Abstract This paper examines two of the historically most consequential revolutions of modern times: The American Revolution and the French Revolution. The paper discusses how the revolutions are linked in terms of their chronological proximity to each other as well as by the fact that some of the same people were involved in both revolutions. Four particular aspects of each of the revolutions are presented and studied in comparison with the other revolution. These are: 1) The intellectual origins of these revolutions; 2) The range of socio-economic, and politico-religious factors that fed into the revolutionary attitudes of the peoples; 3) The institutional transformations that occurred as a result of each of these revolutions; 4) An assessment of the historical importance and historical consequences of each of the revolutions.
From the Paper "The intellectual origins of both of these revolutions are strikingly similar. The majority of intellectual antecedents were contemporary, or nearly contemporary, to the revolutions themselves but some were already hundreds of years old. When we read documents like the Declaration of Independence we find ourselves in awe of both the personal courage and the intellectual acumen of the men who wrote such words. But while they were certainly both brave and wise they did not in fact have to create the justifications for revolution that they depended upon out of whole cloth."
Tags: history, society, europe, enlightenment, colonies, quakers, locke, civil, war
This paper logically refutes Nozick's Entitlement Theory of Justice, which attempts to provide an account of what justice requires with respect to property.
1,220 words (approx. 4.9 pages), 1 source, 2002, $ 41.95
Abstract The paper states that Nozick's arguments against redistributive tax is not a valid argument, neither on the microscopic nor the macroscopic scale. The author believes that it cannot be said that any individual person has any right to a specific piece of property if Nozick?s's idea of property is correct and is to be the standard by which people are said to own property.
From the Paper "In "Anarchy, State, and Utopia", Nozick argues that redistributive policies in which the wealthy are taxed to help out poor people is unjust and give the poor property rights over the wealthy. The redistribution of wealth via the government is unjust because it violates all of these principles. First of all, the poor do not work for the wealth given to them, that is a violation of the first principle. Second, there is abundant opportunities for people to make money themselves (2nd principle). So why should the government hand the poor something that the wealthy person has presumably worked for? Lastly, the transfer of property is not just, because the wealthy personally and voluntarily do not agree with the transfer. Therefore, wealth redistribution through involuntary taxation results in the poor having property rights over the wealthy the case."
Abstract The paper examines two different philosophical concepts of the ideal society. It shows how Plato believed that humans are governed by three elements ? bodily appetites, spiritual elements and reason ? and how each person has a dominant element that determines his or her place in society. In Plato's ideal society, only people who are governed by the rule of reason should be allowed to rule as guardians. A society which allows the ill-equipped masses to lead will be chaotic, making it impossible for good people to live productive lives. It discusses how Marx, in contrast, believed that all human beings are creators, the natural essence of all humans is creativity and that human beings have triumphed over nature by creating society and social relations. The only way back to the creative human essence is moving back to a true communist state, one where people, no longer required to labor, are free to once again indulge in creative productive work.
From the Paper "Like the human soul, Plato also viewed society as an organism. In Plato's ideal society, each person's social role will be determined by the element dominant in his or her soul. People who are ruled by bodily appetites would make the best producers ? farmers, laborers, hunters, merchants and the others whose work sustains a populace's physical needs. People who are driven by honor, loyalty, fame and other spiritual elements should be members of a city's auxiliary and military staff (Lavine: 58).
Finally, there are the men and women who are ruled by reason. They are devoid of family ties and do not possess private property. Through years of training, they could enact laws and make decisions based on reason and wisdom, on what Plato termed the ?idea of the good.? (Lavine: 58)."
Tags: soul, elements, humans, guardians, reason, chaos, communism, work
Abstract This paper examines Machiavelli's classic writing, "The Prince", which is a practical handbook of political advice for leaders. The paper explains the best ways to gain and maintain political power. It describes the role of the monarchy and Machiavelli's theories to enlarge territory and dominate Europe. The paper is well thought out with historical examples of Machiavelli's political ideas, where morality is unimportant and the ends justify the means.
