Sociologist: Some people argue that capital punishment for theft was an essential part of the labor discipline of Br...
andreaskormusisJuly 21, 2020
Understanding the Answer
So if I'm understanding this correctly. The reason the answer choice is what it is is because the Critic was criticizing the usage of the punishment during a time period that predated the industrial revolution, which is exactly when capitalism first began? Essentially, both the original point and the critic are agreeing on the time, its just that the critic doesn't understand that its not discussing the IR, its discussing capitalism as a whole? Capitalism predates the IR, so the statement that it was done more prior to then is just complimenting the main point of the passage. Is that a good method of thinking for understanding this answer?
Replies
Create a free account to read and
take part in forum discussions.
Thanks for the question! I think you’re on the right track, but it seemed to me like there were a couple of things that were a bit off. Maybe I’m wrong, let me walk through my thought process and you can see if it matches up.
So we’re told in this passage that some people argued that capital punishment for theft was an essential part of the labor discipline of British capitalism.
Then, another viewpoint is introduced, critics of this view. And they think that because more people were executed for theft in preindustrial England that postindustrial England, this isn’t necessarily true. So the critics are basically equating industrialization and capitalism.
Then, the sociologist disagrees with these critics (and so is more in line with “some people”). The sociologist tells us that the critics forget that industrialization and capitalism are distinct, and capitalism came first.
Now we’re asked for the role of the point that capitalism and industrialization are distinct. Take a look at (E). It undermines the criticism (so points out a flaw in what the critics are saying) against the claim that capital punishment for theft was an essential part of the labor discipline of British capitalism (which is “some people’s” claim). And as stated above, that’s exactly what happened, so (E) is correct.
Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any other questions that you might have.
