American Constitution of 1787 and pluralism Essay

American Constitution of 1787 and pluralism - Essay Example The constitution took effect on March 4, 1789. The delegation intended to amend the Article of Confederation and set up a new scheme of government. Through intensive debates, the delegation came up with a brilliant federal organization that had a complicated system of checks and balances. They came up with a bicameral legislature that had equal representation in the upper house as well as a relative representation in the lower house. Thus, the main outcome of the convention was a federal government that worked through a constitution that ensured that freedom equality and order prevailed in the country. The American constitution of 1787 promotes the application of pluralism in the USA thus giving the citizen power to govern their nation. Pre constitution America In the 1970s USA did not exist but there were just thirteen colonies under the Great Britain. In the 1970s, not everyone in the United States of America had the same opportunities. Blacks, women, Native Americans, and poor men had no voting rights and could not hold any elective posts. The British colonies in North America adopted their form of governance even after independence. The early leaders of Americas believed that everyone had basic rights that they referred to as natural rights. The natural rights included the right to liberty, life, and property. The founding fathers believed that the only way to ensure that everyone got their basic rights was to form a government that operates under certain laws. The founding fathers studied governments in the history. Most of their interest was in the Roman Republic, a government that existed about 2000 years before the USA was founded. This must have really influenced the drafting of the American constitution of 1787 states (Guide and Reader for American Government and Politics in the New Millennium 187). Rights and freedoms The fact that the authors of the 1787 constitution valued freedom in regards to the pursuit of freedom to own property and contentment , represented 12 of 13 states, and knew the importance of order is an indication that they would create a pluralist democracy. All fifty-five states delegates who went to Philadelphia to make the constitution believed that the people had to have economic and religious freedom in which they can express their opinions to make the USA a better place to live. Moreover, they had the understanding that ownership of property was an individual right and neither the state government nor the federal governments could deny the people such rights. â€Å"Their vision was that individuals would be to define their interests in terms of the national government and strengthen it† (American Government and Politics in the New Millennium 56). The authors of the constitution â€Å"realized that without a strong national government, the U.S. would implode because of the failure of the state governments to cooperate and look beyond their parochial interests† (states Guide and Reader for Amer ican Government and Politics in the New Millennium 54) Branches of the government Federalism advocates that the constitution made a pluralist democracy by creating separate levels of government so that the laws made by the officials would represent many interests from diverse states. Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances create a pluralist democracy through purposely making four institutions of government that are chosen in a staggered selection so that they would not be loyal not only within themselves but certainly not to others. The constitution purposely separated the national government into three parts- executive, judicial, legislative- and provided them with shared powers. Madison realized that â€Å"Besides separating the government into t

Technology Advancements and Stem Cells Research in Hemophilia Paper - 1

Technology Advancements and Stem Cells in Hemophilia Treatment - Research Paper Example Science has technology has made significant progress in the last few years, what looked implausible a few years ago has become plausible today and what looks implausible today will become plausible tomorrow. Several major breakthroughs have been achieved in the last few years. Many new drugs have been invented to combat killer diseases and several lives have been saved because of these newly invented drugs. The invention of Stem cells has made life so much better. Significant progress in the field of stem cells was made by Dr. Ernest A. McCulloch and Dr. James E. They started working in unison in the 1960s and their research laid an ideal platform for the others to take it forward from there and that is exactly what the others did. Stem cells are really useful and they have saved several lives which would not have been plausible had stem cells not been invented. â€Å"Mouse embryonic stem cells treated in culture with a growth factor and then injected into the liver reverse a form of hemophilia in mice analogous to hemophilia B in humans, the new study shows.† (Stem Cells Treated with Growth Factor) The versatility of the stem cells is arguably their biggest strongest point, stem cells can easily grow in certain bodies and they are more than capable of achieving specialized functions. In addition to this, they can also renew themselves on their very own and this versatility makes them really useful. There are two types of stem cells namely, Embryonic stem cells and Adult stem cells. The two are really different from each other and understandably have different characteristics.  

