Socialist Club Debate

[Skammunist]

Hey everyone, so I'm part of the Socialist Club at my high school and things have gotten pretty dead the past few months. I found this ultra right-wing conservative student at my school and invited him to the club next week for a debate. This kid is the whole nine yards, he is anti-immigrant, extremely nationalist, a supporter of Israel, a self-proclaimed "capitalist", and very religious. Pretty much all of the backwards ideas you would associate with Republicans would be this kid.

Anyway, I need some help deciding on some good debate/discussion topics. I don't want to rely on the tired old "capitalism/socialism" debate.

[marl]

Bank bailouts? Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Social inequality and Occupy? Which exists - corporate media vs "liberal media"?

[Brosa Luxemburg]

The cause of the economic crisis, the Iraq war, the goal of American foreign policy, the reasons for the 9-11 attacks (like was it blowback from American imperialism and intervention in the region or not), and taxing the rich could be good topics

[GoddessCleoLover]

If I had to suggest one it would be the causes of the 2008 economic crisis.

[TheGodlessUtopian]

I don't think there is one subject better than another; just pick one and demolish his reactionary logic.

[MarxSchmarx]

"What is freedom?"

[eyeheartlenin]

One point I would make, in debating a reactionary, is that the apparent social peace we see in the US is the exception, rather than the rule. That is, society in the Arab world, Europe and Latin America, is characterized by militant class struggle, like Marx and Engels insisted in the Communist Manifesto. Repeated general strikes by the Greek workers are one obvious example of that. Many, if not most, people on earth face a choice between fighting hard against being exploited or being unable to feed their families. Life for most of humanity is a lot more difficult than someone living in a middle-class US neighborhood might imagine. So class struggle is real now and constitutes a real option, in fact, the only option, for working people elsewhere.

Another point that occurs to me is that for every prosperous urban society like the US, there are millions of workers in other countries who sell their ability to work at almost starvation wages and other, poorer, societies, from which the industrialized West extracts raw materials very cheaply, so that prosperity here in the US rests on intense poverty elsewhere and on stripping the Third World of its natural wealth.

[Jimmie Higgins]

I'd talk about 99% and 1% as a way to frame the debate/discussion because then inequality is put at the center rather than how he will probably try and frame things: freedom vs. big government "socialism".

From that general starting point you can then go into why specifically workers are suffering because of the crisis, how they want to lower wages and cut services and access to education. And then you can go into how workers have power in society and ultimately can run things themselves.

I think in general it's good to try and think about what your opponent in the debate might try and argue and try and figure out how to put the debate back onto your terms. The worst thing would be for the debate to just become, "well look at the soviet union, look at north korea etc..." because then you're just defending against a bunch of straw-men. Your opponent is the one trying to advocate a system that is fucking us over and sinking like the Titanic, s/he should be on the defensive.

[Renegade Saint]

Ask him to explain the skyrocketing inequality in American society, whether he sees it as a problem, and what he thinks should be done about it (if anything).

[Binh]

What caused the 2008 crisis?

Who will help the 99%: OWS or the GOP?

Edit: drop me a line comrade. I had no idea things had kind of fallen off. :(

[NoPasaran1936]

Dear conservatwit,

In capitalist societies, businesses aim to beat other businesses to make more profit. Inevitably, the so called free-market will eventually be dominated by monopolies within certain industries who will then dictate prices. A prime example would be in the UK after utilities were privatised, only a few businesses went into the industry. Prices are high, there's a lack of efficiency, lack of 'competition' due to the fact other companies dominate the market. This would be the same across the spectrum, therefore, free-market economies will not make the people free, it will only enslave them to a few corporations who dominate.


Discuss.

[Binh]

How'd it go?

[pastradamus]

anti-immigrant : the us economy depends on illegal immigrants to grow their corn, plant their potatos and do the work americans are afraid to do.AMericans are all genetic immigrants themselves and the ones that are not immigrants have been pushed into small communities and their cultures destroyed.

Nationalism/Patriosm: "patriosism is the virtue of the Vicious" - oscar wilde. Patriotism is but an adjunct of nationalism, Nationalisim is the belief the one race has superior qualities to another. Nationalism is a derogatory beflief of humainity. NaTIONALISM is a derogatory belief of the American constution.

Israel: Is an illegal state founded on the premis of Zionism,an extremely radical nationalistic belief. Everything about Israel suggests Murder, Rape and since 1947 a bunch of native people have been begging for their human rights back, human right and statehood amidst the squalour of a refugee camp.

Capitalism: capitalism has destroyed all human conditions within the united states. It has robbed the poor of their wealth, it has taken sight from the blind, It has runied the lives of every working class person and the affair between father and son has become reduced to nothing more than a money relationship.

The religion part I will not comment on. That is up to you depending on the crowd you get.


A drunk labour leader does not care for spelling mistakes. So typo's on your own time kid. Best of luck.