New criticism essay

Grace Lear Ms. Joan Richmond English 2261 17 Feb. 2013 New Criticism: A Focused Summary New criticism is a type of literary theory that focuses on the close reading of literature and how the literature functions as the object it’s meant to be. No external influences are to be taken into consideration, strictly the writing itself. This movement emphasizes the text in literature and explains the writers meaning to the reader. The author’s intention, excluding historical and cultural context is taken into consideration for analysis.When reading as a â€Å"New Critic† it’s important to separate emotion and the literal text used by the author, which can be hard to do. Close reading is something used by New Critics to bring out the straightforward and uncontroversial approach to understanding literature. Terms like paradox, ambiguity, irony, and tension help break down the story in different ways to understand the meaning new critics expect. These terms also sho w a conservative side to New Criticism taking away the controversial, external, social issues like race, gender and class.New criticism is sometimes looked at as the scientific approach to reading literature compared to other theories. In order to analyze in a new critic way its important to take notice of the terms above and the literal meaning of the setting, plot and theme. The subject and the object of the story should be separated and stable in mind while readers analyze in this type of theory. The focus should be literal not emotional and bring out the social function and effect of the literature the writer makes.The application of this theory, New Criticism can be shown through the story â€Å"A Rose for Emily† by William Faulkner. The title â€Å"A Rose for Emily† could symbolize death. This also could also symbolize her oppressed, sad life due to her father, possibly meaning she was dead before she actually died (437). â€Å"The man himself lay in the bedâ₠¬ ¦ what was left of him, rotted beneath what was left of the nightshirt, had become inextricable from the bed in which he lay† (Faulkner). This connects to the ongoing theme of an older generation struggling to keep its place in this modern era.The tension between the past and the present or two generations is seen in the background of this story. Emily’s house was called a â€Å"stubborn and coquettish decay† compared to the gasoline pumps next to her house. The older generation of the town took care of Miss Emily in respects to her father (who donated money to the city). â€Å"A sort of hereditary obligation†, until the new generation mayors and aldermen expected taxes from her (Faulkner). There are some flashbacks to the past, which create images of death in her past specifically her father’s death.Is it ironic she doesn’t want to believe he’s dead? â€Å"She told them that her father was not dead. She did that for three days with ministers calling on her and the doctors trying to persuade her†(Faulkner) This could possibly mean the past isn’t ready to let go of a new coming era, an ongoing theme shown throughout this story. The description of her home, old furniture, dusty rooms, and dark shadowy halls are sensory details. The smell of her home due to dead bodies is so bad towns people come by to drop lime through her basement windows.These all give an eerie, dirty image and mood for the story. The question of why wouldn’t she put postal numbers on her house is her almost refusing new society that rejected her right back. Her characteristics steady show stubbornness, isolation and rejection. The main point of the story is to show the comparisons between the old days and the new and tensions between them are shown through Emily’s sad life. Another story that can be used to explain New Criticism would be â€Å"Hills like White Elephants† by Ernest Hemingway in the use of char acters, symbolism and conflict.In the story the only character that is referred to as the American is the male protagonist. He is distant from her on an emotional level and create what he thinks would be a resolution to a problem he clearly cares nothing about. The other character is a non-English speaking waitress who is deep in her own but is indecisive and afraid to say what she wants. These characters create tension throughout the story. The symbolism is started in the title â€Å"Hills like White Elephants† making readers question the comparison between the two.The â€Å"White Elephant† is the burden and decision of the unborn baby. â€Å"They look like White Elephants† (Hemingway). The waitress is talking about the hills but later deciding they didn’t look like elephants, which could lead to her indecisiveness about what to do with the baby. The setting of the story is at a train station, which creates theme and symbol. The train tracks going in dif ferent directions are the crossroads of their relationship on their decision of what to do with the unborn baby. She comments on the hills being beautiful and the country being brown or dry

