Law of Talk

I recently wrote an article on Frank Knight's First Law of Talk, and it got me to thinking about the current political situation and the media's approach to politics.  It is well known that reasoned argument is not always the most effective way to gain power. Demagogues have successfully operated throughout history via invective and by appealing to the baser instincts of their constituents. It is no different today.

It is thought in conservative circles that the leftists pretty much have no ideas, and Frank Knight's First Law of Talk, the idea that "cheap talk drives out talk that is less cheap", explains why the left engages so frequently in invective. Since leftist ideas generally do not work and cannot compete in the arena of intellectual argument, as well as in practical application, they must be presented in a way that is cheap in the hope that the resulting cheap talk will mask their blatant effort to pander to those who have votes.

A good example of this is the Democratic line regarding affirmative action.  They advocate special rights for segments of society rather than the equal treatment of all.  They do this by calling most of society bigots and degrading American historical figures. This creates resentment. The voters from the segment in question generate even more cheap talk. While those on the right begin with reasoned response, they must finally resort to calling the leftists demagogues and panderers (as I have done here).

Soon the argument spirals out of control, when a simple review of the idea of special rights for special groups would answer the question more simply, more decisively, more fairly.  Even so, Frank Knight's First Law of Talk shows such reasoned discussion among dissenting individuals to be impossible.