This debate-style reader is designed to introduce students to controversies in global issues through readings that reflect a variety of viewpoints. Each issue is framed with an issue summary, an issue introduction, and a postscript. "The Taking Sides" readers feature annotated listings of selected World Wide Web sites.

Table of Contents:
PART 1. CULTURE AND VALUES ISSUE 1. Is America in Moral Decline? YES: Robert H. Bork, from Slouching Towards Gomorrah (Regan Books, 1996) NO: David Whitman, from The Optimism Gap: The I'm OK--They're Not Syndrome and the Myth of American Decline (Walker & Company, 1998) Robert H. Bork, famous for being nominated for the Supreme Court but not confirmed by the Senate, argues that modern liberalism is responsible for the decline in morals. Writer David Whitman empirically tests the moral decline thesis and finds that, according to the indicators that he employs, it is a myth. ISSUE 2. Does the Media Have a Liberal Bias YES: William McGowan, from Coloring the News: How Crusading for Diversity Has Corrupted American Journalism, (Encounter Books, 2001) NO: Robert W. McChesney and John Bellamy Foster, from The Left-Wing Media? Monthly Review (June 2003) Journalist William McGowan argues that political correctness pertaining to diversity issues has captured media newsrooms and exerts a constraining pressure on reporters. William McChesney and John Bellamy Foster, argues that news reporting is bent in the direction of the political and commercial requirements of media owners. They also argue that there is a heavy reliance on government officials and powerful individuals as primary sources of bias. ISSUE 3. Is Third World Immigration a Threat to America's Way of Life? YES: Patrick Buchanan, from Shields Up! The American Enterprise (March 2002) NO: Ben Wattenberg, from Immigration Is Good, The American Enterprise (March 2002) Political analyst Patrick Buchanan asserts that the large influx of legal and illegal immigrants, especially from Mexico, threatens to undermine the cultural foundations of American unity. Ben Wattenberg, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, argues that the United States needs a constant flow of immigrants to avoid population decline and also to avoid the diminishment of power and influence. PART 2. SEX ROLES, GENDER, AND THE FAMILY ISSUE 4. Do the New Sex Roles Burden Women More Than Men? YES: Jeff Grabmeier, from The Burden Women Bear: Why They Suffer More Distress Than Men, USA Today Magazine (July 1995) NO: Susan Faludi, from Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man (William Morrow and Company, 1999) Editor and author Jeff Grabmeier presents evidence showing that women experience more stress than men and then analyzes why. Author Susan Faludi argues that men have been socialized into a sex role that cannot be successfully fulfilled due to current conditions. ISSUE 5. Are Communication Problems Between Men and Women Largely Due to Radically Different Conversation Styles? YES: Philip Yancey, from Do Men and Women Speak the Same Language? Marriage Partnership (Fall 1993) NO: Mary Crawford, from Talking Difference: On Gender and Language (Sage Publications, 1995) Author Philip Yancey argues that men and women have strikingly different communication styles because they grow up in different cultures. A man is usually concerned about enhancing or maintaining status as he communicates, while a woman will usually communicate in ways that gain or maintain closeness. Professor of psychology Mary Crawford contends that the thesis that men and women have radically different communication styles is greatly exaggerated in the media and is based on simplistic stereotypes. ISSUE 6. Should Same-Sex Marriages Be Legally Recognized? YES: Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, from Talking about the Freedom to Marry: Why Same-Sex Couples Should Have Equality in Marriage, LLDEF Website (June 20, 2001) NO: Sam Schulman, from Gay Marriage--and Marriage, Commentary (November 2003) The Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, which is a national advocacy group for gay rights, has presented the major arguments for same-sex marriage in a position statement. Writer Sam Schulman argues that traditions have great value and the negative consequences of redefining marriage would be serious. He argues that allowing gay marriages judicially opens the door for all kinds of marriages including polygamous and incestual marriages. ISSUE 7. Is the Decline of the Traditional Family a National Crisis? YES: David Popenoe, from The American