Exam Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Exam - Assignment Example It is the reasoning that one uses when he tries to define certain things and the root values for that reasoning are based in Philosophy. Morality revolves around the personal belief of an individual that would be more concerned with good or bad in comparison to ethics in which the beliefs of the society as a whole are given importance. Values on the other hand can be explained as the belief of an individual that relates to his personal traits. These values can be derived from the cultural beliefs or the opinion of the person himself. Descriptive language revolves around the concept of judging as to what is wrong and what is right. On the other hand normative language is a way through which things are rather done in light of the judgments given. Ethics particularly focus on normative language as the individual is supposed to do the task based on the beliefs and not just accept the facts (Robin 1-9). Philosophers have used eudaimonia to explain a state in which the person accepts the c itizen virtues as instinctive behaviors. This state would mean that the person has reached his ultimate goal in life as explained by the Greeks. I believe that doing the right thing is the most important part in the discipline of ethics. A good life is not all about money but rather revolves around reasoning and functionality of a human being. It is necessary for individuals to be involved in reasoning and functionality as per the virtues to have a good life (Robinson 42-43; Sandel 20-40). 2. What are at least three elements or characteristics of the tradition of Socrates and Plato? What are at least three ways that these two philosophers are in disagreement with the Sophists: Parmenides, Thrasymachus, and Callicles. Do you think that the Socratic/Platonic emphasis on seeking the Good is the best approach? Or, do you think that the Sophists agenda makes sense in that they are training their students for

Robert Mondavi and the Wine Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Robert Mondavi and the Wine Industry - Essay Example However, owing to the economic downturn the sales of wine had reduced over the tenure of six months. Moreover, the company has been facing several threats from various sectors of the society both at national and international level. The economic downturns have affected the wine market leading to a fall in the sales of wine over the tenure of the past six months. The company has been planning to change the strategy so that it can increase the sales of the company and ensure long term sustainability. However, it was noted that the Robert Mondavi’s wine industry to maintain the high quality of the wine used grapes from the personally owned vineyards. It has also been observed that the cost of land acquisition has also gone up, which has led to the increase in the cost of production. Conversely, the company even has an intangible strength of being innovation oriented. This initiates the ability of the company to enhance their quality as per the changing taste and preferences of the consumers. This would help the company to meet their sales need in the long run. Providing quality as per the preferences of consumer is an important consideration fo9r the business sustainability (Roberto 1-32). Contextually, Mondavi in order to maintain their competitive advantage should be selecting a particular segment and then market their product. This would help the company to gain a profitable index providing the company with brand equity and incorporate the culture of innovation. Since, the company is inclined towards producing high-quality of wine it would be able to meet the changing needs of the consumers successfully. In order to develop its productivity the company should provide clarity to their product. This would enhance their share in the US market. Moreover, with a positive trend in the growth of wine consumption the company can claim its competitive advantage in the long run.

Underclass Exclusion Unemployment

Underclass Exclusion Unemployment Critically consider liberal accounts of the ‘underclass. To what extent is a focus on cultural characteristics useful in aiding our understanding of social exclusion. Use of the term social exclusion arose in Europe in the wake of prolonged and large scale unemployment that provoked criticisms of welfare systems for failing to prevent poverty and for hindering economic development. Silver (1994) stresses that economic restructuring in North American and European countries since the mid- 1970s has given rise to such terms as social exclusion, new poverty, and the underclass to describe the consequent negative effects on the more vulnerable populationsin these countries. Such phenomena also intensified the debate over the adequacy ofuniversal social protection policies and fuelled growing concern about the distributivefairness of employment and income patterns. Used first in France (Yepez-del-Castillo 1994), the concept spread quickly to the United Kingdom and throughoutthe European Union. Social exclusion theorists are concerned with the dissolution of social bonds, theincomplete extension of social rights and protections to all groups, and the linksbetween the idea of exclusion and more conventional understandings of inequality.They draw on theories of poverty, inequality, and disadvantage. In this context policiesto aid the excluded have focused on subsidizing jobs and wages, providing housing, and responding to urbanization. The value added of these discussions de rivesfrom their focus on the multifaceted nature of deprivation and on analysis of themechanisms and institutions that function to exclude people (de Haan 1998). Theconcept of social exclusion has encouraged scholars to consider simultaneously theeconomic, social, and political dimensions of deprivation. As Bhalla and Lapeyre(1997) stress, this concept encompasses the notion of poverty broadly defined, butis more general in that it explicitly emphasizes povertys relational as well as its distributionalaspects. Social Exclusion is another term for the lower strata poor. This implies that this is more than just about the straight poor but instead about