Put the argument in the following passage in standard form. …
Put the argument in the following passage in standard form. Then, propose a plausible alternative explanation, and applying the criteria of adequacy evaluate the argument. You do not need to comment on each of the criteria of adequacy, just focus on one or two of the criteria that are most relevant for preferring one theory over the other: A small, secret society of corporate CEOs and international bankers runs the economies of the United States and Europe. For its own benefit and for its own reasons, the society decides when these nations go into and come out of recession, what levels of production will be achieved by the oil industry, and what each country’s gross national product will be. Members of the society are so rich and powerful that they are able to hide the society’s activities from public view and operate without the knowledge of governments and ordinary citizens.