Vehicle of Social Expression

Music is the most powerful vehicle of human expression. As the embodiment of love, disapproval, happiness, experience – life, music speaks to us, because it comes from us. Each people, in each paradine of the human experience instinctively and systematically change the music of the past to represent the realities of the present. In this century, black music, more specifically Soul music, has been that music that has brought to plain view that which evidences our humanity – hope, hurt, joy and passion – in such a way that the world has no other choice than to feel its power and marvel in its brilliance. When one discusses the relationship between Soul music and the civil rights movement, it becomes a dialouge very akin to that of the chicken and the egg. The period of â€Å"Classic Soul† is that period primarily, but not exclusively referenced as the 1950†³s, 60†³s and 70†³s (Stephenson 186). This is the time frame of the American Civil Rights Movement, and the impact of the massive changes going on, are reflected in the music and the culture. So one would be correct in both assuming that the Civil Rights Movement gave rise to Soul music, as much Soul music contributed to the success of the campaign for civil rights. Soul music during its heyday, did more than simply entertain. For a race of people it served as a source of motivation, strength and education, for a people immersed in turmoil and tragedy. The institution of segregation had effectively inhibited the general populace†s awareness of the great achievements and contributions made by African-americans throughout the history of the United States (Franklin 429). Inasmuch, Soul music sought to bring that undersight to light. Soul songs like Donny Hathaway†s â€Å"To Be Young, Gifted and Black,† was revolutionary, in that they sought to instill pride of one†s history, but at the same time motivate a new generation to reach new heights. As Hathaway says, â€Å"We must begin to tell our young, ‘Don†t you know that there is a whole world waiting for you? â€Å"†, he is calling for the teaching of black pride to the youth, which was a wide spread trend in black communities of the '60s and '70s (Hathaway). James Brown†s â€Å"Say It Loud, I†m Black and I†m Proud,† became an anthem for the movement (Brown). The song†s lyrics like, â€Å"†¦. Don†t quit moving, until we get what we deserve†¦ we†d rather die on our feet, than keep living on our knees,† were words of inspiration for those involved in the struggle for equality. â€Å"Whereas the predominant theme of rhythm and blues was love and other kind of human relationships, soul singers voiced concern about the social injustice, racial pride, black militancy, and forms of protest (Southern 517). Eileen Southern†s statement on Soul music greatly describes the type of works produced by Hathaway and Brown at the time, yet was definetly not exclusive to these two artists. The period wherein Soul intertwined with the Civil Rights Movement, produced music greatly influenced by the environment in which its creators lived. Donny Hathaway†s, â€Å"Ghetto,† and Marvin Gaye†s â€Å"Inner City Blues (Makes Me Wanna Holler),† speak of the harshness of life in the Inner City (Hathaway/Gaye). Societal ills and political unrest were a major theme of Soul music, and Marvin Gaye†s work, almost more than any other artist, was demonstrative of this fact. Gaye†s album What†s Goin On, was his commentary on the social problems of the period, and through its success tremendously impacted the increasing social awareness. Despair within the black community was given voice in Gaye†s â€Å"Inner City Blues†. Inflation, taxes, unemployment and police brutality were numbered among the themes addressed in the song. The sense of hopelesness of the piece can best be conveyed in the line saying, â€Å"this life ain†t worth the living†¦. makes me wanna holler, throw up both my hands! â€Å"(Gaye). â€Å"Save the Children† goes on to ask: â€Å"Who is willing to try and save a world that is destined to die? â€Å", yet goes on to say â€Å"live life for the children†¦ let†s save the children (Gaye). So, even in the midst of great despair, Gaye, and other artist of his genre, did believe in the possibility of change. â€Å"Ball of Confusion,† debuting in 1970, gave the Temptation's take on the societal ills plaguing their times. It explored the white migration to the suburbs, urban riots, politicians, etc. , as it expressed the sense of turmoil experienced during that time which seemed to all come together in a â€Å"Ball of Confusion. † The lyrics state that â€Å"the only person talking about love my brother is the preacher†¦ the only person interested in learning