Q12

[lhermary]

Why is B right and not D? They seem very similar...

Thanks

[ManhattanPrepLSAT1]

Good question! It does seem to be the case that there's almost always that one really tempting and close answer, even though it's not quite right. So what's the difference between answer choices (B) and (D)?

Answer choice (B) is about protecting a colleague, whereas answer choice (D) is about securing passage of a drug. They sound so similar in that they both present someone who conceals information, but the intent of that deception is different. If we look back to (lines 56-57) "professional solidarity" refers to protecting a colleague. Answer choice (D) has a government official protecting a pharmaceutical manufacturer - not a professional colleague.

Let's just run through the other incorrect answers though...

(A) does not represent professional solidarity at the expense of ethical enforcement, though it is professional solidarity nonetheless.
(C) is not professional solidarity.
(D) is not professional solidarity since it's a government official who is doing the protecting. Though it does represent something that goes against ethical enforcement.
(E) is professional solidarity but again, not at the expense of ethical enforcement.

Hope that helps! And let me know if you have any further questions on this one.

[olaizola.mariana]

matsherman, it seems to me that answer (B) is also NOT about protecting a colleague... it says, "in order to protect the reputation of the press..." One could imagine that the colleague might actually be angry that the journalist changed his news article. So would (D) be all that different? The protagonists in both scenarios are acting for the benefit of the group/company rather than an individual colleague.

[maryadkins]

I don't think (D) is about protecting the government, or protecting anyone for that matter, or solidarity at all. I think (D) is about getting the drug approved. If anything it's about an official being in the pockets of the pharmaceutical industry.

(B) is, at the very least, arguably about solidarity of the press, i.e. professional solidarity. And it is about protection, explicitly.