Who Defines Reasonable?

“I agree with you, and I wish they would. But the truth is, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. And I’m guessing the government back home’s decided it’s time to get the Star Empire’s merchant shipping out from under before it all comes apart.”

“I can’t believe this is happening.” She shook her head again. “I’m sure that if your people would just sit down with our people we could work this out. There’s always a way to work things out if people are just willing to be reasonable!”

“Unfortunately, that requires both sides to be reasonable,” Wallenstein pointed out, and Selkirk’s eyes widened in surprise. She started to say something back, quickly, but stopped herself in time, and Wallenstein smiled a bit grimly.

Almost said it, didn’t you, Sharon? he thought. Of course we’re supposed to be reasonable. And I’m sure you meant what you just said about reasonable people working things out. Unfortunately, the Solarian view of “reasonable” is people “reasonably” agreeing to do things the League’s way. The notion that the League might have to be reasonable doesn’t even come into it, does it?

“Well, of course it does,” she said instead of what she’d been about to say, and she had the grace to look a little uncomfortable as she said it. But then she scowled.

— David Weber, A Rising Thunder

Apologies to those of you having trouble following my initial quotation from David Weber.  I will explain it fully by the end of the article.

I think the crucial social and political issue of our day is who is allowed to define what is reasonable. Let me explain.

The quote above is about an interstellar war that is about to break out between the Solarian League and the Star Empire of Manticore. The League is the largest polity in existence, and thinks that being reasonable means other parties doing what it says and agreeing with it. If it doesn’t fit into their view of things, it isn’t reasonable.

The Star Empire, of course, disagrees with this definition of “reasonable”. Selkirk above, a smaller regional official of the league, is moaning about the coming conflict. “There’s always a way to work things out if people are just willing to be reasonable.”

“Unfortunately, that requires both sides to be reasonable” Wallenstein replies.

The key point is what Selkirk doesn’t say … “If only you’d be reasonable.” No thought that the Solarian view might not be reasonable to the other side.

It is an excellent piece of fiction.  Excellent because all you have  to do is read most any significant social or political story on the internet, or watch one on TV, to see it enacted out right before your eyes. One side trying to get the other side to do what it wants by painting it into the corner of reasonableness. The danger, of course, is that they might respond like the Star Empire does, with the most measured response left available to it — a response that isn’t usually considered measured — war.

American politics is full of this.

The recent government shutdown was a situation of the posturing of reasonableness. Obama insisted that the shutdown was all the Republican’s fault, if only they would be reasonable, they were shutting down the entire government. Republicans replied that they were being reasonable. They were passing bills to allow funding  for everything but the affordable care act. Obama replied that the only reasonable response was his all or nothing position. Take it or leave it.

Republicans left it.

Who was reasonable? Who was willing to give something?

According to the polls, media stories overwhelmingly blamed Republicans for being unreasonable, and more of the country blamed Republicans for the shutdown than Democrats.

The recent State of the Union address was another attempt at reasonableness manipulation. Obama stated what he wanted, and if he didn’t get it from Congress, his only reasonable alternative is to use executive orders to get it done. Be reasonable with me, or I will do it anyway. What I want is the only reasonable alternative.

The greatest problem with a situation like this, is that the one side teaches the other side to be reasonable — only not the way it intended.  The law of unintended consequences rears its head.