From the Paper "Machiavelli's work is primarily concerned with the actions of leaders and not the welfare of the people. He views ordinary people as pawns to be manipulated. People are divided into three groups in the book, leaders, nobles, and the populace. Throughout most of history, the people and the nobles have been pitted against each other. It is better for a prince to have the support of the people than the nobles because the nobles always want something from the prince, or they are a danger to the prince because they consider themselves to be his equal. The people, on the other hand, don?t usually ask for anything more than not to be oppressed (64). Machiavelli does believe that the people are easily deceived and should be deceived and manipulated. He says that, "it is well to seem merciful, faithful, humane, sincere, religious, and also to be so" (93). But, he goes on to say that a prince doesn?t really have to have any of these qualities; he just has to convince the people that he does have them. Machiavelli, further states that if a prince is inclined to deceive people, there will always be some among the people that can be deceived, even if the prince has lied to them before (93)."
Abstract This paper looks at the philosophical writings of Rousseau where he examines the natural state, the state of nature, from which man has been removed by civilization. Rousseau states that the idea of morality comes with the formation of civil society and precedes the formation of political society. In this work, Rousseau distances himself from the optimistic, enlightened, and progressive attitudes of the eighteenth century. The paper shows how Rousseau characterizes modern society as not only incorporating, but fostering and demanding, deep and hateful inequalities between people, leading them further and further into corruption and misery.
From the Paper "With the creation of private property, there developed a sense of insecurity and conflict leading to the creation of political society through the social contract. This was conceived of by Rousseau as a real contract between the governors and the governed, with the governors selected by the governed. This precludes a despotic form of government, at least at this stage, for such a form of government returns people to the state of nature in which all are the same and all moral distinctions vanish under the power of the despot. The social contract requires some form of consent. If we have become slaves, it is because we have ceded too much power to the despots and have allowed them to void the social contract."
Abstract This paper discusses U.S. history from 1855, when the U.S appeared to be the strongest it had ever been, to the outbreak of the Civil War, when Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860. The author points out the "Bleeding at Kansas", Dred Scott case, Slavery and the citizenship of "free slaves". The paper describes the election of 1860 and the secession of the Southern states.
From the Paper "By the time the elections of 1860 came around, the entire nation knew how vital this election would be to the tone of relations between the North and the South. Citizens were not sure whether the election could calm the fights, and resolve what had been happening in the past five years, or if the election would cause an all-out war between the North and the South. Stephen Douglas apparently warned that such actions might occur, while Abraham Lincoln and John Breckinridge "downplayed any such dire consequence, insisting, and believing, that the other side was bluffing" ."
Abstract This paper examines the concept of conventions, in particular those relating to responsibility within the British government and the cabinet. It comments on the effectiveness of the concept as a means of restraining executive power. The paper examines the role of the House of Lords in terms of the recent changes and proposed reforms.
From the Paper "In Britain we have an unwritten constitution, which involves a number of non-legal conventional rules. These conventional rules mostly deal with the major responsibilities of government and it could be said that in general they are rules of non-legal accountability. Therefore, accountability of government is widely based on conventions and these conventions will discuss in detail, particularly those relating to the accountability of both government ministers and members of parliament."
Tags: accountability, government, britain, cabinet, executive, power, england
This paper analyzes the U.S. policy of communist containment by looking at ideology, politics and people responsible for formulating policy: Reinhold Niebugr, George Kennan and the Truman administration.
2,250 words (approx. 9 pages), 6 sources, 1982, $ 79.95
From the Paper "The policy of containment that was created and articulated in the U.S. during the late 1940's was based on both ideological assumptions and concrete political actions. The analysis which follows will explore both dimensions of this process, focusing on the thoughts of Reinhold Niebuhr and George Kennan as well as the political decisions of the Truman administration.
"In January of 1947 a group of liberals met in Washington D.C. to form the Americans for Democratic Action. This group pledged to continue working within the Democratic Party and to fight Communism both at home and over ... "
From the Paper In "The Imperial Presidency", Arthur Schlesinger Jr. addresses the changing role of the president in the United States, noting the fact that by the early 1970s, when he wrote this book, the president had become almost an absolute monarch in certain matters. Schlesinger traces the history of the presidency and considers how the concept of the office has changed, how the men elected to this office have contributed to this change, and how the system functioned in the early 1970s.
