Social Choice Session 19

1. Social ChoiceSession 19 Carmen Pasca and Mattia de’ Grassi

2. Session 19: Plan for today Case study: David Cameron and the idea of a “Big Society” Rules: Cambridge Union Style Debate Discussion of the case: form your team and prepare your speeches. Debate and vote.

3. Case Study: David Cameron's idea of the “Big Society” • The “Big Society Plan” was a central theme in the Conservative general election (2010). General Principles: • Make society stronger by giving more power to the people. • Overrule the top-down, statist approach of the previous governments. • Bring people together and give them responsibilities to improve their lives and the lives of others. • Broad spectrum of policy areas.

4. Case Study: David Cameron's idea of the “Big Society” Three axes of action: Devolving power to the lowest level. Opening up public services. Encourage volunteering. A powerful instrument to implement it: Billions of pounds’ worth of government contracts. Examples: Creation of a dedicated investment bank with 300 M£ coming from dormant bank accounts. Creation of a transition fund (100 M£) to assist charities.

5. Case Study: David Cameron's idea of the “Big Society” • Constraints: • Keep the financial imbalance under control. • Implement the principles. • Maintain or improve the efficiency. • Objections: • It is too vague. • It is all a cover for cuts or tax-raising. • Disparities between regions will result in an imbalanced implementation. • It is not a revolution, it has always been done. • The idea of getting volunteers to step in to run public services is a joke.

6. Case Study: David Cameron's idea of the “Big Society” • “Big Society” Pilot Projects have started in selected regions. • Each of the project areas will be given expert organisers and dedicated civil servants to ensure "people power" initiatives get off the ground. • Government stuff will be involved in the procedure. • The initiatives being championed include: • Local buy-out of a rural pub. • Giving residents more power over council spending. • Efforts to recruit volunteers to keep museums open. • Working on sustainable transport services.

7. Case Study: David Cameron's idea of the “Big Society” • PROPOSED INITIATIVES Examples: • Cumbria: relocating community centre, building renewable energy project, community buyout of pub, spreading broadband access. • Windsor and Maidenhead: public say over local spending decisions including parks budgets, further powers to parish councils. • Liverpool: increased volunteering at museums, developing neighbourhood media and digital content. • Sutton: working on sustainable transport services, developing youth projects, creating "green living" champions.

8. Case Study: David Cameron's idea of the “Big Society” • David Cameron’s point of view: • “The biggest, most dramatic redistribution of power from elites in Whitehall to the man and woman on the street". • “Talents and initiative of people had been wasted, claiming that over-centralised government had turned public sector workers into the "weary, disillusioned puppets of government targets“. • “The transformation we are seeking would not happen overnight and it is not a matter of the government stepping aside and letting people fend for themselves”.

9. Case Study: David Cameron's idea of the “Big Society” • What do you think about his idea? • Think about pros and cons. • Try to elaborate supporting arguments to your point of view. • You have ten minutes, then we will start the debate.

10. Rules: Cambridge Union Style Debate • Debating is about examining ideas and policies and persuading people within an organized structure. • It allows us to consider the world around us by thinking about different argument, engaging with opposing viewsand speaking strategically. • Three main parts: • Content: What you say and the arguments and examples you use. • Style: How you say it and the language and voice you use. • Strategy: How well you engage with the topic, respond to other people’s arguments and structure what you say.

11. Rules: Cambridge Union Style Debate • Two teams at a time, five people each. • We need one team defending the motion and one team attacking it. • The audience evaluates the different speakers and decided which team has persuaded them the most. • The audience should vote considering the content, style and strategies of speeches • The speeches alternate between two teams • Speakers talk one at a time but may coordinate their speeches with their teammates.

12. Rules: Cambridge Union Style Debate • Structure: • Speaker: The opener for the Motion • He or she presents the case for the motion. He must then present arguments in the favor of the motion. • Speaker: The opener against the Motion • He or she presents the case against the Motion. To do this, he must rebut the opener for the Motion and presents counter-arguments. He can choose to defend the status quo or present a counter proposal.

13. Rules: Cambridge Union Style Debate • Following Speakers for the governmental team • The government speakers must rebut the opening opposition and explain why their arguments are wrong or irrelevant. They can also add arguments for the motion. • Following Speakers for the opposition team • The opposition speakers must rebut the governmental positions and explain why their arguments are wrong or irrelevant. They can also add arguments for the motion. • The Closing Speakers for and against the Motion • Both teams must try to move the debate on (in order to win as a team) without contradicting the other speakers in their side. The closing speakers provides the concluding arguments for their teams.

14. Rules: Cambridge Union Style Debate • To move the debate on, you can present new analysis regarding the motion, you can introduce a different viewpoint or you can extend the arguments already made. • You can present these extensions or you can rebut the arguments of the preceding speakers on the opposite side. • The last speeches on both sides are summary speeches: the summaries the debate and the clash between teams from a biased perspective in order to demonstrate why their side has won the debate. • Points of Information:during speeches, speakers on the opposing sidemay offer short, quick points of rebuttal to the speakers know as “points of information”.

15. Rules: Cambridge Union Style Debate • After the debate is finished, questions from the floor are invited. Then a vote is taken on the Motion. • The point of this exercise is for you to learn how to develop the content, style and strategy of your speeches, to think about issues logically and persuades audiences.

16. Discussion of the case: form your team and prepare your speeches • You have 15 minutes to form your team, discuss the case and prepare for the debate. • Every team should have a leader coordinating the interventions. • Every speaker has about 2 minutes to explain his point. • The opening and closing speakers have 4 minutes of time.

17. Debate and vote • Any question before the starting of the debate? • Let’s start the debate on the proposal of a «Big Society».