How does Shakespeare examine the themes of revenge in Hamlet Essay Example for Free

How does Shakespeare examine the themes of revenge in Hamlet Essay The revenge tragedy established itself within Elizabethan theatre as a tremendously popular genre. The style of the play had gradually evolved from the works of Seneca, an ancient Roman playwright. Once translated these plays performed, steadily rose in popularity, with plays such as Middletons The Changeling, Kids The Spanish Tragedy and Tourneurs The Revengers Tragedy being most popular. The typical revenge tragedy play has several important conventions within it, which are key to the genre. see more:revenge hamlet A five part structure of: Exposition, anticipation, confrontation, partial execution and completion, portray the central character the revenger, discovering the deed he must avenge, wrestling with his conscience over the justification and validity of the act, then planning and eventually executing the act of revenge. Often Jacobean revenge tragedy often questioned the revengers morality. How far does the task of revenge affect the revenger? How far does it taint the person? How can the audience be sure the protagonists madness is not actually real? Is it possible that the conflicting morality suffered by him brings unto the revenger real madness and mental instability? The questions over morality are furthered by the death of the protagonist another generic feature. Elizabethans generally firmly believed in the concepts of heaven and hell, dying without forgiveness from God would mean eternity in perdition like the limbo in which Old Hamlet is in, in Hamlet When I to my sulphrous and tormented flames Must render up myself. As the revenger usually dies at the end of the play after carrying out revenge, he dies without the chance of confession and absolution. This means the act of murder has not been forgiven. Inevitably this leads us to assume the protagonist will spend eternity in hell. We can debate the authenticity of the spirit demanding for revenge. If they were once a loved one of the revenger why would they make them vow to perform a deed, which would lead them to damnation? Could it be that the spirit is not in fact the spirit of the deceased but an evil spirit taking their form, tricking the revenger? After dispensing with some of the generic features, such as narrative by the ghost, it retains many of the conventions of the revenge tragedy. Hamlet is summoned to avenge the murder of his father, by his fathers spirit, the murderer being Hamlets uncle, now stepfather and newly crowned King Claudius. Hamlet feigns madness to disguise his intentions of revenge and has a play entitled The Mousetrap performed, in which the murder of Old Hamlet is re-enacted. On preparing to kill Claudius Hamlet is set back by Claudius asking for forgiveness from God in a moment of prayer. This leads to an inevitable climax, which results in the death of Hamlet, Claudius and Laertes in a typically bloody ending. All of these events are to be expected from a revenge tragedy. Further more, Hamlet contains several scenes, key to its portrayal of the revenge theme. In act one, scene five Hamlet follows the supposed spirit of his father and is informed of his fathers murder I am thy fathers spirit sleeping in mine orchid a serpent stung me. This scene conveys the task of revenge being set, the whole of the play hinges on this event. The imagery within this scene is also telling. Old Hamlet is dressed in battle fatigue, thus symbolizing him as a war-king; the audience having been informed of the war he started against Old Fortinbras. This suggests that Old Hamlets position in hell is right and not solely due to him being unable to confess before his untimely death. This suggests repercussion on whether or not Hamlets soul will actually be damned, having not confessed but essentially living a good life. If the nature of damnation does in fact relay solely on whether or not one has lived a good life, and not whether or not one has confessed ones sins, then it is possible Hamlet has gone to heaven, thus Shakespeare can be seen to be subverting the ideas of religion within the revenge tragedy genre. Young Fortinbras comments Bear Hamlet like a solider, in death Hamlet is viewed as a hero, in this context it is not difficult to assume he has escaped damnation The theme of kingship is continued in Act two, scene two. We are presented with an image of Claudius, which is in direct contrast to the one presented of his predecessor. Talk of Claudius averting war with Young Fortinbras, shows the new king to be one which favours diplomacy to war. Surely such a king is more advantageous for Denmark than a bloodthirsty leader like the image we are presented of Old Hamlet. This furthers the question of whether Hamlet has enough moral justification to take a life, especially one that is so beneficial to the country. This scene is also important as the first signs of Hamlet feigning madness are demonstrated to the audience. In act three, scene two the feature of a play within a play is portrayed. Claudius is outraged by what he sees Give me some light. Away. Hamlet interprets Claudius reaction to the play as unequivocal proof of his guilt. This a crucial turning point in the play. Up to now Hamlet has been unsure of whether or not to perform his duties. That he is assured by Claudius reaction (poor evidence in hindsight) may illustrate Hamlets degradation by the mission he has been set. Ill take the ghosts word for a thousand pound In Act three, scene four the death of Polonius can be seen to serve multiple purposes. In its most insignificant form it leads Ophelia further into the madness, which eventually leads to her death. Also it demonstrates how the revenge plot has affected Hamlet A bloody deed. Almost as bad as kill a king and marry his brother. He has killed, in cold blood and without provocation, the father of his love and yet seems to show little remorse. Can Hamlet still be seen as the hero of the play when he himself is placed in the same situation as Claudius? Polonius death introduces a secondary revenge plot. Laertes now has to avenge his fathers death, inviting the audience to compare Laertes and Hamlet as revenger. The alleged actions of Claudius have provoked a cycle of revenge plots, in which all involved are led to their deaths. The penultimate scene of the play affects the resolution of the three revenge plots. Hamlet and Laertes both achieve revenge, in doing they so they sacrifice their earthly bodies and possibly their eternal souls. Young Fortinbras revenge on Denmark for his country as he and his armies easily occupy, thus turning previous defeats on their head. Both Hamlet and Laertes at the beginning of the play were both well-liked and talented men; Hamlet had the possibilities of becoming king bestowed upon him. Yet at the end each die as a murderer who is damned to Hell. Hamlet in this form can be seen as a severe commentary on the idea of revenge, that it is the role of God to act upon those who have wronged, not the individuals. A modern audience may read Hamlet in ways different to that of a Jacobean counterpart would have viewed it in. Themes of religion are very strong in the play, and while an Elizabethan audience may have had a strong belief in the concepts of divine retribution, a modern audience may be less convinced by this. Religion is not as central to modern life as it was in the era the play was written. Thus issues such as deeds on earth having direct consequences on a persons fate in the afterlife- a crucial part of the genre, lessen in their importance.

