#26 - The government has no right to tax earnings from labor

[DlarehAtsok]

I do not understand what (A) implies?

[Claire Horan]

Hi, thanks for the question!

Answer choice A reads: "It ignores a difference in how the idea of forced work for another's purpose applies to the two cases."

Because the stimulus draws an analogy (between paying income tax and involuntary servitude), we can invalidate the argument by pointing out why it isn't a very good analogy. In other words, we can point out that the two ideas being analogized are actually very different from each other.

One way to approach this answer choice is to try to make the general wording make sense in a more specific way. So, read the answer choice and think to yourself, "If it ignored a difference, what would the difference be?"

The difference referred to in answer choice A has to come from your own mind, rather than the stimulus. We could formulate the difference in several ways (and this list is not exhaustive): 1) citizens consent to "labor for another's purpose," 2) citizens have representation and therefore a choice in the purpose, so it is not truly "another's purpose," and 3) citizens benefit from the taxes they pay. None of these are true of slaves or other forced laborers.

I want to stress that coming up with these reasons is not necessary, it just helps you verify that there is a difference between the two things being compared. In general, the way to argue with an analogy is to show why two things have an important difference that makes the comparison unconvincing.

I hope this helps!

-Claire

[PeterC123]

Hi,

What is an example of answer E?

Is it "X says the definition of dying is being reborn again in another dimension, therefore dying is not the end and whoever says it is, is wrong"? But this sounds more like appeal to authority...

Thanks,

[Kristina Moen]

Peter,

You are taking the right approach to reviewing Flaw questions. You should look at each answer choice and think about what it's describing. You can take this same approach with Method of Reasoning and Method of Reasoning - Argument Part questions as well. This will help you with speed and accuracy on test day, as you will see many versions of the same answer choice.

If I were to come up with an example of what Answer Choice (E) is describing, it might look like this: "The law defines involuntary servitude as forced work for another’s purpose, but I think involuntary servitude is working 40 hours a week. Since involuntary servitude is against the law, then 40-hour work weeks should be banned!"