Policy Topics and the Manufacture of Consent

[Kenneth Broda-Bahm <broda@midget.towson.edu>]

Looking through my mail upon my return from a Christmas break
untainted by thoughts of evidence and positions, the first such
in a while, I am touched by the holiday sentiments, appreciative
of Mr. Gehrke's internet present. 

I do, however, have a small bone to pick on the still lingering
thread of policy topics.  Several folks have now suggested that
the recent topic vote represents a popular mandate for policy
topics.  None have stated this more strongly than Tuna on the
21st:

>Look at the votes.  Policy topics finished #1 404 and #2 304,
>and the highest non-policy topic got 220. There is clearly an
>overwhelming mandate for policy topics. It may be just a fad,
>but it certainly is what people want. THIS IS WHAT THE
>MAINSTREAM OF THE CEDA COMMUNITY WANTS. 

The presence of our new congress should teach us that we should
be suspicious of the meaning of popular mandates.  The recent
vote does not represent a popular abdication of non-policy
topics, because importantly, there were NO NON-POLICY TOPICS on
the ballot.  All six topics spoke to the desirability or non-
desirability of a positive, pro-active change in our policy
toward the oceans.  Three topics contained the word "should" and
the other three topics were phrased as "resolved that [policy
change x, y, or z] WOULD BE DESIRABLE."  There is little or no
functional difference between these two styles of phrasing.  I
know of no one who has written on resolution typology who would
consider the later to be non-policy simply because it applies
"would be desirable" rather than "should" to exactly the same
POLICY action.  At best, I think prof. Zarefsky would consider
the latter style "quasi-policy" which basically means, serving
the function of policy.

In a real sense, the CEDA community was offered two sets of
policy topics, with one set being a bit more clear than the
other.  Big surpise that the community would in that context
choose the clearer of the two.  When we voted at Towson, our
sentiment was that if we are going to have a policy topic, it may
as well be a clear one.  This is hardly a mandate from the
mainstream of the CEDA community.  

It is arguably the opposite.  In previous years, policy topics
which have shared the ballot with non-policy topics have
consistently garnered few votes.  Now, CEDA finally has a clear
policy topic, but that was engineerd like an old-style Soviet
election: the ballot contained only policy topics.

I, like Prof. Corcoran, like the challenge and the procedural
freedom that accompanies value topics.  I don't have a problem
with debating policy once in a while.  But I do have a problem
with the presumptions that a.) policy topics are naturally better
or b.) policy topics are what the community wants.  We can only
vote for what is on the ballot.


                         Happy New year,

                         Ken Broda-Bahm
                         Towson State University

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