is the teacher†(Temptations). These lines express a theme of love and education as the cure to society's problems. In a deeper sense, it says that people should focus on solutions, not the problems which create despair. In the spirit of this solution-based songwriting, a strong, no-holds-barred message to youth about the importance of getting an education was given voice in October of 1966. James Brown's â€Å"Don't Be a Drop Out† is a story of a drop out who compares himself to friends who continued their education. The song says, â€Å"they kept on pushing when the going got tough, and now they know that things don't seem so rough†(Brown). James Brown knew the importance of this first hand having no formal education. He implemented a program which encouraged kids to stay in school and gave scholarships for those that wanted to go to college. Brown also worked to improve the quality of education in urban areas. He later releases two anti-drug songs, â€Å"King Heroin† and â€Å"Public Enemy No. 1. † He had realized the devastation that drugs brought to the black community and the songs were used as the tool to educate blacks about their danger. James had become a role model for black youth not only through his music but through his commitment to the black community, thus serving as a shining example of the lessons of his music. Brown's message of change by improving currently existing systems was conservative in comparison to some more radical artists. These artists, like the Last Poets, belived that change would only come around through a revolution. The Last Poets who use a combination of spoken word and music in their song â€Å"Niggers Are Scared of Revolution† exemplify this. The song addresses apathy in the black community about black revolution and the lack of participation in the movement (Last Poets). Gil Scott Heron is an artist with a similar message. His work â€Å"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised† discuss the media's purposeful ommitasnce of pertinent black issues, and the manner in which change will occur. The song â€Å"Power to the People† by the Chi-Lites was originally the slogan for the Black Panther Party. â€Å"Young, Gifted and Black† by Nina Simone, â€Å"People Get Ready† by the Impressions and Edwin Starr's â€Å"War† are just a few of the many songs which drew the black community together to raise social consciousness. Black music, specifically Soul music, will never diasppear. Though the motivation for the music may change nominally, the spirit behind it will always stay the same. Passion, pain, despair, love and hope, will forever remain key elements of the human experience. This truth is the reason in which we have seen Soul music change to fit the times in which it exists. Some hip-hop artists such as De La Soul, Public Enemy and even Arrested Development carried a strong message of social change. Yet, their time too was limited as the black American climate slightly changed. Today artist such as the crowned king and queen of the newly dubbed category of â€Å"Neo-classic soul† bear the torch. D'Angelo and Erykah Badu talk about revolution and the state of the black community and relationships. Badu's â€Å"On and On† expresses her thoughts of how she feels that we are born into the middle of a world in constant struggle as she says, â€Å"†¦. my life keeps going like a rollling stone†¦.. I was born under water with three dollars and six dimes (a metaphor to 360 degrees in reference to her never-ending struggle)†(Baduizm). D'Angelo addresses the rampant use of marijuana in his â€Å"Brown Sugar† as he writes, â€Å"I want some more of your brown sugar†¦. your love makes me high right to the sky†¦. my eyes are blood burgundy. † His Devil's Pie addresses drugs and money (Belly Soundtrack). Both Badu and D'Angelo give their takes on bad relationships in â€Å"Tyrone† and â€Å"Shit, Damn, Mother Fucker,† respectively. Badu's â€Å"Other Side of the Game† even addresses the issue of being involved with a man who sells drugs. She writes, â€Å"Do I really want my baby†¦.. work ain't honest, but it pays the bills. The subject matter addressed by Badu and D'Angelo express many of the problems endured by today's generation, some of which may not have been experienced in the same manner of generations past. Music is an expression of life. Hence, it can only be a reflection of life's experiences. Soul music speaks directly to the human experience. It attacks the maladies of our existence. It empathizes with our pains, and rejoices in our happiness. Masterfully, has it changed so as that it remains sensitive to our needs today. Only the beat has changed. The Soul of soul, however, the message, will always remain.

