Responding to the Right
Responding to the Right: Brief Replies to 25 Conservative Arguments | ||||||||||||
Paperback - USA - 1st edition. |
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Responding to the Right: Brief Replies to 25 Conservative Arguments is a non-fiction political book by Nathan Robinson published on 2023-02-14. As the title suggests, the book describes a variety of common Conservative arguments and explains why they are faulty. It also goes into more depth on the methods Conservatives use to reach their conclusions and the problems with them.
Personal
Own? | No. |
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Read? | Audiobook read by Nathan Robinson. |
Finished | 2023-07-05. |
The older I get, the more interested in political science I become, so I've I been reading more about it. This book caught my eye, but I wasn't confident it would be cerebral enough (political hatred without substance does nothing for me). I was pleasantly surprised that it was more about getting to the truth of political matters than simply mocking Conservatives.
Review
Overall: |
Good
- The book is everything you'd expect and more. Robinson not only points out the many flaws in the Conservative arguments he covers, but also explains why those arguments sound persuasive to many people, and describes how to address their flaws effectively. The topics he covers include abortion, child labor, climate change, immigration, public education, racism, the separation of church and state, voting rights, wealth inequality, and many more.
- The author gives lots of good advice for dealing with debates like, don't assume your interlocutor is dumb, it will often backfire; stay on topic, don't get trolled into unrelated concepts; don't use complex jargon, it alienates anyone who isn't already an expert; don't get hung up on specifics, address the substance; if your interlocutor is ignorant of the topic, address their ignorance, etc.
- I like that the author doesn't use any hypothetical or imagined beliefs of Conservatives. Instead of straw men, he starts each argument with several quotes from prominent Conservative talking heads.
- The book isn't just about bashing Conservatives, the author also points out the skills successful Conservatives have: they're charismatic public speakers, they write forceful yet enjoyable prose, etc. He also points out the flaws with several on the Left who are not actually Liberal: they are pretentious, they accept money from the groups they claim to hate, etc.
Bad
- As with many political books, the author is biased in his political views. Although I typically found what he said to be correct, and his criticism of Conservatives is accurate and deserving, his message often leaves the realm of "let's educate Conservatives" and enters the "Conservatives are monsters." To be fair, many of the specific Conservatives he quotes in his book really are saying monstrous things, but I think this applies to a vocal minority in the group. He does talk about helping open-minded people who have Conservative leanings, but a lot of what he says about Conservatives are broad generalizations.
Ugly
- Nothing.