Multiple choice

After a rebellion in a certain country was put down, the country's parliament debated how to deal with defeated rebels. One side proposed that all the rebels be imprisoned in order to deter those who might be strongly tempted to rebel in the future. The other side argued against imprisonment because it would only discourage future insurrectionists from surrender.

Both positions logically depend on the assumption that

  1. imprisonment is a harsh penalty

  2. a rebel will prefer a sentence of imprisonment to death

  3. there will be no future rebellion in country

  4. it is unlikely that future rebels will surrender

  5. a rebellion can be put down by force
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A Correct answer
Explanation

One side advocates imprisonment because it is harsh (harsh enough to deter future rebels from rebelling). The other side does not advocate imprisonment because it is harsh (so harsh that rebels won't surrender in the future.

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