Keio Debate Open

KDO 2021

R1:

This House believes that religious education in developing countries has done more harm than good

This House believes that university funding should be distributed equally across all universities as opposed to proportionally to their achievements

This House would allow private corporations to buy contracts to educate and train prisoners in prisons in return for a percentage of their income when they are released

R2:

This House believes that minorities should engage in respectability politics

The notion of respectability politics holds that conforming to mainstream standards of appearance and behaviour will lead communities to achieving respect, and therefore, getting better treatment in society.

This House regrets the label “Nazi” used to describe extremist movements

This House, as feminists, regrets the rise of platforms that allow self-commodification of one’s sex appeals (e.g. OnlyFans, Sugarbook, etc.)

R3:

This House regrets the glorification of productivity

This House would nationalise all research into artificial general intelligence (AGI)

Artificial general intelligence, also known as 'strong AI', is a level of artificial intelligence where the machine's capability to understand and learn any intellectual task is functionally equal to a human's.

This House believes that states should subconsciously nudge its citizens towards making socially desirable choices

Nudging is a concept in behavioural economics which proposes positive reinforcement and indirect suggestions as ways to influence the behaviour and decision-making of groups or individuals.

R4:

In times of economic recessions, This House would implement a minimum spend policy

A minimum spend policy requires households to spend a designated percentage of their income and/or wealth in a given period of time. This policy applies progressively, and would replace tax either partially or entirely.

This House prefers a model of economic development that primarily relies upon microfinance as opposed to the development of traditional financial institutions

Microfinance is a type of banking service targeted to unemployed or low-income individuals and groups who otherwise would have no other access to financial services. Microfinancial services include the provision of checking and savings accounts, financial education, and lending.

This House believes that state-owned enterprises in primary industries should retain full state ownership rather than declare an Initial Public Offering (IPO)

A primary industry is any industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, hunting, fishing, and mining. The primary sector tends to make up a larger portion of the economy in developing countries than it does in developed countries.

QF:

In post-conflict societies, This House supports a significant degree of civilian control over the military as opposed to an independent military

In nascent democracies, This House believes that states should form its military via conscription as opposed to recruitment

This House believes that leaders of police organisations should be elected by the local communities in which they serve

SF:

This House prefers a world whereby religions dictate that entry into heaven is based on peer-based testimony as opposed to adherence to religious laws

This House prefers a world where lying is not seen as immoral

This House believes that the Global Middle Class should adopt a nihilist outlook on life

Nihilism is the belief that nothing in the world has real meaning.

GF:

This House, as Joe Biden, would embrace the Green New Deal

The ‘Green New Deal’ is a proposed economic stimulus package that aims to address climate change and economic inequality. It may include a living wage, a jobs guarantee, and 100% of power demand met by renewable energy. Within the current American political climate, it is seen as radical.

This House prefers a world where Confucianism were successfully eradicated in China

Confucianism is the system of ethics, education, and statesmanship taught by Confucius and his disciples, stressing love for humanity, ancestor worship, reverence for parents, and harmony in thought and conduct. The practice and teaching of Confucianism was outlawed in China under the Maoist regime during the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976. There has been a revival in China organically due to its rehabilitation by the Chinese Communist Party.

This House regrets that leftist movements / organisations in South-East Asia transitioned to political parties (e.g. Parti Sosialis Malaysia, Makabayan bloc in the Philippines, PARSI in Indonesia)