Open To Debate Podcast: Does Taylor Swift (Or Anyone) Deserve A Billion Dollars?

 This week, the nonpartisan debate podcast Open to Debate released an episode debating the question: “Does Taylor Swift Deserve Her Billion Dollar Fortune?”

The Open To Debate podcast plays a critical role in our society today.

Open to Debate is a call to action: All of us should keep an open mind to solve the complex problems we face as individuals and as a nation.

Open to Debate is a reminder: To solve our greatest problems, we must operate in a contempt-free zone. We need to be able to sit in the same room and exchange ideas with people we disagree with. Being open to debate is a gesture of respect for the good faith arguments of those we disagree with, for the intelligence and integrity of those who watch or listen, and for the value of debate done right.

Open to Debate is a duty: The future of American Democracy depends on the strength of communities to work together and overcome our differences. “Us vs. Them” thinking is destructive to our social fabric, and we need a national model to guide debates to a healthy and free exchange of ideas.

The mission of Open to Debate is to restore critical thinking, facts, reason, and civility to America’s public square. Open to Debate is a platform for intellectually curious and open-minded people to engage with others holding opposing views on complex issues.

Check out Open To Debate. Perhaps you'll have a prejudice exposed or a firmly held belief questioned.

Swift,— declared officially a billionaire by Bloomberg and Forbes last fall, generated broader questions about whether billionaires are a policy failure and debate various philosophies about the distribution of wealth.

"“All of this stuff that Taylor has done for the world is priceless —you can'’t put a price tag on how influential and important her work has been to so many people,"” argues Political Philosopher Jessica Flanigan, author of an upcoming book about the philosophy behind Taylor Swift’'s music. “

"A society that produces billionaires like Taylor Swift is good for everybody," says Flanigan.

"“No matter how amazing a person Taylor Swift is, she shouldn'’t be a billionaire because no one should be a billionaire,"” counters Ingrid Robeyns, author of the book Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth. “

"We focus here on an individual, but really the bigger question is: What kind of society do we want?”" asks Robeyns.

Joining the conversation to ask questions and test the debaters' arguments are Anne Helen Petersen (Culture Study), Abha Bhattarai (Washington Post), Richard Wolff (UMass Amherst), Allison Schrager (Manhattan Institute), and Zack O'Malley Greenburg (Zogblog).

Read a recap of the taping in Fast Company.

Listen to the full episode at opentodebate.org (with video) or wherever you get podcasts.

 

And for those of you who have watched too much of a certain news network and actually believe that Taylor Swift is a CIA spy or Deep State operative, I recommend you detox on cat videos or music videos from the 80s.