Economics

This House Believes That leaders of an occupied nation should not assist the occupying
powers in maintaining stability.

TH prefers to live in a world where personal success and failure are predominantly seen
as a consequence of random factors rather than personal choices.

Buy-now-pay-later companies partner with retailers to offer shoppers the option of

paying for their purchases in interest-free instalments, while charging late fees for missed
payments. Market surveys suggest their increasing popularity; for example, some claim
that around half of all US consumers have used such a service.
THR the increasing popularity of buy-now-pay-later services eg Afterpay, Affirm,
Klarna, etc

For the purposes of this debate, "fiscal central banking" refers to an economic system that
grants central banks the mandate to control circulation of money in the economy through
fiscal policy in addition to monetary policy. Under this system central banks can define
limitations for the size of the budget, but not its distribution. i.e. they can decide rates for
various taxes and limit or increase overall government spending, but can't decide what the
money is spent on.
In times of economic crisis, This House Would implement fiscal central banking

TH as a developing state will prioritize assigning a significantly larger portion of the

annual budget towards workforce education over large-scale industrialization.

Certain banks and other financial institutions, due to their central role in the economy,
have been deemed "too big to fail" because their closure would significantly affect the
rest of the economy
THW nationalize all banks and financial services deemed "too big to fail"

Sex tourism refers to the commercial act of travelling from one location to another in
pursuit of sexual satisfaction example (escort services ,long distance hook ups etc)
THBT that governments in developing world should invest in sex tourism

This House Believes That micro-finance organisations (including but not limited to
NGOs, charities, and developmental banks) should offer micro-finance loans in
developing nations exclusively to women

Social justice movements

Infoslide:
The African National Congress (ANC) is the ruling party in South Africa. It has been in
power since it negotiated with the governing National Party in 1993 to end apartheid,
after 8 decades of struggle. At the time, the ANC prioritized securing legal and political
rights, and the first democratic election was held in 1994.
Motion:
THP a world in which the ANC had prioritized economic and land reparations over legal
and political rights during negotiations to end apartheid
This House Believes That LGBTQ+ movements in developing countries should integrate
patriotism into their messaging* *including actions such as celebrating LGBTQ+
soldiers, talking openly about being "queer and a patriot", displaying the pride flag with
the national symbol, and avoiding actions such as supporting independence movements
within the country or publicly criticizing nationalism

A centrist is someone who has very moderate political views. Most centrists are against
any big political shifts — either to the left or to the right.

THBT social movements must oppose all forms of centrism.

THBT online activism is counterproductive

TH Opposes attempts of the feminist movt to redefine roles and behaviors traditionally
associated with a woman ( eg wearing make up trying to be a house wife)

THBT feminists should not use rhetoric about women being more empathetic or caring
than men as part of their advocacy(eg women are better leaders because they are more
compassionate)

THS the narrative that traditionally feminine qualities (e.g. compassion, kindness) enable
female leaders to better deal with times of crisis

As Black Lives Matter Movement, THW reject any form of participation from the police
force within their protest activities
THBT the BLM movement should advocate for African Americans to join the police
force

THR the increasing emphasis upon publicity and performative expressivism in social
movements

HYPOTHETICAL
There is a technology that enables people to erase all of their memories from a person in
their lives. Before doing so, they are required to record in detail the history of their
relationship with that person and the reasons for wanting to forget them. Recently, you
began dating someone incredible with whom you feel a deep connection you have never
experienced before with anyone else. Surprisingly, you both receive recordings that
reveal to you that you have already been in a relationship with each other in the past and
you both chose to break up and delete the memories. The recordings are full of sweet
memories as well as painful memories.
This House Would break up again
Motion: You come across a button which, if pressed, will instantly and painlessly erase
all of human existence. If not pressed immediately, the button will permanently
disappear.
THW press the button.

The Ordinal Scale of Time Lapse is a pathway that defies time continuum and relativity.
If one steps into it, it shows you the event of the rest of your lifetime and the most
desirable life decisions you could make to live a suitable life without mistakes. The Time
Lapse however takes away 10 years of the user's lifespan and people who don't have up
to 10 years to live would die if they attempt to use the Time Lapse. The Time Lapse does
not reveal the exact amount of years you have to live after using it.
TH as an individual would enter the Ordinal Scale of Time Lapse
Motion: That we support the development and use of moral enhancement drugs.
Info slide: The category of moral enhancement drugs includes, but are not limited to,
drugs that make someone more empathetic, altruistic, or compassionate.