behaviour which has created a lifestyle which is permanently dislocated from the habits and way of life of the majority. The concept of the underclass has been widely contested today. It has many links with social exclusion, the notion of a cycle of deprivation and cultural theories. During the course of this essay a number of different areas will be looked at. The focal point of this essay will rest by and large in the culture of binge drinking which is apparent across a significant area of the population. This part of the population has been named in many different ways by the media and social theorists alike from Chavs to the deprived to the socially excluded, all of which lead us to the same concept ‘The Underclass. It will then discuss different perspectives on the ‘underclass both into whether it truly exists and whether it i s the individuals or the welfare states fault. This essay will interrogate Murrays claims about the ‘underclass and explain how he is right on a descriptive level but totally wrong on an explanatory level. Furthermore it will look at media accounts of the urban poor and the fact that they are overwhelmingly liberal in orientation. Lastly it will look at the rise of neo-liberalism and the effect it has had on the poor in Britain. There have been many theorists which have researched the concept of the ‘underclass one of which who is highly recognised across Britain and the US is Charles Murray. Murray came to the UK in 1989 in search of an underclass and wrote an article in The Sunday Times about there being the foundations of an ‘underclass in British Society, this was widely contested amongst British sociologists and rejected. However this concept has now been widely researched and there has been increasing truth to Murrays (1990) article ‘The Emerging British Underclass. This article wrote in quite general terms about the ‘underclass and related it to trends of illegitimacy, crime and unemployment. His second essay written in 1996 ‘Underclass: The crisis deepens was preoccupied with illegitimacy, marriage and the state of the British Family. The concept of a traditional nuclear family reducing the chances of a child turning to crime has been one which has been researched heavil y. Although no conclusion has been reached it is still widely believed to be true. The term ‘underclass was derived by Ken Auletta in the 1980s to emphasise the behaviour and values of those deemed to be lower class. Murray (1996) attempts in great detail to show that he does not apply the term ‘underclass to all poor , only to those; ‘distinguished by there undesirable behaviour, including drug taking, illegitimacy, failure to hold down a job, truancy from school and casual violence,. Murray believes illegitimacy is the best indicator of an underclass in the making and the rising trend in illegitimacy therefore alarms him. He places a special focus on issues of violence as it becomes increasingly difficult to raise children to be un-aggressive when whole towns fall prey to criminality. However Alan walker offers a liberal view. He believes that Murray ‘blames the victim and thus diverts our attention from blaming the mechanisms through which resources are distributed. Victim blaming is the attitude which walker believes to have been at the root of many measures from Elizabethan Poor Law to todays ‘YTS and ‘restart programmes. There is the belief by Murray that there are two types of poor people, one of whom live on low incomes and another who dont just lack money . ‘There homes were littered and un-kept. The men in the family were unable to hold a job for more than a few weeks at a time. Drunkenness was common. The children grew up ill schooled and contributed a disproportionate share of the local juvenile delinquents. There are many other arguments about the underclass. Robert Moore suggested that despite his own misgivings; ‘a collective term such as the ‘underclass may be needed to refer to that group of marginalised migrant workers, refugees and asylum seekers, inner city ethnic minority populations and the very poorest who typically have little or no control over goods and skills either within or outside a given economic order. This coincides with Ralf Darendorfs view that the term ‘underclass is a ‘phenomenon of race here as well as the US. These are all rather liberal accounts of the underclasses and a view is taken that the majority of underclasses in both the UK and the US are ethnic minorities many of which are first r secong generation immigrants who have little or no understanding of the British Culture. Many of these minorities will live in poorer areas in which there children will fall victim to the culture of the ‘underclass. This culture includes getting involved with gangs, binge drinking and often leads to unprotected sex which would continue the cycle of the ‘underclass. The liberal accounts of the ‘underclass tend to focus on the pathological individual. This is that if they are poor and dont have a job it is there fault. Part of the pathological explanation suggests that it is the behaviour and attitudes of the underclass that have cut them off from normal society Murray being a strong advocate of this view, argues that welfare dependency has created a counter-cultural attitude that there is no need to work if one can instead receive state benefits or turn to crime instead. The opposing position suggests that the lack of full employment in the economy results in the unemployed and hence poverty. Here it is the failure of the structure rather than the individual themselves who can be blamed for the emergence of an underclass. Auletta refers to the underclass as a group who do not assimilate (1982: xvi quoted in Morris, 1994: 81), identifying four main groups: the passive poor, usually long term welfare recipients the hostile street criminal, drop-outs and drug addicts the hustlers, dependent on the underground economy but rarely involved in violent crime the traumatised drunks, drifters, homeless bag ladies and released mental patients In identifying these groups it can be seen that perhaps a different explanation for the underclass can be given for each grouping. However, in all four cases it could be argued that