Question

passage 1 passage 2 this brief essay by author and college professor charles augustus eggert was published in california in 1913 as part of the collection why i am opposed to socialism: original papers by leading men and women. socialism was a popular and controversial theory at that time, four years before the russian revolution. no government had yet tried to put the theory of socialism into practice why i am opposed to socialism by charles augustus eggert i am opposed to socialism, first, because it is not an inductively obtained system, but an “ism” that postulates qualities in the individuality of a nation which no nation, or community even, has yet developed to a sufficiently high state to make this “ism” fit to be seriously tried. which sentence best states two central ideas that support blanc’s argument in passage 2? middle class people make money by running small businesses, and poor people work for others for pay. individuals who are willing to work can work for money, and contractors can decide how much to pay them. some political economists argue that competition is a good thing, and others believe that it harms most people. private property limits poor people’s access to essential natural resources, and competition lowers their wages.

Explanation:

To determine the best sentence, we analyze Blanc's argument (likely socialist - leaning, as the passage is against socialism). The last option "Private property limits poor people’s access to essential natural resources, and competition lowers their wages" presents issues with private property and competition (common socialist - critical points of capitalism), supporting an argument for socialist ideas (like addressing these inequalities). Other options describe capitalist - like systems (middle - class business, workers for pay, contractors setting pay, economists' competition views) which don't support a socialist argument as well.

Answer:

D. Private property limits poor people’s access to essential natural resources, and competition lowers their wages (assuming the last option is D; if options are labeled differently, adjust the identifier but keep the text)