The consumer must be protected at times from his own indiscretion and vanity
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader started the approach to persuasion that has been used in the 60’s (environmental) 70’s (nuclear), 80’s (oil), and the 90’s (Climate change). The art of persuasion without solid statistical (read science) approaches. In Thomas Sowell’s book Applied Science, he argues that the evidence did not match the argument made by Nader.
Anyone studying the art of persuasion might well begin with "Unsafe at Any Speed" as a classic of that art. It managed to insinuate into the public mind many spectacular — even glittering — conclusions, with hard evidence being neither asked for nor given.
Nader's first sentence in the preface says it all: "For over half a century the automobile has brought death, injury, and the most inestimable sorrow and deprivation to millions of people."
He denounced the Corvair in particular and blamed "engineering and management operations within General Motors which led to such an unsafe vehicle."
Let's do something that slick lawyers hope we never do — stop and think. Death and injuries are caused by many things: electricity, boats, knives, matches, vaccinations, etc., etc.
Why do we have such things then? Because they also provide benefits, and adults in real life weigh benefits against costs, since nothing is 100 percent safe. The automobile is no exception.
Some do not subscribe to Thomas Sowell whether because he is black, or because he is a conservative.
Thomas Sowell: bombastic, partisan to a fault, and thoroughly wrong. He's attacking the unimpeachable: this book's description of car companies' refusal to spend a few extra dollars to ensure their products weren't deathtraps. Untold numbers of people would be dead were it not for Nader's efforts.
SluggoOne
Today we have an interesting take on the link between air travel and polar bears. If I’m a vegan, do I get carbon credits?
Posts
EeeGads! That video is AWFUL!
ReplyDeleteAs a vegan, I'd say you should definately get credits... which would reduce your polar bear to at least, say... uh... a baby seal?
:)
No you don't get any carbon credits for being a Vegan, you get 10 more years of living in decrepitude for living healthy.
ReplyDeleteSowell vs. Nader now there is an interesting face off.
Sowell vs McCain or Obama it's a no brainier.
Raining polar bers no wonder it's on a web site called "Planet Stupid".
HAPPY THANKS GIVING! Don't eat the turkey it contributes to global warming. Blech... I just vomited.
SP
Some do not subscribe to Thomas Sowell whetehr [sic] because he is black, or because he is a conservative.
ReplyDeleteThis is true, but it doesn't describe my attitude towards Sowell, and I hope you weren't implying that it did. Based on who I voted for in last year's primary and general elections for president, you can't call me a racist, and based on the half dozen conservative sites in my bookmarks, you can't call me a polemicist. (The idea that I have to defend any actions of a pinhead like Ralph Nader makes me a little unwell.)
To reiterate a comment I made years ago, I dislike Sowell because he wrote an entire article without saying anything. It's easy to question his good faith, since the man is a doctrinaire conservative. The article's lack of substance says, to me, that he's wagging the dog. As a hard-right reactionary, he has to oppose Nader, increased safety standards, and any restrictions imposed by government on corporate America. It's why he's paid. So what does he do? This article, written to explain preconceived notions and biases.