Democratic governments are unlikely to take a morally principled stand on controversial issues, because there are almost always groups of people with differing principles who strongly resist any policy that consistently adheres to any particular moral principle. Thus, the compromises that opposition groups force on democratic governments make policies about controversial issues morally arbitrary. The reasoning in the argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it fails to consider the possibility that ['any form of government is more efficient when it is not overly restricted by moral principles', 'other forms of government are no more likely to take a stand on controversial moral issues than are democratic governments', 'democratic governments benefit citizens more by failing to take a stand on controversial issues than by adhering strictly to moral principles', 'democratic governments appeal to moral principles in effecting compromises between those with opposing moral principles']