the underlying reason for the exclusion from society could be either pathological or structural. For example it could be argued that the passive poor are so because they hold the attitude that there is no need for work. The same group could also be said to exist because there are not enough jobs available in the economy for them to work. ‘The underclass as a phrase has shifted in emphasis since the 80s and this shift is partly in response to liberal commentators who suggested that the poor of the contemporary period are idle, jobless and criminal. ‘The underclass as a phrase became associated with blaming the poor for their marginalised social situation. Murrays claims are partly right at the descriptive level, but totally wrong at the explanatory level. There are many different reasons which could offer a far more reasonable explanation on the concentration of urban marginality today. Firstly the changing economy provides us with a number of reasons into why there is an underclass in the UK. Liberals and conservatives today tend to stress values like individual responsibility when considering such issues such as drugs, violence, teen pregnancy, family formation and the work ethic. Some critics readily blame welfare for poverty and find it hard to see how anybody even the poor would deliberately deviate f rom mainstream culture. With widespread joblessness many inner city people become stressed and there communities become distressed, poor people adapt to these circumstances as best they know, meeting the exigencies of there situation as best they can. The kinds of problems which cause moral outrage begin to emerge; teen pregnancy, welfare dependency and the underground economy. Its cottage industries of drugs, prostitution, welfare scams and other rackets pick up the economic slack. It is this underground economy which provides a means for these people as the regular economy cannot. Since 1997, the New Labour government has developed and administered contemporary social policy around the ideals of social inclusion. The Social Exclusion Unit (SEU), Welfare to Work and New Deal Programmes (1998) provide the chief manifestations of socially-inclusive policy. The SEU describes social exclusion as the short hand for what can happen when people or areas are suffering from a combination of linked problems such as unemployment, poor skills, low incomes, poor housing, high crime, bad health and family breakdown (SEU, 2001: 10). The shift to social inclusion policy is a response to the need to prevent individuals at risk of exclusion from becoming excluded, according to the SEU: a need it proposes to address by, for example, resolving to reverse the growth in family breakups, teenage pregnancies and crime, and to reduce possible restrictions to an individuals economic opportunity. And, where necessary, policy should be designed with the aim of reintegrating those already excluded socially, through programmes such as the New Deal and Welfare to Work (ibid: 29). Bauman argues that the shift in social policy towards the language of social inclusion is a result of key economic trends in the West, leading to the growth of a population that has become surplus to labour-market requirements. Byrne argues that social-inclusion rhetoric is the surface-froth of the more fundamental shift to Post-Fordist patterns of capital accumulation, where those at the margins of inclusion and exclusion serve as part of the reconstitution of a reserve army of labour power. Clearly, Bauman and Byrne differ in their explanations: Bauman viewing the excluded as an unwanted surplus to the expansion of capital, and Byrne viewing the excluded as vital to capitalist expansion. For Bauman, contemporary changes in social policy are part of the wider shift of the welfare state away from policy directed at supporting the re-commodification of labour power. Capital accumulation up until the 1985 required the state to play its role in the provision of key resources, including housing, education, health and, when necessary, welfare payments to the unemployed. This, for Bauman, ensured the re-commodification of quality labour power and also secured a viable reserve army; both of which were essential for post-war capitalist expansion. Since the 1980s, argues Bauman, capital accumulation has become increasingly premised on the rationalisation of the use of labour power, and thus on the shedding of the labour force. As a consequence, the role of the welfare state has ch anged, moving towards means-tested and targeted benefits, and towards-via training and employment policies-catering for capitalisms need for insecure, low-quality labour power, and the disciplining of a growing surplus population. As Bauman observes, ‘The present-day stream-lined, downsized, capital-and knowledge-intensive industry casts labour as a constraint on the rise of productivity to such a degree that economic growth and the rise of employment are, for all practical intents, at cross-purposes; technological progress is measured by the replacement and elimination of labour (Bauman, 1998: 65). The shift in welfare-state priorities towards social inclusion signifies deeper changes in the re-commodification of labour power. In this context, the issue of social exclusion and the rhetoric of social-inclusion policy signifies the emergence of a surplus population which is no longer required by capital as a reserve army of labour. To be sure, a reserve army of labour still exists in non-Western, industrialised areas of the world. For the West, though, capital no longer requires a welfare state committed to the universal provision of key services and social needs, because the maintenance of a reserve army is no longer functional to capital accumulation. For Bauman; ‘The welfare state will become increasingly residual as social policy confines itself to organising the control and administration of a population increasingly isolated from the capitalist labour market. Government is haunted by the prospect of the homeless and disinherited flocking in and capital flocking out. (Bauman, 1998: 54) This, for Bauman, is the reason why social exclusion and social-inclusion policy predominates discourses on welfare. Baumans argument