Economic Issues in Mineral Based Economies

Economic Issues in Mineral Based Economies Why do Mineral-Based Developing Economies Face Economic Problems? The Case Study of Nigeria and Botswana 1. Introduction. Mineral-based economies have been defined as â€Å"those developing countries which generate at least 8 percent of their GDP and 40 percent of their export earnings from the mineral sector†. (Auty, 1993: p. 3). Two main categories of mineral-based economies have been identified. These include hydrocarbon producers and hard mineral exporters (producers of ores such as copper and tin). (Auty, 1993). Although one may reasonably expect developing mineral-based economies to witness tremendous economic development owing to their rich mineral resources, this has hardly been the case. According to Davis (1995: p. 1766) â€Å"mineral-based economies rather have development problems than development advantages†. In addition, Davis (1998) notes that economists and political scientists have recently proposed that mineral economies’ growth is below par, despite the mineral windfalls (rents) generated from mineral extraction. The mineral sector has even been classified as a ‘loser’ sector in the economic development race. (Shafer, 1994) cited by Davis (1998). Citing from a recent World Bank conference on mining and economic development, Davis (1995: p. 1765) states that several invited experts noted with concern the historical poor per capita economic growth of the mineral-exporting nations. In particular, participants from mineral-based developing economies were justly anxious about their fate. (Davis, 1995: p. 1765). In addition to fears of the â€Å"Dutch disease† and the â€Å"resource curse thesis† (explanations of these terms follow in subsequent sections), delegates were also concern about the appropriate policy response measures to these issues. (Davis, 1995). This paper aims at explaining why mineral-based developing economies rather face economic problems rather than economic development as one would expect. In meeting with this objective, the paper makes use of two case studies of mineral-based developing economies which include Nigeria (A hydrocarbon exporter) and Botswana (a hard mineral exporter). The rest of the paper is organized as follows: section two presents a literature review on why mineral-based economies rather face economic problems rather than economic development with particular emphasis on the Dutch Disease and the resource curse thesis; section 3 presents a discussion of the case studies making reference to their GDP growth, export revenue from mineral resources and per capita GDP; and section 4 presents some conclusions and recommendations. 2. Literature Review. Much of the literature has attributed underdevelopment of mineral-based developing economies to the Dutch disease. (Roemer, 1985) cited by Davis (1998) The Dutch disease is defined as a situation where an economy highly dependent on natural resources witnesses a decline in economic development as a result of a depletion of the natural resource or a sudden drop in the price of the resource. (Auty, 1993: p. 3). According to Davis (1995: p. 1768), the Dutch disease is a ‘morbid’ term that denotes the coexistence of booming and lagging sectors in an economy due to temporary or sustained increase in earnings. Mineral economies have been identified to generate an ideal environment for the disease given their notable minerals booming sector. (Davis, 1995). Mineral-based economies are characterized by a booming minerals sector at the expense of the manufacturing and agricultural sectors. (Davis, 1995). Ross (2003) suggests that mineral exports may cause economic volatility, inco me inequality, and crowding out of productivity growth in the manufacturing sector, which effects could increase poverty and reduce social welfare. Cordon and Neary (1982) cited in Auty (2001) explain the role of the Dutch disease on the deterioration of mineral-based economies using a three-sector model composed of a resource sector such as oil or other primary product exporting industry, a sector of tradeables, such as the manufacturing and agricultural sectors and non-tradeables. According to the model, a boom in the resource sector has three effects: a spending effect; a relative price effect and a resource movement effect. Looking at the spending effect, Auty (2001) suggests that the increased export revenues increases the demand for both tradables and non-tradables although spending on tradables fails to raise their domestic prices because prices in an open economy are determined in international markets. Consequently, any excess demand is met by imports. (Auty, 2001). Looking at the relative price effect, Auty (2001) suggests that failure to sterilize the increase in foreign exchange will result to an appreciation of the currency, which will in turn reduce the domestic prices of exports as well as those of imports competing with domestic products. In addition, a currency appreciation will lead to a reduction of the rents of the booming sector but may not be sufficient to reduce the sector’s output. (Auty, 2001). Domestic prices of non-tradables will rise with the rise in demand and these prices will neither be affected by the currency appreciation nor competitive imports. This will therefore result to an increase in the prices of non-tradables relative to the prices of tradables, as well as a reduction in exports and an increase in imports. (Auty, 2001). Macroeconomic theory suggests that the national income of a country is positively related to exports and negatively related to imports. The net increase in imports therefore leads to a reduction in the national income of the mineral-based State, which in turn hurts its economic development. Finally, as concerns the resource movement effect, Auty (2001) suggests that the movement of resources between sectors will also affect capital accumulation. Assuming a relatively labour-intensive non-tradable sector and a capital-intensive tradable sector, the movement in favour of the non-tradable sector will tend to raise wages and lower returns to capital thereby reducing capital accumulation. (Auty, 2001). In addition, assuming manufacturing is favourable to growth and that mineral resource booms cause it to decline, the mineral-based economy could experience slower long-term growth than the case would be if it had no mineral resources. (Auty, 2001). To support this view, Auty (2001) cites a number of studies that argue in favour of the fact that mineral resource booms tend to limit the growth of developing mineral based economies. For example, Matsuyama (1993It has also been sugges ted that mineral windfall facilitate irresponsible fiscal and trade policies. (e.g., Gelb, 1988; Ranis, 1991; Ranis and Mahmood, 1992) cited by Davis (1988). The issue as to why mineral-based economies remain underdeveloped is somehow controversial. (Auty, 2001). On the one hand, Mainstream economists have argued that primary commodity exports are the only way that countries in the early stages of development can generate the foreign exchange necessary to pay for essential imports and to service foreign debt. (Auty, 2001). On the other hand, Structurist economists (e.g., Presbish, 1950) cited by Auty (2001) argued that a long-run decline in prices for primary exports is an inevitable result of the increasing use of synthetics, shrinking raw material content of finished products and low elasticity of demand for raw materials. In addition Auty (2001) argues that oligopolistic markets in developed countries indicated that productivities increases there were captured in the form of higher income by workers and owners, while in the developing countries productivity gains were passed on to (northern) consumers in the form of lower prices. What the structurists economists are saying in effect is that mineral-rich developing countries because they lack the capacity to transform their raw materials into finished products often supply these products to developed or industrialized countries at very low prices. Industrialised countries in turn transform these raw materials into finished products and sell them to developing countries at very high prices, which do not match the prices for which they supplied their raw materials. By so doing mineral-rich developing countries continue to face declining levels of economic developing at the expense of developed countries. This idea is consistent with dependency theory[1]. For example, Presbish (1950) cited by Auty (2001) projected a downward trend in the terms of trade for primary products in relation to manufactured goods imported by developing countries from developed countries. In addition, Abubakar (1989: p. 19) describes Africa as a continent locked in an unequal exchange with t he developed world. Being perhaps the richest continent in the world, Africa has been transformed into undeniably the poorest continent. The following is a quote from Julius Nyerere, a prominent leader in Africa: â€Å"Every morning I listen to the B.B.C. to learn the price of the cotton and coffee with which Tanzania earns its foreign exchange. The prices of tractors and other goods we need to buy are not announced; they are fixed by the manufacturers in the Developed World, and we learn what they are when we go to buy†. (Abubakar, 1989: p. 19) quoting Julius Nyerere. 3. Case Studies of Nigeria and Botswana 3.1 Nigeria Nigeria falls in the first category of mineral-based economies identified by Auty (1993) as hydrocarbon producers. Minerals constitute 62.3% of the country’s merchandise exports and 9.6% of GDP and its mineral dependence index is 36 (the mineral dependence index is defined as the mean percentage contribution of minerals to GDP, merchandise exports, and government revenues). (Davis, 1995) citing Kuburshi (1984); United Nations (1974, 1976, 1987, 1993a, 1993c); World Bank (1993). Nigeria’s mineral dependence index of 36 indicates that it is highly dependent on minerals. This is following from Auty (1993) who considers a mineral dependence index of 20% or more to indicate mineral dependence. Nigeria was ranked 19th among developing countries that depended on minerals in 1970. This was based on the ranking of countries according to mineral dependence index in 1970. Based on 1991 rankings, Nigeria still maintained the 19th position and its minerals as a percentage of merchan dise exports had increased to 86.0 percent, minerals as a percentage of GDP stood at 7.6 percent and its mineral dependence index was 46.8 percent. (Davis, 1995). According to Eifert et al. (2002) oil represents an estimated 37 percent of GDP in Nigeria, and 63 percent of consolidated government revenues. The political economy of Nigeria has had an important role to play on how oil resources are managed in Nigeria. The public sector is the principal controller of these resources, which has fuelled the functioning of an extensive machinery of rent seeking a political patronage. (Eifert et al., 2002). Nigeria is characterised by a fragile ‘political coalition’ of diverse ethnic and religious groups with diverse interests. Eifert et al. (2002) asserts that public expenditures in Nigeria are always ratcheted out of control during oil booms, leading to macroeconomic instability owing to the diverse number of ethnic and religious interests that characterise the country. For e xample Eifert et al. (2002) suggest that an estimated amount of $300billion constituting oil revenues has enriched a small group politically and socially influential elite during the last 2 to 3 decades at the expense of the majority of Nigerians who