Critical Affirmatives

[Hailie Johnson 3]

So I am just starting to debate varsity and i have no idea how these look or how to answer them. help?

[Chaos 2587]

Cap K.

Framework/T.

Util Good.

Generic DA.

 

This is the usual strategy. It's probably the easiest for you to learn in a short amount of time.

[Lifeline 53]

Critical affirmatives have a multiplicity of definitions, but the general idea is that its impacts come from things that America (generally) does wrong. In essence, it critiques what the government does.

 

I think the K affs on this topic are dumb, but I think a great example of one was the DUBs (Depleted Uranium Bullets) Aff from last year's topic. Basically, America is stowing these radioactive weapons in Iraq, and they are causing all kinds of mayhem within the public (toxic chemicals leaking into food/water supplies, etc.) The impacts are garnered off of changes in what America does now, and can focus a lot on methodology and ethics (BUT they don't have to).

 

Impacts are sometimes more systemic: dehumanization, civilization collapse, etc. are more common; this isn't to say, however, that you can't have a K aff with nuclear war or heg impacts--they just aren't as likely.

 

There are political plans with kritikal impacts, and there are kritikal affs that do not require political action, or that disown political action as something that is bad/destroys the meaning of the kritik in itself.

 

If you are good with Ks and Framework, Chaos's strat idea is fine. If you aren't, you can go for more simply versions of his arguments, like topicality, etc. Still, knowing how to run framework is a crucial skill, especially if the aff has no political implications.

[Hailie Johnson 3]

the one i ran into was Lacan