What are you listening to - Podcast Edition?

[Horace]

I will again point out for the god knows how many'eth time that there is nothing wrong with "whataboutism" arguments, and in fact they are exactly what are called for to combat arguments that make claims about "this political side is especially bad/scary because X". An equal and opposite whataboutism about X logically nullifies such arguments. Of course in any given specific, the whataboutism might be weak, but they have to be judged individually rather than as a class. There is nothing wrong with the class.

And it goes without saying that they are employed relentlessly by both sides of any argument here, often by the same people who will dismiss them as a class of argument when others use them.

You will not find "whataboutism", by that name or any other, in any list of formal logical fallacies.

[jon-nyc]

Fair enough but they are the argument of a partisan, not an historian. He should be fully capable of discussing current events in their own terms.

[jon-nyc]

He’s usually quite a bit better than he was on this podcast. My guess is he got a little spooked when JD Vance sniped at him for complaining about Trump’s appeasement, and he wants to make sure he stays in good graces with Musk and the administration’s defenders. Knowing full well about Musk and Sam’s falling out probably factored in also. Basically he knows where his bread is buttered.

As a contrast, listen to him on Bari Weiss’s year end podcast where he was asked to make predictions for the new year. That was his old self.

[Horace]

I'm not clear when that podcast was released, but he had no issue pushing back against Vance (who I agreed with in the exchange) at the time.

[jon-nyc]

Pushed back but also was very much making the point ‘hey I’m one of you not a ‘globalist’

This podcast came out after the Vance incident as he mentions the exchange with Sam.

[Horace]

@jon-nyc I am sure he would have said he's one of you and not a globalist all along. Both he and his wife are persona non grata in leftist circles, and have been for years.