October 1999 LSAT Section 1 Question 22

Editorial: The government claims that the country's nuclear power plants are entirely safe and hence that the public...

Maxx on January 14, 2021

Why D and not C ?

Why is D the correct answer when there is a real danger that a situation ( sustained injury from nuclear accidents) will arise and the government never acted in the interest of the people ?

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Maxx on January 14, 2021

Is the "certain kind of situation" that they are referring to in D the financial liability that they could face as a result of injuries sustained from nuclear accidents ?

shunhe on January 15, 2021

Hi @Maxx,

Thanks for the question! (C) isn’t the correct answer because it talks about what happens in a certain situation: a potentially dangerous thing is safe only because the financial security of those responsible for its operation depends on its being safe. But does that situation even apply here? Is it true that nuclear power is safe for only that reason? We can’t be sure, and so we can’t be sure that (C) applies, and that means it’s not going to be the best answer here.

(D), on the other hand, adds something we need. If it’s true that the government acts to prevent something, then there’s a real danger that it’ll happen. We can diagram it

Act to prevent —> Real danger

Which is what we need for this conclusion.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any other questions that you might have.