An overview of the contributions of both Smith and Marx, as well as an examination of both systems, which concludes that the market system is indeed preferable to laissez-faire.
1,020 words (approx. 4.1 pages), 12 sources, 1999, $ 36.95
Abstract This paper provides a good overview of the contributions of both Smith and Marx, as well as a good examination of both systems, while coming to the conclusion that the market system is indeed, preferable to laissez-faire.
Abstract This paper explains that the relationship between laissez-faire city building and professional city planning is a complex one to examine because city planning is influenced by a combination of sporadic growth and the meticulous planning of professional developers, political leaders and outside forces. The author points out that the most obvious causes of laissez-faire urban growth are sudden bursts of economic culture and political posturing; however, even these cities, experiencing random growth, have been carefully planned or they would not have been able to accommodate the population bursts associated with the history of cities. The paper relates that San Diego is an example of an urban area, which was developed over time without the sporadic growth of industrial centers to conflict with its overall planning; although it is eight times its size since the 1900s, because the development of the city has been slow, urban planners and architects have been able to design it to be the optimum example of modern city growth.
From the Paper "The growth of ancient cities into modern ones entails many chance and random coincidences. The fact that London and Paris has stood as such cultural and economic powerhouses is due in a large part to their status as capitols of major countries, whereas other cities such as Sussex have fallen into relative minority status even though they were once also giants of industrial growth. The concept of city growth is in line with a familiar concept of economic change, therefore when cities suddenly experience an influx of immigration due to industrial growth, city planners are more concerned with accommodating the new residents with space rather than thinking of the future convenience of roads and congestion. Thus in many of these ancient cities that have been modernized in the current era, living conditions are poor and traffic congestion has become an enormous problem".
A comparison of "Slavery: A Problem in American Institutional and Intellectual Life" by Stanley M. Elkins and "Ordeal By Fire: The Civil War and Reconstruction" by James M. McPherson.
Abstract This paper compares the way in which Stanley Elkins, in "Slavery: A Problem in American Institutional and Intellectual Life", and James McPherson, in "Ordeal by Fire: The Civil War and Reconstruction", both introduce their works and how both works deal with the subject of church influence, slaves' autonomy over their lives and the laissezfaire form of capitalism. The paper then examines both authors' evidence and compares which work is the more accurate one.
Outline:
Introduction
Religion
Slaves and Masters
LaissezFaire Capitalism
Evidence Presented for Their Books
Which Author is More Accurate
From the Paper "Prior to discussing the agreements and disagreements between the two authors chosen for this paper, it is worth examining - and this gives readers a clue as the thinking of the two authors - how the two introduce their subjects. In his book Slavery, Stanley Elkins insists that the same moral arguments - right or wrong - have existed for as long as slavery has been around both as a cruel reality and as a historical and economic fact of American life. "It continues to be the same debate," he writes (Elkins, 1968, I); all the sources that historians and journalists use to explore the history of slavery "have now been mined and re-mined." So a reader wonders why a historian would delve into a subject that has hitherto been "mined and re-mined" (Elkins, 2). Elkins' introduction sets up a challenge for him to deliver a book that doesn't just repeat what others have already written, which is an interesting approach."
Abstract This paper is a detailed review of the life and principal works of Adam Smith, including "The Wealth of Nations", with an analysis of how his ideas on laissez-faire economics contrasted with those ideas of Karl Marx, and how his and Marx's ideas apply today.
From the Paper "Adam Smith was one of the most influential people in the lives of each of living at the beginning of the 21st century, although ? ironically ? we tend not to see the extent of his influence simply because it is so vast. It is like the air around us, something essential to our environment but impossible to see. But while oxygen supports us as biological entities, the ideas Smith (along with other key social critics and thinkers like Karl Marx) in their different ways support us as social animals.
This paper explores the contributions of Adam Smith to our understanding of the human condition, looking briefly at the personal backgrounds of this political philosopher before examining his ideas about social justice, the economy and the ways in which governments should and should not intervene in the economies of their states."
Tags: economic history theory Adam work industrialization agrarian society, modern economy laissezfaire karl wealth of nations moral sentiments voltaire candide
Abstract Smith's argument that laissezfaire economics can reconcile personal freedom with peaceful social coexistence in a maximal state of "opulence".
Abstract This business paper discusses management styles. Autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire, and situational leadership styles are analyzed. Since scenarios keep changing and especially because the recent years have seen vast transformation in organizations all over the world, the situational style of management is identified as the most appropriate approach.
Abstract American politics from the late 19th to early 20th centuries were marked by an increasing awareness of the role that government plays in the lives of the people. This paper points out that, reaching an apex under the New Deal policies of Roosevelt, the government, since the early rise of Populism, steadily increased its level of support and decreased the level of its laissez-faire policies. It explains that Populism, which initially was organized to protect small farmers and run checks on the excesses of capitalism, was a movement that came to be associated with racism, as was its replacement, the more urbane Progressivism, with its ideas of social conscience in response to polar free-market excesses. It explains how and why, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Americans began to change their minds about the level of government that was needed in their everyday lives.
