Since multinational grain companies operate so as to maximize profits, they cannot be relied on to initiate economic ...

Jacob-R November 30, 2018

I’m happy to help.

When the question stem asks you to try to find the main point of the argument, I find it helpful to think about the most logical order of the statements in a question passage.

That is, the writers of the LSAT will often jumble things up to try to mask the logical flow of an argument. And by thinking about rearranging to find the best flow, you can determine what the main point is by thinking about what should be last in that flow.

So, let’s apply that technique here. You said that you were torn between answer A and E. Answer A comes from the final sentence of the passage. Let’s think about that sentence with relation to the others, and what order would make the most logical “flow.”

Multinational grain companies cannot be relied on to initiate reform of the world’s food distribution system (and if there is change, it is incidental, arising not from reform but from the desire to maximize profits) -> The maximization of profits depends on a stable economic environment, one that discourages change.

Doesn’t make that much sense, right? That is, the sentences preceding our final “main point” don’t seem to set it up in any logical way. That is an indication that answer A is unlikely to be the main point. That is, the fact that multinational grain companies cannot be relied on to initiate reform doesn’t seem to lead to the “conclusion” that the maximization of profits depends on a stable economic environment.

In contrast, let’s try flipping the flow. Now we start with the premise that the maximization of profits depends on a stable economic environment, one that discourages change, and that while it is true that the actions of multinational companies sometimes do result in economic change, the result is incidental and arises for the desire of profit rather than reform. -> Since multinational grain companies to operate to maximize profits, they cannot be relied on to initiate economic changes that would reform food distribution.

Aha! Do you see how that flow makes more sense? The conclusion about grain companies, the fact that they operate to maximize profits, and the conclusion that they cannot be relied on to initiate reform, was set up by the other sentences. This is the flow that makes sense, and it shows us that E is the correct answer.

These are a tough type of question, but I hope that helps! Let us know if you have further questions.