Resolved: Justice requires the recognition of animal rights.Over the coming days, I'll post some initial thoughts on the various choices, and turn this into a list of links to those posts.
Resolved: The constitutions of democratic governments ought to include procedures for secession.
Resolved: When forced to choose, a just government ought to prioritize universal human rights over its national interest. Update: This was chosen as the 2011 national tournament topic.
Resolved: In the United States, juveniles charged with violent felonies ought to be treated as adults in the criminal justice system.
Resolved: the abuse of illegal drugs ought to be treated as a matter of public health, not of criminal justice.
Resolved: The United States is justified in using private military firms abroad to pursue its military objectives.
Resolved: Secular ethics ought to be prioritized over religious ethics in the legislative process.
Resolved: In political campaigns within the United States, corporations ought to be afforded the same First Amendment free speech protections as individuals.
Resolved: Progressive income taxes are just.
Resolved: On balance, Internet neutrality is desirable.
Jun 24, 2010
summer LD preview
The NFL has published its list of potential topics for 2010-2011, which I'll repeat below, in order of my personal preferences, favorite first.
Hey Jim, I'm looking stuff up to research before I head over to VBI (camp topic is universal human rights). I can find some stuff for neg, but do you have any research ideas for the aff? Thanks
ReplyDeleteI'll be posting a full treatment fairly soon, but to get started, a couple things: first, a collection of related links (from a UN vs. sovereignty resolution three years ago). Second, the phrases for your research might include "cosmopolitanism," "cosmopolitan justice," "moral cosmopolitanism," and "cosmopolitan democracy." The basic thesis is that human rights are paramount because all humans are equally morally valuable. It's essentially Kantian.
ReplyDeleteI've been watching the commentary across a few different sites, and I'll be really curious to see your take on the secular/religious ethics resolution. I think it could make for some really interesting debate, but I'm concerned about it from a teaching standpoint.
ReplyDeleteI really like the third resolution on your list, regarding universal human rights vs. national interest. I pretty strongly support the former position, but I'd be really interested to see some of the arguments in favor of national interest.
ReplyDeleteThe first one has potential. The second one is Policy. The Third one is good. The fourth one may be Policy, but has real potential. The fifth one is sticky. The sixth one is Policy. I think the seventh one is sticky, and it is Policy. Eighth has potential. Ninth is Policy, with a little potential how it is worded. My favorite for neutrality and debatability is the third.
ReplyDeleteIs there a list like this one that the NFL choose from for the NFL national topic for ld? If so, could you tell me where to find it?
ReplyDeleteWell, it'll be one of the topics from this list that hasn't already been used, so, all of these except for #s 4-6.
ReplyDelete