Is there a word which describes a statement which is completely redundant, as its opposite would clearly be ridiculous?
For example
Our Party aims to reduce levels of crime.
I've considered: Tautology, truism, etc., but they don't really fit.
Is there a word which describes a statement which is completely redundant, as its opposite would clearly be ridiculous?
For example
Our Party aims to reduce levels of crime.
I've considered: Tautology, truism, etc., but they don't really fit.
a platitude TFD
- a trite, dull, or obvious remark or statement; commonplace; a bromide
- staleness or insipidity of thought or language; triteness
As in:
Our Party aims to reduce levels of crime.
is platitudinous, as they can't think of anything original to say. A close synonym would be to call it a bromide (a common saying or proverb that is obvious and not that helpful).
This is somewhat of a wildcard term for "cookie-cutter" statements. It works for all of your examples above, whether it's rehashed cynicism or rehashed altruism or rehashed apathy or rehashed sympathy—boilerplate covers almost all of them, including "opposite would be obvious" since boilerplate is rarely non-obvious or original.
boilerplate (ordinary)
a way of writing or thinking that is not special and does not show any imagination
Used this way, boilerplate can emphasize the uncreative, lazily-applied, one-size-fits-all, boring, generic, not-thought-through, same-old answer that is all around repulsive for its obviously rehashed obviousness.
This is a very boilerplate thing to say because every party says the same thing:
Our Party aims to reduce levels of crime.
...What party doesn't want to reduce crime? They're just reciting from the boilerplate stack!
Here is an article about how boilerplate is frowned upon in the professional world: Boilerplate PR Statements: Meaningless Words that Avoid the Facts. The author starts using the word boilerplate quite often about half way through.
The president gave a speech this afternoon. I didn't listen because he always says the same boilerplate.
or
If you want my respect, come up with something original rather than the same old boilerplate people have been reusing for centuries.
or
My student said his dog ate his homework—how boilerplate!
Background
Boilerplate gets its figurative, "ordinary" definition from its history with the printing press, similar to the Cambridge literal definition of the same entry as above:
boilerplate (standard)
text that can be copied and used in legal documents or in computer programs, with only very small changes
Here's a great blog post on the history of boilerplate: Boiler Plate | Why Name It That?.
And, there is an entry on SE right here: Meaning of “boilerplate”
Boilerplate has a long history and writing boilerplate can be a useful and lucrative business. While there is much positive that could be said about boilerplate, this Answer addresses the use of the word that fits with the question.