Abstract This paper examines critically the disagreements over international trade issues which led to the failure of the trade negotiations at the November 30-December 3, 1999 meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Seattle, Washington. It discusses how the 134 trade ministers who met in Seattle failed to agree on further liberalization of the global trading system because of substantive differences among the developed nations and between them and the less developed countries (LDCs) over a wide range of issues. It analyzes how the anti-WTO demonstrations, marches and sporadic violence outside the convention center where delegates to the WTO conference met did not cause those disagreements, but how the debacle in Seattle reflected the growing political strength of the forces of economic nationalism which has arrested progress toward further reduction in international trade barriers.
From the Paper "One reason the conference failed was that it was hastily arranged without pre-agreement among any of the participants even as to the items to be placed on the agenda of the conference. The term of the previous director general of WTO, an Italian, Renato Ruggiero, ended on April 30, 1999. Between then and September a debilitating struggle over his successor ensued. Japan and most Third World members supported the candidacy of Thai Supachai Pantichpakdi while the United States and the European Union (EU) favored Michael Moore, a former Prime Minister of New Zealand, who was ultimately selected, but did not take office until after September 1. The Economist said that "preparations for Seattle started later and little common ground was found." Barchefsky was preoccupied with the WTO negotiations with the PRC and other trade disputes."
Abstract A review of Karl Marx's "The Communist Manifesto". Written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848. The writer claims that this book has grown into the most influential, most criticized and most well-known political pamphlet ever written. This paper explores how Marx and Engels describe the process by which humanity has become divided into two distinct and opposing social classes: The proletariat - the property-less working class and the bourgeoisie or the property-owning class.
From the Paper "The Communist Manifesto" opens with the assertion that "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles"(p. 57). From this, the essence of the Manifesto is derived. Marx and Engels present humanity as divided most distinctly along lines of social class. As the world has traversed into modernity, the nature of this distinction has simplified."
Abstract This paper briefly analyzes Karl Marx's Labor Theory of Value. It looks at the way that it is introduced in "The Communist Manifesto" in 1848 and the discusses how the ideas developed in his book "Das Kapital"
From the Paper "Karl Marx, champion of the fabled proletariat, criticized capitalism as a means of alienating man from his labor. Specialization and the division of labor, bourgeois control over the means of production, and the advent of machine-powered industry all combined to establish capitalism as the enemy of the common workingman. In the new configuration, capitalism concentrated wealth and property in the hands of the few, while the labor of the many sustained the system. Marx's Labor Theory of Value deals with the nature of proletarian labor, and how it suffers under the capitalist construct."
Abstract This paper provides an overview of the history and structure of the United Nations. The writer explains the functions of the U.N. and present day membership and concludes with an analysis of its effectiveness and viability for future success or failure under the rubric of an international governmental system. The paper explores the six principal organs of the U.N., all of which were established under the dictum of collective security.
From the Paper "In April 1945, there was an organizational meeting held in San Francisco to discuss the initial structure and membership of the United Nations. This conference had many items on its agenda, but none more pressing than a discussion of some of the events that had recently taken place at the Yalta Conference between the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union. Most important, it was during the San Francisco Conference that the debating character of the United Nations first began."
Tags: government, politics, international, world, war, two, league, nations
Abstract Social change takes place at all times, with some change occurring through design and others because of the interplay of forces in society. The paper shows that social change can be explained in many ways and the approach of Marx and Engels, as detailed in "The Communist Manifesto", both explained social change and encouraged specific changes, calling on followers to perform certain actions in order to assure change in a specific direction.
From the Paper "The conceptions of Marx and Engels derived from their view of the nature and origin of society. Marx had a conception of human history based on dialectical materialism. This conception includes the underlying idea that the determining factors in the development, relations, and institutions of mankind are not mystical or ideological but economic. All human actions are rooted in labor activities and in the nature of the relations deriving from those activities. Human beings must secure a livelihood, and to accomplish this they organize their productive forces to operate throughout the resulting economic spectrum."
