Hello everyone,
I’m a big fan of Brian Holdsworth. I’ve watched the majority of his videos. I appreciate humility, wit, and intellect when discussing Catholicism as a laity of the Church.
However, he, just anyone, can occasionally miss. In the video I’m discussing today, Brian commits the fallacy of “Dishonest Elevation.” I want to use his video to discuss this fallacy and what you can do when you see it happening.
Looking At Critiques
I’ve often argued there are two camps of people who argue against individualism: those who are arguing in good faith and those who are not. Brian is arguing in good faith against capitalism.
He rightfully points out the dangers of reducing everything to a dollar sign. He also highlights that money should not be the center of anyone’s life and that such an obsession leads to personal and societal decay. Greed is a vice, and it is worthwhile to protect against it when we find it within ourselves.
But that’s just it; very few capitalists think this way.
Defining “Dishonest Elevation”
The fallacy of “Dishonest Elevation” is when your opponent takes your belief and elevates it to encompass everything about you, your life, and your desires. They balloon one component of your belief system and state all you care about is X and go on the offense.
For example, I value individual freedom. Someone being dishonest would take that statement and say that I accept and support anything anyone does because I love freedom. But this isn’t true. I believe in individual freedom within rational, virtuous limits. Sure, you can be a nudist, but such activities should be limited to certain areas so others do not have to participate in that lifestyle.
Brian and Capitalism
Brian elevates capitalism as the only thing a capitalist would care about. Even the most capitalists of capitalists, like Ayn Rand, clearly said, “A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others.”
Her creations from Howard Roark to Hank Reardon and Eddie Willers were motivated to create and succeed. They didn’t simply want to make more money and crush their enemies. The money was the by-product of a job well-done and the resource needed for them to continue on their creative journeys.
There is no capitalist sneering, “greed is good.” We’ve taken the “it’s just business” cliche from Hollywood and believed this is every businessman trying to make an honest living.
No, not all business owners or CEOs are angels. But they aren’t greedy sociopaths looking to make a quick buck off Little Timmy’s pain. They wish to earn money, as we all do, and use that resource to better themselves and their businesses.
Catholicism Is Limited As Well
I wouldn’t say that Brian is foolish because Catholicism can’t answer every single question. There are many questions the Catholic Church can’t answer, such as what you should do with your life or what the best economic system is.
This is where knowledge from other people and fields is important. I would never turn to a Pope about what economic system produces the most human flourishing. John Paul II only had his wisdom because F.A. Hayek, Mises, and Rothbard had covered the ground for him.
I would also not judge every action he does through the lens of the Bible or the teachings of the Church. Such scrutiny would be unfair and not productive when arguing in good faith.
Conclusion
When someone claims they are a capitalist, it is not because they saw Scrooge McDuck and wanted to bleed all the orphans dry for his money pool.
Individuals declare themselves capitalists because they recognize the voluntary exchange of goods is the best way to structure a society. We can argue about what reasonable limits can be placed on capitalism, and I believe this is a great place for religion and family to be involved.
But we need capitalism. We need a system that rewards hard work and turns man’s innate selfish nature towards serving others. There is nothing within the Church that can do this.
Pretending that a capitalist only thinks about money is not the best way to productively deal with the pitfalls of this life-saving economic system.
I strongly suggest listening to Brian Holdsworth as I think he’s a great apologist and a good man. But this, unfortunately, is the wrong way to argue against something. We cannot and should not make the same mistake.
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