Socialism Essays - Thought, Political Philosophy, Politics

Socialism The term socialism is commonly used to refer both to an ideology a comprehensive set of beliefs or ideas about the nature of human society and its future desirable state--and to a state of society based on that ideology. Socialists have always claimed to stand above all for the values of equality, social justice, cooperation, progress, and individual freedom and happiness, and they have generally sought to realize these values by the abolition of the private-enterprise economy (see CAPITALISM) and its replacement by "public ownership," a system of social or state control over production and distribution. Methods of transformation advocated by socialists range from constitutional change to violent revolution. ORIGINS OF SOCIALISM Some scholars believe that the basic principles of socialism were derived from the philosophy of Plato, the teachings of the Hebrew prophets, and some parts of the New Testament (the S ermon on the Mount, for example). Modern socialist ideology, however, is essentially a joint product of the 1789 French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution in England--the word socialist first occurred in an English journal in 1827. These two great historical events, establishing democratic government in France and the conditions for vast future economic expansion in England, also engendered a state of incipient conflict between the property owners (the bourgeoisie) and the growing class of industrial workers; socialists have since been striving to eliminate or at least mitigate this conflict. The first socialist movement emerged in France after the Revolution and was led by Francois BABEUF, Filippo Buonarrotti (1761-1837), and Louis Auguste BLANQUI; Babeuf's revolt of 1796 was a failure. Other early socialist thinkers, such as the comte de SAINT-SIMON, Charles FOURIER, and Etienne CABET in France and Robert OWE N and William Thompson (c.1785-1833) in England, believed in the possibility of peaceful and gradual transformation to a socialist society by the founding of small experimental communities; hence, later socialist writers dubbed them with the label utopian. THE EMERGENCE OF MARXISM In the mid-19th century, more-elaborate socialist theories were developed, and eventually relatively small but potent socialist movements spread. The German thinkers Karl MARX and Friedrich ENGELS produced at that time what has since been generally regarded as the most sophisticated and influential doctrine of socialism. Marx, who was influenced in his youth by German idealist philosophy and the humanism of Ludwig Andreas FEUERBACH, believed that human beings, and particularly workers, were "alienated" in modern capitalist society; he argued in his early writings that the institution of private property would have to be completely abolished bef ore the individual could be reconciled with both society and nature. His mature doctrine, however, worked out in collaboration with Engels and based on the teachings of classical English political economy, struck a harder note, and Marx claimed for it "scientific" status. The first important document of mature MARXISM, the COMMUNIST MANIFESTO (1848), written with Engels, asserted that all known human history is essentially the history of social classes locked in conflict. There has in the past always been a ruling and an oppressed class. The modern, or bourgeois, epoch, characterized by the capitalist mode of production with manufacturing industry and a free market, would lead according to Marx and Engels to the growing intensity of the struggle between capitalists and workers (the proletariat), the latter being progressively impoverished and as a result assuming an increasingly revolutionary attitude. Marx further asserted, in his most famou s work, Das KAPITAL, that the capitalist employer of labor had, in order to make a profit, to extract "surplus value" from his employees, thereby exploiting them and reducing them to "wage-slavery." The modern state, with its government and law-enforcing agencies, was solely the executive organ of the capitalist class. Religion, philosophy, and most other forms of culture likewise simply fulfilled the "ideological" function of making the working class contented with their subordinate position. Capitalism, however, as Marx claimed, would soon and necessarily grind to a halt: economic factors, such as the diminishing rate of profit, as well as the political factor of increasing proletarian "class consciousness" would result in the forcible overthrow of the existing system and its immediate replacement by the "dictatorship of the proletariat." This dictatorship would soon be superseded by the system of socialism, in which private