Family Crisis, National Forum: The Phi Kappa Phi Journal (Summer 1995) NO: Stephanie Coontz, from The American Family, Life (November 1999) Sociologist David Popenoe contends that families play important roles in society but how the traditional family functions in these roles has declined dramatically in the last several decades, with very adverse effects on children. Family historian Stephanie Coontz argues that current discussion of family decline includes a false idealization of the traditional family of the past and misleading interpretations of current data on families. She finds that the trends are both positive and negative. PART 3. STRATIFICATION AND INEQUALITY ISSUE 8. Is Increasing Economic Inequality a Serious Problem? YES: Christopher Jencks, from Does Inequality Matter? Daedalus (Winter 2002) NO: Christopher C. DeMuth, from The New Wealth of Nations, Commentary (October 1997) Christopher Jencks, professor of social policy at the Kennedy School at Harvard University, presents data on how large the income inequality is in the United States and describes the consequences of this inequality. Christopher C. DeMuth, president of the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, argues that the recent increase in income inequality... is a very small tick in the massive and unprecedented leveling of material circumstances that has been proceeding now for almost three centuries and in this century has accelerated dramatically. ISSUE 9. Is the Underclass the Major Threat to American Ideals? YES: Charles Murray, from And Now for the Bad News, Society (November/December 1999) NO: Barry Schwartz, from Capitalism, the Market, the 'Underclass,' and the Future, Society (November/December 1999) Author Charles Murray describes destructive behavior among the underclass. Murray asserts that this type of behavior will result in serious trouble for society even though, according to statistics, the number of crimes committed has decreased. Psychology professor Barry Schwartz states that the underclass is not the major threat to American ideals. He counters that the theory and practice of free-market economics have done more to undermine traditional moral values than any other social force. ISSUE 10. Has Affirmative Action Outlived Its Usefulness? YES: Curtis Crawford, from Racial Preference Versus Nondiscrimination, Society (March/April 2004) NO: Ann Rosegrant Alvarez, from Are Affirmative-Action Policies Increasing Equality in the Labor Market?: Yes, Controversial Issues in Social Policy, Second Edition (Allyn and Bacon, 2003) Curtis Crawford, editor of the website , explores all possible options for bettering the situation of disadvantaged minorities in a truly just manner. He argues that the right of everyone, including white males, to nondiscrimination clearly is superior to the right of minorities to affirmative action. Ann Rosegrant Alvarez, professor of social work at Wayne State University, argues that affirmative action policies are increasing equality in the labor market and they are still necessary because inequality of opportunity still exists. PART 4. POLITICAL ECONOMY AND INSTITUTIONS ISSUE 11. Is Government Dominated by Big Business? YES: G. William Domhoff, from Who Rules America? Power and Politics in the Year 2000, 3rd ed. (Mayfield Publishing, 1998) NO: Jeffrey M. Berry, from Citizen Groups and the Changing Nature of Interest Group Politics in America, The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (July 1993) Political sociologist G. William Domhoff argues that the owners and top-level managers in large income-producing properties are far and away the dominant power figures in the United States and that they have inordinate influence in the federal government. Jeffrey M. Berry, a professor of political science, contends that public interest pressure groups that have entered the political arena since the end of the 1960s have effectively challenged the political power of big business. ISSUE 12. Should Government Intervene in a Capitalist Economy? YES: Robert Kuttner, from Everything for Sale: The Virtues and Limits of Markets (Alfred A. Knopf, New York 1997) NO: John Stossel, from The Real Cost of Regulation, Imprimis (May 2001) Robert Kuttner, professor of economics and co-editor of The American Prospect, argues that the market has vices as well as virtues. Government must intervene "to promote development, to temper the market's distributive extremes, to counteract its unfortunate tendency to boom-and-bust, to remedy its myopic failure to invest to little in public goods, and to invest