Can You Be Neutral?

The argument's conclusion follows logically if which one of the following is assumed?

Some theorists argue that literary critics should strive to be value-neutral in their literary criticism. These theorists maintain that by exposing the meaning of literary works without evaluating them, critics will enable readers to make their own judgments about the works' merits. But literary criticism cannot be completely value-neutral. Thus, some theorists are mistaken about what is an appropriate goal for literary criticism.

Answer: If it is impossible to produce completely value-neutral literary criticism, then critics should not even try to be value-neutral.

This is the assumption we're looking for. It bridges the gap in the argument between actually doing something and trying to do something.