have become impoverished. This indicates that Nigeria has failed to benefit from a general economic welfare from its oil boom because of the selfish desires of a small political influential minority. This situation is consistent with Gelb (1988); Ranis (1991); Ranis and Mahmood (1992) cited by Davis (1998) who attribute poor economic development of mineral-based developing economies to mineral windfalls’ facilitation of irresponsible fiscal and trade policies. Nigeria’s case is also consistent with Karl (1997); Mahon (1992); and Shafer (1994) cited by Davis (1998) who attribute mineral-based economies’ failure to achieve substantial economic development to the entrenched socio-political rigidity and rent-seeking ass ociated with an extended period of mineral extraction. According to Eifert et al. (2002) Nigeria’s economic growth has been stagnant and it is estimated that its per capita income has fallen from approximately $800 in the early 1980s to approximately $300 as at 2002. Nigeria’s failure to grow can be attributed to its government structure. Throughout the military regime described by Eifert et al. (2002) as a period of military dictatorship, the manner in which the oil cycle was managed was solely determined by the federal executive. Government spending was so high that in 1976 it accounted for more than the entire increase in oil revenue. (Eifert et al., 2002). Nigeria therefore faced rising fiscal and current account deficits following a failure of the 1975 oil price rise to bring the budget back into a surplus. By 1981, Nigeria had accumulated huge amounts of external debt, accompanied by capital flight. (Eifert et al., 2002). Increase government spending therefore fa iled to accelerate growth and there was little evidence of an increase in overall welfare that would have been expected during the sharp real appreciation that followed the spending binge. (Eifert et al., 2002). Eifert et al. (2002) attribute Nigeria’s failure to develop to the fact that its potential gains were rather absorbed in the sharply growing inefficiency of a corrupt and progressively more wasteful and distorted economy. Nigeria has made some efforts to adopt a democratic State but Eifert et al. (2002) conclude that the outcomes in the management of Nigeria’s oil cycle in the new democracy are thus so far not very different from the past pattern. This indicates that Political institutions in Nigeria are therefore shaped by a longer history than the current political regime. There is still an excessive an unsustainable increase in public expenditure, with considerable macroeconomic instability, and little to show in the growth and economic development. (Eifert, 2002). 3.2 Botswana. Botswana was ranked 35th in the mineral dependence index for developing countries in 1970. It had 0 percent for minerals as a percentage of merchandise exports, 19.6 percent for minerals as a percentage of GDP and 9.8 for mineral dependence index. (Davis, 1995). Following the ranking based on the minerals dependence index for developing economies in 1991, Botswana was ranked 8th with an 83.0 percent of minerals as a percentage of merchandise exports. Its minerals as a percentage of GDP had also increased to 41 percent and its mineral dependence index was 62.0. (Davis, 1995). Unlike Nigeria, Botswana falls in the second category of mineral-based economies with diamond, copper, nickel and coal constituting the principal hard minerals that it exported. (Curry, 1985). According to Curry (1985), Botswana, unlike other mineral-based economies in Africa that suffer from economic stagnation and political turmoil, Botswana has recorded an economic growth and political stability as a result of its fortuitous endowment of mineral wealth and sound macroeconomic management. Despite this development, Curry (1985) suggests that this growth strategy has produced underdevelopment and economic stagnation in rural agriculture, as well as increasing economic dependency on the republic of South Africa. Increases in mineral revenue has enriched the elite who have joined white farming families as the country’s large scale cattle owners, purchasing land and cattle from savings of relatively high salaries in the mining and public sectors. This situation has created two factions in Botswana. One rich and the other poor and there is an emerging clash between the rich and the poor that could destabilise and threaten an African success story as described by Curry (1985). In effect, mineral revenue in Botswana while it has helped to fuel economic development is threatening the growth of the agricultural sector and has also helped to widen the gap between the rich and the poor. Botswa na’s case is consistent with the Dutch disease which is consistent with the idea that a boom in one sector threatens a recession of other important sectors of the economy. The boom in the mineral sector has helped to fuel a recession in the agricultural sector in Botswana. 