provides a useful explanation of the shift in social policy towards social inclusion. However, the hard-and-fast equating of social exclusion with a surplus labour force playing no role as a reserve army is both empirically and theoretically suspect. Bauman ignores the day-to-day realities of the capitalist system in the West, where the links between capitals demand for labour power and a surplus of unemployed remain of crucial importance. For Baumans proposition to hold, one must assume that those experiencing social exclusion have no connection with the labour market and the status of wage labour. Yet evidence does not support such a view. Evidence suggests ‘A degree of complexity, with people variously experiencing exclusion with no labour-market attachment, exclusion with some labour-market attachment, and inclusion with weak and/or strong labour-market attachments (Labour Market Trends: 2002). In other words the experience of exclusion is as likely to be one premised on the poor, unstable employment as it is as on unemployment and unemployability (Levitas, 1999). Evidence, suggests that labour power continues to function as a reserve army of labour, however attenuated this function might be. A more realistic proposition for Bauman to make might be that the surplus population is growing at a faster rate relative to its function as a reserve army of labour. In this case, those experiencing this situation have little choice, within the constraints of contemporary capitalism, but to remain unemployed and consequently, as Dinerstein suggests; ‘suffer the humiliation of having to beg for work and be in a permanent state of readiness to offer their labour power as a commodity. (Dinerstein, 2002) Media accounts of the urban poor are overwhelmingly ‘liberal in orientation. Many of which, are talking about dole cheats and young women getting pregnant for council houses. The Suns ‘shop a dole cheat campaign hails from the same intellectual tradition as Murray. Many media campaigns have victimised the poor and paved the way for the ‘Chav culture. This has been ridiculed and reported on in the press and on television. A number of attacks have been launched on television channels and there treatment of Britains working classes. It was seen to be not only patronising and offensive but also potentially dangerous. Reality television shows such as Wife Swap, Big Brother and the confessional Jeremy Kyle Show, which tend to rely on working-class participants in search of fame or fortune, were the focus of most criticism. But the portrayal of the working classes in comedy programmes such as Little Britain and dramas like Shameless were also debated. Ethnic minority groups are ‘excluded as a result of their position in the new economy. In this sense, marginalised whites have a lot in common with marginalised blacks. There is however the associated dynamic of discrimination- the most notable example is the place of Muslims in a post 9/11 western world- however, understanding the position of these groups is more about ‘moral panics and fear of otherness. The economic literature on discrimination tends to focus on the different treatment of individuals-based on race, gender, or ethnicity in labour, credit, and consumer goods markets. This is obviously a serious matter, and there is ample evidence in the United States and elsewhere that such disparities are real and quantitatively important as a source of inter group economic inequalities (Modood and others 1997; Wilson 1996). Nevertheless, when considering ethnic group inequality, economists should look beyond what happens in markets. Of course, economists tend to focus on how markets work or fail. Economic theory suggests that discrimination based on gender or racial identity should be arbitraged away in markets of competitive sellers, employers, and lenders. But such discrimination is readily observed in society, and this anomaly attracts attention. Critics of neoclassical economics seize on it, and defenders of that orthodoxy seek to explain it away. Thus evidence that wage differences between the races or sexes have declined, after controlling for worker productivity, is supposed to vindicate the economists belief in market forces. This way of approaching the problem is too narrow. With wages, for example, the usual focus is on the demand side of the labour market-employers either have a â€Å"taste† for discrimination or use race as a proxy for unobserved variables that imply lower productivity for minorities. The primary normative claim in this approach is that such discrimination is morally offensive, a legitimate object of regulatory intervention, and a significant contributor to racial and gender inequality. But implicit in this claim is the notion that if inequality were due to supply-side differences-in the Glenn C. Loury 233 skills presented to employers by blacks and whites, for example-the resulting disparity would not raise the same moral issues or give a comparable warrant for intervention. There is a comparable view in housing markets-that residential segregation induced by the discriminatory behaviour of realtors is a bigger problem than segregation that comes about because of the freely made decisions of market participants. I propose a shift in emphasis. In the United States market discrimination against blacks still exists, but such discrimination is not as significant an explanation for racial inequality as in decades past. This calls into question the conventional wisdom on equal opportunity policy-that eliminating racial discrimination in markets will eventually resolve racial economic inequalit y. Much evidence supports the view that the substantial gap in skills between blacks and whites is a key factor accounting for racial inequality in the labour market. Yet this skills gap is itself the result of social exclusion processes that deserve explicit study and policy remediation. ‘The gap reflects social and cultural factors-geographic segregation, deleterious social norms and peer influences, poor education- that have a racial dimension (Cutler and Glaeser 1997; Akerlof 1997) Group inequality such as that between blacks and whites in the United States cannot be fully understood, or