>
>
> Her sole purpose appears to be to oppose things
> — from her mother's manner of dress to the bailout plan to other
> activists — without any introspection about what she does want, or
> how
> she plans to get it.
>
> ^^^
> CB: I'm not saying this is a wrong criticism, but it is in one of the
> "classical" forms that criticism took when an older person criticizing
> a young, sixties ,student radical. "You are just against things. You
> aren't for anything."
>
> Eventually, a few of the radicals moved on to "I'm _for_ socialism".
>
>
>
>
>
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>
Ah the old "But you're not putting forward any alternative/But you don't live what you speak/But aren't you just being cynical" line. Its a classic and its never failed; its at once impenetrable and self-reinforcing - sort of like "I know you are but what am I". While you can certainly have fun dreaming up the various possible circumstances this approach could be used to justify, I think its better to look at when exactly these brilliantly formulaic rhetorical ploys are usually deployed...
In my experience it's when you're interlocutor has just had the terrifying presentiment that you might have a point!