How George Carlins Filthy Words Gave the Govern Essays

How George Carlin's Filthy Words Gave the Govern Essays How George Carlin's "Filthy Words" Gave the Government the Power to Regulate ARTS How George Carlin's "Filthy Words" Gave the Government the Power to Regulate What We Hear on the Radio The FCC v. Pacifica Foundation: GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS ON RADIO BROADCASTING In 1978 a radio station owned by Pacifica Foundation Broadcasting out of New York City was doing a program on contemporary attitudes toward the use of language. This broadcast occurred on a mid-afternoon weekday. Immediately before the broadcast the station announced a disclaimer telling listeners that the program would include "sensitive language which might be regarded as offensive to some."(Gunther, 1991) As a part of the program the station decided to air a 12 minute monologue called "Filthy Words" by comedian George Carlin. The introduction of Carlin's "routine" consisted of, according to Carlin, "words you couldn't say on the public air waves."(Carlin, 1977) The introduction to Carlin's monologue listed those words and repeated them in a variety of colloquialisms: I was thinking about the curse words and the swear words, the cuss words and the words that you can't say, that you're not supposed to say all the time. I was thinking one night about the words you couldn't say on the public, ah, airwaves, um, the ones you definitely wouldn't say, ever. Bastard you can say, and hell and damn so I have to figure out which ones you couldn't and ever and it came down to seven but the list is open to amendment, and in fact, has been changed, uh, by now. The original seven words were shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits. Those are the ones that will curve your spine, grow hair on your hands and maybe, even bring us, God help us, peace without honor, and a bourbon. (Carlin, 1977) A man driving with his young son heard this broadcast and reported it to the Federal Communications Commission [FCC]. This broadcast of Carlin's "Filthy Words" monologue caused one of the greatest and most controversial cases in the history of broadcasting. The case of the FCC v. Pacifica Foundation. The outcome of this case has had a lasting effect on what we hear on the radio. This landmark case gave the FCC the "power to regulate radio broadcasts that are indecent but not obscene." (Gunther, 1991) What does that mean, exactly? According to the government it means that the FCC can only regulate broadcasts. They can not censor broadcasts, that is determine what is offensive in the matters of speech. Before this case occurred there were certain laws already in place that prohibited obscenity over radio. One of these laws was the "law of nuisance". This law "generally speaks to channeling behavior more than actually prohibiting it."(Simones, 1995) The law in essence meant that certain words depicting a sexual nature were limited to certain times of the day when children would not likely be exposed. Broadcasters were trusted to regulate themselves and what they broadcast over the airwaves. There were no specific laws or surveillance by regulatory groups to assure that indecent and obscene material would not be broadcast. Therefore, when the case of the FCC vs. Pacifica made its way to the Supreme Court it was a dangerous decision for the Supreme Court to make. Could the government regulate the freedom of speech? That was the ultimate question. Carlin's monologue was speech according to the first amendment.(Simones, 1995) Because of this Pacifica argued that "the first amendment prohibits all governmental regulation that depends on the content of speech."(Gunther, 1991) "However there is no such absolute rule mandated by the constitution," according to the Supreme Court.(Gunther, 1991) Therefore the question is "whether a broadcast of patently offensive words dealing with sex and excretion may be regulated because of its content. The fact that society may find speech offensive is not a sufficient reason for suppressing it."(Gunther, 1991) The Supreme Court deemed that these words offend for the same reasons that obscenity offends. They also state that "these words, even though they had no literary meaning or value, were still protected by the first amendment."(Gunther, 1991) So what does this mean to the American public? This decision gave government the power to regulate, whereas it did not before. Broadcasting, out of all forms of communication, has received the most limited protection of the first amendment. There are two main reasons why. First, "the broadcast media have established a uniquely pervasive presence in the lives of all Americans."(Gunther, 1991) Airwaves not only confront the public but also the citizen. They can come into our homes uninvited

In what manner (if any) does Stonewall Jackson illuminate the ideas Essay

In what manner (if any) does Stonewall Jackson illuminate the ideas and concepts put forth by the classical theorists (Sun Tzu, - Essay Example He was also successful at occasionally playing a defensive strategy when one was needed. Thus, he effectively displayed Clausewitz’ theories of attack and defense strategies. Jackson was also very skilled at mobilizing his troops and getting them to a location with great speed. Because he was able to get to the right spot at the right time, he was able to obtain important victories for the Confederacy (4). His ability to maneuver with great speed is something that Jomini believes is critical to success on the battlefield. In his work, â€Å"Summary of the Art of War,† he explains that â€Å"rapid movement† and â€Å"striking in the most decisive direction† is one of the most important factors in the outcome of a battle (5). Additionally, Jackson and Lee both held that obtaining specific enemy territories was critical to the army’s overall success. This is something that Jomini believed was also critical in determining the outcome of a war. It is obv ious that Jackson and other Civil War leaders studied Jomini and, in fact, his work â€Å"became the text book for the conduct of the American Civil War† (6). Sun Tzu’s work, â€Å"The Art of War,† deals heavily with the importance that terrain plays in the outcome of a battle. Much of Jackson’s success was due to his exceptional knowledge of the surrounding terrain as well as his ability to utilize the terrain to his advantage.