remedied, with a focus on market discrimination alone. Liberals like Murray look at cultural characteristics of the poor as a means of explaining ‘social exclusion. They say the poor is poor because they are lazy, because they dont try at school, because they dont get married. In my opinion the real reason the poor are poor is because; There arent any meaningful jobs anymore for these social groups. The economy no longer needs everyone to work. The successive governments have allowed our welfare state to slowly degenerate. Mainstream society have been conned into believing that these people bring it on themselves. Charles Murray in 1989 used drop out from the labour force among young males, violent crime and births from unmarried women would all be associated with the growth of a class of violent unsocialised people who if they become sufficiently numerous will fundamentally degrade the life of society. This can be seen to be happening today with the creation of ‘chav culture. These ‘Chavs are usually working class and live on council estates and dress in sportswear hoodies, tracksuits and caps. They wear excessive gold jewellery and are seen to be aggressive and uneducated. There was a dramatic increase in unemployed males between 1989 and 1999 from 20.5% to 31.2% which has continued to till today. Drop out in the labour force was largest in the group who had the least excuses to work these were from ages 20 to 24. The economy was not to be blamed fully as overall national employment was lower in 1999 than in 1989. The percentage of men in school did not change appreciatiably and increases of people in higher education have been concentrated among young women and people of both sexes over the age of 30. Since 1994 the number of men in higher education has actually decrease and crime both violent and property are higher than of that in America since 1996. From the mid 19th century to the first  ¾ of this century Britain enjoyed being seen as the most civilised country on earth. The US in this same period was seen as a violent and unruly society with high levels of personal freedom but lower levels of civility. Other continents had low crime rates but a high level of authoritarian control, however Britain is now another high crime industrialised country. Violent crime is seen as impulsive behaviour by those who seek instant gratification of there desires which is part of a general lack of socialisation and is the hallmark of the ‘underclass. Over the last two decades British children have not been socialised to norms of self control, consideration of others, and the concept that actions have consequences. Murray states; ‘One of the leading reasons that they are not being socialised is that larger numbers of British children are not being raised by two mature married adults. He believes that there is not alternative form of family which comes close to the traditional nuclear family of two married parents. He believed that children of two married biological parents were found to do much better than the children of single parents and the children of divorced mothers were found to do better than the children of never married mothers. Illegitimacy is overwhelmingly a lower class phenomenon. However Melanie Phillips argues that it is in fact the overclass fault that we have a lower strata poor. Children from deprived areas sometimes dont know how to use a knife and fork; they dont know what an alarm clock is; because they have no sense of an ordered day. Primary school children who have no idea how to make social relationships but who are aggressive foul mouthed or withdrawn. The government has ambitious plans and programmes on how to tackle social exclusion, turning out papers on truancy, teenage pregnancies, repairing shattered communities. All of which are commendable however this all presents the socially excluded as a breed apart, as an underclass and if there behaviour is somehow different from the rest of society. Government advisors and officials and advisors talk about drugs for instance and they assume that the higher strata can handle cannibas and cocaine but the poor cannot. On education they say there is nothing wrong with the top 2% of schools the problems are with separate sink schools with high levels of truancy and low levels of basic literacy. On family th ey say ‘Im cohabit, Im a lone parent so there is nothing wrong with the changing family. Its the poor who are the problem. This is not only hypocritical and unpleasant but it fails to see how culture works: that signals matter, that they work top down and that what is supportive behaviour by the upper classes can have a disastrous impact on the poor who do not have the soft cushioning of money and privilege to fall back on. The culture of being a lone parent is in some ways created by the elites who lead by example through judges who generally give custody to women and demand monthly child support paid to single mothers who are now also receiving extra benefits and this is done through an increase in taxes on married couples. Surely reducing the males role to nothing but a walking wallet and sperm donor is causing men who are poor to run away from marriage. To understand the underclass is imperative in understanding poverty as a whole. But perhaps more important is the understanding that the underclass is simply a collective term used to refer to a group of individuals. By grouping these individuals together it is far too easy to make stereotypical judgements and statements which, whilst certainly applying to various members of the group, by no means hold true for each individual within. Indeed, it is with little doubt that many members of the underclass do cut themselves off from society due to their behaviours and attitudes, but there will be many who do not. Some people are born more disadvantaged than others take the disabled and elderly for example. Both of these groups can fall within a definition of the underclass they are often dependent upon the state and are in many ways excluded from certain aspects of society. It would take a radical commentator to suggest that either of these groups, and hence the whole of the underclass, are so due to their behaviour and attitudes.

