5 Reasons Why Leftists Should Defend Russia | New Eastern Outlook

[NuclearDem]

148. Did you ever take a logic course in high school or college?

Whatever your feelings on US and Russia, there are two separate claims being evaluated here:

Claim 1: Russia is an imperialist, expansionist state.

Claim 2: The US is an imperialist, expansionist state.

These claims are independent of each other. One can be true or false without affecting whether the other is or requiring the other to be true or false.

The post I responded to was fallacious:

Claim 1: Russia is an expansionist, imperialist power.
Evaluation: The US is an expansionist, imperialist power.

First of all, that's a tu quoque fallacy; it doesn't actually address the content of the claim, but simply deflects with "they do it too."

Second, that's not a true or false response. That's another independent claim.

Claim 1: Russia is an expansionist, imperialist state.
Evaluation: Given the events in Ukraine and Georgia, as well as the attitudes of Russian leadership, this claim is true.

Claim 2: The US is an expansionist, imperialist state.
Evaluation: Given the widespread presence of the US armed forces across the world and recent US-led conflicts, this claim is true.

So, thank you for not understanding how logic works and how claims are evaluated.