Almost everything we're taught is wrong - Essay Example

? Some right in the wrong 25 September Outline: Some right in the wrong Introduction 1 In his controversial article, “Almost everything we're taught is wrong,” Stossel (2011) argued that several “wrongs” in society can also be viewed as right, when people use an economic perspective. In particular, he defended child labor, ticket scalping, price gouging, blackmail, and selling organs. 1.2 His intended audiences are lawmakers that are against these “wrongful” acts and people who think that these actions are wrong. 1.3 His main purpose is to defend certain wrongs as potentially right. 1.4 Stossel (2011) effectively used logos to support the economic reasons behind certain wrongs, although Stossel no longer addressed strong arguments against his main points and did not expound on his “sources;” and he also successfully applied pathos, where he appealed to the emotions of his audiences through providing emotional scenarios and examples. 2. Body 2.1 Stossel (2011) effectively used logos to defend the economic reasons behind certain wrongs. He stressed that child labor is not entirely wrong, because it provides a better alternative to prostitution. He mentioned “studies show that in at least one country where child labor was suddenly banned, prostitution increased.” He emphasized that these countries with high child labor practices are very poor and that they are better off if children are working instead of going hungry and selling their bodies. 2.2 Stossel (2011) also questioned anti-price gouging laws that prevent businessmen from conducting transactions in calamity-stricken areas. He made an important point by arguing that the economic value of price gouging is that it provided an incentive for merchants to bring their resources and goods to these calamity-affected locations. Bubb (n.d.) agreed that price gouging is an economic incentive for merchants and is not entirely wrong. 2.3 Stossel (2011) also defended ticket scalping, because it is about economic trade-offs. This economic relationship underlines the benefit of higher ticket prices: “Scalpers let you pay entirely in money, rather than partly in valuable time” (Stossel, 2011). 2.4 Stossel (2011) used statistics to argue for organ selling, where he said that hundreds and thousands of people need organs, but there is no marketplace that sells them. For him, if there is a demand for these organs, why stop the suppliers? Andre and Velasquez (n.d.) even added that an organized selling of organs can bring down prices in the future. 2.5 Stossel (2011) focused on the freedom of speech to defend blackmail. Blackmail is about the freedom of not giving speech. The main economic advantage is for people to “behave” (Stossel, 2011). 2.6 Stossel (2011) neglected to respond to stronger logical arguments, which leads him to commit the straw man fallacy. He did not explore the quality of work provided to these children like what Silvers (1996) did. Silvers (1996) reported that child labor is about inhumane work wages and conditions. Stossel (2011) should have also responded to these child labor concerns and not just focused on the importance of quantity of child labor, when there are serious issues about the quality of work conditions and wages of child workers. 2.7 Stossel (2011) also did not expound on his sources. Who are they and are they credible? His statistics lack direct citations of their references. 2.8 Stossel (2011), in addition, successfully applied pathos, where he appealed to the emotions of his audiences through providing emotional scenarios and examples. He used emotional alternatives to make his argument better than the contentions of those against his views. For instance, he said: “There's no shortcut through government prohibition -- unless you like starvation and child prostitution.” He stressed that child labor is better than prostitution and hunger. 2.9 Stossel (2011) also defended price gouging in times of disasters. Price gouging ensures better resource management by saying that people will be forced to buy essentials and so more is left for everyone. 2.10 Stossel (2011) redirected the focus of anti-organ-selling people on the emotional example that “Some 400,000 Americans are on a waiting list now for a new kidney, and they are not allowed to pay for one.” 3. Conclusion 3.1 Stossel effectively used pathos and logos to defend his main argument that several “wrongs” in society are economically “right.” Nevertheless, he did not specify some of his sources, which weaken the credibility of his statistics and he also committed the straw man fallacy. Rough draft Some right in the wrong In his controversial article, “Almost everything we're taught is wrong,” Stossel (2011) argued that several “wrongs” in society can also be viewed as right, when people use an economic perspective. In particular, he defended child labor, ticket scalping, price gouging, blackmail, and selling organs. His intended audiences are lawmakers that are against these “wrongful” acts and people who think that these actions are wrong. His main purpose is to defend certain wrongs as potentially right. Stossel (2011) effectively used logos to support the economic reasons behind certain wrongs, although Stossel no longer addressed strong arguments against his main points and did not expound on his “sources;” and he also successfully applied pathos, where he appealed to the emotions of his audiences through providing emotional scenarios and examples. Stossel (2011) effectively used logos to defend the economic reasons behind certain wrongs. He stressed that child labor is not entirely wrong, because it provides a better alternative to prostitution. He mentioned “studies show that in at least one country where child labor was suddenly banned, prostitution increased.” He emphasized that these countries with high child labor practices are very poor and that they are better off if children are working instead of going hungry and selling their bodies. Stossel (2011) also questioned anti-price gouging laws that prevent