Kory. I'm taking a political science class at the university. We just started studying socialism, and the professor says that socialism has actually worked in every country where it's been given a fair chance.
Noelia I cannot believe they teach socialism in the University. It's like teaching arson in a fireworks factory.
Kory. 1. Kory's political science professor says that socialism works.
(2. Systems that work are good systems.)
(C. Socialism is good)
Noelia. 1. Teaching socialism in the University is like teaching arson in a fireworks factory.
(2. Teaching arson in a fireworks factory would have bad consequences that look cool when viewed from a distance.)
(C. Socialism is bad.)
If someone here was arguing that socialism is okay, or that we don't know whether socialism is good or bad, that person would not bear burden of proof. However, we have one person arguing that socialism is good, and another arguing that it is bad, so both sides bear the burden of proof against the null hypothesis.
Evaluation:
Kory's argument is okay but Noelia's is stronger. Kory's argument depends on a political science professor, but Noelia relies on the inherently destructive nature of socialism, so her argument is stronger, which makes Kory's argument an instance of false authority.
INCORRECT
First, nothing that happens in Noelia's argument can possibly make Kory's argument a fallacy. Kory's argument would only be a false authority if we had some reason to suppose there was something wrong with the authority of his professor. Since we don't have such a reason, he doesn't commit false authority.
As for Noelia, she might well believe that socialism is intrinsically destructive, but she cannot assume that it is a feature of socialism without proving it first.
(Historically, the application of arson to any building, let alone a fireworks
factory, has usually resulted in the destruction of the building. Historically,
the application of socialism to an economy has usually (but not always) resulted in the improvement
of the economy, and a general improvement in the standard of living for the
population of that country. It's true that the application of socialism
to an economy is sometimes followed by United States intervention of some kind
to impose a brutal dictatorship on that country, but that makes teaching
socialism analogous to teaching home decorating to someone who lives next
door to a person with a psychotic hatred of nice decor.)
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