My Community Service Taught Me About Leadership Essay -- Volunteer Wor

In the past four years of my life, voluteer work has left an indelible mark on my heart and mind. When I became a voluteer, I had a very vague notion of leadership. As my high school days come to an end, I am left with the feeling that I have finally come into my own shoes, discovering the things that are important to me and those that are not. I have found my personal leadership style, and I now pay attention to the leaders I come across each day. For this reason, voluteering has been both an enlightening and inspiring experience, for I am surrounded by peers, mentors, and the voluteer program director, all of whom are leaders with creative visions of their own. At the beginning of the school year, my voluteer project goal was to organize a program about emotional and verbal abuse that would be welcomed into area high schools. I wanted the program to include speakers who could share their personal experiences in emotionally destructive rela... ...th this single life that I have been given. I am going to touch as many other lives as I possibly can. The moments we spend leading others to find their own personal definitions of happiness are worth so much more than ours alone. Sometimes to see the beauty and meaning in the small things, we must rid ourselves of all the "fluff' that threatens to distract us. Time is too precious and our gifts, as leaders, too valuable to be wasted on things that do not touch our hearts. My Community Service Taught Me About Leadership Essay -- Volunteer Wor In the past four years of my life, voluteer work has left an indelible mark on my heart and mind. When I became a voluteer, I had a very vague notion of leadership. As my high school days come to an end, I am left with the feeling that I have finally come into my own shoes, discovering the things that are important to me and those that are not. I have found my personal leadership style, and I now pay attention to the leaders I come across each day. For this reason, voluteering has been both an enlightening and inspiring experience, for I am surrounded by peers, mentors, and the voluteer program director, all of whom are leaders with creative visions of their own. At the beginning of the school year, my voluteer project goal was to organize a program about emotional and verbal abuse that would be welcomed into area high schools. I wanted the program to include speakers who could share their personal experiences in emotionally destructive rela... ...th this single life that I have been given. I am going to touch as many other lives as I possibly can. The moments we spend leading others to find their own personal definitions of happiness are worth so much more than ours alone. Sometimes to see the beauty and meaning in the small things, we must rid ourselves of all the "fluff' that threatens to distract us. Time is too precious and our gifts, as leaders, too valuable to be wasted on things that do not touch our hearts.

Alexis de Tocqueville Essay

What is Alexis de Tocqueville’s assessment of the state of race relations in the US? What kinds of futures did he predicts for the different ethnic groups? Were his predictions accurate? Alexis de Tocqueville was seen as the first real sociologist to appear in the United States. His studies were based on the American society and cultures. He was the first individual that reflects his studies were based on everything he had seen in society to show state of race relations in the U.S conditions of new American world. Tocqueville’s book Democracy in America in 1830s which he described America as â€Å"absolute democracy† [3]. He uses comparative method in order for him to observe, compare American with Europe, as well as ethnography research achieve an insight of American political system, racial structure on different ethnic groups. Tocqueville’s assessment of the state of race relations in the United States is understand people’s lifestyles e.g. individuals from different ethnicity such as Native Americans and African-Americans. However, Tocqueville was writing in the 1830s where slavery was abolished in the North but the â€Å"preoccupatio n †¦ minds† has not changed [4] majority of white individuals has not changed their ideas about slavery so they were very hostile towards African-Americans and Native Americans. Although he argues that north were far more accepting of American-Americans to granted their freedom than the south because they still see the â€Å"black race is relegated† therefore, increase its rigors as they’re disgusted by the idea of slavery abolishment. Tocqueville will argue that this creates unsettled environment in the United States. In this essay, I will be arguing, Tocqueville’s perspectives, opinions and predications on the United States to see if it was/is accurate, or one-sided. This will be done in a comparative, coherent argument to analyse argument compared with the current contemporary affairs of the United States. The purpose of this essay to use contemporary information to compare and contrast the current situations of both African-Americans and Native Am erican in the United State to sees state of race relations, ethnic groups is still the same, has there been improvement or deterioration since Tocqueville’s writing period. Tocqueville believes that democracy could be the main reason of state of race relations in American because it builds on the idea of racial differentiations. He believes that Democracy views other races as  substandard. This will then contribute the ideas of the oppressions and segregation of ethnic groups like the Native Americans and African-Americans because according to white individuals they had no rights, no freedom and opinion in society. It creates a division between races, constructs racial hierarchy leads to ethnic minority groups like Native Americans and African-Americans bottom of the racial hierarchy. Consequently, Tocqueville views on state of race relations as apprehensive but, yet he believes that the â€Å"white man, European man [race is] excellence, below him appear the Negro and the Indian [4].Tocqueville supports the idea that some races such as European races were at the top because they were superior, has highly intellectual skills. While, other races like, Native Americans and African-Americans viewed as inferior because he believes that they had lower intellectual skills. Because of this Tocqueville is biased, because, he, himself is part of the white European race which makes superior. Although, he suggests that democracy destroys the mind sets of ethnic minorities which makes individuals forgets about their ancestors [African-Americans] and their descendants [Native-Americans] so, leads to ethnic groups who does not have any identity/identities. He argues that this is what is happening in America in terms state of race relations because the white individuals has manipulated, corrupted the minds of other ethnic groups. During, the Tocqueville writing period Native Americans were seen as savages and African-Americans were seen as properties, in hard labour. He argues that both race groups were seen as dispute, dispossessions, and considered