Abstract
"The End of Affluence" by Jeffrey Madrick addresses many of the important economic issues of our recent history. Madrick's book centers on the decline of our economy, not growth. Instead of focusing on the rising affluence of American families, Madrick focuses on the end of the American economic growth machine. And instead of focusing on the problems that economic growth can help solve, the author writes about the problems that economic stagnation has generated. It is the purpose of this paper to present the major themes of Madrick's book, "The End of Affluence".

Tags:end, of, affluence

Abstract
This paper examines "The End of Affluence" by Jeffrey Madrick, which centers on the decline of our economy and not the growth. It looks at how, instead of focusing on the rising affluence of American families, Madrick focuses on the end of the American economic growth machine and how, instead of focusing on the problems that economic growth can help solve, the author writes about the problems that economic stagnation has generated.

From the Paper
"Stagnant incomes also put significantly greater emotional pressures on family members, thus leading to higher divorce rates and more families with two working spouses. Children must then fend for themselves a good part of the day, and so they complete less homework and perform at lower levels in school. In some ways, federal education funding is also merely symbolic - never enough to be a significant contribution except in schools in very poor neighborhoods. But federal education funding is very important as a way of getting the country to discuss educational priorities. For more than 20 years, the focus was on equity; in the 1980s, it shifted more toward the economy. Today, neither issue seems to be part of the budget conversations."

Tags:economy, global, capital, gdp

Abstract
This paper explores ideas for reducing human environmental impact, citing the belief that environmental degradation is equal to the combination of population, affluence and technology. The author proposes that although many environmentalists argue that focusing on one or another of these factors is the key to environmental success, the relationship of these three factors is synergistic in nature, and they must be considered as a whole in order to sufficiently reduce environmental impact.

Outline:
Introduction and Background
Making an Impact Today
Affluence as a Tool
Technologies of Less
Conclusion

From the Paper
"In a discussion about birth control, McKibben uses the term "technology of less." He states that human beings have a trait that they share with no other species, "the gift of conscious self-restraint." I would like to carry this concept further to discuss technology in general. Much like affluence, technology is a tool. In itself it is not right or wrong, good or bad. As inventors and users of technology, we have choices about what we use and why we use it."

Tags:pollution, green, hybrid

Abstract
This paper discusses how there is no stopping the damage economic growth can do to the population and the environment unless major changes are made. The paper argues that especially in least developed countries, the fate of increased development will only hurt the tenuous relationship between economics, environment and population. The paper emphasizes that economic growth, poverty and affluence are absolutely agents of ongoing environmental degradation brought on by the unsafe and corrupt practices of our developing world.

From the Paper
"In the world today, one cannot think of anything as less than global and interconnected. Every factor- be it environmental, political, economic, social- touches and affects the furthest reaches of the earth. Economic growth is bound together with poverty, affluence and the erosion of earth's environment and there is no stopping the damage economic growth can do to the population and the environment unless major changes are made. Especially in least developed countries, the fate of increased development will only hurt the tenuous relationship between economics,..."

Tags:environment, policy, lcds

Abstract
According to Cunningham et al. (2005) "about 3/4 of the current consumption goes to the 1.1 billion people who live in affluence, while 1/4 of the consumption remain for the other 4.6 billion people". Needless to say, I live within the affluent world and as such am responsible for environmental degradation and resource use.

From the Paper
The Environment and Personal Responsibility The Consequences if my lifestyle According to Cunningham et al "about 3/4 of the current consumption goes to the 1.1 billion people who live in affluence, while 1/4 of the consumption remain for the other 4.6 billion people" (230). Needless to say, I live within the affluent world and as such am responsible for environmental degradation and resource use. My lifestyle has a consequence both on air pollution as well as resource use. By using the car, I contribute to air pollution. Air pollution is involved in acid deposition, global temperature changes and stratospheric

Tags:environment, impact, personal

Abstract
This paper scrutinizes the phenomenon of political correctness through the lens of three classic novels that deal with this topic. The novels, which each confront utopianism, are George Orwell's "1984", Ray Bradbury's "The Affluence of Despair" and Robert Bly's "Little Book on the Human Shadow". This paper demonstrates how these novels were conceived by the authors as spiritual warnings against what they considered destructive social trends. Through a review and critique of these stories, the author attempts to support his thesis that like the societies depicted in these novels, American society today is also endangered by utopianism. In America, asserts the author of this paper, it is the feminists, gays and other supporters of the liberal agenda who are most dangerous to true liberty.

