Oh Deer!

What are some of the problems deer create for our community?

What is the solution?

Read and evaluate the draft of the City of Oxford's Deer Management Plan. What letter grade would you give the plan? Do you prefer lethal or non-lethal alternatives? Choose the management option you think to be the best and be prepared to defend it in a class debate.

Why not release predators?

Who Killed Bambi?

The Ethical Implications of Charitable Giving

The material Slavoj Zizek discusses in this animated lecture is (not surprisingly, given its title) primarily from First as Tragedy, Then as Farce, published in 2009 by Verso. However, the topic of philanthro-capitalism is also found in Zizek’s (lesser read) Violence, published in 2008 as part of Picador’s brilliant and aesthetically pleasing BIG IDEAS//small books series. An excerpt:

“Good old Andrew Carnegie employed a private army brutally to suppress organised labour in his steelworks and then distributed large parts of his wealth to educational, artistic, and humanitarian causes. A man of steel, he proved he had a heart of gold. In the same way, today’s liberal communists give away with one hand what they first took with the other. This brings to mind a chocolate laxative available in the U.S. It is publicised with the paradoxical injunction: ‘Do you have constipation? Eat more of this chocolate!’ In other words, eat the very thing that causes constipation in order to be cured of it.”

Why do we buy Starbucks, Tom's shoes, or Organic Apples? What is the hypocrisy of buying these things?

Do you agree or disagree with what Mr. Zizek is saying? Is charity good or bad? Why?

We Care Alot

Americans lead the world in charitable contributions, giving $300 billion a year to charities. Sounds like a lot, right? But this is just a drop in the bucket compared to the over One Trillion Dollars needed to keep U.S. charities in operation, more than the U.S. government collects in taxes. The rest comes from their own assets, government support, and foreign investment. Our visual guide to giving shows who’s paying and offers some tips on how to pick a charity of your own.