# Great Debates **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=54 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 55 --- ## [Why doesn't "ethical consumerism" work?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-ethical-consumerism-work/851846)
**Author:** [@Muddibog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muddibog)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [April 23, 2020, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-ethical-consumerism-work/851846 "2020-04-23T06:46:37Z")
Ethical consumerism is the idea that we, as working class consumers, can solve existing inequalities simply by choosing to not buy certain things or by opting for “ethical” products. Why doesn’t this work in practice? W… --- ## [What other serious issues is the world not qualified to deal with](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-serious-issues-is-the-world-not-qualified-to-deal-with/852367)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [April 23, 2020, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-other-serious-issues-is-the-world-not-qualified-to-deal-with/852367 "2020-04-23T05:49:11Z")
This pandemic has shown we aren’t really qualified to deal with the pandemic. We don’t know how to make our economy flexible enough for businesses to stay open, or how to have enough PPE, or how to have the scientific in… --- ## [Legal status of Mars colony](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-status-of-mars-colony/852219)
**Author:** [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [April 22, 2020, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-status-of-mars-colony/852219 "2020-04-22T08:36:31Z")
If in the next few decades Elon Musk’s dream of founding a colony on Mars comes to pass, what will be it’s legal status? Since the 1967 Outer Space Treaty forbids nationalization of bodies in outer space, will such a col… --- ## [Would the discovery of infinite parallel universes cause an existential crisis](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-discovery-of-infinite-parallel-universes-cause-an-existential-crisis/851986)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [April 20, 2020, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-discovery-of-infinite-parallel-universes-cause-an-existential-crisis/851986 "2020-04-20T22:05:55Z")
Assume there are an infinite supply of parallel universes and it is not only proven by science but we discover a means of communicating with them so we can basically have an internet connection or skype between worlds. W… --- ## [Anarcho-syndicalism](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anarcho-syndicalism/847978)
**Author:** [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Replies:** 119\ **Last updated:** [April 19, 2020, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anarcho-syndicalism/847978 "2020-04-19T01:51:47Z")
OK, WTF? I bring this up because I have a very liberal friend - he rented a room in our apartment in NYC in 2000, he is now in Australia and has lived there for about 20 years. We got along very well when he was livi… --- ## [The government should/should not be run like a business](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-government-should-should-not-be-run-like-a-business/851732)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2020, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-government-should-should-not-be-run-like-a-business/851732 "2020-04-18T21:28:41Z")
I’ve often heard Conservatives say, ‘The government should be run like a business.’ I have questions. If the government is run like a business, who are the employers, and who are the employees? Who are the consumers? … --- ## [So what should I know about remdesivir?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-i-know-about-remdesivir/851984)
**Author:** [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2020, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-should-i-know-about-remdesivir/851984 "2020-04-18T21:18:22Z")
I’m assuming there may be some debate aspects to this, so trying in GD… There’s a lively debate over in P&E about hydroxychloroquine, which the President has been pitching lately. But the news about a different treatme… --- ## [Is cultural change speeding up or slowing down?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cultural-change-speeding-up-or-slowing-down/851672)
**Author:** [@rosecoloredboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rosecoloredboy)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2020, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cultural-change-speeding-up-or-slowing-down/851672 "2020-04-18T00:33:41Z")
I would argue that pop culture has slowed down compared to the Cold War where every decade or so you got a totally new style. Since 1990 cultural change has been very gradual, and certain things have remained stagnant (f… --- ## [Extra Comments on Checks](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-comments-on-checks/851862)
**Author:** [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2020, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extra-comments-on-checks/851862 "2020-04-17T07:32:31Z")
Apparently stimulus checks are going to be sent out with Donald Trump on the memo line. I will probably get a direct deposit, but I was thinking about what I would do if I got the check. And based on comments on another … --- ## [President George W Bush no longer the worst President in living memory](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-george-w-bush-no-longer-the-worst-president-in-living-memory/850848)
**Author:** [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Replies:** 95\ **Last updated:** [April 15, 2020, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-george-w-bush-no-longer-the-worst-president-in-living-memory/850848 "2020-04-15T17:31:09Z")
I think Trump is the worst president in living memory. Change my mind. Up until recently, the one saving grace for president Trump was that he did not cause the deaths of thousands of Americans (lets assume that cuttin… --- ## [ICE Raids: Why Weren't Employers Arrested, Too?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-raids-why-werent-employers-arrested-too/838728)