businessmen from conducting transactions in calamity-stricken areas. He made an important point by arguing that the economic value of price gouging is that it provided an incentive for merchants to bring their resources and goods to these calamity-affected locations. Bubb (n.d.) agreed that price gouging is an economic incentive for merchants and is not entirely wrong. Stossel (2011) also defended ticket scalping, because it is about economic trade-offs. This economic relationship underlines the benefit of higher ticket prices: “Scalpers let you pay entirely in money, rather than partly in valuable time” (Stossel, 2011). Stossel (2011) used statistics to argue for organ selling, where he said that hundreds and thousands of people need organs, but there is no marketplace that sells them. For him, if there is a demand for these organs, why stop the suppliers? Andre and Velasquez (n.d.) even added that an organized selling of organs can bring down prices in the future. Stossel (2011) focused on the freedom of speech to defend blackmail. Blackmail is about the freedom of not giving speech. The main economic advantage is for people to “behave” (Stossel, 2011). Stossel (2011) neglected to respond to stronger logical arguments, which leads him to commit the straw man fallacy. He did not explore the quality of work provided to these children like what Silvers (1996) did. Silvers (1996) reported that child labor is about inhumane work wages and conditions. Stossel (2011) should have also responded to these child labor concerns and not just focused on the importance of quantity of child labor, when there are serious issues about the quality of work conditions and wages of child workers. Stossel (2011) also did not expound on his sources. Who are they and are they credible? His statistics lack direct citations of their references. Stossel (2011), in addition, successfully applied pathos, where he appealed to the emotions of his audiences through providing emotional scenarios and examples. He used emotional alternatives to make his argument better than the contentions of those against his views. For instance, he said: “There's no shortcut through government prohibition -- unless you like starvation and child prostitution.” He stressed that child labor is better than prostitution and hunger. Stossel (2011) also defended price gouging in times of disasters. Price gouging ensures better resource management by saying that people will be forced to buy essentials and so more is left for everyone. Stossel (2011) redirected the focus of anti-organ-selling people on the emotional example that “Some 400,000 Americans are on a waiting list now for a new kidney, and they are not allowed to pay for one.” Stossel effectively used pathos and logos to defend his main argument that several “wrongs” in society are economically “right.” He forced his audiences to reconsider the notion of right and wrong, when there are several contentions that sometimes, what is wrong can also be right. Nevertheless, he did not specify some of his sources, which weaken the credibility of his statistics and he also committed the straw man fallacy. Final draft Some right in the wrong In his controversial article, “Almost everything we're taught is wrong,” John Stossel (2011) argued that several “wrongs” in society can also be viewed as right, if people only use an economic perspective. In particular, he defended child labor, ticket scalping, price gouging, blackmail, and selling organs. His intended audiences are lawmakers that are against these “wrongful” acts and people who think that these actions are wrong. His main purpose is to defend certain wrongs as potentially right and to redefine the debate around these issues by using an economics perspective. This essay aims to analyze and describe Stossel’s rhetorical strategies. Stossel (2011) effectively used logos to support the economic reasons behind certain wrongs, although Stossel no longer addressed strong arguments against his main points and did not expound on his “sources;” and he also successfully applied pathos, where he appealed to the emotions of his audiences through providing emotional scenarios and examples. Stossel (2011) effectively used logos to defend the economic reasons behind certain wrongs. He stressed that child labor is not entirely wrong, because it is a moral alternative to other avenues of earning money, such as prostitution. It is also better than dying from hunger. He mentioned “studies show that in at least one country where child labor was suddenly banned, prostitution increased.” He emphasized that these countries with high child labor practices are very poor and that they are better off, if children are working instead of going hungry and selling their bodies. He also cited economists who have credibility on these matters. For instance, he mentioned David Boaz of the Cato Institute who stressed: “If we say that the United States should abolish child labor in very poor countries, then what will happen to these children?” By using an economist’s opinion, Stossel improved the validity of his arguments. Stossel (2011) also questioned anti-price gouging laws that prevent businessmen from conducting transactions in calamity-stricken areas. He made an important point by arguing that the economic value of price gouging is that it provided an incentive for merchants to bring their resources and goods to these calamity-affected locations. He questioned the immorality of high prices during desperate times and underscored the economic gains of allowing price gouging. Bubb (n.d.) agreed that price gouging is an economic incentive for merchants and is not entirely wrong. Stossel (2011) also defended ticket scalping, because it is about economic trade-offs. This economic relationship underlines the benefit of higher ticket prices: “Scalpers let you pay entirely in money, rather than partly in valuable time” (Stossel, 2011). Moreover, Stossel (2011) used statistics to argue for organ selling, where he said that hundreds and thousands of people need organs, but there is no