The correct answer is (D).
(D) Inference (EXCEPT)
Step 1: Identify the Question Type
The correct answer will be based on accepting all the given statements as true. That makes this an Inference question. However, while most Inference questions ask for something supported or true, this question does not. Here, four answers "could be true," while the correct answer will be the exception: the one that cannot be true (i.e., it must be false).
Step 2: Untangle the Stimulus
According to the sociologists, certain technologies (TV, phones, electronic media) lead to uncritical thinking. Unfortunately, critical thinking is the only way to protect against demagogues that exploit people's emotions to distort reality.
adequately protected against demagogues →˜ critical thinking
If → critical thinking →˜ adequately protected against demagogues
Step 3: Make a Prediction
With an Inference question asking for such an absolute answer (the one that must be false), look for the strongest claims that can be more directly contradicted. In this case, the sociologist claims that critical thinking is the only adequate protection against demagogues. Any answer that suggests something else is adequate or critical reasoning is not enough will absolutely contradict the sociologist, and thus could not be true.
Step 4: Evaluate the Answer Choices
(D) is correct. According to the sociologist, critical thinking is the only adequate protection. In that case, it cannot be true that an orderly system of government by itself would be adequate.
(A) could be true. Technology does encourage uncritical thinking, which would make people susceptible to demagogues. However, there's no way to know for sure whether demagogues are present or not in any given society. It's possible (even if unlikely) that demagogues only appear in non-technological societies, making the technological ones fortunate in that there are no demagogues to exploit their uncritical thinking.
(B) could be true. Demagogues exploit people's emotions, but it's never said that they're the only type of people to do so. There certainly could be other people who exploit emotions.
(C) is an Irrelevant Comparison that could be true. The sociologist makes no comparison between highly emotional people and less emotional people, so it's very possible highly emotional people are more easily exploited.
(E) could be true. The sociologist offers no information about the erosion of media freedoms, so this claim could be true or false. There's no support either way.
