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The set of stock issues for a policy motion that will be used in this text is one formulated by George W. Zigelmueller and Jack Kay6. Using a medical analogy, they argue that most cases for a change in policy can be conceptualized by identifying four issues: ill, blame, cure, and cost. When a physician is deciding what kind of treatment to give a patient, the physician first needs to determine the sickness that the patient is facing (ill). To determine the ill, the physician might ask about the symptoms that the patient is experiencing. For example, perhaps the patient is experiencing pain in the lower right abdomen. Next, the physician needs to determine the cause of the sickness (blame). By placing pressure on the lower right abdomen, the physician can see if the pain intensifies and, if so, can begin to assess the cause or blame as appendicitis. The physician may also conduct other tests to identify the cause of the illness. After the cause has been determined, the physician then determines the proper treatment (cure). Ordinarily, the treatment for appendicitis is a procedure called an appendectomy or removal of the appendix.
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Before settling on the procedure that will be used to cure the patient, the physician will consider possible side effects (costs) of the procedure. If the physician and the patient decide that the effects of the illness, in this case appendicitis, are worse than the risks of the appendectomy, they may decide to go ahead with the procedure.
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That analogy can easily be used for discovering potential arguments about a policy motion. First, considering the status quo (the present policy), the debater asks about the ill or the problems that exist in the present action. Is the present way of doing things associated with particular harms? Are those harms significant in terms of their negative effects? Do the harms affect a substantial number of people? Second, the debater then considers blame or the cause of the problems. Are the problems in the status quo caused by the present system, or are they caused by factors unassociated with the present system? If the debater can determine that the problem is caused by some part of the present system, he or she can create a plan or a proposal to cure the harms. The easiest way to assess whether or not the proposal will cure the harms in the status quo is to determine if something about the status quo is causing those harms, then to determine how that cause can be eliminated or modified to reduce or eliminate the harms. Finally, the debaters, particularly those debaters who prepare to oppose the proposal, will want to consider the costs of change. The concept of cost is not limited to monetary cost. The debaters will want to consider what negatively valued effects the proposed change will have. Thus, by considering those four stock issues, debaters can begin to think about the kinds of arguments that can be used to support or oppose a change in policy.
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The next two sections focus on how the Government and Opposition Teams can use the stock issues approach to formulate a set of arguments.
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4.4.3 Government Approach to Stock Issues
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When determining what kinds of arguments to construct, Government Teams ordinarily will focus their immediate thinking on the first three stock issues: ill, blame, and cure. Of course, as will be discussed later, they need to think about the issue of cost, but their thinking about that issue will ordinarily be determined by the response of the Opposition Team. Below is a list of questions that the Government speakers might consider when trying to determine important issues they may want to include in the debate:
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Stock Issues from the Government Viewpoint
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The above questions are about consequences because they seek to determine the effects that actions have on people. In other words, the questions seek to determine if an action has positive or negative consequences on people. Ultimately, the Government Teams will attempt to support the idea that their proposal will have positive consequences. Perhaps a simple example about smoking in public places will help to clarify the use of stock issues for a policy motion:
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Stock Issues Applied to Smoking in Public Places Government Viewpoint
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By considering the stock issues of ill, blame, and cure, the Government Team can create a list of issues that they may want to introduce in the debate. Those issues can be used to convince the audience of the wisdom of the policy they are advocating. Similarly, the Opposition Team may ask the same questions, but may come up with different answers.
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As stated earlier, the Government Teams will focus on the first three of the stock issues. The forth issue, cost, is one that may or may not be raised by the Opposition Teams. If the Opposition Teams decide to raise issues related to cost, the Government Teams need to be prepared to respond to those issues.
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4.4.4 Opposition Approach to Stock Issues
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To help them determine what issues are important for them to introduce in the debate, the Opposition Team also will consider the four questions in the categories of ill, blame, cure, and cost. They almost certainly will have different answers to those questions; answers that will help them construct their own arguments as well as anticipate arguments that the Government Team may make. The table below lists the stock issues along with questions that the Opposition Team might want to ask as a part of their analysis.
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Stock Issues from the Viewpoint of the Opposition
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The questions above can be used by the Opposition Teams to help them reply to arguments introduced by the Government Team. They also can be used by the Opposition Team to create arguments of their own. The next table illustrates how those stock issues might be used in analyzing potential arguments about the motion regarding smoking in public places.
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Stock Issues Applied to Smoking in Public Places Opposition Viewpoint
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Thus, the table above shows how debaters might use the stock issues for a policy motion to create a list of arguments to introduce in the debate. Some of those issues will be used to respond to arguments introduced by the Government Team, and others will be used as independent arguments introduced by the Opposition Team.
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4.5 Summary