| | [According to Emotivism] All one can do is express an emotion of approval or disapproval about such matters [e.g., ObamaCare]. And one cannot show such a thing as right or wrong. It is just how one feels and that’s the end of it.
One consequence is that disagreements cannot be adjudicated by reasoning. All that is left is attempting to discredit one’s opponents, most often by ad hominem charges, name calling, besmirching and the like. The atmosphere that dominates in such disputes is largely irrational. And no one has to spend much energy trying to figure out that it is the irrational side of arguments and their supporters that gains enormously from this phenomena.
When bad money enter's circulation, good money is driven out of the marketplace. When the initiation of force is acceptable in the marketplace, it is choice and voluntary association that begin to disappear. When the coin of argument is irrationality, emotionalism and character attacks, it is the reasoned argument and its proponents that loose market-share.
All it takes is about two generations to be taught, by example, in the colleges and universities, that sarcasm trumps logic, that emotionalism outweighs reason, and that character assassination is a proper form of argument... and lo and behold, there is no longer a stable platform for reason and logic to stand on in the public arena and it is as if the media and even the public have put in earplugs that turn the volume way down when what is being said doesn't measure up by the standard of emotionalism.
If the arguments for socialism/collectivism had been taught attempting to use logic and reason, and not emotionalism, they could easily be defeated with logic and reason, since Capitalism/Individualism are more rational. But if college's implicit message was that reason and logic are impotent in the face of a withering emotional attacks, then all reason in the world will have a hard time turning the tide.
Fixed: Typo. Found by Prof. Machan. Change requested by Steve Wolfer.
(Edited by Dean Michael Gores on 10/22, 5:48am)
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