Genetic engineering, friend or foe? Essay

â€Å"By bringing in this technology to make the same crop that people eat and grow, make it more insulated against some of the elements of nature, more nutritious†¦ it will improve local production,† said Channapatna Prakash, professor in plant molecular genetics at Tuskegee University, Alabama. â€Å"If it does make a difference in their overall health and well-being with the least intervention, it needs to be looked at very carefully,† he said. â€Å"If it does provide some solution in certain places and circumstances, then why not? † Prakash is also a member of the U. S. Agriculture Department’s agricultural biotechnology advisory committee. Genetic modification (GM) involves exchanging or splicing genes of unrelated species that cannot naturally swap with each other and enthusiastic scientists say the applications are almost limitless. The species can be vastly different, for example, inserting scorpion toxin or spider venom genes into maize and other food crops as a ‘natural pesticide’ to prevent insects and birds from feeding on the plants, or fish antifreeze genes into tomatoes. So this is the positive side of the argument, however, others do not feel the same – recently trail GM crops have been destroyed even in ‘sleepy’ Devon in a trails site at Dartington. Fears were raised even higher because an internationally acclaimed organic farm was nearby. Insect or the wind could have carried genetically modified pollen to other farms thus creating unwanted and unsuspected mutations. Not everyone agrees that GM foods will necessarily become the saviour for the world’s hungry and people insist that there is, as yet, no conclusive evidence of the benefits of GM. The whole GM issue creates strong emotions, particularly among the more sceptic opponents to the technology who have been known to march across fields and rip up fledgling test plants, demanding that governments put a stop to â€Å"Frankenstein† foods by banning the import and the commercial use of GM crops. Apart from their charge that nobody yet knows how safe GM crops are, they also accuse powerful biotechnology multinational companies of using poor countries as a ‘dumping ground’ for products, which have failed to sell to lucrative but sceptical European markets. Already there are specific examples – there are problems with Genetically Engineered Soya Bean and Maize Imports. The first main genetically modified food was a tomato paste, introduced with careful consumer consultation, clearly labelled. It sold well until the current furore began. In 1996 the European Union [EU] accepted the import of US genetically modified Soya bean and maize, staple commodities which go untracked into a large number of processed foods. The US companies refused to label or segregate the new products, more concerned with winning markets than public attitudes. Ordinary people ended up eating modified food without knowing it, with any tangible benefit to them, and having no real say in the decisions. This major failure of democracy resulted in a huge consumer backlash. It also raised questions of environmental risks of GM crops spreading genes to other species and possible loss of biodiversity. As can be seen sharing understanding of the risks and labelling GM tainted or enhanced products has not happened automatically – there is too much money at stake. However, we should consider these issues carefully. There are risks far more complex than a blanket moratorium would solve. Different crops vary enormously over questions like gene flow [e. g. due to mode of pollination or unrestricted movement of GM animals for breeding] or wild relatives, which might become weeds or pests. So a plant like oil seed rape merits much more careful attention than other less genetically promiscuous species. Talking to ecological scientists, it seems clear that five years of research is not going to give a generic answer to tell us whether â€Å"GM is safe† or not. We know so little about either the ecology or safety of normal foods that we often do not have a yardstick to make meaningful comparison with GM foods. Much better than a crude moratorium is to be precautionary but on a case-by-case basis, rather than assume that everything is equally risky. Rather than swallow whole the current green position on GM foods, we need to recognise that it is just as easy to exaggerate risks as it is to ignore them or pretend they aren’t there. Current EU labelling is only mandatory if you can detect genes or the proteins in the food, but this only addresses a small minority of the concerns. If someone objects to GM food on ethical or religious grounds or to the effect of the crop on the environment, present labelling misses the point completely. Here is a fundamental injustice, which the Government has done very little to address. Genetic Engineering, Friend or Foe? Is still a question to be answered – the debate will continue, as will the research that pushes the boundaries of science. The answer lies in the far future! Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Variation and Inheritance section.

