English 1C

Claims, Reasons, and Warrants

“Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control—and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart – not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.”

Reason: This crisis happened because of lack of regulation.         Claim: Unregulated free-             
                                                                                                       market capitalism doesn’t work.
						           
				Warrant: The current crisis exemplifies   
a general economic principle.

Reason: An economic crisis happened during 	Claim: The philosophy of encouraging the 
the second term of a president whose			wealthy to grow their money as a way
policies favored the rich. 				 to increase prosperity for all has been
                                                                                    proven wrong.		
	
		Warrant: The president’s policies played an important role in 
creating the economic crisis or allowing it to develop.

“As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals…Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint” (Obama).

“Surely where the benefits of technology are concerned, as with human affairs in all of their many modalities, there will always be a price to pay, and the price will always be high, and justly high in the case of technology considering what it can buy” (Podhoretz 96).

“Any alarmist or catastrophist view of any public problem—especially one so fundamental as the survival of the species itself—ought to be received with the greatest skepticism, and the heaviest burden of proof put on anyone who wishes to persuade us that we are doomed unless we radically change our ways” (Podhoretz 97).