Title:
Responding to the right : brief replies to 25 conservative arguments / Nathan J. Robinson.
ISBN:
9781250777744
Personal Author:
Edition:
First edition.
Publication Information:
New York : St. Martin's Griffin, 2023.
Physical Description:
xvi, 367 pages ; 21 cm
Contents:
Introduction -- Part I: How conservative arguments work and why they seem more powerful than they really are. Conservatism versus rationality -- The terror of having to think -- Common tendencies in conservative arguments -- Tips for arguing -- Part II: Brief replies to 25 conservative arguments. 1. Government is the problem, not the solution -- 2. Minimum wages and rent control are economically disastrous -- 3. Taxation is theft and/or slavery -- 4. Capitalism rewards innovation and gives people what they deserve -- 5. The United States is a force for good in the world -- 6. There's no such thing as white privilege -- 7. The left are woke totalitarians trying to destroy free speech in the name of "social justice" -- 8. Socialized medicine will kill your grandmother -- 9. Scandinavian social democracy won't work in the United States -- 10. The welfare state will lead us down the "road to serfdom" -- 11. The Nazis were socialists -- 12. Feminism hurts both men and women -- 13. Price gouging, child labor, and sweatshops are good -- 14. We don't need a green new deal -- 15. Academia is a radical indoctrination factory -- 16. There is a war on cops when we need to be tougher on crime -- 17. Labor unions hurt workers -- 18. Transgender people are delusional and a threat -- 19. Abortion is murder -- 20. There is a war on Christianity -- 21. We must respect the Constitution and the founding fathers -- 22. People should "pull themselves up by their bootstraps" and not need "handouts" -- 23. Immigration is harmful -- 24. Inequality is fine -- 25. Democracy is overrated -- Conclusion.
Summary:
"The editor of Current Affairs artfully and efficiently debunks a series of common right-wing arguments. Are taxes theft? Is abortion murder? Does regulation destroy jobs? Is white privilege a lie? Conservative talking points are everywhere, and through well-funded media like Fox News, Breitbart, and YouTube's "Prager University," the right has an impressive record of packaging its views for a general audience. Clearly, the left needs to do a better job of fighting back. Luckily, Current Affairs editor Nathan J. Robinson has developed a reputation as a meticulous slayer of irrational and bigoted arguments. He has tangled with the likes of Ben Shapiro, Jordan Peterson, and Charles Murray, exposing their flimsy logic and distorted facts with forensic thoroughness and savage wit. In Responding to the Right, Robinson blasts right-wing nonsense with devastating intellectual weaponry, revealing how everyone from Ann Coulter to the National Review uses fear and lies to manipulate the public. He gives a detailed explanation of how conservative arguments work and why we need to resist them, then goes through twenty-five separate talking points, showing precisely why each one fails. This essential handbook is a stimulating source of issues to debate and a comprehensive challenge to dozens of dominant orthodoxies. It sets a new standard for leftist critique, and would be an invaluable addition to the arsenals of the millions of progressives fighting the political battles of our age"-- Provided by publisher.
OCLC Number:
on1350527528
Availability:
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