Sociologist: Some people argue that capital punishment for theft was an essential part of the labor discipline of Br...
jayymohSeptember 18, 2014
Clarification
I narrowed my answer choices to A and E. I picked E because A automatically assumes that the difference between the two completely negates the initial statement. I'm not sure if I'm on the right path. Please advise.
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First, we have the view of "some people" who argue that capital punishment for theft was an essential part of the labor discipline of British capitalism.
Second, we have critics of the first view that argue that more people were executed for theft in preindustrial England than in postindustrial England.
And then we have the third view, the criticism of the critics of the first view, which states that the critics of the first view overlook the fact that industrialization and capitalism are two very different things.
We are asked to identify the role of the third view. Well, the third view is posed to criticize the critics of the first view, i.e. answer choice (E): "It is an attempt to undermine the criticism cited against the claim that capital punishment for theft was an essential part of the labor discipline of British capitalism."
Remember, the third view criticizes the second view, which is a criticism of the very first view. So, answer choice (E) is our answer.
Answer choice (A) states: "It is cited as some evidence against the claim that capital punishment for theft was an essential part of the labor discipline of British capitalism."
That is not the case. Again, the third view is a criticism of those who criticize the first view; it does not support the second view, rather it argues against it.
Hope that helps! Please let us know if you have any other questions.
