The Three Languages of Politics: Talking Across the Political Divides

145 Pages·2017·1.26 MB·English

by  Arnold Kling

The Three
Languages of
Politics
104415_FM.indd 1 4/26/17 2:48 AM
104415_FM.indd 2 4/26/17 2:48 AM
The Three
Languages of
Politics
TALKING ACROSS THE POLITICAL DIVIDES
Arnold K ling
CATO INSTITUTE
WASHINGTON, D.C.
104415_FM.indd 3 4/26/17 2:48 AM
Copyright © 2017 by Arnold Kling.
All rights reserved.
eBook ISBN: 978-1-944424-47-3
Print ISBN: 978-1-944424-46-6
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.
Printed in the United States of America.
CATO INSTITUTE
1000 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20001
www.cato.org
104415_FM.indd 4 4/26/17 2:48 AM
C O N T E N T S
Preface to the New Edition vii
1 The Nature of Political Arguments 1
2 Applying the Three-Axes Model 13
3 Fast Political Thinking and Simple Moral Frames 25
4 Beyond Your Dominant Heuristic 29
5 Your Mind on Politics: Motivated Reasoning 41
6 Further Thoughts on Human Nature 45
7 The State of Closure: Discrediting the Opponent 59
8 The Ideological Turing Test 65
9 I’m Reasonable, They’re Not 71
10 Using All Three Languages: Examples 75
11 Conclusion 85
Appendix: Testing the Three-Axes Model 89
Further Reading 109
Index 123
v
104415_FM.indd 5 4/26/17 2:48 AM
104415_FM.indd 6 4/26/17 2:48 AM
Preface to the
New Edition
In 2013, I self-published an ebook called The Three Languages
of Politics. I am pleased that Libertarianism.org has decided
to issue a new edition, including a print version. The main
theory of political communication in The Three Languages
remains unchanged. However, I am taking this opportunity
to revise the presentation, to include new material, and to
show how the theory applies to events that have taken place
since 2013.
I would like to thank the following for comments on ear-
lier drafts of this book: Tyler Cowen, Jeffrey Friedman, John
Samples, Aaron Ross Powell, and Nick Schulz.
vii
104415_FM.indd 7 4/26/17 2:48 AM
104415_FM.indd 8 4/26/17 2:48 AM
1
The Nature of Political
Arguments
When you can classify a significant movement as
unworthy of your consideration due to your intellec-
tual or political station, it is hard to then sit down and
work out solutions to shared problems.
—John Mauldin1
What are all the newspaper columnists, television talking
heads, pajama-clad bloggers, Facebook sharers, and Twitter
pundits doing? An individual will make a point that seems
1 John Mauldin, “The Day After,” Mauldin Economics website, “Outside the
Box” investment newsletter, November 9, 2016, http://www.mauldineconomics
.com/outsidethebox/the-day-after.
1
104415_Ch01.indd 1 4/2/17 2:43 AM