Given the technology This house would erase society‘s memory and evidence of criminal
past of former convicts after their release from prison
THP a world where pple cannot lie
Assuming the technology exists to divide the 40 weeks of pregnancy between 2 partners
in any possible way . THW mandate that each partner carries for half the term

Racial blind casting is a practice of not considering race when casting characters in
shows, movies and documentaries, e.g. Cleopatra cast as black in the Netflix series
Queen Cleopatra.
THR racial blind casting

Assuming feasibility, THW determine the percentage of income that an individual pays
as tax based on the relative material privilege the individual had during their upbringing
(such as private education, parental wealth, childhood home etc.) and not based on their
income

CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Motion: Assuming feasibility, THW adopt 'whole life desert' considerations for criminal
sentences.

Info Slide: Under 'whole life desert', criminal sentences start as 'maximums' that can be
infinitely mitigated by someone's life circumstances, such that persons who commit
similar crimes are punished in a way that they experience the same level of utility across
their 'whole lives'. For example, an individual who has had a hard life would receive a
lighter murder sentence than an individual raised in relative privilege.
Convicted criminals can apply for a pardon, to be reviewed by the pardoning committee.
This House Would grant the power to pardon convicted criminals to pardoning
committees instead of government executives (e.g. presidents, governors etc.)

THBT the primary aim of the criminal justice system should be rehabilitation, not
retribution
THW allow defendants in criminal trials to argue that magisterial courts should acquit on
grounds that the crime for which they are charged ought to be decriminalized
THW ban the media from reporting on ongoing sex offence trials
THR the prevalence of using precedence as a standard in court rulings

This house believes that defendants in criminal cases should be represented only by state
employed lawyers

THR the televisation of court trials of prominent cases (ie Amber Heard & Johnny Depp
trial, Ahmaud Arbery murder trial)

THB that joining or attempting to join a terrorist organisation should not be a crime in
and of itself

THW legalise vigilantism in high crime areas

Given the technology, This House Would erase society's memory and evidence of the
criminal past of former convicts after their release from prison.
Motion: This house would replace "real world" prison incarceration with simulated
incarceration, for people not sentenced to a life sentence.

Info Slide: For the purposes of this debate, there exists a safe technology which can
accurately simulate the experience of being in prison. A person within the simulation will
experience the simulation as fully real, including time passing slowly as in "real life",
while not interacting with others in the "real world". In reality, even a long sentence in
the simulation will be done in a matter of days.

THW send prisoners on death row to war zones to fight for the state

THW allow victims of violent crimes to veto the prosecution of their offender

THR the use of referendums being used as a means to make political decisions

Religion
It is estimated that Saudi Arabia gains $12 billion from Hajj and Umrah, two significant
Islamic pilgrimage, every year. Hajj is a pillar of the Islamic Religion and muslims
around the world are encouraged to make the trip at least once in their lifetime. Aside oil
revenue, these religious pilgrimages contribute substantially to the Saudi Arabian
economy.
THBT the Islamic community should force Saudi Arabia to establish and contribute a
significant amount annually to general Islamic research, education and support for
struggling Islamic communities etc.

For the purposes of this debate, religions that "center the self" embrace human existence
and individual experiences as special. Believers are asked to consider their choices and
experiences, struggles, and connection to God as uniquely important and a path to
salvation.

In contrast, religions that "reject the self" explicitly reject the idea that human existence
and individual experiences are special. Believers are asked to accept individual
experiences as temporary and unimportant, and individuality as an illusion that causes
unhappiness.
This House Prefers religions that "center the self" to religions that "reject the self"
This House prefers to follow a religion where one’s fate in the material world is
predetermined, rather than one where one’s choices and actions influence their fate.

nfoslide: Effective altruism is a philosophy, and social movement that attempts to apply
evidence and reason to determining the most effective ways to improve the world.
Effective altruism often has a focus on lives saved per amount donated, based on
numerical, target based goals. For example – Effective Altrusim says it better to
purchase malaria vaccines for 5 children, than provide end of life care to a child with a
terminal illness.

This House believes that individuals should only donate to charities that are scored highly
by Effective Altruism.

SPORTS
There are two dominant models of E-Sports Leagues:

The Franchise Model sets up regional leagues, where private groups buy teams which
cannot be relegated from the league. Each league is overseen by their own central
authority and the league is owned by the teams and game developer. Teams compete in
matches throughout a season, at the end of which an eventual champion is named for that
league. Prominent examples of E-Sports using this system are League of Legends,
Valorant, Overwatch etc.

