Originally posted by
stupidissmart:
Given me a choice
a) Restricted rights on opposition but stable governence promote
economic growth
b) Good individual rights but economic outlook bleak and
instability
I choose to be in category A 
I don't believe democracy works anyway
The informal fallacy of
false dilemma (also called false dichotomy, the
either-or fallacy, or
bifurcation) involves a situation in which only
two alternatives are considered, when in fact there are other
options. Closely related are failing to consider a range of options
and the tendency to think in extremes, called black-and-white
thinking. Strictly speaking, the prefix "di" in "dilemma" means
"two". When a list of more than two choices are offered, but there
are other choices not mentioned, then the fallacy is called the
fallacy of false choice.
When a person really does have only two choices, as in the
classic short story The Lady or the Tiger,
then they are often said to be "on the horns of a dilemma".
False dilemma can arise intentionally, when fallacy is used in
an attempt to force a choice ("If you are not with us, you are
against us.") But the fallacy can arise simply by accidental
omission—possibly through a form of wishful thinking or
ignorance—rather than by deliberate deception.
When two alternatives are presented, they are often, though not
always, two extreme points on some spectrum of possibilities. This
can lend credence to the larger argument by giving the impression
that the options are mutually exclusive, even though
they need not be. Furthermore, the options are typically presented
as being collectively exhaustive, in
which case the fallacy can be overcome, or at least weakened, by
considering other possibilities, or perhaps by considering a whole
spectrum of possibilities, as in fuzzy
logic.
Examples
Very often a Morton's Fork, a choice between
two equally unpleasant options, is a false dilemma. The phrase
originates from an argument for taxing English nobles:
This is a false dilemma, because some members of the nobility
may in fact lack liquid assets.
The presentation of a false choice often reflects a
deliberate attempt to eliminate the middle ground on an issue. A
modern example of this is George
W. Bush's speech of September 20, 2001, in which
he said
A common form of the false dilemma is black-and-white
thinking. Many people routinely engage in black-and-white
thinking, an example of which is feeling boundless optimism when
things are going well and suddenly switching to total despair at
the first setback. Another example is someone who labels other
people as all good or all bad.[citation
needed]
The assertion that there is no alternative is an example of the
false dichotomy taken to its ultimate extreme, in which the options
are reduced to one, the proposal of the speaker. Of course the
speaker does not believe there are no alternatives otherwise he
would not bother to argue the point; rather he opposes the
alternatives and seeks to dismiss them by denying their
existence.
"This was the mantra chanted by 'dries' during the prime
ministerial reign of Margaret Thatcher, by which they demonstrated
their belief that free-market capitalism was the only possible
economic theory. It was said so often amongst them that it was
shortened to TINA. The hard-right Thatcherites called themselves
'dries' to demonstrate their opposition to the 'wets', i.e. the
One-Nation Tories whom Thatcher despised. Wet was the public school
nickname for any boy who showed any sign of caring for his fellow
beings."[