The Impact of Host Country National Managers Contribution to Success Dissertation

The Impact of Host Country National Managers Contribution to Success of Expatriates - Dissertation Example However, research indicates that there are problems with disparities with regard to compensating expatriates working in a wide variety of environments (Caruth & Handlogten-Caruth, 2002; Lee, 2005; Herrera, 2005; Latta, 2006; Minter, 2008). Human resource lacks comprehensive planning in advance for disparities of pay scales, taxation, or even, cultural adaptation; failure to concentrate on offering international training and management development skills for new expatriates. One approach is by asking the following question: what can organizations and their managers do so as to gain a better understanding of policies regarding international compensation? One way to gain a better understanding is through an effective training program for the new expatriate workforce, and compensation policies that are externally competitive and internally equitable for the success of any MNC (Human Development Report, 2009). METHODOLOGY This section shows how data was collected so as to find the answers to the research question, hence fulfilling the purpose of this dissertation paper. This will be subdivided into a description of the purpose of research, research approach and strategy. Later, data collection, sample selection and analysis of data will be presented. Lastly, we conclude the chapter with discussion on how the data collected and presented is valid and reliable (Creswell, 2009). Purpose of the Research This paper aims at showing how the host country’s managers contribute to the success of the expatriates. This objective is descriptive in nature as it seeks to explain how the impact of the host managers leads to success of expatriates. Research Approach Qualitative approach to this research is the most appropriate basing on the purpose of this dissertation paper. It is the most appropriate approach to deal with people’s perceptions that are intangible. It also ensures close contacts to the study objects (Tayeb, 2005). Data Collection Data can either be pri mary or secondary, where each of the methods is a high complement of the other. It is highly recommended that a researcher uses as many measurements as possible so as to improve the validity of the study, hence leading to more convincing and accurate findings and conclusions. In this paper, the main data sources used were interviews evidence from documentation. Interviewing was chosen as the most appropriate primary data collection method as it directly focused on the topic of this dissertation. The discussion involved questions dealing with a wide range of concepts, hence, enabling me attain the open character of the interview. This also ensured flexibility in the respondent’s answers, and at the same time focusing on the certain issues in the guide. Data gathered through documentation is vital in substantiating evidence from other sources (Liu & Shaffer, 2005). Data Analysis Data was analyzed depending on my style of thinking, accompanied with sufficient presentation of evi dence, while considering available alternatives and interpretations. Data was simplified by reducing and later on displayed, from where conclusions based on the findings were drawn. Data Validity and Reliability Validity is the ability of the measuring instrument to determine what it is supposed to access with the highest

Botton Classical Argument Essay Example for Free

Botton Classical Argument Essay Humorists are people who are skillful in using humor for writing, talking, or acting. Their works bring laughter and elation to people. In Botton’s book, Status Anxiety, he believes that humorists not only entertain audience, but also convey important messages that cannot be said directly. Thus, he argues that humorists play a vital role in the society. In most cases, Botton’s claim is justified in that since the early nineteenth century, humorists express their thoughts about the society through humor. Some of these humorists do play important roles in the society by revealing crisis or events happening during that time period to bring awareness from the society. Humorists, such as cartoonists and satirical writers, use their own methods to tell about issues happening in the society while putting humor into their work. One of the famous political cartoonists in the nineteen-century, Thomas Nast, draws political cartoons about the corrupted government and notorious business leaders during his time period. Some of his famous works, such as the drawings of Boss Tweed and Tammy Hall, bring insight to the American people, especially the middle class, of how weak the central government is. As Nast works on these cartoons, he put humor into the work with captions or quotes that sarcastically explain what the drawings are for. As an advocate of abolishment of slavery and anti racial segregation, he uses political cartoons to freely express his views and manages to send important messages to the people. Thus, humorists play an important role in the society to let people aware of their surroundings. Some people use humor to express their feelings about what they thought of themselves, other people, or the society. In poetry slam, some people use humor and irony that have messages that they want the audience to know. One of the participants, Katie Makkai presents her poem, Pretty, which has deep meaning behind it. She does brings laughter from the crowd as she begins her poetry about her childhood and brings out a naà ¯ve persona. As the poem goes on, she slowly implies to the audience that nobody can be call â€Å"pretty†, by reasoning that everyone has flaws since he or she is born. She uses herself as one of the example and tells that one can be â€Å"pretty intelligent, pretty creative† , but not â€Å"pretty†. Thus, Makkau is able to get audience attention through her humorous beginning of the poem and also bring some important life messages to her audience. On the other hand, some humorists might not be implying any important messages to their audiences, but simply just doing their jobs by making people laugh. Mr. Bean can be an actor who act in funny movies or series that bring joy to the viewers. Cartoon or real life version, in most of his movies, he does many unique things that brings laughter’s from the people. One can say that there are not important messages that he is trying to show to the audience through his acting. Though, still audience can learn from his actions and careless mistakes that he makes in the movies, which are the main key of bringing humor, and understand that people can make silly mistakes. Humorists are able to show their true feelings about society without any restraints and have the advantages that their works can be taken seriously or lightly. Thus, they can simply tell anything without hurting anyone’s feeling. As they leave important messages by presenting their views through humorous and comical works, they plays an vital role in the society.