From the Paper "Americans began to change their perceptions of how government should work in the latter part of the nineteenth century and the early decades of the twentieth century.Starting with a laissez-faire attitude, conditions of increasing industrialization gave rise to many new reformist political ideas. Two such ideas were populism, which hoped initially to nationalize certain industries and end capitalist exploitation of workers and farmers, and Progressivism, which also sought to curtail what were being seen as free-market excesses through government intervention. This idea of government support was most clearly emphasized by the New Deal policies of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who helped the country out of a serious depression by increasing governmental involvement in everyday life, which was the opposite of the traditional "hands off" policy that, perhaps, led the nation into the Great Depression."
Abstract The paper explains free enterprise (FE) as the principle that individual people and companies should be allowed to pursue their own enterprise without threat from over-regulation by government and from government intervention. The paper details the basic components of private property, a free press and a laissez-faire economic environment. The paper explores the benefits of FE for a state and its people if implemented correctly.
Outline:
What is It?
What Can FE Do?
Basic Underlying Components
Free Enterprise and How to Use It
Government in Free Enterprise
From the Paper "American Free Enterprise (FE) has its foundation in the principles of free enterprise and capitalism as outlined by Adam Smith in his ground breaking work on economic theory, The Wealth of Nations: "...the basic principles were first laid down in a book published in 1776 by the Scottish economist Adam Smith (1723-1790). Known as The Wealth of Nations...it has often been referred to as ''the bible of capitalism''..."(Shaffer 1). One of the basic tenets of FE as propounded by Adam Smith and as embraced by the United States is that individual people and companies should be allowed to pursue their own enterprise without threat from over-regulation by government and from government intervention."
Abstract This paper examines the controversial issue of cultural fairness in psychological tests, specifically tests relating to evaluations of intelligence. The paper starts off by presenting the issue and then defines, in short, what it means to be culturally fair. Finally, the paper considers some examples from actual psychological intelligence tests pointing out either how the tests can be culturally unfair or fair.
From the Paper "Intelligence tests are a major part of psychological testing. Schools, especially, rely on evaluations made by intelligence tests in determining best how to meet the needs of either troubled or gifted members of the student body. But the reach of intelligence tests has even extended beyond guidance counselor offices. Some universities are employing intelligence tests as predictors of performance. It's not even unimaginable that a prospective employer might fall back on the results of an intelligence test to determine promotions or pay scale differences. For those reasons it is potentially important to understand the possible fallacies that are built into these tests. However, it is crucially important to understand those limitations because intelligence tests are routinely used to shape and guide the academic careers of young children."
Abstract The paper discusses how analyzing the social, economic and political effects of the Chicago World Fair of 1893 reveals the shocking hypocrisy that pervaded American society in the late nineteenth-century. In Gilded Age America, the wealthy and powerful were idealized and worshipped as social, economic and political icons, despite the fact that many of them were ruthless, corrupt, egomaniacs who considered themselves above the law. The paper discusses how the Chicago World Fair was a national monument to hypocrisy, for it was a microcosm of America itself in this era of greed and psychological self-delusion.
Abstract "Vanity Fair" is a satire of the romantic novel typical of the Victorian period. This essay illustrates how the author, William Makepeace Thackeray uses an unconventional and realistic style of writing supported by a strong use of irony as his weapon, to create a "novel without a hero"
From the Paper "Equally entertaining and enlightening, William Makepeace Thackeray's "Vanity Fair" is an eye opening satire of not only the idealistic outlook of popular culture but also of the romantic novel which set the tone for literature in the 1800s. Teeming with tedious tirades and seemingly dull details, this piece of classic literature fails to maintain the attention of the superficial reader who does not recognize Thackeray's use of detail to develop the characters and the theme. Straying from the common format of the romantic novel typical of the period, "Vanity Fair" lacks a hero and exposes the shallow attitude of the average person. Thackeray's unconventional and realistic style is supported by a strong use of irony, completing the novel."