Abstract The history of federalism in the U.S. has been one in which the struggle or conflict between the central government and the states has continued to this day. The paper shows that the central concern of the 2000 Presidential election was how much power the federal government should have in relation to the states and individuals--with respect to taxation, abortion, education, health care and so on. Clearly, the contentious debate over federalism is as alive today as it was over 200 years ago at the founding of the nation. The paper explains that the purpose of federalism was to maintain a central government which was strong enough to keep the states together, to provide security for those states and through those states and yet to be restricted from gathering too much power unto itself which would lead to the kind of tyranny the colonists had just thrown off through the Revolutionary War.
From the Paper "The inclusion of the Bill of Rights was one of the first essential compromises on the part of the Federalists in order to get the Constitution ratified by the states. Jeffrey St. John writes, for example, of the delicate balance of James Madison, a Federalist, in hammering out one agreement. The Anti-Federalists called for a ban on a peacetime professional army, but Madison offered "the Second Amendment, giving citizens the right to keep and bear arms, and the Third Amendment, banning the quartering of troops in private homes in peacetime and requiring a law to do so in wartime" (St. John xxii). Madison thereby won federalism the strong arm of a military instead of leaving protection of the new nation to separate state militias."
Tags: Bill, of, Rights, Clinton, Civil, War, New, Deal
Abstract This paper examines how in his book "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism", Max Weber brings together material published in the form of two long articles in 1904 and 1905. It looks at how in these articles Weber tries to show the beginnings of capitalism and to relate this to the spirit of the Reformation, when Protestantism developed, breaking away from the control of the Catholic Church asserted a religious independence and a different social view that had an influence on economic matters. It discusses how Weber finds that there is a connection between being Protestant and being a business leader and an owner of capital since statistics show this to be a fact in his own time and also to be a historical fact.
From the Paper "Benjamin Franklin represents the colonial era as an icon, and Weber looks to passages from Benjamin Franklin for a sense of the meaning of the spirit of capitalism. Weber finds that the spirit of capitalism involves the desire to make money and then more money and that this is combined with the strict avoidance of all spontaneous enjoyment of life, so it is quite distant from hedonism. Acquisition is the ultimate purpose of life and is no longer subordinated as the means for the satisfaction of material needs. Weber cites several cases to show how the spirit of capitalism infuses different groups in society, such as the laborer or the entrepreneur. "
Abstract Certain ideas about the relationship between education, poverty, and employment opportunities are assumed by much of society. Firstly, it is assumed that gaining a formal education is a key to achieving advancement and to attaining employment opportunities. Poverty is seen as reducing one's ability to gain an education, just as gaining an education is seen as a way of overcoming poverty. The social importance of education is emphasized again and again in the literature on education and also in the literature on various social problems. This paper examines the writings of several writers including Jonathan Kozol in his book "Savage Inequalities" and Jean Anyon in "Ghetto Schooling". The paper discusses how these writers analyze these issues in various ways.
From the Paper "Education as it is formulated in theory is based on a number of familiar assumptions in American society, assumptions about intelligence, the profession of teaching, and public policy concerning the structure and financing of education, all of which enter into the sense of school as a fairness zone. The first assumption is that intellectual ability is a quality that an individual possesses as the result of biogenetic causes and that the individual develops or fails to develop as a matter of personal volition."
Tags: Supreme, Court, segregation, Sol, Stern, William, Henry
Abstract This essay deals with John Locke's views and promotion of empiricism. The essay proves that Locke's theory of empiricism is still relevant in today's society. The main points of the essay deal with Locke's rejection of innate ideas, the fact that all ideas are a result of reflection or sensation, and that observations are either simple or complex.
