Comment by Kapura
5 days ago
You don't need to do this, actually. Nobody needs you to lie for the regime, to invent a charitable reading of their actions.
5 days ago
You don't need to do this, actually. Nobody needs you to lie for the regime, to invent a charitable reading of their actions.
How is it a lie? It’s a plausible story to be sure and you certainly haven’t given us any reason to think that a different story is more likely than this one
Multiple reasons:
1. Trump lies more than he tells the truth. What that means is that when this administration makes a claim, we must assume it is a lie, and then try to prove it's not a lie. Yes, this is the opposite of how it usually is and no, there is no other reasonable way to go about it.
2. Venezuela has the largest amount of oil reserves in the world.
3. The oil Venezuela has is crude oil, which the US is adept at extracting.
4. There has been past tension between Venezuela and US oil companies, so I think we can all see where this is going.
5. Most US-backed coups are done for reasons outside of official statements. Usually economic and political control reasons.
6. Therefore, the most reasonable answer is that this was done for economic (oil) and political control reasons.
what do you think "steel-man" means, if not inventing a charitable reading of the regime's crimes?
steel-man means trying to interpret someone's argument in the most favorable light rather than arguing against a weaker interpretation. It does not mean making up a different argument for them that you like better.
No. What you describe is closer to “giving the benefit of the doubt”. “Straw manning” was always inventing reasons that are easy to refute, and steel manning has always meant its opposite