Abstract This paper explores the overall importance of the coffee industry to the global economy and describes how fair trade in the industry not only benefits the major players, but the international economy as a whole. It explores the history of coffee prices and how the fair trade movement which guaranteed a negotiated pre-harvest price changed the living standards for disadvantaged coffee growers and workers. The paper concludes that there is a huge disconnect between prices for coffee in the consumption market and the price paid to the coffee industry workers which results in poverty and poor economic conditions for coffee growers. Three case study analyses are included.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Structure and History of the Coffee Industry
The Fair Trade Movement: Implications for Coffee Workers and the Global Economy
Case Study #1: Starbucks Impact on a Nations Economy: The Duality of Competition
Case Study #2: Cafedirect and KNCU - Partnership in Fair Trade
Case Study #3: Does Fair Trade Affect Quality? - Examining Coffee in Mexico
How has Fair Trade Helped Coffee Industry Workers: Tenets and Principles of Fair Trade
Fair Trade Certification Organizations: Fair Trade Labeling Organizations and International Fair Trade Standards
Conclusion: Fair Trade is Ethical Trade
From the Paper "Globalization is a process of enhancing collective measures to integrate economies, not only via goods and services but via governance, investment, trade, and aid (DeAngelis 2004). As globalization has progressed, it is clear that the most advanced countries have gained the most from the integration of economies; as such there is a widening gap between developed/advanced countries and developing/underdeveloped countries. Does globalization favor high-income countries to low-income countries? The coffee industry highlights a common problem with many agricultural products that are marketed within developed regions - impoverished societies characterized poor development trends with a final product that is booming in the industry. Fair trade is the only mechanism that can correct this trend. It should be clear that fair trade is not the savior of the developing region; there are many structural problems that not even free trade can bypass. However, free trade has very visible benefits that have led to changes in sectors of the society (Simmons 2003). The coffee industry has faced many historical processes that have changed the living standards of many producers in the developing region; the free trade movement has helped to create some level of equity as it aids marginalized farmers in the coffee industry."
Abstract This paper discusses the fair trade movement - a new economic, social movement that is seeking to change the purchasing habits of individuals in developed countries through marketing and educational programs designed to heighten awareness of the plight of Third World farmers. The paper describes the goals of the fair trade movement and the primary ways that the fair trade movement has sought to achieve its goals. Specifically discussed are the movement's aim of capturing the consciousness of the politically-minded consumer by psychologically connecting the fair trade label with the provision of economic assistance to farmers in developing countries.
Table of Contents:
A Brief Overview of the Fair Trade Movement
The Role of the Consumer in Promoting Fair Trade
Conclusion
From the Paper "The fair trade movement has worked for the last several decades to close the economic divide between the First World and the Third World through the empowerment of small farmers in developing countries to determine their own terms of production and sale of their produce. It also works to promote environmentally and socially responsible farming methods and investments in those countries. Meanwhile, in the developed world, fair trade organizations work to capture the attention of consumers by gaining access to and influence in political institutions and by providing educational information, as well as through the more traditional business practice of marketing. These methods are used to create in the consumer a sense that their actions are morally right and appreciated by those individuals on the other side of the world, despite the fact that they can receive no feedback from those individuals. Politically conscious consumers in the developed world purchase fair trade goods as a minor form of protest against the traditional economic structures involved in international trade. The fair trade movement is part of a larger global effort toward creating conditions of social justice and political and economic equality for all the world's citizens."
Tags: production marketing investment developing, third world
Abstract This paper explains that the Fairness Doctrine was a law that balanced mass media information, allowing time and credibility to all sides of a given argument so that the listener would receive credible and reliable information. The author relates that, along with the new pioneers of broadcast journalism, advertising, and editorial commentary, the Fairness Doctrine came about in the mid-20th century as an extension of First Amendment rights, which remained in place for most of the latter half of the 20th century, but was revoked by the FCC in the early 1980s after long years of misunderstandings, political conflicts, and conflicting precedents in various court cases. The paper stresses that, although networks even advertise that their news is ?fair and balanced?, it is not; the Fairness Doctrine must be reinstated as an ethical broadcasting rule designed to provide controversial issues with a balanced presentation, not censorship.
From the Paper "The Fairness Doctrine is involved explicitly with radio and television
broadcasters, and states that there are responsibilities which these broadcasters must uphold to the public so that the information that the viewing and listening public receives is fair and balanced and opposing viewpoints get a chance to be presented. In essence, it is a measure of responsibility and accountability for the free press that is able to give counterarguments and provide a space for counterarguments regarding issues that are controversial and require a public forum so that the viewing and listening public can get a full cognizance of the issues being presented on both sides. Objectivity has always been a key tenet of journalism, but the achievement of objectivity is less clear and the Fairness Doctrine has responded to a need for clarity in this presentation by highlighting balanced reportage of issues that concern the public or may be political, controversial, or the subject of dis- or misinformation."
Abstract The U.S. "Fairness Doctrine" refers explicitly to radio and television broadcasters. It states that the information that the viewing and listening public receives should be fair and balanced and opposing viewpoints get a chance to be presented. This paper discusses what the "Fairness Doctrine" is, why it was discontinued and by whom. It presents several court cases that directly relate to it and why it is essential that the "Fairness Doctrine" be reinstated.
From the Paper "Opponents of the Fairness Doctrine argue that it unconstitutional because it violates the 1st Amendment by dictating what individualss can and cannot say. This is a weak claim and has been generally disregarded when looking at the Fairness Doctrine. The Doctrine in no way violates the 1st Amendment; if anything, it strengthens those rights by assuring the public a clear and informed knowledge base. Broadcasters are allowed to have opinions on issues and to broadcast those opinions, but what the Fairness Doctrine does is ensure that they also allow space for people to speak who have an opposition to their view."
