Preface p. i
Introduction: Debating Social Issues p. xi
Part 1 Culture and Values p. 1
Issue 1. Is America in Moral Decline? p. 2
Yes: from The De-Moralization of Society: From Victorian Virtues to Modern Values (Alfred A. Knopf, 1995) Gertrude Himmelfarb p. 4
No: from The Optimism Gap: The I'm OK--They're Not Syndrome and the Myth of American Decline (Walker & Company, 1998) David Whitman p. 13
Issue 2. Does Television Violence Make Children Significantly More Violent? p. 22
Yes: from On Media Violence (Sage Publications, 1999) W. James Potter p. 24
No: from The Case for Television Violence (Sage Publications, 1999) Jib Fowles p. 37
Issue 3. Is Third World Immigration a Threat to America's Way of Life? p. 46
Yes: from "Shields Up!" The American Enterprise (March 2002) Patrick Buchanan p. 48
No: from "Immigration Is Good," The American Enterprise (March 2002) Ben Wattenberg p. 55
Part 2 Sex Roles, Gender, and the Family p. 63
Issue 4. Do the New Sex Roles Burden Women More Than Men? p. 64
Yes: from "The Burden Women Bear: Why They Suffer More Distress Than Men," USA Today Magazine (July 1995) Jeff Grabmeier p. 66
No: from Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man (William Morrow and Company, 1999) Susan Faludi p. 71
Issue 5. Are Communication Problems Between Men and Women Largely Due to Radically Different Conversation Styles? p. 80
Yes: from "Do Men and Women Speak the Same Language?" Marriage Partnership (Fall 1993) Philip Yancey p. 82
No: from Talking Difference: On Gender and Language (Sage Publications, 1995) Mary Crawford p. 88
Issue 6. Should Same-Sex Marriages Be Legally Recognized? p. 98
Yes: from Virtually Normal: An Argument About Homosexuality (Alfred A. Knopf, 1995) Andrew Sullivan p. 100
No: from "Against Homosexual Marriage," Commentary (March 1996) James Q. Wilson p. 105
Issue 7. Is the Decline of the Traditional Family a National Crisis? p. 112
Yes: from "The American Family Crisis," National Forum: The Phi Kappa Phi Journal (Summer 1995) David Popenoe p. 114
No: from "The American Family," Life (November 1999) Stephanie Coontz p. 122
Part 3 Stratification and Inequality p. 131
Issue 8. Is Increasing Economic Inequality a Serious Problem? p. 132
Yes: from "Does Inequality Matter?" Daedalus (Winter 2002) Christopher Jencks p. 134
No: from "The New Wealth of Nations," Commentary (October 1997) Christopher C. DeMuth p. 142
Issue 9. Is the Underclass the Major Threat to American Ideals? p. 148
Yes: from "And Now for the Bad News," Society (November/December 1999) Charles Murray p. 150
No: from "Capitalism, the Market, the 'Underclass,' and the Future," Society (November/December 1999) Barry Schwartz p. 156
Issue 10. Has Affirmative Action Outlived Its Usefulness? p. 168
Yes: from "Affirmative Action Can't Be Mended," Cato Journal (Spring/Summer 1997) Walter E. Williams p. 170
No: from "Why We Must Retain Affirmative Action," USA Today Magazine (September 1999) Wilbert Jenkins p. 177
Part 4 Political Economy and Institutions p. 187
Issue 11. Is Government Dominated by Big Business? p. 188
Yes: from Who Rules America? Power and Politics in the Year 2000, 3rd ed. (Mayfield Publishing, 1998) G. William Domhoff p. 190
No: 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) Jeffrey M. Berry p. 197
Issue 12. Should Government Intervene in a Capitalist Economy? p. 206
Yes: from "Virtues and Vices of the Market: Balanced Correctives to a Current Craze," Dissent (Summer 1990) Ernest Erber p. 208
No: from Free to Choose: A Personal Statement (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1980) Milton Friedman and Rose Friedman p. 216
Issue 13. Has Welfare Reform Benefited the Poor? p. 226
Yes: from "Welfare Reform: America's Great Achievement," The Economist (August 25, 2001) p. 228
No: from "What's Wrong With Welfare-to-Work?" Dollars and Sense (September/October 2000) Randy Albelda p. 234
Issue 14. Is Competition the Solution to the Ills of Public Education? p. 242
Yes: from "The Radicalization of School Reform," Society (May/June 2001) Chester E. Finn, Jr. and Bruno V. Manno and Gregg Vanourek p. 244
No: from "Schools That Develop Children," The American Prospect (April 23, 2001) James P. Comer p. 250
Issue 15. Should Doctor-Assisted Suicide Be Legalized for the Terminally Ill? p. 260
Yes: from "The Supreme Court and Physician-Assisted Suicide: The Ultimate Right," The New England Journal of Medicine (January 2, 1997) Marcia Angell p. 262
No: from "The Kevorkian Epidemic," The American Scholar (Winter 1997) Paul R. McHugh p. 269
Part 5 Crime and Social Control p. 279
Issue 16. Is Street Crime More Harmful Than White-Collar Crime? p. 280
Yes: from "The Impact of Inner-City Crime," The Public Interest (Summer 1989) John J. DiIulio, Jr. p. 282
No: from The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison: Ideology, Class, and Criminal Justice, 5th ed. (Allyn & Bacon, 1998) Jeffrey Reiman p. 288
Issue 17. Should Drug Use Be Decriminalized? p. 298
Yes: from "Commonsense Drug Policy," Foreign Affairs (January/February 1998) Ethan A. Nadelmann p. 300
No: from "America's Longest 'War,'" The World & I (February 2000) Eric A. Voth p. 308
Issue 18. Is Capital Punishment Justified? p. 314
Yes: from "Deserving to Die," The New American (August 13, 1990) Robert W. Lee p. 316
No: from "The Case Against the Death Penalty," USA Today Magazine (March 1997) Eric M. Freedman p. 325
Part 6 The Future: Population/Environment/Society p. 333
Issue 19. Is Mankind Dangerously Harming the Environment? p. 334
Yes: from "Anticipating Environmental 'Surprise,'" in Lester R. Brown et al., State of the World 2000: A Worldwatch Institute Report on Progress Toward a Sustainable Society (W. W. Norton, 2000) Chris Bright p. 336
No: from "The Truth About the Environment," The Economist (August 4, 2001) Bjorn Lomborg p. 344
Issue 20. Is Globalization Good for Mankind? p. 352
Yes: from "Globalization Is Not a Dirty Word: Dispelling the Myth About the Global Economy," Vital Speeches of the Day (March 1, 2001) Murray Weidenbaum p. 354
No: from "Globalization and Its Discontents," Philosophy & Public Policy Quarterly (Spring/Summer 2001) Herman E. Daly p. 362
Contributors p. 370
Index p. 376