Difference between revisions of "Analyzing Libertarian Arguments"
From Critiques Of Libertarianism
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: Very few arguments are about open and shut cases. Almost always, there are tradeoffs involved, and reasonable people can disagree on the conclusion because they have different values. What tradeoffs are left out? Which values are presumed to trump others? Given that disagreement cannot be resolved, how should the answer be decided? (Libertarians do NOT have a good answer for that.) | : Very few arguments are about open and shut cases. Almost always, there are tradeoffs involved, and reasonable people can disagree on the conclusion because they have different values. What tradeoffs are left out? Which values are presumed to trump others? Given that disagreement cannot be resolved, how should the answer be decided? (Libertarians do NOT have a good answer for that.) | ||
; How is the question loaded? | ; How is the question loaded? | ||
| − | : "When did you stop beating your wife?" is the classic loaded question. It slides in a presumption of moral incorrectness. (See Shalizi example.) Loading can be accomplished with propaganda terms, dog-whistle terms, and a host of other indirect methods. The best response to loaded questions is to shame the questioner for his tactic. | + | : "When did you stop beating your wife?" is the classic loaded question. It slides in a presumption of moral incorrectness. (See Shalizi example.) Loading can be accomplished with propaganda terms, [[dog-whistle]] terms, and a host of other indirect methods. The best response to loaded questions is to shame the questioner for his tactic. |
; Does the argument pretend to logic? | ; Does the argument pretend to logic? | ||
If not, point out how unconvincing the illogical argument is. If it does pretend to logic, conservative and libertarian arguments almost always fail logically, with bad assumptions or clear fallacies. Nozick's pretend induction, for example. | If not, point out how unconvincing the illogical argument is. If it does pretend to logic, conservative and libertarian arguments almost always fail logically, with bad assumptions or clear fallacies. Nozick's pretend induction, for example. | ||