**Author:** [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Replies:** 186\ **Last updated:** [April 15, 2020, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ice-raids-why-werent-employers-arrested-too/838728 "2020-04-15T17:01:27Z")
So, we had some massive ICE raids recently, where hundreds of workers were rounded up and taken into custody. Why weren’t any of the employers/managers cuffed and perp-walked along with this? Hiring undocumented worker… --- ## [What can be done (climate change debate)?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-be-done-climate-change-debate/683384)
**Author:** [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Replies:** 395\ **Last updated:** [April 8, 2020, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-be-done-climate-change-debate/683384 "2020-04-08T12:32:01Z")
We have a lot of debates about climate change on the board. To be honest, I’m not interested in another one debating whether or not it’s happening or whether or not humans are the cause. Let’s take it as a given that c… --- ## [Economic stimulus and Keynes = a contradiction of being "fiscally conservative?"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economic-stimulus-and-keynes-a-contradiction-of-being-fiscally-conservative/849738)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 51\ **Last updated:** [April 15, 2020, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economic-stimulus-and-keynes-a-contradiction-of-being-fiscally-conservative/849738 "2020-04-15T01:27:49Z")
I don’t want this thread to be a debate over the coronavirus or whether fiscal conservatism is \*good \*or not, but do want to ask whether things such as Trump sending out $2,000 checks to American households, or using mas… --- ## [Is this virus making people realize 'oh shit, nobody is in charge and nobody knows what to do'](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-virus-making-people-realize-oh-shit-nobody-is-in-charge-and-nobody-knows-what-to-do/851464)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [April 13, 2020, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-virus-making-people-realize-oh-shit-nobody-is-in-charge-and-nobody-knows-what-to-do/851464 "2020-04-13T17:23:27Z")
Its kind of hard to explain what I’m feeling, but I guess I always had this belief that there were people in charge, competent people, and they knew how to keep society stable. Society to me seems to basically go on a li… --- ## [Okay, is coronavirus teaching folks about rinsing dishes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-is-coronavirus-teaching-folks-about-rinsing-dishes/851512)
**Author:** [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [April 13, 2020, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-is-coronavirus-teaching-folks-about-rinsing-dishes/851512 "2020-04-13T13:05:43Z")
For many, many years there has been an ongoing debate on these boards, and perhaps in society as a whole, regarding whether one does/should/must rinse dishes after they’ve been soaped and scrubbed. Examples “Brits don’… --- ## [Price gouging or just capitalism?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-gouging-or-just-capitalism/850529)
**Author:** [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Replies:** 92\ **Last updated:** [April 13, 2020, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-gouging-or-just-capitalism/850529 "2020-04-13T11:21:15Z")
With the current, strange, state of affairs markets for goods are thrown in to turmoil (toilet paper being an obvious one). Since my company is working from home I was tasked with recommending a webcam everyone could bu… --- ## [Why is homicide not generally treated as a mental issue but suicide is?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-homicide-not-generally-treated-as-a-mental-issue-but-suicide-is/851063)
**Author:** [@aaronhernandez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aaronhernandez)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [April 13, 2020, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-homicide-not-generally-treated-as-a-mental-issue-but-suicide-is/851063 "2020-04-13T02:14:10Z")
Is it simply cultural norms dictating what constitutes a mental illness? I wonder why wanting to kill yourself signifies a mental disorder and that person isn’t capable of rational decision making but wanting to kill oth… --- ## [Things that Influence Rational Decision Making](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-influence-rational-decision-making/851644)
**Author:** [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [April 13, 2020, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-influence-rational-decision-making/851644 "2020-04-13T02:07:59Z")
Suppose someone was conducting a poll of United States residents about the measures currently being taken to control the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Further suppose that one of the questions were: How would you class… --- ## [The problem with FEMA](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-problem-with-fema/851347)
**Author:** [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 10, 2020, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-problem-with-fema/851347 "2020-04-10T00:59:46Z")
So as you may know, Dallas suffered a fairly serious tornado back in October. An EF-3 tornado tore its way across fifteen miles of the northern half of the city. Surprisingly, no lives were lost, and there were very fe… --- ## [How would the economy move forward (aka do the 99.9% need the 0.1%)?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-economy-move-forward-aka-do-the-99-9-need-the-0-1/851225)
**Author:** [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Replies:** 43\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2020, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-economy-move-forward-aka-do-the-99-9-need-the-0-1/851225 "2020-04-09T14:16:43Z")
Let’s debate the opposite question of the other ongoing thread. I changed the numbers a little from the top 1% who earn around 400K to the top 0.1% who earn more than 7 million per year. I don’t want to get bogged down… --- ## [Why is there a greater stigma against drug use in non-Western cultures?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-greater-stigma-against-drug-use-in-non-western-cultures/851279)
