Home Categories About
argument top image
Should the BBC license be mandatory? Should the BBC license be mandatory?
Yes, the BBC license should be mandatory Yes, the BBC license should be mandatory
No, the license should not be mandatory No, the license should not be mandatory
A mandatory license fee supports minority tastes A mandatory license fee supports minority tastes
The BBC provides a service for the public good The BBC provides a service for the public good
BBC News is an essential public service BBC News is an essential public service
The BBC World Service serves the national interest The BBC World Service serves the national interest
The BBC doesn’t account for the majority of TV The BBC doesn’t account for the majority of TV
The BBC Trust cannot be trusted The BBC Trust cannot be trusted
The license fee disproportionately affects poor households The license fee disproportionately affects poor households
The TV license is unpopular The TV license is unpopular
Linear TV is dead Linear TV is dead
The license fee is impossible to enforce The license fee is impossible to enforce
The mandatory license stifles innovation The mandatory license stifles innovation
Debate Mini Map

Should the BBC license be mandatory?
Back to question

No, the license should not be mandatory

< (2 of 2)

The TV license is unpopular

The public does not like the mandatory license fee that goes to the BBC.
Boris Johnson The Daily Express
< (4 of 7) Next argument >

Context

Some licenses and taxes are generally acceptable to the public. Any money spent on the NHS, for example, is often welcomed. But the BBC license fee is not popular.

The Argument

Three-quarters of Britons want the license fee abolished. This is not merely because the public resents paying license fees and taxes. The public is generally supportive of taxes that it deems worthy. It is because they perceive the license fee as a waste of money.[1]

Counter arguments

There are many government-funded products or services that the taxpayers don’t like. That doesn’t mean that people can just not pay them. The license fee pays for a national institution which offers a high standard of reporting. It is not up to the public to determine whether or not they should pay.

Proponents

Premises

[P1] Under a democracy, only policies which have the majority of public backing should be considered. [P2] The mandatory license does not have the majority of the public's backing. [P3] Therefore, it should be scrapped.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Not every single expenditure or public service needs to have majority support among the public to be democratic.

References

  1. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/12/28/three-quarters-want-bbc-licence-fee-abolished-poll-finds/
This page was last edited on Monday, 30 Mar 2020 at 09:39 UTC

Explore related arguments