The logical fallacy of the package deal consists of assuming that things often grouped together by tradition or culture must always be grouped that way.

It is particularly common in political

Politics

Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...

 arguments: "My opponent is a conservative who voted against higher tax

Tax

To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...

es and welfare, therefore he will also oppose gun control

Gun control

Gun control is any law, policy, practice, or proposal designed to restrict or limit the possession, production, importation, shipment, sale, and/or use of guns or other firearms by private citizens...

 and abortion

Abortion

Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...

." While those four positions are often grouped together as "conservative" in America

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

n politics, there is no reason that one cannot believe in one "conservative" idea while not believing in another.

The package deal fallacy refers to misuse of the and

Logical conjunction

In logic and mathematics, a two-place logical operator and, also known as logical conjunction, results in true if both of its operands are true, otherwise the value of false....

operator. For misuse of the or

Logical disjunction

In logic and mathematics, a two-place logical connective or, is a logical disjunction, also known as inclusive disjunction or alternation, that results in true whenever one or more of its operands are true. E.g. in this context, "A or B" is true if A is true, or if B is true, or if both A and B are...

operator, see false dilemma

False dilemma

A false dilemma is a type of logical fallacy that involves a situation in which only two alternatives are considered, when in fact there are additional options...

.

Additional examples

• "John likes surprises, so he'll enjoy finding a snake in his sleeping bag."
  • Assumes a surprise is inherently a good thing, does not consider actual context of event
• "Droughts are common during summers in Country X, so water is hard to find there in August."
  • It hasn't rained in Country X for a while, but there may well be plenty of water reserves available. Also, seasons are different between the two hemispheres; if Country X is in the southern hemisphere August will be in winter. Lastly, just because droughts are common in summers in country X does not mean they must occur every summer. That August may have been one of the summers a drought did not occur.
• "A child molester was caught in a nearby neighborhood. He was friends with many of his neighbors. Everyone in that whole neighborhood is sick."
  • Assumes that the neighbors knew that their friend was a sex offender and also implies their endorsement of such activity. Assumes guilt by association under incidental circumstances.

When it is not a fallacy

The Package-Deal argument need not be a fallacy when used to argue that things grouped by culture and tradition are likely to be grouped in a given way.

Examples

• "John enjoys science fiction films, so chances are he'll enjoy Star Wars"
  • While it is not guaranteed that John will like Star Wars, we can tell from information about him that he probably will.
• "There has been a serious drought in Country X for a while, and it is not very developed, so many of its inhabitants are probably starving".
  • Most developing countries do face famine when drought occurs, so it is likely that this is the case in Country X, even if it is not guaranteed.