From the Paper "The idea that humans are born with prior knowledge is known as innate ideas. Innatists such as Plato believe that mental contents exist in the mind prior to any past experience. Locke highly disagrees with this concept and rejects every aspect of an idea being innate. Locke believes that since children and mentally disabled people cannot rationalize or think abstract thoughts like a mature person, ideas cannot be innate. Locke states ??"tis evident that all children and idiots, have not the least apprehension or thought of them: and the want of that is enough to destroy that universal assent, which must needs be the necessary concomitant of all innate truths"? (Locke, 60). Locke believes that since children and those who are mentally disabled cannot think as complexly as grown adults, it is because they have to gain knowledge through life experiences, therefore, ideas cannot be innate. Locke also suggests that ideas cannot be innate because he strongly believes in, and promotes the theory of empiricism. Locke believes "the mind to be, as we say, white paper, void of all characters, without any ideas" (Locke, 109). Locke holds that we come into the world with a clear mind ready to learn. If innate ideas were true then children would have the same knowledge as an adult has, though it is clear that children do not. Today, Locke's rejection of innate ideas and promotion of empiricism is an acceptable explanation for the way humans think. Humanity accepts Locke's explanation because it is very relevant and cannot be disproved."
An examination of the views of democracy through the writings of Alexis de Tocqueville in "Democracy in America" (c1830) and John Stuart Mill, author of "On Liberty" (1859).
Abstract This paper discusses how Tocqueville and Mill find common ground amid the backdrop of the mid-1800s, finding cause for concern over the potential for a tyranny of the majority in a modern democracy, noticing the slippery role of authority in a "democratic" system, and ultimately recognizing the need for a new conception of liberty in the modern age. It shows how these two great thinkers weave their philosophies together seamlessly in some respects, and appear to depart radically in others.
From the Paper "Alexis de Tocqueville, author of the indomitable Democracy in America, perceived in the United States of the 1830s the rudimentary traits of the world's first modern democracy. Tocqueville's conceptions of liberty, authority, and the consequences of democracy have aided students of the American way of life, illuminating the many unique characteristics(and contradictions) that define the modern democratic experiment. Similarly, John Stuart Mill, author of "On Liberty"(1859), undertakes to extrapolate from the human condition and the democratic experiment a theory of liberty that clearly defines the rights of all individuals."
Abstract A history or the conflict between Cuba and the United States. The paper presents the conflict as originating with American policy towards the communist state, beginning at the end of Cuba's struggle for independence from Spain. After presenting the causes of this "war", the paper offers a look at the effects, including economic, cultural, political and historical.
From the Paper "The U.S. began their direct involvement in Cuba at the end of Cuba's war for independence. Though there was little effort necessary to push the Spanish out of Cuba and its other possessions, the U.S. quickly used the opportunity to establish a significant military presence in Cuba after the end of the Spanish-American war. That position was quickly used to U.S. advantage when the addition of the Platt Amendment to Cuba's new constitution was made a condition to the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Cuba."
Tags: fidel, castro, missile, crisis, communism, spain, revolution, carter
Abstract The distinction between a utopia and a dystopia is often in the eye of the beholder, for what some see as working, others see as failing. The paper shows how Thomas More, in his "Utopia", suggests what society ought to be, while George Orwell in "1984" warns about what society might become. Some aspects of the forms of government depicted by the two are similar, but the emphasis given these issues by their authors are different. The paper shows that the governments depicted by both More and Orwell are communist in nature, but More emphasizes the beneficial aspects of such a system while Orwell finds the harmful core and pushes it to the fore.
From the Paper "One of the means taken to control the population is the careful use of language, which in Orwell's term is called Doublespeak, or seeming to say one thing while meaning another. This is a familiar concept used by government to sugarcoat terminology so as to make it seem more benign than it is or to counter criticism before it develops. In 1984, the Ministry of Truth is dedicated to altering history and creating lies, but the shift in language need not be so blatant as that. We hear terms all the time which in some degree sanitize the behavior being described. Instead of talking about genocide or outright murder, we talk of "ethnic cleansing."
