Analysis of an Argument by Activist Ralph Nader

Nader's article was originally written by the radical magazine, Mother Jones, whose readership consists largely of like-minded individuals sharing his passion, if not his willingness to work. He therefore begins by assuming that his readers share his indignation with the way the world has become, a nation of consumers subservient to corporate power. The issue, that such a system is bad, is prescriptive, and the conclusion he wishes his readers to reach is that this system should be combated using the most sophisticated tools at hand, rather than "the political equivalent of picks and hoes" (Nader, 1996, p. 1).

He offers a number of reasons in support of his argume

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7). That this world is not the way he believes it should be is the primary issue of his argument. He sees a world filled with corporate greed and the consumption of goods, instead of the world he would prescribe: a place controlled by individual citizens in which quality of life overrides the accumulation of possessions. Nader's reasoning contains a number of fallacies. One example of a fallacy of equivocation is in his use of the word "right." In his usage, a right is anything he argues should be given freely to all citizens: "the right to vote, the right to speak, the right to homestead 160 acres of farmland" (Nader, 1996, p. 5). Good liberal that he is, Nader contends that these are all rights, but some could argue that homesteading "rights" are in fact privileges, available when sufficient land is free to offer to those interested in homesteading, not simply something that ought, "by rights," to be given to all. Interestingly, in an article that purports to oppose most authority as being too big, greedy, and inhuman, Nader also resorts to the fallacy of appealing to authorities. His broadest such appeal is in his use throughout of unattributed quotes, facts that, while they criticize big business, appear to do so fro
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Mother Jones, Justice Department, Federal Reserve, Questions Nader, Ralph Nader, nader 1996, Hall Nader, Browne Keeley, , 1996 1, Ralph Nader's, Punch Politics, nader 1996 1, 1996 1 offers, evidence support, unattributed quotes, quality life, justice department, regain control, 1 offers, nineties punch politics, nader's nineties punch, own authority, value assumptions,
Approximate Word count = 1561
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)