CASE Library
Explore The Issues that Matter.
We excitedly invite you to browse, search, and explore our newly redesigned library of over 300 case studies which render some of the most complex and controversial moral and political issues of our time. These cases were formerly used for official NHSEB competitions at the Regional, Divisional, and National Championship levels. They are freely available for public use under Creative Commons licenses.
The NHSEB Case Library is an excellent tool for competitive preparation, internal or intramural competition, or beyond the context of the Ethics Bowl activity completely—as a classroom resource for Grades 9-12 and beyond.
Featured Cases
NAVIGATING THE LIBRARY
NHSEB’s Case Library is now fully browsable by individual case, or by Case Set—using the filters below. Or, if you already know a bit about what you’re looking for, the entire library of over 300 Ethics Bowl cases is newly indexed, referenced, and searchable by title, topic, keyword, year, and category. Each individual case entry contains the full text of the case and discussion questions as they originally appeared for competitive use, all references assembled in hyperlinked footnotes, and additional contextual resources curated by NHSEB HQ.
CASE SET COLLECTION
REGIONAL CASE SETS
2023-2024 | 2022-2023 | 2021-2022 | 2020-2021 | 2019-2020 | 2018-2019
2017-2018 | 2016-2017 | 2015-2016 | 2014-2015 | 2013-2014 | 2012-2013
National CASE SETS
2023-2024 | 2022-2023 | 2021-2022 | 2020-2021 | 2019-2020 | 2018-2019
2017-2018 | 2016-2017 | 2015-2016 | 2014-2015 | 2013-2014 | 2012-2013
FIND AN ETHICS BOWL CASE
ATTRIBUTION AND CITATION
All National High School Ethics Bowl cases are the intellectual property of the Parr Center for Ethics, and all are freely available for public use under Creative Commons licenses once retired from use in NHSEB competitions. This library represents thousands of hours of work from our Contributing Authors, Editors, and others. Please do not reproduce NHSEB cases or sets—in part or in whole—without attribution, or modify the text of individual cases or sets. If you reproduce or make reference to NHSEB cases from this library (e.g., in classroom materials, academic papers, etc.), please attribute and/or cite those materials:
National High School Ethics Bowl (Ed.), <YEAR>. “<Case Title>.” National High School Ethics Bowl Case Library. UNC Parr Center for Ethics: Chapel Hill, NC. http://nhseb.org/case-library
Browse The Library
Tips for Good Living
Ronald and Tina have co-owned a beloved café for 10 years. Their current payment system for their workers has baseline hourly pay, which is almost three times as much as the federally required minimum, and is then combined with income from tips. Local activists in the area sparked a debate in which they argue for a "living wage" model. This model operates on the idea that tipping is discriminatory. Ronald and Tina have worries that they would not be able to sustain the proposed model, and that it may actually result in a pay cut for their workers.
Death and Taxes
Shannon amasses a net worth of $20 million and wants to bequeth this fortune to her children upon her death. Wanting to bypass the sizable estate tax she would have to pass on after her death, she consults a tax lawyer about her options, which mostly involve "tax dodging." With such tax planning strategies, Shannon could spare several million dollars for her children. Without these tax loopholes, Shannon fears that she wouldn't be fulfilling her civic duties.
Banking on Cash
At the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic, many stores stopped accepting cash, and are still rejecting the payment method. This is because of the inefficiencies when dealing with cash, such as slow lines, counterfit bills, and the time it takes to process the money. However, by excluding cash payments, a business may be unintentionally discriminatory towards people unable to open a bank account.
(Un)Charitable Donations
Mary had leftover money in her budget for the month, so she decided to donate it to charity. She decided that Kiva, a charity that offers microloans to women entrepreneurs, was her charity of choice. When she told her friend Sam, he warned her that microloans can cause more harm than good, and encouraged her to give her money to GiveDirectly, a charity that gives money to the poor with no conditions on how to use it.
Universal Basic Income
Universal basic income or UBI is a guaranteed stipend provided by the state to its people. Ex-presidential candidate Andrew Yang wanted to provide citizens a monthly 1k. Supporters say that this would give the people a safety net when considering and taking financial risk, as well as pursuing their personal goals without worrying about poverty. Others argue this by saying that providing income to those who don't put enough into earning it is unfair to the ones that do, since indirectly these are the people who would be funding the UBI. Should the UBI have more specific terms on who receives it? Is this unfair to those who work hard for their financial success?
Trolling for a Refund
Linda is planning to get married on a budget so she decides to do her own planning, including picking the photographer. Turns out, the photographer that was sent to take the photos the day of was a completely different photographer than the one she met with, and the pictures he took a bit short of ordinary quality. Linda tries multiple times to contact the company for a refund, but each time was met with no response. Linda's reaction was to notify everyone who attended the wedding to blast the company with bad reviews, but Linda's best friend, Viola, has always been against trolling. This hesitation is causing conflict in the relationship. Should Viola give into what her friend wants for the sake of the relationship?
To Forgive or Not to Forgive?
The student debt crisis is steadily increasing by the year. Candidates like Bernie Sanders promise to totally delete all debt, while some promise to severely decrease it. Despite how good this sounds, there are a lot of critics surrounding this. Some say it's not fair for others who have handled their financials in a way where they need no loans. Would this policy be unfair to those who went about things differently? Should this policy be accepted to strengthen the middle class, therefore strengthing the economy since they'd be able to actively participate?
Tsk Tsk, Tusk Tusk
The World Wide Fund for Nature estimates that poachers kill 100,000 elephants each year for their tusks. Some countried have chosen to burn their ivory stockpiles to send a message to poachers. However, destroying so much ivory only makes it scarcer, which threatens to increase both its value and the motivation for further poaching.
Fake Followers
Think of some of the athletes, musicians, actors, political figures, or businesses you most admire. Chances are, at least some of them have paid companies to generate followers, “likes,” and comments for their social media accounts. Some influencers admit that buying followers is wrong, while others regard it as merely a tool of the trade. Is it wrong to buy followers and likes on social media?
Private Money in Academia
Universities are increasingly accepting private money to fund academic centers, programs, and faculty. Often, this money comes from sources that have clear political agendas. Proponents of private funding in academia argue that as long as the supported research and teaching meet the standards of acceptable scholarship, it doesn’t matter how it is funded.
Moral Offsetting
Can you balance harms that you cause by donating to charities that address those harms? When is moral offsetting appropriate and inappropriate?
Toastmaster Disaster
Was it ethical for Anne and Richard to pay a ghost writer to write their wedding toast for their sister? Does the quality and content of the purchased toast affect the morality? Should Anne and Richard tell their sister they bought the toast?
Open Markets for Organs
Some have suggested allowing healthy individuals to be legally allowed to sell their organs to stop people on the transplant list from dying due to organ shortages. Opponents point to the possibility of wealthy patients harvesting organs of the young and poor.