Politics & Government
![Nathan J. Robinson - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B00N7LEUXW.jpg)
Responding to the Right: Brief Replies to 25 Conservative Arguments
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.
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.
Editorial Reviews
"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
"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
Readers Top Reviews
Jonathan
As a conservative, I was truly expecting more. After all, Nathan had the audacity to claim that Thomas Sowell was "completely wrong" on all of his assertions. Clearly, this book HAS to offer some robust, juicy material that will surely help my liberal friends once and for all get the best of me. To my disappointment, this book had everything you would come to expect from a post modern, neo-Marxist. The book is filled with anecdotes and subjective points. Each chapter is extremely short, making the book feel much more like cliff notes. Nathan tries his best to tackle highly debated topics, such as climate change, socialism immigration and minimum wage laws, yet never goes in depth on any single topic. Each chapter is just filled with fluff or cherry picked examples that "support" his claim. There are no real facts and no sources to support his claims. Nathan, if you actually read Thomas Sowell's book on Basic Economics, you would have learned that "zero sum" is a fallacy, yet you use it as the driving factor in your chapter on "inequality is fine" and provide no other facts to back up your claim. That was half of your passage. The entire book is littered with this. To the liberals out there trying to get a leg up on talking points, I highly recommend picking this up and memorizing it. Your conservative friends will thank you.