too much in processes that harmed the human and natural environment." John Stossel, a TV news reporter and producer of one-hour news specials, argues that regulations have done immense damage and do not protect us as well as market forces. ISSUE 13. Has Welfare Reform Benefited the Poor? YES: Editors of The Economist, from Welfare Reform: America's Great Achievement, The Economist (August 25, 2001) NO: Sharon Hayes, from Off the Rolls, Dissent (Fall 2003) The editors of The Economist present the facts on the declining welfare rolls and the dramatic increase in employment for welfare mothers, and they argue that many of these changes are due to the changes in the welfare laws and not simply a strong economy. Sharon Hayes, professor of sociology at the University of Virginia, got to know many welfare mothers and learned what happened to them since the welfare reform. Her article points out that while quite a few mothers have left welfare since the reform, many can not hold a job and are now worse off than before. ISSUE 14. Is Competition the Solution to the Ills of Public Education? YES: Clint Bolick, from The Key to Closing the Minority Schooling Gap: School Choice, The American Enterprise (April/May 2003) NO: Matthew Yglesias, from The Verdict on Vouchers, The American Prospect (February 2004) Clint Bolick, vice president of the Institute for Justice, presents the argument for school choice that competition leads to improvements and makes the case that minorities especially need school choice to improve their educational performance. Matthew Yglesias critiques the research that has been interpreted as demonstrating the benefits of school voucher programs. An honest examination of the data finds little educational benefit from school choice so the potential for stripping public schools of needed resources makes vouchers a poor gamble. ISSUE 15. Should Doctor-Assisted Suicide Be Legalized for the Terminally Ill? YES: Richard T. Hull, from Case for Physician-Assisted Suicide, Free Inquiry (Spring 2003) NO: Margaret Somerville, from The Case against Physician-Assisted Suicide, Free Inquiry (Spring 2003) Richard T. Hull, professor of philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo, asserts that physician-assisted suicide for suffering, terminally ill patients is an act of compassion in providing a desperately sought service. The practice should be regulated to prevent abuse and to stop a hasty decision by the patient. To totally outlaw it, however, is cruel. Margaret Somerville, Gale Professor of Law and professor in the Faculty of Medicine of McGill University, argues that this is a form of euthanasia, which violates the sanctity of human life, and it is likely to have severe unintended negative consequences on the practice of medicine and the public attitude toward life. PART 5. CRIME AND SOCIAL CONTROL ISSUE 16. Is Street Crime More Harmful Than White-Collar Crime? YES: David A. Anderson, from The Aggregate Burden of Crime, Journal of Law and Economics (October 1999) NO: Jeffrey Reiman, from The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison: Ideology, Class, and Criminal Justice, 5th ed. (Allyn & Bacon, 1998) David A. Anderson estimates the total annual cost of crime including law enforcement and security services. The costs exceed one trillion, with fraud (mostly white collar crime) causing about one-fifth of the total. His calculations of the full costs of the loss of life and injury comes to about half of the total costs. It is right, therefore, to view personal and violent crime as the big crime problem. Professor of philosophy Jeffrey Reiman argues that the dangers posed by negligent corporations and white-collar criminals are a greater menace to society than are the activities of typical street criminals. ISSUE 17. Should Drug Use Be Decriminalized? YES: Ethan A. Nadelmann, from Commonsense Drug Policy, Foreign Affairs (January/February 1998) NO: Eric A. Voth, from America's Longest 'War,' The World & I (February 2000) Ethan A. Nadelmann, director of the Lindesmith Center, a drug policy research institute, argues that history shows that drug prohibition is costly and futile. Examining the drug policies in other countries, he finds that decriminalization plus sane and humane drug policies and treatment programs can greatly reduce the harms from drugs. Eric A. Voth, chairman of the International Drug Strategy Institute, contends that drugs are very harmful and that our drug policies have succeeded in substantially reducing drug use. ISSUE 18. Does the Threat of Terrorism Warrant the