Is Meursault Heroic in Albert Camus The Stranger? Essays -- Albert Ca

Is Meursault Heroic in The Outsider?       When Meursault is described to us in the early stages of "The Outsider" we see that he does not obey society's codes therefore is it fair for us to assess him using societies interpretation of "heroic"?    If we are to judge him by them then we are given ample examples throughout the novel of his having no compassion or even of his thinking of the consequences of his actions, hardly heroic, but the converse is also demonstrated in many places.   An example of the former is when Raymond asks Meursault to "draft" a letter to an Arab prostitute.   Meursault knows what will result from his actions but seems unemotional and views the letter as being a favour for a friend and not a vicious conspiracy.   This lack of emotion is reinforced when the prostitute is beaten up by Raymond and Meursault remains impartial whilst his girlfriend, Marie, thought it was " terrible" and is sickened by the beating.   Another display of his apathetic views is in the opening lines "Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don't know"   This indicates that either he does not care or he had no comprehension of what had happened.   An additional illustration of his detached attitude is after his mothers funeral when he goes to see a humorous "Fernandel" film with Marie, his girlfriend, and then he takes her home and sleeps with her just hours after his Mothers funeral.   This indicates that aswell as having a detached viewpoint that he has no perception of morality.   A section of the novel that reinforces this occurs that after the murder when he is in jail; he never mentions the Arab at all; it is as if he does not... ... monther's funeral is liable to be condemned to death", Meursault is condemned as he does not conform and people cannot understand him.   In my opinion Meursault is admirable as despite his imminent conviction he maintains his unconventional viewpoint and standards throughout the novel.   He is a "man who, without any heroic pretensions, agrees to die for the truth".   In my opinion this is the essence of Meursaults character, if he believes in it not even death will alter his views.    Works Cited and Consulted:    Akeroyd, Richard H. The Spiritual Quest of Albert Camus. Alabama: Portals Press, 1976. Camus, Albert. The Stranger. New York: Random House, Inc., 1988. King, Adele. Camus. Oliver and Boyd Ltd. 1964. 120. McCarthy, Patrick. The Stranger. University of Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.   

