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Flaws in an Argument

A flawed or unsound argument exhibits one or more fallacies. Before judging whether an argument is sound, one must examine it carefully. The statement, ‘A great leader is best judged by the wellbeing of the people of his country’ is valid in some cases but also unsound in other instances. Some of the most common fallacies in arguments include generalization, hasty conclusion, the bandwagon fallacy (Boudry et al 433) among many others.

The statement is said to be sound because great leadership influences the wellbeing of the people. For example, a great president will put in place economic policies designed to spur economic growth and create jobs for their people. If the people take advantage of the excellent leadership skills of the president, then their lives will improve. In this way, the people’s wellbeing will be a reflection of the president’s leadership, and one can judge the leader by the wellbeing of his people.

One flaw in the argument is that the people bear no responsibility for their own wellbeing. The statement implies that the people can do nothing for themselves; they can only wait for their leaders to do everything for them. If the president of a country has enacted policies that promote economic growth, access to education and other things that promote the welfare of the citizens, individuals still have the responsibility to take advantage of these. Individuals are responsible for their wellbeing when leaders have done their part in enabling people to access a better life. The argument also fails to recognize that people could be doing well, even with a weak leader. In the presence of strong government systems and other factors, people need not rely on their leaders to determine their wellbeing.

In conclusion, the argument is strong because it gives room for the leader to be judged on other merits. However, one fallacy in it is that it is an argument to the population, where people want to blame leaders for everything that happens to them. The wellbeing of the people depends on both the leadership as well as individual effort.

Works Cited

Boudry, Maarten, Fabio Paglieri, and Massimo Pigliucci. “The fake, the flimsy, and the fallacious: Demarcating arguments in real life.” Argumentation 29.4 (2015): 431-456.