#21 - Global Reference, Main Point

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (A).

Answer choice (A):

Answer choice (B):

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):

This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[HIsleim2001]

I put E for this one, why is A correct?

[Robert Carroll]

HIsleim2001,

The passage is a defense of corporate criminal liability against criticism. In every paragraph but the second one, objections against corporate criminal liability are lodged, and the author seeks to defend the practice in the face of those criticisms. It's not just that criticisms are mentioned almost throughout the entire passage - so much of the passage is devoted to the idea, in general terms, that "corporate criminal liability has got a lot of negative commentary lately, but I actually think it's a really good idea." So more has to be said to sum up the main point than just that corporate criminal sanctions are a good thing - the context of the passage is that the benefits are brought up to response to criticism. Only answer choice (E) accomplishes that.

Robert Carroll

[Robert Carroll]

In response to this question: viewtopic.php?p=98340#p98340

There is no contemplation in that quotation of holding shareholders criminally liable as individuals. The author is claiming instead that holding corporations criminally liable will encourage shareholders to hold the corporation to higher standards and therefore improve its behavior. Only the corporation is being subject to criminal sanctions.

Robert Carroll

[lsatgirl10]

hi! Can you please explain why C is wrong? I agree A is correct but I feel like leaving out the whole second part of the argument that involves criminal charges against individuals is also integral to the conversation about criminal charges he is making.

[Luke Haqq]

Hi lsatgirl10!

Answer choice (C) seems to be true based on the passage, which could make it seem like a viable contender. However, this question more specifically asks for the main point of the passage, so merely being true isn't enough for the answer choice to be correct.

The main point of this passage largely comes across in the first sentence: "The use of criminal sanctions against corporations is well established, but the practice has recently come under fire from legal theorists who maintain that corporations should be held civilly rather than criminally liable for wrongdoing." The author of the passage then goes on to discuss why some theorists prefer civil liability as an alternative to corporate criminal liability, and the author expresses skepticism. The author additionally discusses how some theorists prefer individual criminal liability to corporate criminal liability, and the author again expresses skepticism.

So the language in (C) really seems in the service of a broader goal. "Neither civil sanctions against corporations nor criminal sanctions against individuals within corporations are capable of deterring corporate wrongdoing," as (C) states. So what? What does that mean? The "so what" that the author drives us to is that corporate criminal liability seems to be the best option.