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Difficulty: Very hardSufficient Assumption

Macroeconomist: A national currency cannot achieve global reserve status unless its issuing central bank operates completely independent of short-term political pressures. Some analysts argue that the newly launched Solarian Credit will achieve global reserve status because it is backed by vast physical commodity reserves. However, any currency backed by vast physical commodity reserves inherently subjects its valuation to unpredictable global market fluctuations. Furthermore, no central bank can successfully prioritize long-term economic stability if its currency's valuation is subjected to such unpredictable market fluctuations. Therefore, the Solarian Credit cannot achieve global reserve status.

Which of the following, if assumed, enables the macroeconomist's conclusion to be properly drawn?

  1. A
    Any central bank that is able to successfully prioritize long-term economic stability operates completely independent of short-term political pressures.
  2. Any central bank that operates completely independent of short-term political pressures is able to successfully prioritize long-term economic stability.Answer
  3. C
    Most central banks that fail to successfully prioritize long-term economic stability do not operate completely independent of short-term political pressures.
  4. D
    At least some central banks that operate completely independent of short-term political pressures are able to successfully prioritize long-term economic stability.
  5. E
    A national currency that does not achieve global reserve status is issued by a central bank that does not operate completely independent of short-term political pressures.

Answer

The statement that any central bank that operates completely independent of short-term political pressures is able to successfully prioritize long-term economic stability.
The macroeconomist's argument relies on a chain of formal logic that remains incomplete. To prove the Solarian Credit cannot achieve global reserve status, the first premise dictates we must prove it lacks independence from political pressure. The evidence provided only proves that the Solarian Credit's central bank cannot prioritize long-term economic stability (due to commodity backing causing market fluctuations). To bridge the gap, we must assume that an inability to prioritize long-term stability guarantees a lack of political independence. The correct answer states this exact rule in its contrapositive form: Any bank that IS independent MUST be able to prioritize long-term stability. If we add this rule, the Solarian Credit's inability to prioritize stability guarantees it lacks independence, which in turn guarantees it cannot achieve global reserve status.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Map the required condition for the conclusion.
The conclusion is that the Solarian Credit will not achieve global reserve status. According to the first premise, the only stated way to prove this is to prove that its central bank is NOT completely independent of short-term political pressures.
Establishing the endpoint of the logical chain needed to mathematically guarantee the conclusion.
2
Map the chain of established premises regarding the Solarian Credit.
Solarian Credit -> Backed by commodities -> Subjected to market fluctuations -> Cannot successfully prioritize long-term economic stability.
Determines the furthest point we can reach using the explicit evidence provided in the stimulus.
3
Identify the logical gap.
The explicit chain ends at 'Cannot prioritize long-term stability'. The required trigger to prove the conclusion is 'Not independent of political pressures'. Therefore, the missing link is: 'If a bank cannot prioritize long-term stability, it is not independent of political pressures.'
A sufficient assumption must perfectly connect the end of the premise chain to the trigger for the conclusion.
4
Formulate the contrapositive of the missing link to find the correct answer.
The contrapositive of 'If it cannot prioritize stability, it is not independent' is exactly: 'If a bank is independent of political pressures, it must be able to successfully prioritize long-term economic stability.'
LSAT questions frequently present the correct sufficient assumption in its contrapositive form to test advanced formal logic translation.

Key Concept

Sufficient Assumption (Conditional Logic Chains and Contrapositives)
Estimated Time:2m 0s
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Topics

Sufficient Assumption

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