Government policy encompasses the decisions and actions a government takes to influence and regulate various aspects of society. It is shaped by political ideologies and can significantly impact social issues such as immigration patterns, economic growth, education, and healthcare. Examples of government policies include anti-discrimination laws, unemployment benefits, disability benefits, school funding equity, and crop insurance.
Policymaking is an incredibly complex process, influenced by many factors including the politics embodied within the government and those that advise it, the political ideologies and beliefs of the citizens affected by the policy, the processes and structures required to pass legislation, and the administrative, managerial, and organizational structures and personnel needed to implement the policy (i.e. produce social outputs and outcomes). These structures, processes, and beliefs are classic signatures of complex systems, a form of systems that have non-linearity (that is, the result of running a system cannot be easily predicted from its constituent parts) and self-organize in unexpected ways.
The affirmative team will aim to prove that the problem is significant and harmful by providing evidence of its existence. They will also argue that their solution will be able to solve the issue.
The negative team will aim to undermine the argument of the affirmative by pointing out disadvantages and arguing that there are alternative solutions. They will also question whether the problem actually exists and/or whether the proposed policy is a good solution. They will argue that the affirmative is exaggerating the harms caused by the current situation and suggest alternative ways to address the issue.