Author: Chris
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Denialists’ Deck of Cards: Consumers Want It, Or They Don’t Know What They Want
The spectacle manifests itself as an enormous positivity, out of reach and beyond dispute. All it says is: “Everything that appears is good; whatever is good will appear.” – Guy Debord, The Society of the Spectacle You’ve argued that consumer education can set individuals free. Now argue that because something exists, people must want it.…
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Denialists’ Deck of Cards: The 4 of Diamonds, “Consumer Freedom”
Given that there is consumer education, any attempt to limit the practices in questions threaten consumer freedom. Denialists will assume that people are perfectly rational and in possession of all relevant information. Thus, individuals choose the problem being addressed, and to limit it frustrates consumer freedom, because they like the problem or harm at issue.
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Denialists’ Deck of Cards: The Second Hand, Consumer Education
Okay, you’ve tried denying that the problem exists, you’ve tried to trivialize the problem, and you’ve even argued that the problem causes so harm, so it isn’t a problem. Obviously, this no harm thing begins to have diminishing returns. What’s next?
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Denialists’ Deck of Cards: The 3 of Spades, “Dolittle and DeLay”
At this point, the denalist engages in delay. The problem that doesn’t exist, and the harms that do not occur will continue not occur in the future, if we just wait. A great “wait and see” tactic is to “shift the goal posts.” The denialist does by stating, “we don’t know that there is a…
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Denialists’ Deck of Cards: The 3 of Hearts, “No Harm”
Okay, my industry lobbyists in training. You’ve said “no problem” over and over. You’ve dismissed problems as attributable to bad apples, or diminished the problem as a “mere inconvenience.” But people still seem to think that the problem that doesn’t exist still exists. You’re getting more and more press calls on the non-existent problem. What…
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Denialists’ Deck of Cards: The 2 of Spades, “Mere Inconvenience”
Are you practicing the “no problem” hand? You know how it goes–“there’s no problem” (damn persnickety do gooders)! And even if people sometimes think that there is a problem, the problem that isn’t a problem is caused by bad apples. But it really isn’t even a problem. It’s just a mere inconvenience! Therefore, there’s no…
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Epstein: FDA Deprives “Informed Patients” Choice in Care, But So Does the Market
Okay, I’m going to open a can of worms, and I’ll need the commentors to help me with this one. Last week, Professor Richard Epstein of the University of Chicago School of Law published an oped in the Wall Street Journal. Epstein’s a charming fellow, and I like him, but I wouldn’t want to live…
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Off to Montreal
I’m going to be less active for a few days. Going to Montreal (for the first time) for the 17th Conference on Computers, Freedom, and Privacy. I’ll be moderating a panel on the new landscape of online advertising, featuring Microsoft’s Kim Howell, the Center for Digital Democracy’s Jeff Chester, and Mike Zaneis of the Interactive…
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Denialists’ Deck of Cards: The 2 of Hearts, “Bad Apples”
Yesterday, I discussed how “no problem” is a chorus in denialist rhetoric. But sometimes, something bad has happened, and it’s more or less impossible say “no problem” with a straight face. What can a denialist do?
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Denialists’ Deck of Cards: The 2 of Clubs, “No Problem”
I’m very proud to be on Scienceblogs with Mark, and for my first posts, I’m going to be introducing the Denialists’ Deck of Cards, a humorous way to think about rhetorical techniques that are used in public debate. Those who pay attention to consumer protection issues, especially in product safety (especially tobacco, food, drugs), will…