Wow, I never thought about this. That's a very good point that Batman never directly counters Joker's philosophy. But, allow a rebuttal: Batman himself is the answer to the Joker's philosophy.
What does Joker believe in?
He's an anarchist. Not in some sophisticated, cafe hipster, "Anarchism" type of anarchy that makes it sound civilized, no. Joker is a hard-core, OG anarchist who just thinks chaos is the answer. In fact, it's specifically the chaos that he embraces. It's not just "everybody make up your own rules," it's "actively despise order, sanity, and society."
He's anti-social. The Joker's specific madness is nebulously defined, in comics and on-screen. It should be that way. It keeps him fresh every time, whether Nicholson or Romero. But one thing is pretty consistent: he wants to burn it all down.
He's an animal. He's psychopathy belies a lack of human empathy, but think about his actions in the film. He makes elaborate plans to cause carnage and mayhem, but he does so impulsively. He doesn't care about the long-term, only the now. Survive now (blow up the other ship), make Batman fail even at catastrophic personal cost (Hit me!) and so on.
Joker wants everybody to "realize" that this is them. Deep down, everybody is a lizard-brain run, selfish person. Society is a collective dream that only works because we all pretend together. Realize the "truth" (Joker's truth) and you can do whatever you want, which is pure Id.
So, how does Batman respond?
If Joker wants anarchy, Batman responds with order. He might break the rules, but he breaks surface rules (within the world of Batman - there's a whole other discussion about vigilantism in comics vs. real life). He isn't about "man's laws," he's almost a deity. He's protean. "This is the Natural Law. This is Justice. I'm Batman." Batman will restore order to society, even through rule-breaking.
If Joker is anti-social, Batman rebuilds it. First, as Wayne, he heals the city by providing infrastructure and opportunity for the citizens. But, as Batman, he provides a rallying point. He has been annihilating bastions of anti-social behaviour, from corrupt cops to pervasive gangsters.
If Joker is an animal, Batman is the ultimate human. He pushes himself to the limits, but as a symbol, he provides others a goal to shoot for. He challenges everyone to take the hard path of pushing past impulse and Id. Batman is SuperEgo. Batman challenges Joker's philosophy by showing the benefits of long-term planning and thinking big-picture - like a human with a stake in civilization itself.
Now, your post did make me think: how could Batman have acted to bring about this change? Perhaps something simple and visual. I'm thinking... if, when the boats received the detonators, Batman ascended to a visible place and flashed on a couple flood lights on the construction site. The prisoners and Gothamites see him through the windows in the ships. They see the shadow of the Bat and take that in. They realize that they aren't just scared people clawing for survival: there is an ideal, a guardian, and a judge that they can look up to - that they must answer to - and from hope or fear, they choose not to hit the buttons.
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