The Qualifier Model involves a set of independently run tournaments ranging from
smaller regional events to major tournaments that require qualification or invitation based
on success at previous tournaments. All of the tournaments are run by different
organizations or actors, which can have different criteria for inviting or allowing teams to
participate. Prominent examples of E-Sports using this system are CS:GO, Dota 2 etc.
This House Prefers the Franchise Model to the Qualifier Model for E-Sports leagues

The revenue distribution system between US major leagues (NFL, NBA, etc) and
European football are different. In the US Major leagues, revenue generated within the
league are shared equally among competing teams in a bid to maintain an equal playing
field for all (E.g In the NFL, franchise Like the Dallas Cowboys and the Buffalo Bills
collectively receive equal revenue from TV money despite the Dallas Cowboys drawing
the biggest TV attraction). In comparison, European football leagues redistribute
revenues generated based on performance or historical success rates (E.g In Spain, clubs
like Real Madrid and Barcelona collectively receive up to 30% of the leagues TV money
while clubs at the bottom end receive as little as 5%)
THBT European football leagues should welcome the use of a revenue redistribution
system that is akin to that of US major leagues.

In disaster-prone areas, This House Would replace all state rebuilding and reconstruction
efforts with direct cash transfers to affected citizens
Behind a veil of ignorance, This House Prefers to be born with an exceptionally high
sense of self-awareness* *Self-awareness is one's innate ability to consciously know and
understand their own character, feelings, motives, and desires

For the purposes of this debate, pardoning committees are made up of random citizens
from the local community, similar to how jury panels are constructed.

DEMOCRASY
Consociationalism is a type of political idea that recognizes internal divisions within a
state and tries to create room for a system of government that accomdates those divisions.
An example is Bosnia and Herzegovina where there is a tripartite presidency - There are
three Presidents at the same time and each of them are from the main ethnic groups in the
federation (a Bosniak, a Croat, and a Serb). The presidents share the 4 term tenure and
one of them assumes the position of chair of the presidency for eight months after which
is rotated to the next person.
THBT that Nigeria should adopt consociationalism where a member from each major
ethnic group (Yoruba, Hausa, and Igbo) come together to form a tripartite presidency.
Advanced Analytics is the autonomous or semi-autonomous examination of data or
content. It involves using sophisticated techniques such as machine learning algorithms,
deep learning, predictive modelling, or other tools to discover deeper insights, make
predictions, or generate recommendations.

Advanced Analytics can be used for political microtargeting, which involves identifying
the detailed profile of individual voters and voter groups, testing the most persuasive
messages, and tailoring campaign strategy to target different voter profiles.
This House Would ban the use of advanced analytics in political campaigns

CLIMATE CHANGE
This House Believes That the environmental movement should take more radical action
in the fight against climate change (e.g., blocking roads, vandalism, blowing up pipelines
etc.)

This House Opposes the pressure to focus on promoting one's career at the expense of
forming a family

THW resort to civil disobedience in order to bring attention to the climate crisis.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
THO the Gulf States' (Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia) growing influence in the Horn of
Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Sudan and Eritrea)

Until 2021, a part of French foreign policy was active involvement in previous French
protectorates, such as Mali and Burkina Faso. The publicly announced goals of this
policy were to help foster political stability inside the affected countries, as well as
cooperation between these countries and France. In 2021, France announced the decision
to start withdrawing from the region and putting an end to its military operations there.
THBT it is in France's interests to distance itself from former French protectorates in
West Africa

In 2004, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, and
Estonia joined the European Union (EU), followed by Bulgaria and Romania in 2007,
and Croatia in 2013. For the purposes of this debate, the above countries are 'the Eastern
bloc'.

Serbia, Bosnia, and Northern Macedonia, along with other countries, are not currently
part of the EU, but are aspiring to join the EU.
This House Prefers that the Eastern bloc countries had formed their own Union instead of
joining the European Union (EU)

"Therapy speak" refers to the significant expansion of psychological and medical

language and concepts to daily life, outside of the academic context.

This could include but is not limited to:

- using terms like "toxic" or "gaslighting" when talking about interactions, friendships, or
relationships in situations that do not meet the academic definition of these terms
- referring to the urge to tidy up as "OCD", or a temporary inability to focus as "ADHD"
- partaking in speculative psychiatric diagnoses of others, including public figures
This House Opposes the popularization of therapy speak

This House Would prohibit companies from regulating the private behaviors of their
employees in employment contracts* *e.g., mandatory drug tests, no smoking policies,
regulating their employees' social media, prohibiting models/actors from dating etc.
The principle of proportionality prohibits attacks against military objectives which are
excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated.

When responding to civilian casualties, this house believes that the military action taken
does not have to meet the principle of proportionality.