Curtailment of Civil Liberties? YES: Robert H. Bork, from Civil Liberties After 9/11, Commentary (December 2003) NO: Barbara Dority, from Your Every Move, The Humanist (January/February 2004) Robert H. Bork, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, recognizes that the values of security and civil rights must be balanced while we war against terrorism, but he is concerned that some commentators would hamstring security forces in order to protect nonessential civil rights. For example, to not use ethnic profiling of Muslim or Arab persons would reduce the effectiveness of security forces, while holding suspected terroists without filing charges or allowing them council would increase their effectiveness. Barbara Dority, president of Humanists of Washington, describes some specific provisions of the Patriot Act to show how dangerous they could be to the rights of all dissidents. She argues that provisions of the act could easily be abused. PART 6. THE FUTURE: POPULATION/ENVIRONMENT/SOCIETY ISSUE 19. Is Mankind Dangerously Harming the Environment? YES: Lester R. Brown, from Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble (W. W. Norton, 2003) NO: Bjorn Lomborg, from The Truth About the Environment, The Economist (August 4, 2001) Lester R. Brown, founder of the Worldwatch Institute and now president of the Earth Policy Institute, reviews the stress humans have inflicted on the environment in depleting its natural capital and adversely affecting its ecosytems. The result may soon be economic hardship unless we change our course soon. Bjorn Lomborg, a statistician at the University of Aarhus, Denmark, presents evidence that population growth is slowing down, natural resources are not running out, species are disappearing very slowly, the environment is improving in some ways, and assertions about environmental decline are exaggerated. ISSUE 20. Is Globalization Good for Mankind? YES: Murray Weidenbaum, from Globalization Is Not a Dirty Word: Dispelling the Myth About the Global Economy, Vital Speeches of the Day (March 1, 2001) NO: Herman E. Daly, from Globalization and Its Discontents, Philosophy & Public Policy Quarterly (Spring/Summer 2001) Murray Weidenbaum, chairman of the Weidenbaum Center at Washington University in St. Louis, argues that economic globalization benefits all countries that participate in world markets. Globalization produces more jobs than it eliminates, he contends, both for the world and for the United States. Herman E. Daly, professor at the School of Public Affairs at the University of Maryland, does not object to international trade and relations, but he does object to globalization that erases national boundaries and hurts workers and the environment. ISSUE 21. Are the Negative Consequences of Divorce on Children Substantial? YES: James Q. Wilson, from The Marriage Problem: How Our Culture Has Weakened Families (HarperCollins, 2002) NO: E. Mavis Hetherington and John Kelly, from For Better or For Worse: Divorce Reconsidered (W.W. Norton, 2002) Professor of management and public policy James Q. Wilson summarizes the research on the impacts of divorce, which shows that divorce has significant and long-term negative impacts on children. Developmental psychologist E. Mavis Hetherington and writer John Kelly present the results from over 30 years of research, which show that The vast majority of young people from these families are reasonably well adjusted and are coping reasonably well in relationships with their families, friends, and intimate partners. ISSUE 22. Should the United States Legitimize Its Actions of World Leadership? YES: Joseph S. Nye, Jr., from The Decline of America's Soft Power: Why Washington Should Worry, Foreign Affairs (May/June 2004) NO: Charles Krauthammer, from The Unipolar Moment Revisited, The National Interest (Winter 2002/2003) Dean of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, Joseph S. Nye, argues that American unilateralism is increasing worldwide anti-American sentiment and reducing what we can achieve abroad. America needs allies and needs to attract, not repel, them. For example, our war on Islamic terrorists requires much help from Islamic moderates. Journalist and TV pundit Charles Krauthammer argues that the United States is the world's single superpower that should use its power to extend the peace by advancing democracy and preserving the peace by acting as balancer of last resort. He is adamant that the United States should pursue its interests with little heed to world opinion. It should act unilaterally when necessary.