Thursday, February 20, 2014

The Reverse Mussolini Fallacy

From Eugene Volokh of the Volokh Conspiracy

The Mussolini Fallacy is believing that, because Mussolini made the trains run on time (if he did), that excuses his other acts. The Reverse Mussolini Fallacy is believing that, because Mussolini made the trains run on time, making the trains run on time is bad.

A good point for all of us to keep in mind, including THC.  At times we so dislike or are so irritated by the person making a statement or taking some action that we are tempted to take the exact opposite position or express our opposition in an overstated way designed to provoke outrage on the other side, even if it does not represent what we really think.  It's better to avoid employing the Reverse Mussolini Fallacy.

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