4. Conclusions and Recommendations This paper aimed at studying why mineral-based developing economies have witnessed more of economic problems than economic development. Nigeria’s case indicates that the country has suffered from autocratic and fractional democracies that have resulted to a poor management of the revenues from oil booms. As a consequence, mineral revenue has been spent without any fiscal discipline. This has led to the satisfaction of the desires of an influential minority at the expense of the welfare of the greater majority. Nigeria has basically not witnessed any economic development throughout boom in its oil sector. On its part, Botswana has witnessed growth and development as a result of its mineral resources. However, the boom in the mineral sector is hurting the agricultural sector and the situation has only benefited the rich who are using the mineral revenue to take over all land in Botswana for cattle rearing. Like Nigeria, Botswana’s mineral revenue has to some extent benefi t an influential minority. Based on the above, this paper recommends a more democratic regimes in mineral-based economies as well as an emphasis of the importance of all sectors in the economy. Governments in developing countries need to understand the importance of the manufacturing industry. Nigeria for example should be more concern about building its own oil refineries so as to boost its manufacturing industries. In Botswana, the government should implement high taxes on the rich elite so as to help redistribute the mineral income to the poor. Subsidies should be provided to the poor farmers. By so doing, there can be an equitable distribution of land, which will in turn boost the agricultural sector. Bibliography Abubakar A. (1989). Africa and the Challenge of Development: Acquiescence and Dependency Versus Freedom and Development. Praeger Publishers. New York. Auty R. M. (2001). Sustaining Development in Mineral Economies: The Resource Curse Thesis. Routledge. Auty R. M. (2001). The Underperformance of resource-abundant economies. Resource Abundance and Economic Development. Edited by R.M Auty. UNU/WIDER studies in Development Economics. Oxford. Curry R. L (1985). Mineral-based growth and development-generated socioeconomic problems in Botswana: Rural Inequality, Water scarcity, food insecurity, and foreign dependence challenge governing class. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, vol. 44, No. 3, pp. 319-336. Davis G. A. (1998). The minerals sector, sectoral analysis, and economic development. Resource Policy, vol. 24, No. 4, pp 217-228. Davis G. A. (1995). Learning to Love the Dutch Disease: Evidence from the Mineral Economies. World Development, vol. 23, No. 10, pp. 1765-1779. Eifert B., Gelb A., Tallroth N. B. (2002). The Political Economy of Fiscal Policy and Economic Management in Oil-Exporting Countries. Policy Research Working Paper, No. 2899. The World Bank, Africa Regional Office. Lievesley G. (2003).DependencyThe Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics. Ed. Iain McLean and Alistair McMillan. Oxford University Press, Oxford Reference Online. Tà ©treaul M. A., Abel C. F. (1986). Dependency Theory And The Return Of High Politics. Greenwood Press. New York. Footnotes [1] Dependency theory built upon the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA) which characterized the world as divided into centre (the developed, inudstrialised North) and periphery (the underdeveloped agricultural South). (Tà ©treaul and Abel, 1986; Lievesley, 2003). Dependency theory tries to explain the external mechanisms of control exerted by the centre on the periphery. The centre maintained the periphery in a state of underdevelopment for purposes of super exploitation. (Tà ©treaul and Abel, 1986; Lievesley, 2003). Dependency theory therefore indicates that underdevelopment was not an original or inherent condition, it could rather be explained by the historical relationship between the developed and developing world.

The Economic Future in the Year 2000 :: essays papers

The Economic Future in the Year 2000 The economy has performed exceptionally well for the past several years, combining rapid growth and very low unemployment with declining inflation. â€Å"Not only has the expansion achieved record length, but it has done so with far stronger growth than expected,† stated Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan in his remarks to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition annual conference in Washington (Business Week, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Economic Outlook, March 6,2000). Figures show that since 1996, the growth of GDP has averaged more than 4 percent, compared with an average of about 3 percent since 1973. Because of those four years of rapid growth, the unemployment rate has fallen to 4.1 percent, its lowest level since January 1970. Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation, excluding food and energy prices, had been vacillating at about 3 percent per year earlier in the decade but was roughly 2 percent over the past year (Bank of America, Economic in Brief, November 1, 1999). Much of the auspicious recent economic developments can be attributed to a surge in productivity growth. Alan Greenspan noted in his statement that output per hour in the non-financial corporate sector had increased since 1995 at nearly double the average pace of the preceding 25 years (First Union, Monthly Economic Outlook, March 7, 2000). This rapid productivity growth allowed the economy to grow at a faster pace without raising the rate of inflation. However, the growth of consumer demand is exceeding the increase of productivity—boosting employment, tightening labor markets, and raising concerns that recent growth rates may not be sustainable without sparking a rise in inflation. After spending the past several years, extolling the virtues of improved productivity in allowing higher growth with less inflation, the Federal Reserve Chairman, seemed to turn the tables in his Humphrey Hawkins testimony, stating that the spurt in productivity has produced expectation of hi gher profit growth, which, in turn, have resulted in higher equity valuations. That surge in equity prices is seen as the primary driver of the â€Å"wealth effect†, which he believes has created an â€Å"imbalance† between demand and supply, raising inflation pressures (Business Week, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Economic Outlook, March 6,2000). Speculations of this occurrence may over the long term indicate that the higher the trend growth of productivity, the lower the inflation rate—due to the restraint of labor costs.

