Some Epistemology

We're sick and tired of the following argument:

You wouldn't accept George Will's having argued that p as justification for accepting p; and your grounds for not doing so would be that Will is a right-winger. Since left-wing political writers and right-wing political writers are symmetrical, it follows that so-and-so's having argued that p does not (by itself) justify acceptance of p because so-and-so is a left-winger.

But left- and right-wing sources are not symmetrical. The goal of the right wing is to perpetuate and worsen a system in which a small number of people control obscene quantities of wealth and power at the expense of the vast majority, whereas the goal of the left wing is to distribute wealth and power more broadly. For short, the goal of the right wing is perpetuating and increasing injustice, whereas the goal of the left wing is increasing justice.

People do not like injustice. The knowledge that injustice is being done to others offends their sense of morality; the knowledge that injustice is being done to them makes them angry and resentful. Both these emotions contribute to a desire to use the political system in order to counter injustice. So it is very helpful for the right wing to achieve its goal if the existence of injustice, and the unjust effects of the policies it endorses, can be concealed.

Providing this concealment is the role of right-wing political writers. Thus, a priori, given that injustice exists and that right-wing policies are unjust, you might expect the ample use of lies, misdirection, and sophistry from these guys. (In fact, my intimate knowledge with right-wing political writing provides ample evidence that what you might expect is exactly what you get.)

By contrast, the role of left-wing political writers is to cause people to believe that there is injustice, and that right-wing policies make it worse. Given, once again, that both these points are true, all that left wing political writers need to do is report the truth.

Of course, both these arguments rely on the empirical claims that there is injustice, and that right-wing policies make it worse. There's plenty of evidence that this is so, of course. No one's forcing anyone to accept this evidence; but it's your bank account, your inadequate health care, your kids, your community that feels it every time you turn a blind eye. -- Benj