Communicating Liberty

1. 1. Pick your battles (sniper rifle, not shotgun)
2. Anecdotes illustrate, they do not prove.
3. Don’t fight your opponent, walk with your partner.
4. Be succinct.
5. Think skin, big heart.
6. Look for common ground.
7. Be open to learn.

2. Communication
Research papers
Technical writing
Opeds
Videos
Blog posts
Comments

3. Argument is Surgery, Not War.

4. “…(capitalism) seems to reward
not virtue as much as the ability
to manipulate the system”

5. “…(capitalism) seems to reward
not virtue as much as the ability
to manipulate the system”
“Do (leaders) choose their appointees
on the basis of the virtue of the
people appointed or on the basis of
their political clout?”

6. Comment
“Searching for virtue in an economic system is like searching for a
reason to kill in a church....why confuse economics with its real
purpose? These guys both suffer from drunken brain fairies and a
profound lack of humility.”

7. Comment
“Searching for virtue in an economic system is like searching for a
reason to kill in a church....why confuse economics with its real
purpose? These guys both suffer from drunken brain fairies and a
profound lack of humility.”
Wrongly attacking the speaker
Just the kind of response I’d expect from a libtard. Go read some
economics.

8. Comment
“Searching for virtue in an economic system is like searching for a
reason to kill in a church....why confuse economics with its real
purpose? These guys both suffer from drunken brain fairies and a
profound lack of humility.”
Rightly attacking the speaker
Talk about lack of humility! Friedman has a Ph.D. in economics
and a Nobel prize, but you’re claiming that you know more about
his subject than he does.

9. Comment
“Searching for virtue in an economic system is like searching for a
reason to kill in a church....why confuse economics with its real
purpose? These guys both suffer from drunken brain fairies and a
profound lack of humility.”
Muddying the discussion by addressing an irrelevant point
Your analogy is weak. People in a church aren’t looking to
commit murder.

10. Comment
“Searching for virtue in an economic system is like searching for a
reason to kill in a church....why confuse economics with its real
purpose? These guys both suffer from drunken brain fairies and a
profound lack of humility.”
Muddying the discussion by adding a relevant point
There is no confusion here. The purpose of economics is to
explain human behavior. Whether humans are motivated by
dollars or by virtue doesn’t matter. The outcome may be
different, but the underlying economics is the same.

11. Comment
“Searching for virtue in an economic system is like searching for a
reason to kill in a church....why confuse economics with its real
purpose? These guys both suffer from drunken brain fairies and a
profound lack of humility.”
Parse
An economic system can’t be virtuous.

12. Comment
“Searching for virtue in an economic system is like searching for a
reason to kill in a church....why confuse economics with its real
purpose? These guys both suffer from drunken brain fairies and a
profound lack of humility.”
Parse
An economic system can’t be virtuous.
Co-opt the speaker’s core argument
You are correct. Virtue resides in people, so an economic system
cannot be virtuous. But for the same reason, neither can a
political system.

13. Anecdotes Don’t Prove, But They Do
Illustrate.

14. Comment
“I personally know people who had to choose
between paying for heat and eating. Increasing the
minimum wage prevented them from starving.”

15. Comment
“I personally know people who had to choose
between paying for heat and eating. Increasing the
minimum wage prevented them from starving.”
Losing the listener by switching to principle
When the price of something rises, people buy less
of it. That includes labor. Raising the minimum wage
means employers will lay off workers and then
there will be more, not fewer, people like your
friend.

16. Comment
“I personally know people who had to choose
between paying for heat and eating. Increasing the
minimum wage prevented them from starving.”
Admit the truth and present a counter-anecdote
You are absolutely right. There are a lot of people
who are living on the edge of starvation for whom
the minimum wage is a godsend.
But there are also people like the Matthews
brothers…

17. Comment
“Many other first world countries have some
combination of the following: free education, free
healthcare, a high minimum wage, a social welfare
safety net...These are universally a good thing.”

18. Comment
“Many other first world countries have some
combination of the following: free education, free
healthcare, a high minimum wage, a social welfare
safety net...These are universally a good thing.”
Don’t deny the anecdote
No, they aren’t universally good. People have
different desires. Some people would thrive in a
trade school will be forced into college. Healthy
people may not want as much insurance as the
government forces on them.

19. Comment
“Many other first world countries have some
combination of the following: free education, free
healthcare, a high minimum wage, a social welfare
safety net...These are universally a good thing.”
Deny the lesson drawn from the anecdote
Yes, these things are universally good and every
society would be better off if had them. The
problem is that they don’t exist.

20. Thoughts are Food.
Words are Spice.

21. 30 words
Different cultures may view smoking differently and, if some
ethnicities are more accepting of smoking, then that
acceptance will be reflected in a higher rate of smoking for
that ethnicity.

22. 30 words
Different cultures may view smoking differently and, if some
ethnicities are more accepting of smoking, then that
acceptance will be reflected in a higher rate of smoking for
that ethnicity.
12 words
Ethnicities that are more accepting of smoking will
experience higher smoking rates.

23. 30 words
Different cultures may view smoking differently and, if some
ethnicities are more accepting of smoking, then that
acceptance will be reflected in a higher rate of smoking for
that ethnicity.
12 words
Ethnicities that are more accepting of smoking will
experience higher smoking rates.
5 words
Smoking rates vary by ethnicity.

25. Mayor tells citizens to find jobs that pay $13 per
hour or they may not work.

27. Engaging in commerce
doesn’t impart an
understanding of
economics any more
than engaging in sex
imparts an
understanding of
genetics.

28. Be thoughtful and polite, no matter
what vitriol people spew at you.
The person opposite you is not the enemy. He is a
friend who doesn’t know he’s a friend.
The enemy is ignorance.

29. Be thoughtful and polite, no matter
what vitriol people spew at you.
Your audience is not the person to whom you are
speaking. It is all those who are or will be listening.