Humans and machines Essay

The interesting feature about discussing the interactions of humans and machines is the inadequacy of language describing these interactions or the ambiguity of the connections between humans and machines. What is really at the center of the debate is how society should view the place of machines or non-human elements within human society. In addition, the application of the technological use of non-human elements in the modern machinery of war exposes the problem of how humans have changed the practice of warfare starting in WWI and how it made war evolve from a â€Å"human† experience to an â€Å"inhuman† experience instead of a â€Å"non-human† experience. The scope of this paper is to analyze the relationships of humans and machines in general as well as in the context of war. Discussion What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to be non-human? According to Casper, the human identity is not a natural state of â€Å"being†, rather it is a constructed identity in relation to the context that society gives it. (Casper, 1994) In fact, the recognition of human social identity and the positions or functions attached to it are based on our interpretation of where these elements should be placed, for example, in order to understand or define something, we place it in ‘mental boxes’ that simplify our recognition of identity and function within society. However, Casper argues that we cannot fully justify why we assign human identities to non-human elements or vice-versa. (Casper, 1994) In order to illustrate the lack of consistency as to what we call human or non-human, she uses the example of the fetus that is considered alive for surgery, â€Å"a potential human† with human qualities but also a non-human agent for medical research using fetal tissue (p. 843). Casper mentions The Actor Network Agency (ANT) movement who finds that we should do away with natural/technical and social/cultural labels, which confuses our notions of what is human and what is not. However, this â€Å"analytical symmetry† treatment forgets to explain how we interpret the identities of agents and assign labels. Understanding how and why we label humans and non-humans may help diffuse the confusion over agent identities that bother sociologists and society so much since they cannot seem to make sense of it, for example, some people talk to their car like it was a person but a car is not a person but why do some people have the need to anthropomorphize their car whereas they would call their dog â€Å"it†? Some people would insist that animals are living beings therefore that they deserve to be referred to as he or she. (Casper, 1994) Another example in our technological society is the factory worker who gets laid off and replaced by a robot. The worker knows that he or she is better than a robot. Yet, the robot does his or her job consistently, faster, and without breaks. So, is the worker a sophisticated robot or is the robot a sophisticated worker? Bruno Latour would agree on that ambiguity because of our inadequate handling of situations in which non-human entities are mixed with human agents, especially from the perspective of sociologists. (Latour, 1988) Latour deals with this debate skillfully using an illustration to make his points: the door in a wall, opening and closing thanks to hinges (non-human element) and a human door keeper who has been assigned to close the door each time it is opened. He argues that ‘the hinge always does its work’, precise and consistent while at some time, the human doorkeeper may falter. So, the door keeper could be replaced by a non-human element the ‘door keeper number 2’ to prevent the faltering. The fact that we call the non-human element the door keeper even though it is not human, shows that we do not have ascribed what Latour calls â€Å"a coherent vocabulary† to distinguish humans from non-humans. Thus, his conclusion (p. 310) is that the reason why we have not done that is because â€Å"the delegation of competences and our social interactions imply the participation of non-humans. † The confusion is that non-humans exist within a context of figurative/non-figurative speech, not a human/non-human context. In essence, that is why we anthropomorphize our car. (Latour, 1988) Consequently, it seems that our lives are intimately intertwined with the use of technology, machines, and other tools, including robots as well as computers that all are non-human agents indispensable to our way of life. In fact, one particular illustration of such a reasonable conclusion can be found with computer hackers who, for the most part, are not considered part of ‘normal functioning society. ’ Sherry Turckle investigated MIT A. I. lab students who also are considered hackers. The main recurring idea among these students (almost exclusively male) is the fear of social interactions with other people due to a lack of trust or understanding of social interactions. Hackers are known to be loners and self-admittedly feel in control of their computer and its actions. In fact, on p. 212, this one student states: â€Å"computers have become an extension of my mind. † (Turckle, ) Their self-esteem, their existence become defined only through their medium, resulting in a gradual elimination of life experiences that paralyze them, adding to their needs to mask their personal fears of the world that exists beyond their machine. (p. 208) In contrast, there are people who even today cannot use a computer because they are afraid of revealing to others their lack of computer knowledge that has become essential in our modern society. Some may get help to improve their computer skills whereas others become so angry with the machine, taking their anger, originating from their own lack of confidence in learning new things, onto this ‘stupid’ machine; some may even become technophobic. Unfortunately for our society, science and technology have been used for warfare. Historically, wars always needed improvement in their methods of killing. As a consequence, the development of technology became a part of warfare while its propaganda glorified science and technology as the agents of victory. (Virillio, 1988) (Delanda, ) This became especially true as scientific knowledge evolved in physics, engineering, and chemistry. When WWI broke out in 1914, the weapons available then were the first of their kinds, the most inhuman of their kinds, killing many soldiers remotely: either gassing soldiers with the deadly gas phosgene or using machine guns or canons with an extended range to kill as many enemy soldiers as possible. (Visvanathan, ) In WWII, planes, tanks, and ships became more and more sophisticated with technological advances like radar and