**Author:** [@aaronhernandez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aaronhernandez)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2020, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-a-greater-stigma-against-drug-use-in-non-western-cultures/851279 "2020-04-09T08:34:46Z")
I have a few friends who are from Africa and Asia who are in their 20s and compared to my friends from the US, Canada, and even Netherlands, they are much more “straight-laced”. They believe the typical propaganda about… --- ## [Why sacrificing Grandma by opening up again might not save the economy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-sacrificing-grandma-by-opening-up-again-might-not-save-the-economy/851011)
**Author:** [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [April 9, 2020, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-sacrificing-grandma-by-opening-up-again-might-not-save-the-economy/851011 "2020-04-09T04:19:26Z")
Interesting interview with a MIT economist who reviewed the economic implications of the Spanish flu 100 years ago. His basic premise was the pandemic already ruined the economy, but American cities that acted the fastes… --- ## [Is grief natural?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-grief-natural/851013)
**Author:** [@aaronhernandez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aaronhernandez)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [April 8, 2020, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-grief-natural/851013 "2020-04-08T18:56:24Z")
I’ve always wondered if murderers of their own families/friends would grieve if they died not from their own hands but through an accident or through being murdered by someone else. If so, is that not contradictory. One … --- ## [How will the economy move forward (aka do the 1% need us)?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-economy-move-forward-aka-do-the-1-need-us/850937)
**Author:** [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [April 8, 2020, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-economy-move-forward-aka-do-the-1-need-us/850937 "2020-04-08T18:09:07Z")
I’ve been trying to figure out what reasonably is going to happen with the economy going forward here in the United States (and elsewhere, to an extent). But in trying to consider and discuss it, I’ve come across a vein … --- ## [Will the virus and economic collapse lead to massive political unrest](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-virus-and-economic-collapse-lead-to-massive-political-unrest/849984)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [April 8, 2020, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-virus-and-economic-collapse-lead-to-massive-political-unrest/849984 "2020-04-08T15:55:23Z")
The Arab spring was supposedly started in part by spikes in food prices. I am wondering if something similar but possibly larger scale will happen on a global level due to the virus and the fallout of the virus. To my … --- ## [How will the coronavirus pandemic\* affect human civilization?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-coronavirus-pandemic-affect-human-civilization/848500)
**Author:** [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [April 8, 2020, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-the-coronavirus-pandemic-affect-human-civilization/848500 "2020-04-08T01:43:09Z")
Let’s say, as seems increasingly likely, that the coronavirus outbreak become a pandemic. What will the affect to our civilization likely be? Some numbers being tossed about by epidemiologists are that around 40-70% of… --- ## [Could a Virus Kill EVERYONE?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-virus-kill-everyone/850875)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [April 7, 2020, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-virus-kill-everyone/850875 "2020-04-07T21:20:09Z")
Something I just thought of. I thought of putting in the Coronavirus section. But it really doesn’t relate directly to that. So I put it here. Could a virus, possibly some day, kill every human being? Every man, woman a… --- ## [I have a free program on my PC. Is it dishonest to download it from elsewhere to use on a new PC?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-free-program-on-my-pc-is-it-dishonest-to-download-it-from-elsewhere-to-use-on-a-new-pc/850856)
**Author:** [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [April 7, 2020, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-free-program-on-my-pc-is-it-dishonest-to-download-it-from-elsewhere-to-use-on-a-new-pc/850856 "2020-04-07T19:42:22Z")
To give a little more info: I have a program I use for screenwriting that I really like. it was a shareware program when I installed it on my current machine, but the provider has since changed it to a cloud-based servic… --- ## [Death panels: really such a bad idea?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-panels-really-such-a-bad-idea/850963)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [April 7, 2020, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-panels-really-such-a-bad-idea/850963 "2020-04-07T19:38:58Z")
Obamacare got a bad rap for “death panels” back in 2009, even though the bill didn’t actually feature such a provision. With the coronavirus pandemic upon us, it seems a good time to re-examine the concept. There seems … --- ## [Moral Progress.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moral-progress/851114)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [April 6, 2020, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moral-progress/851114 "2020-04-06T20:30:28Z")
Something I didn’t even question until I got older. But is there really such a thing as ‘moral progress’? I know as societies advance technologically, they tend to become more kind and merciful. And I at least think tha… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=53) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/great-debates/13.md?page=55)