Tags: King, Henry, VIII, Animal, Farm, Soviet, Union
Abstract Bob Woodward's "Bush at War" depicts a confident, charismatic President Bush who knows what he wants and uses the resources of his cabinet to discover the best method for achieving his goal. This is not to say that he won?t listen to his advisors, but his focus is on making reality conform to his vision rather than vice versa. The paper examines how some of Bush's advisors, such as George Tenet, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, are depicted in the book as taking a hard-line stance on America's war against the Taliban in Afghanistan, while others, such as Condoleeza Rice and Colin Powell, voiced concerns about the U.S. war effort. Bush listened to both sides and, although he decided to invade Afghanistan in the wake of September 11, the plan was affected by the input of those who had concerns about the war. The paper shows that ultimately, Woodward paints the picture of an administration firmly controlled by the president, but also shows that the vibrant and sometimes heated debates within the administration do ultimately affect policy.
From the Paper "The precipitating event, of course, for the invasion of Afghanistan was the September 11, 2001, attacks on America. Following a string of evidence which had mounted from previous attacks on American targets, including the previous attempt at bombing the World Trade Center, the administration decided that the terrorist force known as Al-Qaeda was responsible for the attacks and that much of the financial backing and overarching organizational structure of Al-Qaeda lay in the hands of Osama bin Laden. Since, bin Laden was known to be in Afghanistan, and since Afghanistan's ruling Islamic fundamentalist government, the Taliban, controlled the country and was known to support terrorists, the U.S. decided invasion was necessary to strike back at the terrorists in the heart of their organization."
Tags: 911, Dick, Cheney, Al-Qaeda, World, Trade, Center
Abstract This paper argues that the U.S. Department of Defense and other branches of the federal government capitalized on the fear of another terrorist attack, by erecting a series of security measures since September 11. The most notable of these is the USA PATRIOT Act (HR-3162), passed in October of 2001 which stands for ?Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.? The paper explains that the USA PATRIOT Act permits wiretapping without judicial orders, deportation of legal residents of the United States based on suspicion, secret searches of citizens? offices and homes and measures. The paper argues that many of the permissible acts included in the USA PATRIOT Act are discriminatory and that there is nothing "patriotic" about violating Fourth Amendment rights or stripping ordinary citizens from their basic civil liberties. The paper shows that these bills and laws offer a lot of power to the FBI, the police and to other governmental bodies. millions of Americans are still willingly surrendering their personal rights and freedoms in favor of a false sense of security. Finally, the paper argues that the aura of paranoia that currently pervades the United States fuels the fascist-like measures supported by Attorney General Ashcroft, measures which have far-reaching implications for American citizens.
From the Paper "The problem with this approach is that the civil rights of American citizens, legal residents, and visitors is violated. Most Americans would be willing to undergo enhanced security checks at airports. In fact, Gore Vidal, in his article ?The New War on Freedom,? cites a CNN/Times poll conducted a few days after the terrorist attacks of September 11 which showed that 74% of people believe ?it would be necessary for Americans to give up some of their personal freedoms,? (Vidal). However, in the wake of the terrorist attacks, the federal government was able to sneak the USA PATRIOT act by Congress and the American people. Without protest, Americans are giving up their power to law enforcement agencies, under the assumption that some loss of freedom is necessary."
Tags: death, penalty, Muslim, Department, of, Justice, INS
Abstract ?Looking Backward: 2000-1887? revolves around the author's portrayal of a society formed after a revolution that liberated the people from the terrors of capitalism. In this idealized version of the future, individuals and nations had abandoned the separate groupings and wishes of the former frenzied era in order to establish a communitarian utopia characterized by a singular party for the nation. This paper examines how some of Bellamy's pre-assumptions on human nature, history and social relationships shaped his novel.
From the Paper "Nevertheless, Edward Bellamy's presumptions fell short of a thoughtful analysis. In his liberation of individuals and safeguarding of human rights, Bellamy lost his grip on the basic element of collectivism in his utopian collectivist community. It is apparent that Bellamy's fabricated society rests upon an institution of isolated individuals, since less is told on the practical working and functioning of the society. An example of this is the telecommunication system setup in Bellamy's world that destabilized and weakened social interaction. Seemingly, hardly any one used to go to concerts and very few people went to churches as the purpose was served through telephonic, counseling, sermons and entertainment (Abrash, 1991)."
