The Lincoln-Douglas and Public Forum Wording committee have officially finished constructing topics for the 2022-2023 season. According to the NSDA, “Member students and one chapter advisor per active school will vote for each topic one week prior to the topic release date.” Students and coaches may begin voting for the September/October LD & PF topics on August 1st, 2022. You can read more on the NSDA website, here. The potential topics are listed below. Students and coaches may also use NSDA starter kits and topic analysis’ for LD, PF, Congress, and Policy Debate.
Lincoln Douglas Debate 2022-2023 Potential Topics:
2022 September/October
- Resolved: The United States ought to implement a single-payer universal healthcare system.
- Resolved: The United States should legalize the sale of human organs.
- Resolved: The United States ought to ban the use of germline genetic engineering in humans.
2022 November/December
- Resolved: The People’s Republic of China ought to prioritize environmental protection over economic growth.
- Resolved: Singapore’s Ethnic Integration Policy is unjust.
- Resolved: The Republic of Korea ought to abolish military conscription.
2023 January/February
- Resolved: Justice requires open borders for human migration.
- Resolved: The United States federal government’s plenary power over Indigenous Nations ought to be substantially limited.
- Resolved: The European Union has an obligation to accept climate refugees.
2023 March/April
- Resolved: In the United States, municipal governments ought to adopt participatory budgeting.
- Resolved: In the United States, public K-12 schools ought to eliminate academic tracking.
- Resolved: The justices of the Supreme Court of the United States ought to be term-limited.
2023 National Tournament
- Resolved: It is unethical for individuals to consume the meat of non-human animals.
- Resolved: Deterrence is a morally just function of punishment.
- Resolved: Government employees have a moral obligation to leak classified information to address injustice.
Public Forum Debate 2022-2023 Potential Topics:
2022 September/October – Topic Area: Environmental Infrastructure
- Resolved: The United States Federal Government should substantially increase its investment in high-speed rail.
- Resolved: The United States should substantially increase domestic extraction and production of rare-earth minerals.
2022 November/December – Topic Area: Military Strategy
- Resolved: The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue should establish a formal security alliance.
- Resolved: The United States’ strategy of Great Power Competition produces more benefits than harms.
2023 January – Topic Area: West Asia
- Resolved: On balance, Israeli rapprochement towards Arab states produces more benefits than harms.
- Resolved: The United States Federal Government should increase its diplomatic efforts to peacefully resolve internal armed conflicts in West Asia.
2023 February – Topic Area: Economy
- Resolved: In the United States, right-to-work laws do more harm than good.
- Resolved: On balance, the United States’ adoption of the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act of 2021 would produce more benefits than harms.
2023 March – Topic Area: South and Southeast Asia
- Resolved: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should formally recognize the National Unity Government (NUG) as the legitimate government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.
- Resolved: The Republic of India should ratify the Artemis Accords.
2023 April – Topic Area: Technology
- Resolved: The United States Federal Government should ban the collection of personal data through biometric recognition technology.
- Resolved: The United States Federal Government should establish global standards for artificial intelligence.
2023 National Tournament – Topic Area: Civics
- Resolved: The United States should adopt ranked-choice voting for its federal elections.
- Resolved: The United States should end lifetime appointments for Article III judges.