THS the transition of media coverage of sports to social media (e.g. athletes promoting
themselves on social media, sports associations streaming games for free online) at the
expense of traditional sports journalism (e.g. televising of games on TV, journalists
providing long-form features of athletes)

Info Slide: Since its inception in 2020, benevolent capitalistic entity 'Doxbridge Debating'
has run 13 international tournaments for thousands of participants from around the world.
As a result, Steven has bought himself several magnums of Dom Pérignon.

Motion: THR the rise of for-profit debating

FEMINISM

TH as the feminist movement will actively campaign against the societal recognition of
men who achieved significant successes in areas where women were culturally or legally
excluded from participating in the past. (Eg. Celebration of the founding fathers of
America when women were not allowed to lead at the time)
R4: Infoslide: The Assassins Brotherhood is a recently formed, unaffiliated, secretive
organization of highly talented assassins.

They have a near-perfect track record of committing highly visible, extra-judicial

killings, with no direct collateral damage and escaping unidentified afterwards. Their
location is a complete mystery, and all attempts to hunt them down have ended in failure.

Their philosophy or “creed” instructs their organization to protect the weak by targeting
leaders of authoritarian states.

This House prefers a world where the Assassins Brotherhood exists.

Infoslide: “Originalism” is a concept regarding the interpretation of a Constitution that

asserts that all statements in a country’s constitution must be interpreted based on the
original understanding of the authors at the time it was ratified.

This House believes that Supreme Court justices should adopt Originalist stances in
applying constitutional law.

This House believes that in times of severe crisis, individuals have a moral obligation to
dedicate themselves towards combating the crisis.
THW grant senior military officers a veto over military decisions made by politicians
(e.g. troop deployments, and specific missions).
RegretMeNot is a technology designed for people who are about to enter into a
relationship. This device aggregates all of the happiness and sadness from all parties in
your prospective partner's previous relationship/s, and tells you whether it was on net
happy or sad. You do not require your prospective partner's consent to use RegretMeNot,
but must have an actual interest in a relationship with them.

This House Prefers a world where RegretMeNot is available.

With respect to Black Panther and Woman King, this house opposes African culture
fetishisation in pop culture.

Easy buy, Easy pay is a type of short-term financing that allows consumers to make
purchases and pay for them at a future date, often interest-free. Consumers typically
make an upfront payment toward the purchase, then pay the remainder off in a
predetermined number of instalments. Non-payment is passed on to debt collectors and
impacts the consumer’s credit score.

THR the popularity of 'Easy buy'

×
A global wealth tax system is where individuals are progressively taxed based on their
assets, which would apply at a broadly similar rate in different countries.

TH prefers a world with a global wealth tax.

The M23 (March 23 Movement) is Congolese Revolution army located in Eastern DRC.
The group resumed fighting in late 2021 after it went dormant for a while and upon
resumption, captured areas in Northan Kivu, Bunagana at the Ugandan border.
The DRC joined East African Community (EAC) in April 2022 with an aim of attaining
security for its people affected by the actions of M23. The EAC passed a resolution to use
dialogue to arbitrate the issues between M23 and the DRC government.
About 23,000 people have died since October 2022 due to M23 activities and their
actions continue to cause regional tensions with Rwanda being accused of Funding M23
and Ugandan borders being attacked.

THO the resolution of the EAC to use dialogue

An Omnisphere is a magical orb that grants its owner a form of foresight. Anyone
holding it will continuously experience insights relating to significant events in their
future, based on them continuing their present actions, plans and goals. If the user
consciously changes their actions based on the insights, they will update to reflect the
new outcome of the owner's actions.
THW pick up the Omnisphere

The Great Green Wall programme was initiated in 2007 by the African Union to address
the impacts of climate change and land degradation, with the main objective of restoring
100 million hectares of degraded ecosystems across 11 countries.
THBT the African Union should prioritise environmental restoration projects over its
political and economic objectives

You are in a long-term romantic relationship. However, recently, you have been feeling
less and less in love with your partner. You cannot see a clear reason for this and you still
like and deeply care about your partner, but you feel that the romantic feeling necessary
to continue the relationship in the long term is missing. You have not yet discussed this
with your partner but cannot hide it for much longer. Recently, the machine called the
'Cupid machine' has been invented. This machine affects someone's brain to make them
fall in love with a specific person. The love created here otherwise operates the same way
as regular love does - i.e. it can change and develop, and you can fall out of love. The
machine has shown to be safe and can be used in specialized clinics for an affordable fee.

THW use the Cupid machine to reignite their love for their romantic partner