Schlesinger begins with the Founding Fathers and examines what they intended and how they embodied the concepts in the Constitution for the new nation. He considers how the attitudes of the Founding Fathers influenced the direction of the presidency during the first few administrations. The Founding ... "
From the Paper "The purpose of this paper is to show how the separation of powers helps to make the U.S. Constitution work. One of the key principles of the U.S. Constitution that has helped it to endure for two hundred years is the separation of powers of the three branches of government - executive, legislative, and judiciary. The first section of Article I vests "all legislative powers" in Congress, while Articles II and III vest executive and judicial powers in the President and the courts, respectively. Each branch of the federal government has its own area of responsibility and is restrained from encroaching on the power of the other two branches. By separating the functions of executive, judiciary, and legislative branches, the Framers of the Constitution hoped to reduce the abuses of official power and restrain the government from infringing on the rights of the (...)"
Discusses the two major methods of policy analysis, which are often diametrically opposed in their conclusions: cost-benefit analysis & ethical analysis.
900 words (approx. 3.6 pages), 3 sources, 1989, $ 31.95
From the Paper " Underlying the analysis and recommendations embodied in Majchrzak (1984) is the difficulty encountered by theorists in getting policymakers to make use of their recommendations and ideas. Social science research is often treated as separate from real-world problems and as something that has nothing to offer policymakers in the real world. Majchrzak's aim is to bring theorists and policymakers together to show each what they have to contribute to the other and to make policy research and policy implementation part of the same larger process. To accomplish this, the author examines the nature of policy research and then considers how it is implemented in the research process. Majchrzak defines policy research as something that is "directed at providing policymakers with the options and information they need to solve the problems we face (...)"
From the Paper " "Perhaps no question is as central to political discourse as that of political leadership. For if there is an 'irreducible fact' of politics, it is that in any political society some shall be the rulers and some the ruled" (Dahl & Neubauer, 1968, p. 251). If that fact of consensus exists, it is perhaps the only one that accurately describes what a leader is. Political leadership is a difficult and somewhat nebulous term to define; some define it as a power relation, others a form of influence or persuasion, still others as the effect of individual personalities on the political system as a whole. Political leadership is also associated with both formal and informal organizational systems, organized or unorganized, and in groups of every size (Kellerman, 1986, p. xiii).
In looking at such issues surrounding political leadership (...)"
From the Paper "The purpose of this report is to discuss the social contract theories of Locke, Hobbes, and Rousseau.
The 18th century Enlightenment, an era that celebrated free inquiry, political liberty, and progress, saw the development of the theory of the social contract. This theory postulated a new political and social principle, which held that relations among individuals in a society, and between individuals and government, are governed by a social contract. Its chief proponents--John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau--were widely published on the Continent and discussed in learned journals, and their ideas became the philosophical cornerstone of democratic government. Indeed, the ideas of Locke and his contemporaries strongly influenced the political and moral philosophies of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the other architects of the (...)"
Issues and events leading to political development and turmoil in Nigeria. A look at key issues such as the discovery of oil, independence, economics, population, infrastructure and leadership.
1,125 words (approx. 4.5 pages), 12 sources, 1989, $ 39.95
From the Paper Introduction
" When oil was discovered in Nigeria, most people in the country thought that it was the best thing that had happened to the country..other than gaining its political independence. After several coups, a civil war, falling world oil prices, and other forms of instability, not everyone is still sure that the exploitation of the country's crude oil reserves was a total blessing. This research examines this issue.
The Development of Modern Nigeria
Nigeria is, in many ways, a unique country within the context of political development. The country emerged from colonial status in the post.World War II era with a greater reservoir of administrative and political expertise than was to be found in most of the other newly emerging independent..."
This paper examines the deregulation of the air transportation industry in the United States: Background, objectives, negative and positive effects on airlines and consumers and the role of Civil Aeronautics Board.
1,350 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 7 sources, 1990, $ 47.95
From the Paper "This research examines the deregulation of the air transportation industry in the United States. Specifically, this research addresses the question: Has airline deregulation been good or bad for the consumer?
The deregulation of the commercial airline industry in the US was initiated by the Carter Administration in 1978. The momentum was building for deregulation of the airline industry in the face of resistance by most of the minor and some of the major American airline companies. The primary reason for the unenthusiastic response to deregulation, on the part of the smaller airlines, was a fear that the larger airlines would (1) enter the profitable medium- ... "
