Three large companies andseven small companies currently manufacture a product with potential militaryapplications. If the governmentregulates the industry, it will institute a single set of manufacturingspecifications to which all ten companies will have to adhere. In this case, therefore, since none of theseven small companies can afford to convert their production lines to a new setof manufacturing specifications, only the three large companies will be able toremain in business.
Which of the following isan assumption on which the author’s argument relies?
A. None of the three large companies will go out of businessif the government does not regulate the manufacture of the product.
B. It would cost more to convert the production lines of thesmall companies to a new set of manufacturing specifications than it would toconvert the production lines of the large companies.
C. Industry lobbyists will be unable to dissuade thegovernment from regulating the industry.
D. Assembly of the product produced according to governmentmanufacturing specifications would be more complex than current assemblyprocedures.
E. None of the seven small companies currently manufacturesthe product to a set of specifications that would match those the governmentwould institute if the industry were to be regulated.
