TRADECRAFT: The Principle of Charity (Steel-Manning)

The Concept

In a debate, your brain instinctively wants the easy win. It wants to twist your opponent’s argument into something stupid so you can crush it. This is called the Straw Man Fallacy.

• Opponent: “We should reduce the military budget to fund education.”

• Straw Man: “My opponent wants to leave us defenseless against terrorists!” (You attacked a weak, fake argument).

To be a Master of Tradecraft, you must do the opposite. You must build a Steel Man. You must repair your opponent’s argument until it is as strong as possible—and then defeat it.

Why?

1. Credibility: If you can state their case better than they can, they must listen to your rebuttal.

2. Truth: If you defeat a Straw Man, you learn nothing. If you defeat a Steel Man, you know you are actually right.

TRADECRAFT TOOL: Rapoport’s Rules

The Psychologist/Game Theorist Anatol Rapoport created 4 rules for criticism. Follow them, and you will never lose a debate again.

1. Re-express: You must be able to re-state your opponent’s position clearly, vividly, and fairly.

2. List Points of Agreement: Mention anything you agree on (even if it’s just the goal, e.g., “We both want safer streets”).

3. Mention What You Learned: Acknowledge something they taught you.

4. Rebut: Only after doing the first three are you allowed to say “However…”

LAB EXERCISE: Straw to Steel

Turn these weak arguments (Straw Men) into strong ones (Steel Men).

Drill 1: The “Lazy” Generation

• The Complaint: “Young people today are lazy and just want to play video games.”

• The Steel Man: “Young people today face a fractured economy where hard work no longer guarantees a house, leading to a sense of nihilism and a retreat into digital escapism.”

• (Now you are arguing against the Economy, not ‘Laziness’. That is a real debate.)

Drill 2: The Conspiracy Theorist

• The Complaint: “He thinks the Earth is flat because he is an idiot.”

• The Steel Man: “He distrusts institutions because he has seen them lie about major events (like WMDs or Opioids), leading him to reject all official narratives, even basic geography.”

• (Now you are arguing about Institutional Trust, not ‘Stupidity’.)

ACTION ITEM: The “Switch Side” Challenge

For the next argument you get into (online or offline):

1. Stop. Do not reply.

2. Say this: “Before I answer, let me see if I understand your point. You are saying [X], correct?”

3. Wait for the “Yes.”

4. If they say “No, that’s not what I meant,” you are forbidden from arguing. You must ask again.

5. Only when they say “Yes, exactly!” have you earned the right to disagree.