Smith had to posit a faith in the orderly structure of nature … This … is what Smith really meant by "the invisible hand"; that … an "order of nature" or a "structure of things" existed which permitted self-interest, if enlightened, to work for mankind's good." Also, in paragraph 1 and the beginning of paragraph 2 the author discusses how Smith believed that humans are motivated by their own self-interest, which grows out of man's very nature.

D: No. Despite the mention of benevolence in paragraph 1, the passage does not indicate that humans are fundamentally generous, nor that they act in defense of others as a general rule.

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