as inhuman. Ethnic groups were viewed as part of the animal kingdom he believes the reason why they were treated like an animals. For instance he describes the â€Å"European[s][ as the top] man of other races is to [make] them animals? [White Europeans] serve his purpose and when he cannot bend them he destroys them† In other words, Tocqueville implies that perhaps no-one from white race will ever sympathises with the two ethnic races, so it was acceptable for any white individual to do whatever they intended to do with native Americans and African-Americans because their race, thei r lives were seen as irrelevant, unimportant living in the land of America. Both ethnic minority groups did not have any rights or equalities like the white individuals did. Tocqueville see Native Americans and African-Americans (slaves) are connected to democracy because they were both socially excluded part of  democracy side of society. Tocqueville argues that opinions like this then leads to democracy being based on the idea slavery of African-Americans viewing it as satisfactory. Democracy subsidises the idea of racial segregation, racial superiority and divisions of races which he suggests could be a great danger to society. In addition, Tocqueville saw the state of race relations against Native Americans was overwrought, they had an â€Å"instinctive love of their native country attaches them to the soil that has seen them born and they now find nothing there but misery and death†. (4). In other words, Tocqueville believed that their homeland is now occupied by the white individuals until the end of their lives or, perhaps, the inevitable destruction of the Native Americans. For the reason that the idea of westward expansion meant that Native Americans had been forced to move somewhere else â€Å"move out; they go to inhabit new wilderness, where the whites will hardly leave them in peace for ten years† [4]. Tocqueville supports the idea that Native Americans inhabited North America well before the white Europeans did, they lived by their own tribal customs, norms, values, religious beliefs and laws. However, Native Americans are now seen as dispossessed through the formalities of the law â€Å"it is impossible to destroy men with more respect for the laws of humanity† [4]. Tocqueville argues that the government will not grant them their own enjoyment of Native-American leaving in freedom so they had no elite but to possess this crucial primarily for lifestyle of civilisation. This could be one of the reasons of their segregation in American- they chose not to be civilised because they had planned on keeping their own cultures, customs and traditions. Native Americans â€Å"repels civilisation perhaps less in hatred of it than in fear of resembling the European’ [4]. Although, Tocqueville implies that it is challenging for Native- Americans to acquire it- this could be bec ause they are not used to white cultures perhaps see white customs and lifestyles as dishonour, perhaps evil this could be the reason why native Americans did not accept civilisation or seen as part of the race relations. Even if they did accept civilisation there will be prejudices against Natives American which will prevent them from becoming civilised which then obliges them to it. In contrast, Tocqueville suggests that Native Americans still had some  acknowledge their identities cultures compared to other races such as African-Americans because America is their homeland therefore native Americans will do anything but to be assimilated perhaps so they can their sense of pride, and dignity. Furthermore, Tocqueville juxtaposes the view of African-Americans in terms of state of race relations compared to his views on Native Americans. He believes that African-Americans had lost all their sense of cultures, traditions, identities and individualism because â€Å"the habit of servitude has given him the thoughts and ambitions of slave†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..[African Americans] had no longer understands the language that his [fore] fathers spoke†¦creasing to belong to Africa†. Tocqueville argues that it will very challenging for African American to regain their cultures and identities because they are now trapped between two societies being divided from their homeland means that they have nothing to gain in American society. Tocqueville emphasises that African-Americans knowledge has not developed properly therefore, they cannot think of anything more of themselves than to view themselves as a slave. Even when they are freed or grant their own freedom African-Americans wi ll themselves as below the white Europeans/Americans because it what they have been taught, or perhaps they had little knowledge of civilisation which will lead to still respects them rather than despising against them .Tocqueville suggest that even if African-Americans are freed they will still face prejudices- deep racism which they will have to face in on daily basis with jobs, educations. Tocqueville questions their freedom because they are still oppressed and segregated from society just like other ethnic minority groups because even though it might be illegal to enslave African-Americans there are still white individuals who has reinforced ideas that you cannot abolished. Tocqueville’s predictions for ethnic minority groups is that they will still face three main prejudices which will be more intangible, more tenacious than before the abolishment of slavery. This will be the prejudice of the master, the prejudice of race and the finally the prejudice of the white individuals. He argues that it will difficult for white individuals to accept ethnic minorities groups, even though, the law has changed their mind  sets have not changed. He believes that it is not the interests of African-Americans but the interest of the white individuals for the reason why slavery has been destroyed in the United States. Although, Tocqueville believe that in the future black and white will mix creating an inter-racial society however, this will still leads to unsettled tensions in America because the future of white individual in American especially south of America is connected to narrow-minded whites slave owners who will see freedom of African-Americans slaves as outnumbered. On the other hand, to contradict Tocqueville predications about ethnic groups. Native Americans one could say in contemporary Untied States Natives Americans have become more civilised as well as trying to keep their own traditions and customs. Plus, Native Americans are more accepted, and respected by the white Americans than they did in Tocqueville’s writing period. They now have their own freedom, independence and laws to support them against any racial prejudices for instance the National Indian Youth Council was formed in the early in 1961 which consists of sixty tribes, who formed their own treaty rights in disputed waters and territories, stand up for their rights such as the Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act 1990. Some Native Americans are even known as ‘Red power’ which is a new language that set ethnic minorities apart and against the undifferentiated white America. [1] However, to support Tocqueville is predictions of Native American s it seems that even in the contemporary society they are still been viewed as â€Å"savages standing in the way of civilisation†.