Francesca 9/18

While discussing the aspect of Habermas’ theory concerning neoconservatives, I recalled my experience in debate. This recollection was triggered by Habermas’ emphasis on the fallacious misconceptions neoconservatives have of cultural affairs. Habermas writes, “Neo-conservative doctrines win our attention precisely away from such societal processes, they project the causes, which they do not bring to light, onto the plane of subversive culture and its advocates.” This statement can be applicable to a number of fallacies in the art of argumentation. Yet, one fallacy in particular seems pertinent to this statement. Circulus in demonstrado, or circular argument, occurs when one contends that something is true without explicating why it is true. Moreover, in examining Habermas’ characteristics of a neo-conservative, certain attributes resonate the use of additional fallacies. For instance, the desire for a religious revival sets the precedent for the fallacy of argumentum ad populum, the appeal to popularity. By means of appealing to an alleged popular opinion, politicians seek to coerce people to jump on a supposed bandwagon. This is demonstrated through incessant appeals to waning morality and the “overwhelming majority” that feel a religious revival will rectify such a problem. Furthermore, as these characteristics of neo-conservative ideology lack sufficient corroboration, we see Habermas’ view of postmodern reality substantiated. This criterion for a neoconservative has negative implications being that it signifies a shift towards a unilateralist mentality with potentially negative ramifications. These consequences include imperialistic and ethnocentric political decisions that contradict the universally applicable law Habermas contends in his work. In summation, Habermas presents the postmodern ideologies of neoconservatives with an ominous tone. As the prevalence of overriding themes in politics was made increasingly evident, an evaluation of such consistencies was in order. Habermas presents his theory as political commentary with a call to action for a new prioritization.