A law that is not consistently enforced does not serve its purpose. Law without enforcement is not law; it is merely ...

Naz May 20, 2014

You are correct as to why answer choice (B) is incorrect. We never discuss the authorization of the enforcement of punishments. Rather, the argument's main point is that the law requires consistent enforcement, i.e. not only declaring that "such and such behavior is forbidden," but also punishing all "those who violate that edict."

Why? The argument tells us: "A law that is not consistently enforced does not serve its purpose." Further, law without enforcement is not a law--merely a promise of law. The argument further clarifies this point by stating that those who enforce the law have to be unbiased in their punishments. "To punish only those one dislikes while forgiving others is not to enforce law, but to engage in the arbitrary and unjust exercise of power."

Through the statements above, the stimulus clearly points us to its main point: instituting real law requires punishing those who violate the edict "without favor for friends or malice for enemies." Thus, answer choice C, "instituting real law consists in the unbiased punishment of prohibited behavior," is the correct answer.

Hope that was helpful! Let us know if you have any other questions.

Theresaturner August 12, 2015

Can you please explain why the answer choice is not D. I thought the conclusion was "A law that is not consistently enforce does not serve it's purpose."

Naz August 19, 2015

Answer choice (D) and the first sentence do not say the same thing.

The first sentence states that a law that is not consistently enforced does not serve the purpose of a law. Answer choice (D) states that instituting real law consists in understanding the purpose of law. We never discuss understanding the purpose of a law. The argument merely begins by explaining a law that is not consistently enforced does not serve it purpose.

The first sentence discusses that consistency is integral in enforcing a law. What is this consistency? Well it is being unbiased in ones enforcement of the law, i.e. "those who enforce law must punish without favor for their friends or malice for their enemies."

Thus, answer choice (C) is the correct answer.

Hope that clears things up! Please let us know if you have any other questions.

PatrickRose February 18, 2022

So the first sentence is the conclusion?

Emil-Kunkin March 30, 2022

This is a slightly atypical main point question in that the main point is not particularly well captured by any one sentence. There are two components to the main point- that law must be enforced to be effective, and that enforcement must not be biased. The former part is well captured by the first sentence and the beginning of the second sentence. However, the second part does not appear until,the middle of the stimulus. For these sort of questions where the conclusion is stated in two parts of the paragraph it is best to approach the answer choices by looking for which most accurately captures the main point rather than which paraphrases the part of the passage you identify as the main point.