MCAT Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills Question 20: Answer and Explanation

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Question: 20

4. The author suggests a correlation between each of the following pairs of phenomena EXCEPT:

  • A. more coordination among capitalists and less coordination among laborers.
  • B. higher participation in labor unions and lower levels of equality.
  • C. strength of organization and political success in democratic nations.
  • D. the rise of neoliberalism and a widening of the gap between rich and poor.

Correct Answer: B

Explanation:

For (A) (more coordination among capitalists and less coordination among laborers), the relevant text is at the start of P6: On the other side, the capitalists have only become better organized. In fact, their mobilization—not coincidentally—shortly precedes the extensive disempowerment of unions in and around the 1980s. The fact that the author stresses this is not a coincidence reinforces that the relationship is intended to be more significant, potentially cause and effect. That there is at least a correlation is clear, so choice (A) should be ruled out.

With choice (B) (higher participation in labor unions and lower levels of equality), however, there is an issue when returning to the relevant text, this time from P5: From 1940 to 1980, between about one-fifth and one-quarter of all employed workers in the United States were members of labor unions. According to Piketty et al., 1940–80 is also the bottom of the inequality U-curve. There's definitely a correlation being highlighted, but it's between high union participation and low inequality, not low equality. If inequality is low, then equality must be relatively high, so this choice is the opposite of what the passage suggests. Thus, without further ado, it's safe to conclude that (B) is correct.

After finding a contradiction in (B), it should be chosen as the correct answer. This could be double-checked by finding the other choices in the text. The correlation in choice (C) (strength of organization and political success in democratic nations) is implied in the discussion beginning with Much of the ascendance of neoliberal ideology stems from a discrepancy in organization, and continuing throughout the final two paragraphs. For (D) (the rise of neoliberalism and a widening of the gap between rich and poor), the relevant text is from P3: with the rise of the political ideology of neoliberalism . . . inequality began to rebound. An increase in inequality entails a widening of the gap between rich and poor.

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