MCAT Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills Question 48: Answer and Explanation
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Question: 48
3. The author most likely supports a view of government as an institution that:
- A. finds the most cost-effective ways to provide for society's needs.
- B. is wasteful and fits poorly with our times.
- C. has an important role to play in the modern economy.
- D. is not as efficient as market mechanisms.
Correct Answer: C
Explanation:
C This is an Inference question.
A: No. The author discusses the value of government in paragraph 6, but does not say that its value lies in cost-effectiveness.
B: No. This is the view of "the cult of efficiency" as described in paragraph 6, which the author says "is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the importance of the "smart" state in the global, knowledge-based economy."
C: Yes. See paragraph 6: "The state is branded as wasteful, and market mechanisms are heralded as the efficient alternative. This argument, we shall see, is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the importance of the "smart" state in the global, knowledge-based economy." The author believes the state is still relevant.
D: No. The author defends the value of the state in paragraph 6. While the passage doesn't indicate that the government is as efficient as the market (the author rejects efficiency as a valid stand-alone standard of judgment), neither does the author indicate that it is less efficient.