The McCarthy Trials

During the cold war, the US and the Soviet Union were at ideological conflict. Joseph McCarthy, a prominent US senator, set out on a mission to identify the dangerous ‘communists’ allegedly trying to infiltrate the US government. A commission was set up to prosecute these so-called communist spies within the state. Through an arbitrary selection process, the accused was presented in a senate committee hearing. The only way the defendant could be acquitted is by proving that they were not a ‘communist’. Let’s take a look at the ‘McCarthy Method’ through the lens of Reason:

A hyperbolic example:
Proof that UFOs exist

• You cannot prove that UFOs don’t exist

Therefore, UFOs must exist.

No person in good sense would agree with the conclusion. Because, the logical structure is blatantly lacking.

The McCarthy Argument:

• You cannot prove that you are not a communist.

Therefore, you must be a communist.

The logical structure they both follow contains the form:

• You cannot prove X is not true
• Therefore, X must be true