Political leader: In this political dispute, our side will benefit from showing a desire to compromise with the oppos...

Annie on November 6, 2019

Hi @xDaltonLaney,

This question is asking you to find the assumption buried in the argument. The best way to do so is to break down the argument into its component parts:

Premise: If the opposition responds positively to our desire to compromise, a compromise will be reached.
Premise: If the opposition does not respond positively to our desire to compromise, they'll be held responsible and our side will benefit.
Conclusion: Our side will benefit from showing a desire to compromise with the opposition in this dispute.

Answer Choices:

(A) is incorrect. The argument is not about desire to compromise, just whether there is a compromise.

(B) is incorrect. The argument is not about how frequently the opposition compromises with our side, but about the compromise in this specific dispute.

(C) is correct. The first premise does not go quite as far as the second premise. The first premise just states that if the other sides responds positively, there will be a compromise. It does not tell us that this is actually good for our side. On the other hand, the second premise, tells us that the opposition refusing to compromise will be good for our side. Therefore, we don't actually know that our side will benefit if the first premise occurs. Thus, this is an assumption on which the argument is based.

(D) is incorrect. The argument is about the benefit to our side, not the benefit to the opposition.

(E) is incorrect. The argument is about what the benefit that will occur for our side if we show a willingness to compromise. It does not actually concern the likelihood of whether the opposition will compromise.