Corporations Cause all the Problems

My opponent has brought up the following things he considers global problems. Thanks for keeping the list pretty short.1) Falling off cliffsThis is usually due to inadequite warning labels on the side of the cliff, and inadequite safety barriers and so on. That ties in to the corporations because they're the ones who manufacture these warnings and barriers, and are ultimately responsible for the quality of their construction. While I do dispute that falling off cliffs is a major issue in this debate, corporations are usually the cause since nobody really chooses to fall off a cliff unless they're suicidal. If they are suicidal, there will be a motive behind this, which is suggestive of a different problem (of which falling off a cliff is only the symptom) and thus not directly relevant to the point. I'd appreciate the oppertunity to rebut some of these as well - bring them up and I will.2) ForgetfulnessThe technology exists to eliminate this. The problem is twofold - first, consumers don't really want it, partly because there are some things best forgotten, and partly because consumers don't like to be reminded of things they do remember. Secondly, the corporations limit access to the technology because they don't believe there is a market for it (and they're probably right). If my opponent does believe forgetfulness is a problem (and I'm in the camp that wouldn't really want to eliminate forgetfulness, but each to his own I guess), corporations have the power to solve it. Through inaction they create the problem.3) VirusesThe prevalence of desease in the world isn't because of a lack of medical research. We have cures for almost everything nowadays, and solutions to remove the symptoms of everything else. The problem is one of access to medicine. We're talking about things like common vaccinations and preventative medicine being denied to the poor and the third world, and controlled by insurance corporations in the wealthier demographics. The medical research exists, it's all a matter of putting it into practice, and corporations won't let us.4) Alcohol/drug addictionThese are predicated on large quantities of alcohol and drugs being available. Since corporations control all legally sold drugs and alcohol, I'm going to argue that nobody today gets addicted off homebrew alone, and I challenge my opponent to provide evidence that anybody has done so in the past month or so. Illegal drugs are also indirectly caused by corporations, because if corporations did not restrict access to drugs then there would be no market for illegal drugs, as has been demonstrated in every instance where drug legalisation has happened.5) Sea disastersWe live in an age where ships can be controlled accurately by computer programs, and there is no need for captains. The only reason why seamen still exist is because the corporations continue to hire them. Any human error made by these people is entirely the fault of the corporations stupid enough to put people who make stupid decisions in charge of large ships. Had the corporation used computers, or even competant personell, the disasters would have been averted, as no computer has ever sunk a major ship. The fault thus rests on the HR departments of shipping and cruising corporations.6) ObesityThis is connected with the type and manner in which we eat - types and manners encouraged and proliferated by corporations. This is unsurprising because corporations profit from it. Types, for instance - advertising by corporations is responsible for normalising food like hamburgers, which I can guarentee you 99% of obese people don't think of as being unusual, exotic, or reserved for very special occasions (the rest are still affected by other corporate messages about what food to eat). Manners, similary - the notion of when and how to eat is socially constructed, and as a part of society, corporations have had a significant impact on that.7) WarAssuming we're talking about war as in armed conflict, then corporations are to blame because they control the world's weapons industries. If you look at all the major weapons manufacturers - indeed, even the minor ones - they are all corporations (whether owned by the state or privately). If there was no weapons industry there would be no significant amount of weapons in the world, and thus no critical mass for a war to happen.8) MurderGlad we agree at least some murder is caused by corporations. The rest of the murders are informed by beliefs corporations give us, supported by tools and weapons offered by corporations, and more often than not committed in the name of some value associated with a corporation. For example, take the murder of somebody shot for a robbery. Well, that will have been based on certain values - for instance, if the item robbed was money, the value of money. Money is an invention of corporations, because the issuers of money everywhere are public corporations - liability is distinct. This goes back to classical times. The gun used in the shooting will have been manufactured by a corporation. The relative value of a person's life is also informed by corporations. The film and gaming industry provides a very overt example, but there are many other no-so-obvious ones, such as the fair trade industry. I challenge my opponent to name one murder that was not caused by corporations in one way or another.If pro has any more to add I'd welcome it.Pro's key message: we have free willThis is completely wrong. We have the freedom to choose what products to buy in the supermarket - but all of them are manufactured by corporations. We have the freedom to choose where to go, but all forms of transport are corporatised. We have the freedom to speak, but the technology and infrastructure that allows us to do so is run by corporations. No matter what we do, our free will is limited to the choices given to us by the corporations. And thus while corporations can claim the credit for all the good stuff in the world, they must also share responsibility for all of the bad.