From the Paper
"Orwell rightly noticed that in totalitarian country the government would try to deprive people of the sense of personal uniqueness, by making them to feel being just a particle of huge social machine. Since there is no way that people can be effectively deprived of their emotions and physical drives, Communist society will try to redirect them in such way that these emotions would be "harmlessly" released. The best way to do it is when person is encouraged to become emotional only within certain boundaries. An individual can be happy as long as it a "social happiness" and he/she is also allowed to feel hate, but only towards Party's enemies: "All over Oceania this morning there were irrepressible spontaneous demonstrations when workers marched out of factories and offices and paraded through the streets with banners voicing their gratitude to Big Brother for the new, happy life which his wise leadership has bestowed upon us." (Orwell, p. 15)."

Tags:liberty, individualism, utopia, liberal, totalitarian, democracy, freedom, society, feminist

Abstract
This paper examines the increase in international household penetration of the Internet. Nearly all companies are able to have a global presence with the addition of a single website and therefore drastically improve their overall performance and profit margins. Different countries are analyzed to ascertain the percentage of domestic Internet access.

In the Average Household
Different Levels of Household Penetration by the World Wide Web
Reasons for Variations of Household Penetration
Implications on International Marketing

From the Paper
"There can be no question that technological advance in countries around the world has dramatically influenced global marketing concepts for many companies. As smaller developing nations begin to access the World Wide Web and as household penetration of the Internet increases across the world, nearly all companies are able to have a global presence with the addition of a single website. By targeting these developing countries though proper global marketing strategies, companies with an international presence can drastically improve their overall performance and profit margins."

Tags:Internet, domestic, access, international, penetration, marketing

Abstract
This paper discusses the book written by sociologist Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo. It explores the questions of class and the possible existence of a feudal system in the United States. Feminism, immigrant culture, and economic class stratification are examined in this paper in relation to domestic workers.

From the Paper
"The fifth surprising point that is found in this book is the idea of a trend in domestic employment having "global" origins as well as globally encountered economic consequences. It seems almost as if it has once again become necessary to connect the "worker" with the economic structure such as what Marx attempted to do in his description of capitalism. The idea of globalization does not seem congruent with a "rehash" of basic macroeconomics. Apparently, however, the two are aligned and the relationship between them is alluded to in the book, Domestica: Immigrant Workers Cleaning and Caring In The Shadows Of Affluence. There are three areas in which the sociological aspects of study are relevant to the reading of this book: feminism, immigrant culture and economic class stratification; in the vernacular: sexism, racism and classism. The driving force is the combination of feminism and racism, or how immigrant women can impact the social changes necessary for gender and economic equality."

Tags:sexism, racism, servants, class

From the Paper
"On the first page of his 1958 bestseller, The Affluent Society, John Kenneth Galbraith wrote that "wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" (1). What he tried to point out was that, although getting gain had been a primary pursuit of Americans long before 1958, endless increases in production--even with an increasing ability to take a guiding hand in manufacturing demand--had become the key to contemporary affluence. And, while this had been producing ever-greater gain for some, it was also engendering severe want and other social problems at a correspondingly rapid rate. Those whose primary goal is the getting of gain had been proceeding without regard for the way this shaped society. And, wrapped up in increasing gain, these Americans seemed incapable of appreciating that want in others would eventually reach critical mass and prove to work..."

Abstract
The paper presents the argument that overwork-related affluence ruins a family. Instead of spending time together, even doing mundane tasks, that time is spent either working still more and making yet more money, or in individual pursuits. The paper maintains that the 'super-size' culture of the United States-a result of this affluence-is wrecking children and their families. The paper stresses the need to have a parent available to raise young children because children have developed the concepts of reward and punishment in the first year of life, so it is axiomatic that overworked parents 'buying children off' will be counterproductive within a generation.

From the Paper
"When one is speaking about the effects of parental overwork and, in most cases perhaps, greater affluence (although one cannot discount the families in which parents are overworked and are barely able to keep the family financially afloat), the factor of community must necessarily be involved. Indeed, as Rubio points out, in affluent families-at least those in which the affluence is the result of career-focused, overworking parents-the concept of community shifts from sports and volunteer work to hired help; people to mow the lawn, clean the house and so on. In this sense, it is easy to see how the argument that overwork-related affluence saps the integrity of the family. Rather than spending any time even doing mundane tasks such as cleaning the swimming pool together, that time is arguably spent either working still more and making yet more money, or in individual pursuits. In any case, whether there is any excess time available to family members because of the hired help, the sense of community has changed from interactions between family and church or charitable organizations or sports teams to interactions (probably minimal at that) between family members (and probably not all of them) and hired help."

Tags:culture, affluence, Western, consumerism