Sufficient AssumptionDiff: Easy
Logic Breakdown
Passage Summary: The author claims that because Athens had a unique system where every voter directly made decisions, it's the only place that could ever be called a 'true democracy.'
Conclusion: If true democracy has ever existed, it was only in ancient Athens.
Reasoning: Ancient Athens is the only political system in history where the legislature consisted of all eligible voters who made all decisions via direct vote.
Analysis: This is a Sufficient Assumption question, so we need a premise that guarantees the conclusion is true. The argument establishes that Athens is unique in its direct-vote structure, but it hasn't yet proven that 'true democracy' requires that specific structure. We are looking for a 'bridge' that connects the unique feature of Athens to the definition of true democracy. An answer that states a system is only a true democracy if its legislature consists of all eligible voters would effectively lock the conclusion into place.
Conclusion: If true democracy has ever existed, it was only in ancient Athens.
Reasoning: Ancient Athens is the only political system in history where the legislature consisted of all eligible voters who made all decisions via direct vote.
Analysis: This is a Sufficient Assumption question, so we need a premise that guarantees the conclusion is true. The argument establishes that Athens is unique in its direct-vote structure, but it hasn't yet proven that 'true democracy' requires that specific structure. We are looking for a 'bridge' that connects the unique feature of Athens to the definition of true democracy. An answer that states a system is only a true democracy if its legislature consists of all eligible voters would effectively lock the conclusion into place.
Passage Stimulus
Passage Redacted
Unlock Full Passage2.The conclusion of the classicist's argument follows logically if which one of the following is assumed?
Correct Answer
D
D supplies exactly the needed definition: a political system is not a true democracy unless eligible voters directly vote on all political decisions. Given Athens uniquely met this condition, the conclusion that “only in ancient Athens” would follow.
Upgrade Your Prep
Ready to go beyond free explanations?
LSAT Perfection is the #1 modern LSAT prep platform, trusted by thousands of students for comprehensive test strategies, advanced drilling, and full analytics on every PrepTest.
Detailed explanations for 59 PrepTests
Advanced drillset builder
Personalized analytics
Built-in Wrong Answer Journal