Cornell philosopher Benjamin Hellie writes:

“[L]eft- and right-wing sources are not symmetrical….[T]he goal of the right wing is perpetuating and increasing injustice, whereas the goal of the left wing is increasing justice.

“People do not like injustice. The knowledge that injustice is being done to others offends their sense of morality; the knowledge that injustice is being done to them makes them angry and resentful. Both these emotions contribute to a desire to use the political system in order to counter injustice. So it is very helpful for the right wing to achieve its goal if the existence of injustice, and the unjust effects of the policies it endorses, can be concealed.

“Providing this concealment is the role of right-wing political writers. Thus, a priori, given that injustice exists and that right-wing policies are unjust, you might expect the ample use of lies, misdirection, and sophistry from these guys.

“By contrast, the role of left-wing political writers is to cause people to believe that there is injustice, and that right-wing policies make it worse. Given, once again, that both these points are true, all that left wing political writers need to do is report the truth.

“Of course, both these arguments rely on the empirical claims that there is injustice, and that right-wing policies make it worse. There’s plenty of evidence that this is so, of course.”

(Note, by the way, that nothing here turns on whether any right-wing political writer intends to conceal injustice.)

All this strikes me as exactly right, but it is guaranteed to drive the right-wing morons in the blogosphere beserk…which should be fun. Benj: get ready to be smeared! (Note to right-wing smearers: please read Hellie’s whole post before you begin fulfilling your role as perpetuators of injustice.)