Week 13
I’ve spent some time today not winning arguments, not that I should have expected to win any. Within education, arguments consist of putting forward different cases with a view to one being predominent. Its neither a row nor a fight that seeks to win through force of tone or the pitch of one’s voice. For the argument to be meaningful, all cases should share common assumptions, otherwise there is no measure against which the cases can be compared. In a court of law the judge takes the place of arbiter ensuring that such rules are adhered to.
Even in Parliament debates are expected to be reasoned though Prime Minister’s Questions might suggest otherwise. Of course PMQ is not a debate as the name suggests. You would hope that elections were fought on the principle that everyone is on an equal footing and that each party would conduct their campaign according to set rules, the Electoral Commission being arbiter in this case. One problem with regulating elections is that the conduct isn’t judged in real time and sanctions applied afterwards rarely match the consequence of the offence. In order to have fair elections its incumbent on each party to abide by conventions and regulate themselves as its nigh impossible to right wrongs committed during the campaign period or following the ballot.
