Resolved: The United States ought to promote democracy in the Middle East

My Case: Value: Subsidiarity " Any function should be fulfilled by the smallest capable unit Criterion: A community of a higher order (centralized bureaucracies, or some other form of government larger than the community) should not interfere in the internal life of a community of a lower order, depriving the latter of its functions, but rather should support it in case of need and help to co-ordinate its activity with the activities of the rest of society, always with a view to the common good Quote: "The main problem with capitalism is not that there are too many capitalists, rather there are too few." " G.K. Chesterton Observations: 1. Since the U.S. is already promoting democratic values through social media and most of the middle east has instituted democratic governments, the topic is referring to the definition of promote "to further the progress of (something, especially a cause, venture, or aim);" as provided by Oxford Dictionaries. 2. Because capitalism is inherently tied to democracy, the affirmative must prove the efficacy of capitalism as an economic system. 3. The affirmative must prove that the promotion will be effective. Thesis: The United States ought to promote the economic system of distributism because distributism will fix a lot of social issues, thereby leading to greater societal welfare. Distributism: The fastest way to describe distributism is as follows. Imagine the abolitionist north of pre-industrial America. That is distributism. Another way to look at distributism is as follows. Distributism is capitalism, except for one thing. In a distributist society, no one company can get large enough to effect more than a local sphere. This is achieved by putting a greater emphasis on family and private property and anti-trust legislation (the government not allowing a company to become to large). Families are likely to pass on businesses as well as partner with each other. Because each family will have a niche in the market carved out for them, they can afford to purchase their own tools. Because of this, a state will begin to run with the good parts of socialism while avoiding tyranny at the same time. Contention 1: Distributism can Fix Societal Issues within the Status Quo Subpoint A: Yemen According to the Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of World Cultures (JWEWC), UXL Staff, 1999, there is a narcotic known as "qat" that is significantly hurting the Yemenite society. Farmers are putting significant amounts of land to use to grow this drug because it sells for more than food, men are spending more money and time chewing this drug than is sustainable, and this leads to women working to maintain the household under massive prejudice and economic strain. Distributism is a community oriented system. Because of this, the heads of the household will become more invested in the community or die out. Whichever end is achieved, there will no longer be "qat" dragging Yemen down. Subpoint B: United Arab Emirates According to the JWEWC, there is a large amount of civil tension in the UAE. In a community based system, tension will be alleviated over time, as opposed to the current, cutthroat, faux capitalistic system. Subpoint C: Turkey According to the JWEWC, rampant population growth is leading to high unemployment, inflation, and tax evasion. Switching to distributism would guarantee job security, in it of the fact that families would help provide for each other, and greater interest in the community, which, in turn, would lead to a greater likelihood to pay taxes. Subpoint D: Syria According to the JWEWC, the economy of Syria is struggling due to the country"s experience in a brain drain, that is to say that young people who are gifted are leaving the country to study and work without returning. In a distributist society the economic issues would be fixed due to a sudden influx of domestic labor due to people staying around for the stable unit of family. Keep in mind that capitalism originally caused this. Subpoint E: Kuwait According to the JWEWC there have been many major oil spills. Switching over to distributism would reduce these oil spills, because they were and are currently caused by capitalism. Subpoint F: Israel According to the JWEWC due to Israel"s recent formation, Israel is receiving a large population boost and is having issues allocating resources to their various programs. Distributism places a higher emphasis on the role of family in society. Resources would end up being flexibly allocated. Contention 2: Distributism is an Easy System to Switch to Islam, just like distributism, places an incredibly high emphasis on the family. Because of this, distributism will be incredibly easy to implement. Democracy is based on the individual rather than the family. It highly emphasizes individual rights before family, as opposed to distributism which emphasizes family, which naturally progresses to individual rights. Contention 3: Distributism is Superior to Capitalism Subpoint A: Capitalism is a Bad System Let me offer you a quote, "There are no functioning examples of a capitalism which operates anywhere near its own principles; there couldn"t be, because the mortality rates are simply too high. Hence, capitalism always relies on government power and money to rescue it from its own excesses. Distrubitism goes from success to success. Capitalism goes from bailout to bailout" - John M"daille of the Imaginative Conservative, 2010. Subpoint B: The United States Adopted Anti-Trust Legislation Anti-Trust Legislation is legislation designed to keep corporations from ever becoming too large and too powerful. Legislation that breaks up monopolies is one example of anti-trust legislation. Distributism was based on the principal that no corporation should ever become out of control. Anti-Trust Legislation is inherently distributist. The largest capitalistic economy in the world has adopted parts of distributism to stay stable. Meta A: Sherman Antitrust Act 1890 The Cornell University Law School Legal Information Institute, Wex Staff, Since 1992, states that "the Act further prohibits monopolization or attempts at monopolizing any aspect of interstate trade or commerce and makes the act a felony." Meta B: Federal Trade Commission Act 1914 The Federal Trade Commission Act was created in 1914 and currently protects consumers and promotes competition. This is directly from the FTC website, FTC Staff, 2016 "The FTC protects consumers by stopping unfair, deceptive or fraudulent practices in the marketplace. We conduct investigations, sue companies and people that violate the law, develop rules to ensure a vibrant marketplace, and educate consumers and businesses about their rights and responsibilities." and "Competition in America is about price, selection, and service. It benefits consumers by keeping prices low and the quality and choice of goods and services high. By enforcing antitrust laws, the FTC helps ensure that our markets are open and free. The FTC will challenge anticompetitive mergers and business practices that could harm consumers by resulting in higher prices, lower quality, fewer choices, or reduced rates of innovation. We monitor business practices, review potential mergers, and challenge them when appropriate to ensure that the market works according to consumer preferences, not illegal practices." Opponent's Case: My opponent's case revolves around one core concept: teaching democracy will lead to a better society. This concept is partially true. In the past, democracy has led to better societies. There is one core issue though. Most of these societies have succumbed to the corporate nature of the government, or made the government a giant corporation. If a system of distributism was implemented first, than we could promote democracy. We must first promote distributism to ready the society so that it doesn't fall into the same pitfalls as other countries have. That is why I must stand in the negative by starting with a distinct promotion of distributism.