Responding to the Right: Brief Replies to 25 Conservative Arguments

by Nathan J. Robinson

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250777744
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/14/2023
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	280,698
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

NATHAN J. ROBINSON is a leading voice of millennial left politics. He is the editor of Current Affairs. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Republic, The Nation, Salon, The Guardian, and elsewhere. He is a graduate of Yale Law School and holds a PhD from Harvard University. He is the author of Why You Should Be A Socialist.

Editorial Reviews

11/07/2022

“Everyone has a responsibility to hear the other side out carefully in order to determine whether their own beliefs are, in fact, defensible,” according to this insightful guide to debunking conservative arguments. Current Affairs editor-in-chief Robinson (Why You Should Be a Socialist) draws on the work of theorist Albert Hirschman to identify three underlying premises of conservative arguments—proposed reforms will have “disastrous unintended consequences,” will fail to accomplish their goals, and will “undermine its own goals, jeopardizing the precious progress we have made so far”—and advises progressives not to assume that conservatives are stupid and not to accept faulty premises. He then outlines 25 specific conservative arguments and how to refute them. To counter the notion that “government is the problem, not the solution,” he suggests reminding conservatives of the many useful government functions (policing, firefighting, etc.) they support, and noting that other countries are able to provide healthcare and other services without the problems conservatives often predict. Elsewhere, Robinson advises readers on how to debunk the notions that white privilege doesn’t exist, immigration is harmful, abortion is murder, and more. Throughout, he highlights the importance of maintaining respect, patience, and empathy to keep apolitical individuals from being taken in by false right-wing claims. Progressives will savor this lucid handbook. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"Robinson reads the right so you don't have to (though maybe you should) and tells you what they say, why it wins converts, and how to beat them at their own game." —Cory Doctorow, author of Radicalized and co-author of Chokepoint Capitalism

"Nathan Robinson is that rare and brilliant radical thinker who is unafraid to be witty while he's challenging your preconceptions. Come for the analysis, stay for the rhetoric." —Laurie Penny, author of Bitch Doctrine and Unspeakable Things

"The bulk of the book is a run-through of 25 common points of debate that Robinson dismantles by calling out their rhetorical hyperbole, disingenuous misreadings of history, willful manipulation of data, or outright bigotry...Robinson’s approach is snark-free, and though he’s confident in his rebuttals, he never postures as superior." —Kirkus

"[An] insightful guide to debunking conservative arguments...Progressives will savor this lucid handbook." —Publishers Weekly

"Responding to the Right is a delightfully readable book from an author who never fails to charm. It deflates the right’s more bombastic claims while making a compelling case for a more progressive standpoint." —Aero Magazine

From the Publisher

2022-12-06
An assortment of philosophical and factual responses to common conservative arguments.

Current Affairs magazine editor Robinson, author of Why You Should Be a Socialist, is preaching to the choir, but he believes the choir could be better tuned. Too often, he argues, liberals are quick to dismiss right-wing assertions as ignorant or racist. Though he’s confident the right’s assertions are wrong, they ought to be faced head-on. The author urges liberals to read Ann Coulter, Dinesh D’Souza, et al. because their wrongness is often persuasive and well written. Throughout, Robinson encourages readers to fact-check conservative arguments (the scientific literature they cite is often misread or unscientific) and be mindful of distracting rhetorical gambits. Ben Shapiro, one of his favorite targets, is fond of rapidly piling on assertions and dubious factoids that are almost impossible to separate and rebut. The bulk of the book is a run-through of 25 common points of debate that Robinson dismantles by calling out their rhetorical hyperbole (“taxation is theft and/or slavery”), disingenuous misreadings of history (“the Nazis were socialists”), willful manipulation of data (“labor unions hurt workers”), or outright bigotry (“transgender people are delusional and a threat”). Contrary to the usual online squabbles (or Al Franken books) on such matters, Robinson’s approach is snark-free, and though he’s confident in his rebuttals, he never postures as superior. He makes good-faith efforts to find the strongest arguments on the right-wing side, and he is willing to acknowledge the intractability of some topics, particularly abortion. However, that acknowledgment doesn’t soften his resolve. There’s not enough room for him to fully debunk every argument, of course, and the lack of dedicated chapters on gun rights and corporate taxation seem like substantive omissions. Still, the author is unquestionably knowledgeable of this fraught terrain.

A reasonable, if by definition slanted, effort to wrest political discourse away from Fox News patter.

Kirkus Reviews