Utopic Debates

Posted byNeil ThanedarPosted inIdeasTags:, , , ,

Idea: Bring back Lincoln—Douglas debates.

  • Rules: One hour per debate on a single topic. One on One.
    • Example: Elon Musk vs. Elizabeth Warren on the Value of Regulations.
  • Make these the main event(s) at Utopic Live.

Problem: Modern debates (especially US Presidential debates) are horrible.

  • Too many people on stage.
  • Too little time per topic.
  • Weak, haphazard mediation.

Solution: Competitive 1:1 debates. One hour. One topic.

  • Debaters know the topics and choose their side ahead of time.
  • Presidential debates should use this format and do a series of 10+ debates on 10+ different topics.

Who: Not just for politicians.

How: Let’s debate ideas, not people.

  • Strongly attacking someone’s ideas is fair play, but criticizing people is off limits.
It’s time to bring some idealism and civility back to our debating.

This idea is a work-in-progress. If you’d like to help plan a debate, DM me @neilthanedar on Twitter!

Published by Neil Thanedar

Neil Thanedar is an entrepreneur, investor, scientist, activist, and author. He is currently Executive Director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, a nonprofit fighting dark money in politics. He is also the author of Positive Politics, a proven playbook on how to get into politics and do good. Since 2012, Neil has been founder & chairman of Labdoor (YC W15), the independent worldwide alternative to the FDA. He is also an angel investor with his fund Utopic, backing pre-seed biotech startups led by scientist CEOs. He was previously co-founder and president of Avomeen, a product development and testing lab acquired for $30M+ in 2016. He has also served as Executive Director of The Detroit Partnership and Senior Advisor to his father Shri Thanedar in his campaigns for Governor, State House, and US Congress in Michigan. Neil earned his BS (Cellular & Molecular Biology) and BBA (Entrepreneurship) from the University of Michigan in 2010. He was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri where he graduated from MICDS.

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