Form 2 of the fallacy can be reformulated in the same manner to obtain Fallacy Form 4:

Fallacy Form 2 (Converse):
If X should be legal, then X is moral (or desirable).
Fallacy Form 4 (Converse Reformulated):
If X should not be legally required, then X is not moral (or desirable).

Form 4 is the contrapositive of Form 3 and hence is logically equivalent to it. Since Form 3 is invalid, therefore, Form 4 is also invalid. Fallacy Form 4 is commonly used to attack those who oppose the apparatus of government to accomplish some particular end. People who do not favor passing laws to accomplish the end, it is asserted, must not regard the end itself as moral or desirable. Hence they are accused of "apathy." For instance, those who do not advocate legislation prohibiting discrimination against persons in class C (see pp. 4.11:169-83) are said to be "apathetic" about the plight of downtrodden class-C people or "insensitive" to their needs. In fact, of course, they may not be apathetic at all about the status of class-C citizens; they may quite logically believe that the advancement of class-C people is an important end and yet one that can be better accomplished by private, voluntary means. Private action, however, counts for nil in the political-reductionist Weltanschauung.      Next page

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