Disadvantage
Encyclopedia : D : DI : DIS : Disadvantage
| Part of the series Policy Debate | |
| |
| Organization | |
| Policy debate competitions Inter-Collegiate policy debate | |
| Format | |
| Structure of policy debate · Resolution Constructive · Rebuttal · Prep Time Evidence · Flow | |
| Participants | |
| Affirmative · Negative · Judge | |
| Types of Arguments | |
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Stock Issues · Disadvantage Counterplan · Kritik Impact calculus · Topicality | |
| Argumentative Concepts | |
| Offense · Defense · Turn · Drop | |
Structure
A DA usually has four key elements. These four elements are not always necessary, and some are often combined into a single piece of evidence. A Uniqueness/Link card, for example, will include both a description of the status quo and the plan's effect on it. A traditional DA, however, has a structure as follows:Uniqueness
The negative team typically defends the status quo. If they are doing so, they must show that their disadvantage is not already existing in the status quo. If a disadvantage stated that a plan would lead to a recession, and the status quo was already in a recession, the DA would be considered non-unique and thus a moot point because it has not proven that the affirmative plan makes things worse than the status quo. Uniqueness is sometimes the brink when it points out that the status quo is very close to having the disadvantage occur.Link
For the disadvantage to have revelance in the round, the negative team must show that the affirmative plan causes the disadvantage that is claimed. If the DA stated that the plan takes money from the government, and the affirmative team shows that the plan does not increase governmental spending, then the DA would be considered to have no link.Internal Link
The internal link connects the link to the impact, or, it explains why the affirmative plan will cause the disadvantage to occur. Not all DA's use an internal link. The internal link in our example would be that government spending leads to economic collapse.Impact
The impact is what makes the policy action undesirable. Going along with the example, an impact would be that economic collapse may cause nuclear war.In many cases, internal links are often undesirable things by themselves, and could be considered impacts. However, the worst of the consequences, or the final one in the chain of events, is usually given the label of "impact". For example, nuclear war is probably worse than economic collapse, so nuclear war is given the "impact" label, even though economic collapse (the internal link) could itself be viewed as an impact.
Types of Disadvantages
Traditional
A traditional DA follows the structure above. Traditional DA's can include or exclude the internal link.Linear
A linear disadvantage does not have uniqueness. The negative conceeds that the status quo has a problem, but the plan increases the severity of that problem.Brink
A brink disadvantage is a special type of linear disadvantage which claims that the affirmative will aggravate the problem in the status quo to the extent that it passes a brink, at which time the impact happens all at once. The negative team claims that in the status quo, we are near the brink, but the affirmative team's plan will push us "over the edge."The Politics Disadvantage
A politics disadvantage is a special type of disadvantage, in the way that it links to affirmative plan. Rather than linking to the specific plan action, it links to the fact that a plan passes at all. Politics disadvantages typically will say that a plan will pass through Congress, thus causing a shift in the "political capital" of either the President, or a political party, which will effect the ability of the affected group to pass other bills. An example of a politics disadvantage would be: Uniqueness: Immigration Reform will pass in the status quo. Link: Plan decreases the President's political capital, perhaps with a specific link that increasing civil liberties would be a flip-flop for President Bush. thus, Bush has no political capital to pass his Immigration Reform. Impact: That Immigration Reform is key to preventing terrorism.A variant of the Politics disadvandage is the Elections disadvantage, which is run during either Presidential or Midterm elections cycles. For example, in a presidential election, it might argue that a residential candidate or his opponent is currently weak (or strong), but the affirmative plan will cause him to gain (or lose) popularity, and that either his election is undesirable or the election of his opponent is undesirable. A midterms version could focus on particular races or the general balance of the Congress.
The Controversy
In some sections of the country, politics disadvantages are frowned upon because they link to virtually every affirmative plan, destroying the on case debate and focusing solely on the disadvantage. Supporters, however, say the politics disadvantages are "real world" and provide education on how bills are passed and politics in general.Responding To Disadvantages
Uniqueness Takeout
By reading evidence that says the impacts will occur regardless of plan passage, the links and impacts (and hence, the entire Disad) become largely irrelevant.
Straight Turn
One way to debate against a Disad is to read a piece of evidence stating that the Disad is non-unique, and then reading a link turn (a piece of evidence which states that the plan would cause the opposite of what the original link states).
For Example:
Original DA
Uniqueness: US Military Strong
Link: Plan Decreases military power
Impact: Weak military leads to nuclear conflict.
A non-unique and a link turn would go something like this:
Non-unique: Military weak now.
Link Turn: Plan increases military power.
This strategy turns what was previously a "disadvantage" to the plan into a benefit or advantage of the plan.
Impact Turn
Another way to debate against a disadvantage is an impact turn, in which the affirmative team reads evidence stating that the disadvantages impact would actually be good. If the impact to a disad was global nuclear war, an impact turn would say that death is good. Often impact turns function at the level above this. The argument is then sometimes called an internal link turn. For example, if the disadvantage argued that the plan hurt free trade, which was key to avoiding war, the affirmative might argue that in fact free trade caused war, environmental destruction, and other negative consequences. This type of turn is ofen much harder to convince the judge of (in part because of the structure of a debate round, in particular, the negative block), but some believe that it makes a round much more interesting.
References
- Cheshire, David. (2003). [Politics, Politics, Politics]. Rostrum.
| Off-case arguments |
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Topicality|
Disadvantage|
Counterplan|
Kritik See also: Policy debate |
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