The Role and Influence of Mass Media

Topic 5: The role and influence of mass media Since the development of technology, mass media becomes an important part of modern society. It influences all areas; therefore, it is raising a question among people about what are the role and influence of mass media. The term mass media refers to the channels of communication (media) that exist to reach a large public audience (the mass of the population). Mass media includes newspapers, magazines, television, radio, and more recently, the Internet (Kristin& Susan, 2002).Mass media is an efficient supporter in education, policy, entertainment, finance, and all other fields. One function of mass media is education. Mass media supplies an enormous source of documentaries on a wide range of topics such as animals, behavior, geography, history, or art (Kristin& Susan, 2002). The information is extremely helpful with students at any levels. Additionally, mass media contains many visual documentaries, which make learners easier to see and us e theories rather than only reading text.Secondly, there are many educational children’s programs like teaching children to count or recognize words, or introducing them to different societies and cultures (Kristin& Susan, 2002). There are also many programs which help parent to solve their kids’ problems. Fox example, the book â€Å"Good parent bad parenting†, which is published by Lulu. com publisher on February 2 in 2004, is one effective product of mass media which help parents to educate their children. The mass media is also a useful aid of policy. Almost all of politicians use the mass media to promote their positive images or political opinions.There is an example of using the mass media to advertise during his campaign of the United State President Barack Obama: The GOP group announced that they were going on air with a $25 million of advertising to buy in most of the major battleground states to counter a pro-Obama advertising campaign of the same amou nts (â€Å"Obama campaign,† 2012). Moreover, some ministries use the mass media to introduce new policy and to take feedback from the populace. For instance, the Vietnamese Ministry of Transport presented a new policy about taking fare of transport on Monday, January 1st 2012 (â€Å"The Ministry of transportation,† 2012).After a few days, they received many opinions among the public, which included positive and negative feedback so that they could correct this policy. Another important function of the mass media is entertainment. Since the development of the mass media, the entertainment industry has been more and more successful to approach the public. There are many entertainment programs available on TV, radio, or the Internet every day. The variety of entertainment programs make them suitable for all types of viewers. On TV nowadays, there are some special channels for people interested in travelling, discovering, cooking, shopping, etc.For example, cable TV has ne arly one hundred of channels of all fields, which are very useful. One type of the mass media, advertising, brings benefits to both entertainment industry and economy. All producers use advertisements to introduce their products to public with an aim to sell goods. However, with the dense appearance of advertisements, advertising can be seen as one type of entertainment. Besides the positive influence, there is so much negative influence of the mass media. Firstly, the mass media contains so much unsuitable content that affect badly everyone, especially the children.Some violent programs on TV or on the Internet make children aggressive and make them use violence to solve their problems exactly like what they have seen on the mass media. A recent review of sixty-seven studies that investigated the influence of TV violence on aggression in children found that three-quarters of the studies claimed to find some association(Kristin& Susan, 2002). One noticeable example about this issue is about the juvenile criminal named Le Van Luyen. He intended to kill four people in a family to rob their gold (â€Å"Le Van Luyen kill mercilessly,† 2011).His bloody crime was quite a disaster. However, it also has been available in mass media for a long time. Therefore, his images and crime were available on all types of mass media. This led to another terrible crime of a younger criminal named Dao Van Tai. He killed two people to rob property. When being asked by police, he admitted committing this crime by copying the crime of Le Van Luyen (â€Å"The second frightened murder,† n. d). Secondly, mass media sometimes invades people’s privacy. Celebrities and politicians are usually the victims because they receive more concern from society than others.The mass media industry sometimes uses private details to make profits rather than showing the full view of somebody’s live to the public; hence, mass media public their scandals or bad behaviour. These i nvasions are bad for their profession or even destroy their reputation. Mass media even is an origin of spreading out secret information of the government. Once the secret information is leaked out, it will be available all over the world rapidly through mass media. For example, the latest intelligence of the United States, which is flooded in all types of the mass media, is the secret information of the war in Afghanistan.The information really makes the United States nervous. Washington fears it may have lost even more highly sensitive material including an archive of tens of thousands of cable messages sent by US embassies around the world, reflecting arms deals, trade talks, secret meetings and uncensored opinion of other governments (â€Å"Afghanistan war log,† n. d). The mass media may contain misleading information, which has negative impact on the public. Since some information in the mass media is misreporting, misquoting, rumor, or exaggeration, people do not know w hich one is reliable; therefore, they waste time reading wrong information.That is so confusing! Mass media plays an important role in modern society. It can have positive influence on one side and negative impact on the other side. The public can not refuse its advantages by only seeing the disadvantages of the mass media. However, people must have an overlook to the mass media so that they can take advantages of mass media as much as they can! END WORDS COUNT: 994 REFERENCE LIST: 1. Book: Kristine, B. & Susan, H. (2002), Academic encounters- Life in the society, New York, Cambridge. 2. Web document:Afghanistan war logs story behind biggest leak in intelligence history (n. d). Retrieved July 5, 2010, from http://www. guardian. co. uk The second frightened murder in Vinh Phuc (n. d). Retrieved April 19, 2012, from http://www. kenh14. vn Obama campaign: Crossroads ad campaign is â€Å"dishonest† (2012), from http://www. pilitico. com The Ministry of transportation explain the reasons for fare of transport (2012). Retrieved November 1, 2012, from http://www. vneconomy Le Van Luyen killed mercilessly people (n. d). Retrieved November, 2011, from http://www. vnexpress. net