COMMUNITARIANISM COUNTERPLAN 45

SHELL

Plan: The United States as a geographic entity will adopt the Communitarian platform as laid out by the Institute for Communitarian Policy Studies at George Washington University as a mode of policymaking, especially INSTEAD OF the of privacy regulations specified in the plan. Normal means. We will explain what we mean.

ONE - TOPICALITY: NOT PROTECT PRIVACY

The counterplan’s

Embrace of communitarianism acts against protecting a specific right to privacy.

TWO — COMMUNITARIANISM AVOIDS OVERCOMMITMENT TO PROTECTING RIGHTS

COMMUNITARIANISM BALANCES INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

RANDOLPH COURT; technology policy analyst, Progressive Policy Institute, The New Democrat, February, 1999 / March, 1999; Pg. 30 TITLE: PUBLIC INTEREST IN PRIVATE MATTERS; The Search for Balance Between Privacy and the Common Good in the Cyber Age // acs-VT2001

Etzioni's communitarianism holds that "a good society seeks a carefully crafted balance between individual rights and social responsibilities, between liberty and the common good." Privacy concerns, he says, too often trump other important social values, particularly public health and safety.

THREE — COMPETITION: CANNOT HAVE THE PLAN AND COMMUNITARIANISM

A. TEXTUALLY COMPETITIVE — CAN’T PROTECT PRIVACY AND HAVE THE COMMUNITARIAN PLATFORM

B. NET BENEFIT — PROTECTING PRIVACY MAKES THE COMMUNITARIAN PLATFORM LESS POSSIBLE

INCREASED PRIVACY PROTECTIONS DAMAGE OUR SENSE OF COMMUNITY

GAIL SPECTOR; The Boston Globe, August 15, 1999, SECTION: WEST WEEKLY; Pg. 2 TITLE: Privacy clashes with community transplants // acs-EE2001

Yes, we're gaining privacy, but in doing so, we're fencing ourselves in and locking each other out. And, we're teaching our children that privacy and isolation rank higher in value than a sense of community.

C. NET BENEFIT — COMMUNITARIAN PLATFORM AVOIDS THE PRIVACY REGULATIONS WHICH CAUSE THE DISADVANTAGES

FOUR — SOLVENCY: COMMUNITARIANISM IS A BALANCING PROCESS WHICH GAINS THE BEST OUTCOME

COMMUNITARIANISM IS A CONSTANT BALANCING PROCESS WHICH IS ADAPTABLE TO ANY SITUATION

INSTITUTE FOR COMMUNITARIAN POLICY STUDIES, 2000; The Communitarian Platform,

The basic communitarian quest for balances between individuals and groups, rights and responsibilities, and among the institutions of state, market, and civil society is a constant, ongoing enterprise. Because this quest takes place within history and within varying social contexts, however, the evaluation of what is a proper moral stance will vary according to circumstances of time and place. If we were in China today, we would argue vigorously for more individual rights; in contemporary America, we emphasize individual and social responsibilities.

FIVE — ADVANTAGE — COMMUNITARIANISM CREATES THE "GOOD": SOCIETY

COMMUNITARIANISM CREATES THE GOOD SOCIETY BASED ON COOPERATION, GROWTH AND ADAPTATION

Communitarianism is essentially an optimistic approach to issues of public policy. While mindful of human tendencies to act in self-interested ways, Communitarians believe that it is possible to build a good society based on the desire of human beings to cooperate to achieve community goals that are based on positive values. This has been the essential optimistic view that has animated Americans throughout our history. New times raise new issues, but the communitarian focus on the values of the good society provides a vital guide to maintaining the good society.