marketplace that sells them. For him, if there is a demand for these organs, why stop the suppliers? Andre and Velasquez (n.d.) even added that an organized and legalized selling of organs can bring down prices in the future. Finally, Stossel (2011) focused on the freedom of speech to defend blackmail. Blackmail is about the freedom of not giving speech. The main economic advantage is for people to “behave” (Stossel, 2011). He said: “Blackmail is actually a form of private law enforcement.” As a form of law enforcement, people will become more careful of their actions and this will also provide economic benefits. Stossel (2011) neglected to respond to stronger logical arguments, which leads him to commit the straw man fallacy. The straw man fallacy is about misrepresenting the position of opponents through distorting arguments. In particular, Stossel (2011) did not explore why child labor will be considered evil, in the way that Silvers (1996) did. Silvers (1996) reported that child labor is about inhumane work wages and conditions. He gave the example of child labor in Pakistan, where a child laborer is paid two months of an adult worker’s salary for a bond of five-years of work. If this situation is considered, then child labor remained immoral. Stossel (2011) should have also responded to these child labor concerns and not just focused on the importance of quantity of child labor. He should have also considered resolving the issues about the quality of work conditions and wages of child workers. Stossel (2011) also did not expound on his sources. Who are they and are they credible? His statistics lack direct citations of their references. For instance, when he said “studies show that in at least one country where child labor was suddenly banned, prostitution increased,” he no longer mentioned the sources of these studies. This makes the studies vague and weakened the truthfulness of his claim that without child labor, prostitution will rise. Stossel (2011), in addition, successfully applied pathos, where he appealed to the emotions of his audiences through providing emotional scenarios and examples. He, however, used more of logos than pathos, since he depended on economic thinking to argue for the logic of his arguments. He employed emotional alternatives to make his argument better than the contentions of those against his views. For instance, he said: “There's no shortcut through government prohibition -- unless you like starvation and child prostitution.” He stressed that child labor is better than prostitution and hunger. People who keep on denouncing child labor will only make it worse for these children by pushing them to hunger or prostitution. Stossel (2011) also defended price gouging in times of disasters. Price gouging ensures better resource management by saying that people will be forced to buy essentials and so more is left for everyone. He also emphasized the morality of price gouging, where merchants are also acting morally by choosing prices that meet their efforts in selling these products and services that are in high demand. He mentioned the example from Boaz. Boaz said: “If you are in Kentucky (and) you've got 10 generators in your store, are you getting up at 4 a.m. to drive all day to get to Louisiana to sell these generators if you can only sell them for the same price you can sell them for in Kentucky?...” and he stated: “No, you're going to go down because ... you can sell them for more” (Stossel, 2011). An economic incentive can be emotionally correct too, Stossel seemed to be saying. Economic ends have emotional and social benefits too, such as saving and lengthening lives. In addition, Stossel (2011) redirected the focus of anti-organ-selling people on the emotional example that “some 400,000 Americans are on a waiting list now for a new kidney, and they are not allowed to pay for one.” He let the audience imagine thousands of people dying, because they are denied access to organs for sale. He also admonished the superficiality of criminalizing organ selling, which the economist Boaz also confirmed: “We sell hair. We sell sperm. We sell eggs these days” (Stossel, 2011). Hairs do not even save lives and yet this is allowed by law. Laws should also stop sanctioning organ selling when they can save thousands of people. At the same time, the money spent will also help people in need. Thus, the economic relationship between sellers and buyers remains financially and psychologically “moral.” Stossel (2011) effectively used pathos and logos to defend his main argument that several “wrongs” in society are economically “right.” He forced his audiences to reconsider the notion of right and wrong, when it is possible to see that sometimes, what is wrong can also be right. For him, economics can be a good foundation for checking laws and aligning them with pragmatic economic sense. Economics can also be used to underlie emotional appeals. Money is not always the main end, but the consequence of saving lives is also an important social benefit. Nevertheless, Stossel (2011) did not specify some of his sources, which weakened the credibility of his statistics and he also committed the straw man fallacy. Still, he provided a fresh perspective in analyzing some of the “wrongs” in society. Stossel (2011) can make people pause and think about the possibility that there be something right in some wrongs. References Andre, C. & Velasquez, M. (no date). Kidneys for sale. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. Retrieved from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v1n2/kidneys.html Bubb, F. (no date). The benefits of price gouging. The Atlas Society. Retrieved from http://ayn-rand.info/cth--974-The_Benefits_Price_Gouging.aspx Silvers, J. (1996, February). Child labor in Pakistan. The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1996/02/child-labor-in-pakistan/4660/ Stossel, J. (2011, August 24). Almost everything we're taught is wrong. Fox News.com. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/08/24/almost-everything-were-taught-is-wrong/ Read More