sonar. The advent of using nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki horrified the scientists who naively believed that their work would be used to deter, not to destroy. (Kaempffert, 1941) â€Å"Fat Man† and â€Å"Little Boy† were dropped on these two Japanese cities; ironically, these two deadly bombs were named as if they were human themselves. To the Japanese, the nuclear catastrophe and its aftermath on the population promoted the creation of the character â€Å"Godzilla†, a pre-historic mutant monster. With the Cold War, more weapons gradually became stealth weapons instead of ‘front’ weapons. Nowadays, machines have turned into non-human extensions of their makers or rather their military masters, for example, long-range surveying equipment on satellites allowing spying activities on neighboring nations. Yet, is it appropriate to say ‘non-human’ when modern weapons like continental missiles can kill so horribly and from the comfort of a military base on the other side of the world? The military is relying on technology more than ever by using computers, artificial intelligence research, simulation modules that mimic a battlefield or even war video games whose graphics have been rendered so life-like that video gamers who are soldiers may not know reality from fiction, killing enemy soldiers without any care, as if they were video game characters, non-human or human? In conclusion, the relationship between human and non-human agents is complex but not impossible to characterize if the realization is made that non-human agents are part of our environment and society. In fact, they occupy a greater place today than 10 years ago (computer technology, for example). The key to their seamless integration in our society is the figure/non-figurative reference style proposed by Latour as it is already used unconsciously by many of us. References Casper, M. (1994).Reframing and grounding non-human agency: what makes a fetus an agent? The American Behavioral Scientist, 37(6): 839-856. Delanda, Latour, B. (1988). Mixing humans and non-humans together: the sociology of a door-closer. Social Problems, 35(3): 298-310. Kaempffert, W. (1941). War and Technology. The American Journal of Sociology, 46(4): 431-444. Turckle, S. (n. d. ) The new computer cultures: the mechanization of the mind. Book? , publisher, year? Virillio, P. (1988). War and Cinema. Visvanathan.

Canadian political culture

Canadian political culture Political culture is the shared opinions, values, and attitudes of people about politics. There are several similarities between the political cultures of Europe and North American countries. Most of the countries in these regions emphasize on constitutional law, regional autonomy, freedom of religion, and personal liberty.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Canadian political culture specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Some of the political ideologies originated from the French civil law, British common law, and the North American aboriginal regime. The Canadian government has set some goals that determine how it functions. These goals include the need to maintain peace, order, and good governance and are generally based on the Canadian political culture. The Canadian politics are encompassed of loyalty, tolerance, and compromise. The changes in the Canadian political atmosphere have been quite slow with a lot of negotiat ions and compromise compared to other nations. The most important political culture of Canada is democracy. Its citizens elect most political leaders. This popular sovereignty is only carried out during elections and when conducting national referenda. There are minimal referenda that have been carried out in Canada since the inception of democracy. The most common ones are the 1898 referendum on prohibition, the 1942 referendum on conscription, and the 1992 referendum on the Charlottetown Accord. Elections are carried out periodically and all the citizens of Canada are treated as equals during elections. Political freedom is exercised in Canada. A person is free to join any political party of interested. Every individual has the freedom to share personal political thoughts, expressions, opinions, beliefs, and conscience. In addition, the freedom of the press is also exercised.Advertising Looking for essay on political culture? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first pa per with 15% OFF Learn More Canadian constitution allows individuals to assemble provided that peace is maintained since the freedom of association is guaranteed in the constitution. This demonstrates the democratic nature of Canada. The Canadian politics are based on the majority rule whereby an individual who garners the largest number of votes becomes the political leader. However, the constitution protects the rights of minority groups. Other special groups that are protected by the constitution include the aborigines and women. The Canadian political values are quite different from those of the United States. For instance, the United States’ political culture revolves around liberty, pursuit of life and happiness, while the Canadian political culture focuses on good governance, peace, and order. This has resulted into the continental divide due to the differences in ideologies. The U.S. came into existence because of the revolutions against Britain. This made its political culture to be based on suspicion and individual freedom. Canadians are group-oriented and they believe in collective responsibility. Their origin can be traced back from the original French settlers. They are peaceful people bearing in min that they never formed any rebellion against the British. Other major communities in Canada are refugees from North America who fled during the era of revolution. These differences make Canada to be unique due to its corporatist and collectivist nature. However, the new generation in Canada is not in good terms with the current government. This has resulted into reduced party loyalty, civil rights movements, and low voter turnout during elections. Generally, Canadians are cautious, nonviolent, diffident, dependent, and tolerant society. Most of them observe individualism, egalitarianism, and particularism. The government of Canada is a constitutional monarchy. Besides, the form of government is federal in nature. The systems of law used in Canada are both the common and the civil law. Its ties with Britain are very strong since they share a queen. The queen exercises her powers through the governor who is the overall political leader in Canada.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Canadian political culture specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More