[1] As well as the Native Americans in post-modern society are being more extinct than before. This proves that Tocqueville is predictions were perhaps accurate because Native Americans are still not accepted by the American society. African-Americans are still being seen as inferior to white races such as the Ku Klux Klan who were perhaps are the most extreme methods to prevent black and white desegregation and integration.[1] This proves that Tocqueville predictions on African-American could have been accurate with the integration of black and white could cause some institutionalized segregation in the American society. In opposition Tocqueville’s predictions on African-Americans it seem that African-Americans in the contemporary United States has had importance  contributions to the American society and rest of the world with highly respected significant Black leaders such as Civil Rights main leader Martin Luther-King [2] who fights for his rights, equalities of other black Americans so that will see treated and respected in the same way as white American. Tocquev ille predictions of African-American could be far from accurate as the current president of America who is African-American, Barack Obama who rules over the whole United States shows that African-American has now their own identities, well-educated and potentially the white collar job of the American society. Overall, it seems that Tocqueville’s writings and ideas on race relations on ethnic groups is still being used today to show how far ethnic minority groups have improved within society even though there might be still some discrimination against them however, society has integrated with Native-Americans and African-Americans than in Tocqueville’s period. References 1. Bayor, R(2003),Race and Ethnicty in America, United States, Columbia University Press, [7-206] 2. Kessing, R (1970), Race Relations in the USA 1954-63, Kessing’s Publications Limited, America[255] 3. Nimtz A, (2003),The â€Å"Absolute Democracy or Defiled Republic† , Lexington Books,[cover] 4. Mansfield H, Winthrop, D [1830] [2000], ‘Some Considerations on the present state and the probable future of the three races that inhabit the territory of United States,’ in Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, University of Chicago press, United states, [308-348]

Importance Of English Language Essay

The importance of English language is spreading geographically. In the world there are many languages being spoken. English is one of them which become international language. Language is used to defining the characteristics of every nation. Every country has its own language culture. People in USA, Canada and Europe speak English. Different Stages of Languages in Subcontinent: In subcontinent history of language is takes a great amount of time. When Muslims governed in subcontinent then they brought their language. At that time Urdu became the official language and language of common people. Muslims also learned Arabic language to improve their social condition but they can’t brought prominent change in their set-up. After that, When English came in the place of Muslim. They brought their culture and language. English became the master language. Everyone tried to learned English language quickly. They change their social , economical and education system. Which people learned English they got good jobs and able to got success. Read more: Importance of English language essay Realisation of its importance: Almost Asians were felt hesitation to learn English. Leaders of Muslims convinced then to learn or write English for their progress. They helped them to make acceptable place for themselves in new system. Because of English, We are able to get success in every profession. English as medium of success: In developed countries almost everyone speaks English and they lead all over the world. Unfortunately in our society our people feel shy & they are too much confuse and nervous to speak English. People fear to bring change in educational and government level. They are unwilling to introduced English at the place of Urdu. Government should to take action to make English common. In start this step from government departments. They try to conduct their business in English not in Urdu. Urdu is our mother tongue everyone can speak Urdu easily. But we try to make English common in offices, schools,  business etc. English as a medium of information: English use ass a medium of information and instruction in schools, at higher education level, in offices. We should change our system Urdu to English. Make English compulsory from primary level, conduct exams in English. Students, who feel English difficult, they can’t get good jobs in higher education to get good jobs in high standard institutions and multinational companies. It is necessary that, We have command in English. Private English medium schools play an important role in rapid growth of English. They prepare their in good way but no one can afford the expense of English medium schools. English is a Language of Science & Technology: English is not important for educational system it is also became the language of science and technology. It is an international language as well as, it is a language of technological research. Every field based on English. Now people of our society know the importance of English, they learn English with great speed. Pakistan also develop English in scientific research. Pakistan gets idea from developed countries. English is also important of our success. Increase in Foreign Income: As we know, English is an international language. To conduct business with other countries, We must be able to deal them in English. Income from export of goods is a major part of our national income. We have known, How the basics of English language then we can easily deals with foreign traders, Which increase our foreign income. Knowledge of English keeps people of our society to get good jobs in other countries. Important of English in Strong Future: Our government should improve set-up of educational system. Makes our society social English-speaking. Advantage of this great step is, We can lead other developed countries. We also can influence in world situation. Our government try to reduce the difference between Urdu and English. Medium institutions makes English as a compulsory subject and other subject conduct in English. Urdu also is an important language, it shows the good manners  and attractive culture to others but for the country progress or stand with other countries, We should have strong grip on English. English play very important role in our political, economical and social progress. We need English for our better present and for better future. Conclusion: We should focused on English language. Because it is an international language also a living language, and it is also important for our success. We surely can’t ignore the importance of English Language. Disraeli.Disraeli saying about success.