Positions

This position catalogues the claim that climate change is a hoax — a lie blown out of proportion, full of dramatic predictions that never come true. The encyclopedia documents the view, which runs counter to the overwhelming scientific consensus that warming is real and human-caused.

This position catalogues the conspiracy theory that climate change is a hoax engineered by international bodies — notably the UN — as a pretext to seize totalitarian world government. The view is documented as its believers make it and runs counter to the scientific consensus.

This position catalogues the conspiracy theory that climate change is a hoax invented by scientists. Proponents claim researchers exaggerate or fabricate warming to secure grant funding and to advance a political agenda. The view runs counter to the scientific consensus that warming is human-caused.

This position catalogues the claim that climate change is natural and harmless rather than human-caused. Proponents argue the climate has always cycled naturally, and that carbon dioxide is too small a fraction of the atmosphere to drive global change. It runs counter to the scientific consensus.

No one would have willingly consented to the Nazis' implementation of power, rather, the Nazis relied on the coercion of its citizens through a variety of methods.

This position presents the cognitive-mediational (Lazarus) theory of emotion. It holds that a cognitive appraisal of a situation comes first, before any physiological or emotional reaction — so it is our interpretation of an event, not the event itself, that determines the emotion we feel.

As our diverse cultures continue to reach across the globe and intermingle, it is imperative that our stories and media represent us all. It is especially important that minorities have their stories told, because the gross under-representation of their lives and cultures is oppressive and harmful. Color-conscious casting seeks to remedy that by being mindful of all races and cultures when crafting and telling a story.

The difference between colorblind and color-conscious casting is stark. Colorblind casting ignores skin color and ethnicity altogether when casting for a role, while color-conscious casting understands and pays attention to the implications of casting a person of a particular race for a role. Color-conscious casting is more beneficial to BIPOC communities than colorblind casting because it seeks to represent minorities fairly and realistically.

Comic book movies have only recently become popular. There are a few cases of superhero movies being cultural phenomena in the 1900s, but the genre has never seen success like it is seeing now.

Comic book movies have, with few exceptions, always been box office hits. The recent boom in comic book movies is simply a result of studios being more willing to make diverse superhero movies with characters other than Batman, Spider-Man, and Superman.

This position holds that, whatever becomes of the monarchy in Britain, Commonwealth countries should not remain under it. It argues that such nations should become republics or adopt their own monarchies rather than keep a British monarch as their head of state.

This position holds that connections make star quality — that who you know, and who you are born to, opens the door to fame. It points to figures like Miley Cyrus, Sofia Coppola and Ivanka Trump, whose famous families and Hollywood or business ties launched and sustained their careers.

People turn to social media for news consumption and human interaction, but the unreliable nature of social platforms means that news can easily be distorted, and the negative impacts of social media can be exacerbated when it is your only outlet.

This position sets out the cons of vegetarianism. It argues a meat-free diet can cause nutritional deficiencies by lacking important nutrients, that it does not necessarily help the environment—sometimes carrying a large carbon footprint—and that it can damage traditional regional diets.

This position holds that Nazi Germany rested primarily on the consent of its population rather than on coercion. It argues that a regime of that scale and ambition could not have implemented its vision for German society without the active acceptance and complicity of ordinary citizens.

This entry describes conspiracist anti-Semitism, which falsely attributes to Jews extraordinary, hidden power over world events. It documents baseless tropes such as the claim that Jews control the media—conspiracy theories rejected as bigoted and unfounded.

This position holds that coronavirus has had no real impact on Islamophobia in India. It argues that the pandemic did not shift sentiment toward Muslims one way or the other, as people's attention was consumed by the more pressing concern of containing the virus's spread.

This position holds that coronavirus will cause irreparable harm. It argues the pandemic will wreak havoc on the global population—killing many and proving impossible to contain—while devastating the economy and dividing people through fear and panic.

This position holds that coronavirus will erode international institutions. It argues that because the pandemic response has been driven by national governments, bodies like the UN and EU will be weakened — sidelined by competing national interests and seen as less essential.

This position holds that Covid-19 will force a re-imagining of the international order. Its arguments run in several directions — that the pandemic strengthens the nation-state, that it could build more robust international institutions, and that it may shift global power eastward.

This position holds that coronavirus will reshape global politics. It maps the possibilities — that the pandemic could dent individualism, test the case for globalisation, normalise greater state involvement in economies, swing the 2020 US election, and fuel isolationism and nationalism.

This position holds that coronavirus will have severe economic effects, already being felt. It argues that the pandemic could devastate the global economy at large, and that it threatens to crash the precarious gig economy in particular, with lasting consequences for how people earn a living.

This position holds that coronavirus will have significant social effects. It points to a likely surge in fake news, a transformed hygiene culture, greater appreciation for health workers, intensified racism, frayed social bonds, and perhaps the end of the social kiss and handshake.

This position holds that coronavirus will have a pivotal impact on the climate crisis. It weighs both directions — that the pandemic's disruption to travel and industry could help mitigate climate change, or that its economic fallout and shifting priorities could end up making it worse.

This position holds that coronavirus will reshape the way we live day to day. Beyond the big picture, it argues the pandemic could end office culture, cut smoking rates, and linger permanently—while some even read it as the start of a biblical apocalypse.

This position holds that coronavirus would not significantly change the world, judging worst-case fears overblown. Made early in the outbreak, it argued a true global pandemic would be contained by concerted effort, and that most Covid-19 cases were mild with a low mortality rate.

This position holds that coronavirus will significantly shift the global economy. It argues that the pandemic has strong-armed economies worldwide and will leave a lasting mark — for better or worse — with the rollout of vaccines itself reshaping global economic fortunes.

This position holds that coronavirus will teach the world valuable lessons. It accepts that the pandemic costs lives and resources, but argues it will also drive important progress — strengthening international scientific collaboration and prompting better, more far-sighted public health policies.

This position holds that corporal punishment is acceptable in some specific circumstances. It argues that it may be appropriate only under strict conditions — never administered in anger, and only when the offender is old enough to understand right from wrong.

Donald Trump has used the presidency to install members of his family to key Whitehouse positions and to protect his business interests. He also avoids paying taxes in the US.

This position sets out the corruption allegations levelled against Joe Biden. It catalogues claims that he was implicated in scandals around his son Hunter's business dealings, and that he has voted in the interests of corporate campaign donors. The entry documents the allegations as made.