{"id":136121,"date":"2015-01-04T14:33:59","date_gmt":"2015-01-04T09:03:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=136121"},"modified":"2015-02-07T05:40:46","modified_gmt":"2015-02-07T00:10:46","slug":"dayan-jayatillekas-arguments-for-supporting-mahinda-false-premises-and-faulty-logic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/dayan-jayatillekas-arguments-for-supporting-mahinda-false-premises-and-faulty-logic\/","title":{"rendered":"Dayan Jayatilleka\u2019s Arguments For Supporting Mahinda: False Premises And Faulty Logic"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Niranjan Rambukwella<\/span><\/a> –<\/strong><\/p>\n

This article is not about Dayan Jayatilleka<\/span><\/a> – it\u2019s about the arguments he uses to defend the Rajapaksa regime. These arguments are currently the most sophisticated apologies that exist for the Rajapaksa regime. If they are flawed, then the entire foundation underlying the case for supporting Mahinda Rajapaksa<\/span><\/a> crumbles.<\/p>\n

Arguments can be flawed for two distinct reasons. First, if an argument\u2019s premises are false. The second cause of flawed arguments is invalid logic linking premises to conclusions. For example, the conclusion in the argument below:<\/p>\n

\"Dayan<\/a>Premise I: Socrates is a man<\/strong><\/p>\n

Premise II: All men are mortals <\/strong><\/p>\n

Conclusion: Therefore, Socrates is mortal. <\/strong><\/p>\n

holds because the premises are true and the logic linking the premises to the conclusion is valid. If either of them were faulty then the conclusion would not hold.<\/p>\n

Dayan\u2019s has two inter-linked arguments for supporting Mahinda Rajapaksa. The first argument is to arrive at to the conclusion that voting for Maithripala Sirisena<\/span><\/a> will result in a Ranil or Chandrika government. The second argument, that we should vote for Mahinda Rajapaksa because his track record is better that Ranil<\/span><\/a>\/Chandrika<\/span><\/a>, depends on the first. But the first argument is flawed because its logic is faulty. The second fails because its premises are false and also because of faulty logic.<\/p>\n

Faulty Logic – A Vote for Maithripala is a Vote for Ranil\/CBK<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s Dayan\u2019s first argument.<\/p>\n

Premise I:<\/strong> Maithripala Sirisena will shift power away from the President towards the Prime Minister. As Dayan puts it, \u201cMaithripala Sirisena will occupy a shrunken Presidency and therefore wield reduced authority and power will be shifted to Parliament and the Cabinet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Premise II:<\/strong> Either Chandrika or Ranil will become Prime Minister<\/p>\n

Conclusion:<\/strong> Therefore, Ranil or Chandrika will \u201cwield real power and influence\u201d i.e. govern Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

These premises are true, but the logic is invalid. If Maithripala wins, both he and Chandrika\/Ranil will share power. Therefore, the conclusion that Ranil or Chandrika will govern the country is at best a mischaracterization. This is because power will lie with both the President and the Prime Minister. Neither will have the quasi-dictatorial power Presidents often wielded under the \u201978 constitution and the Prime Minister sometimes wielded under the \u201972 constitution. Not to mention that Maithripala\u2019s manifesto also shifts takes power away from the President and vests it in the judiciary, public service and parliament\u2019s committees. The real choice we will face on the 8th<\/sup> is between Rajapaksa family rule and Maithripala-Ranil jointly led democracy.<\/p>\n

Faulty Premises – Biased & Backward Looking Performance Evaluation <\/strong><\/p>\n

Even if Dayan\u2019s first argument holds, the overarching conclusion that we should vote for Mahinda Rajapaksa does not follow. In the second argument Dayan says that we should vote for Mahinda because, on balance, his track-record is superior to Ranil and CBK\u2019s track-record. In his words, \u201cwhat Mahinda Rajapaksa has done wrong- or got wrong\u2013is greatly outweighed by what he has got right and done right. On the other hand, what Ranil and Chandrika got wrong have done wrong, far outweigh whatever it is they did right. Since Mahinda\u2019s positives greatly outweigh his negatives and the opposite is true of Ranil and Chandrika.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s his argument:<\/p>\n

Premise I: <\/strong>Mahinda\u2019s overall track record is very positive<\/p>\n

Premise II: <\/strong>Ranil\/Chandrika\u2019s track record is very negative<\/p>\n

Conclusion: <\/strong>Therefore, we should vote for Mahinda.<\/p>\n

The problem is that Dayan\u2019s assessment of the candidates\u2019 track records is based on obsolete evaluation criteria \u2013 one that has little relevance to the issues our country faces today. The conclusion that Mahinda\u2019s track record is overall very positive appears to be based almost entirely on his success at defeating the LTTE \u2013 the main national concern prior to 2009. The corollary of this is that Ranil and Chandrika\u2019s allegedly overall negative record is because they failed to win the war. That the LTTE was defeated under the Mahinda presidency is true, and that it was not under Ranil and Chandrika is also true. But that is not the only criteria we must use to assess presidential candidates. Right now our assessment of a candidates track record must take place in the context of the country\u2019s needs viz <\/em> rule by institutions rather than rule by family, democracy rather than dictatorship, good governance, a stable and less corrupt government, harmony among ethnic communities and better relations with the rest of the world. On all these counts Mahinda does terribly, and Ranil and Chandrika are certainly better than the Rajapaksa family.<\/p>\n

The second and related logical problem is that Dayan sophistically transforms the question of \u201cWho will be the best President?\u201d to \u201cWho was the best President\/Prime Minister?\u201d. Dayan\u2019s analysis of who we should vote for is entirely backward looking, so the logic linking the assessment of track records to the conclusion that we should vote for Mahinda does not follow.<\/p>\n

A candidate\u2019s past performance is not the only criteria we should use to assess a candidate\u2019s suitability for office. We also need to consider our future under each of the candidates. Ever since he has come to power, Mahinda Rajapaksa has by hook or by crook \u2013 appointing family members, passing the 18th<\/sup> Amendment, impeaching the chief justice etc<\/em> \u2013 grabbed power for himself and his family. If he wins this election he will have at least seven more years to further centralize power. At this point in Sri Lanka\u2019s history, that means establishing a dictatorship based on corruption and fear. A messy Maithripala-Ranil-(and if Dayan insists) CBK led government will create much needed space for democracy, accountability and institution (re)building.<\/p>\n

In the final analysis, the choice is not between Mahinda Rajapaksa and Ranil-CBK. It is between Mahinda Rajapaksa\u2019s kleptocratic, dictatorial, fear-mongering family rule and the restoration of some semblance of democracy as a result of a Maithripala-Ranil jointly led government with power shared and negotiated between the President and Prime Minister. It\u2019s a choice between dictatorship and democracy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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