Passage Summary: The editorial suggests that if we make laws too scary, people stop feeling bad about breaking them, and since feeling bad is what keeps us from hurting others, harsher laws might make us more selfish.

Conclusion: Increasing the severity of legal punishments might lead to an increase in people's tendency to ignore the well-being of others.

Reasoning: Harsh punishments reduce the feelings of guilt or shame that normally prevent people from committing transgressions.

Analysis: This argument relies on a 'missing link' between the internal feeling of guilt and the external behavior of ignoring others' welfare. The premises establish that harsh punishment leads to less guilt, and less guilt leads to more transgressions, but the conclusion suddenly introduces 'ignoring the welfare of others.' The argument requires an assumption that links these transgressions or the lack of guilt to a disregard for others. Look for an answer that connects the psychological state of guilt/shame to the social behavior of caring about other people.