Human Resources - Total Rewards Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Human Resources - Total Rewards - Assignment Example The specific choice of the entertainment industry is justified as this is one of the most happening sectors, undergoing change and the players are growing more and more competitive to gain a larger share of the market pie. Such a dynamic workplace also demands to attract equally energetic and vibrant workforce. Compensation and benefits, reflected by the total rewards package is primary force of motivation in this regard, as it helps catch the attention of right candidates. Health benefits cover medical, psychological, eye-related, dental and prescribed drugs, Disney Health Pursuits Wellness, insurance for life, accident, disability, care etc and Healthcare and Dependent Day Care Flexible Spending Accounts Career development programs such as Chairman’s leadership program, Next Generation chairman’s program, Breakthrough leadership program, Time for tomorrow, Non-profit board leadership, digital insights, leading to results Providing the supporting network and resources for the career development of employees is in a way making them contribute their best to the organisation, which in turn leads to consumer delight, as only happy employees can make the customers happy. Delivering products of high quality is certainly in the hands of employees, especially in the entertainment industry. According to such a respect and status to employees through Time Warner’s Employee First philosophy and benefits programs certainly facilitates the staff to deliver the quality. Compensation strategy supports the mission statement by warding off all the work and personal concerns of the employees and helping them stay career focused and pursue their passion for entertaining the audience As the company aspires to create dynamic products, it keeps the employees conversant with these products through the training programs. While the benefits package takes care of the employee concerns about family health, holidays, working hours and social responsibility, the staff can concentrate on innovation and be improving the quality of life of customers by the way of entertainment.     

McDonald's Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

McDonald's - Essay Example Being in operation in over 90 countries in the world makes financial and economic trends an important factor in the company’s operations. The choice whether to import resources or purchase them locally is a vital element. Another principal element is the level of taxes that the company is liable to pay; how much do tariffs cost on specific brought in raw materials? What is the level of taxation for multinational corporations? What is the level of unemployment? (McDonalds, 2015). Growing and constantly changing ways of life can have a consequence on the performance of sales. Persons increasingly are looking for more fare that is sophisticated when they venture out to eat. Hamburgers and French fries are not as exceptional as before. Furthermore, while individuals in western states such as the US may enjoy hamburgers and chips (French fries) as they are commonly called, individuals in Asian states, for instance, favor rice. In the past, McDonald’s has recommended a rice burger in China and the company is currently supporting rice to be eaten for supper in that area. Although technology may be seen to play a limited function in the fast food sector, the perception is misguided right at the core. Actually, high technology supports organizations develop their management and output, at the same time cutting on wasted time and assets. It can aid with arrangement, collation, estimating sales and customer traffic, and efficient modes of payment. Technology can additionally be employed for easy, cheap marketing on the World Wide Web. In the current times, individuals care about restoring and safeguarding the environment. They care about issues such as environmental pollution and the consequences that waste packing methods are having on the environs. In the recent past, McDonald’s was put to task by conservationist over the polystyrene wrapping that

Signs and Miracles Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Signs and Miracles - Research Paper Example The miracles of Jesus create a representation of his state as the Messiah and close reading with the stories of the miracles, along with an understanding of the past and the future allow the reader to see the miracles than more than just wondrous events. The Eight Miracles During his lifetime Jesus performed a long series of miracles that helped to give credibility to his ministry. In addition, these miracles gave beauty and compassion to the historic value of the nature of his love. His miracles can be broken down into six periods and the stories of those miracles provide different meanings to the context in which they are told. The first period is a â€Å"preparatory period† between his baptism until he calls his disciples to him.1 Four miracles occurred during this time that as it is reported in the histories. He then continued forward to perform sixteen miracles in the first portion of his ministry, eight in the second, six in the third, and four in the last days before hi s death. After his resurrection he performed one miracle. The total number of miracles reported as having been done by Jesus is 34.2 There can be identified eight miracles that are considered to be sign miracles. Leeler, Grimbly, and Wiggins define seven sign miracles that suggest that Jesus is the son of God. These ‘signs’ are intended to signal his arrival and to be taken as reflective of the nature of worship that would be used towards Jesus as the son of God. As well they define him as deified. The first sign, according to Leeler, Grumbly, and Wiggins, is the most important sign as it is the first to signal that he was more than a prophet or a man. The first sign miracle identified is that of the miracle at the wedding feast in Cana where Jesus turned the water into wine.3 The importance of these signs, such as turning the water into wine, is that they are visible and do not leave an abstracted idea of the nature of Jesus. They clearly proclaim that he is divine.4 I n turning the water into wine, the act provided for â€Å"symbolic actions (that) were valuable for his purpose because they were able to integrate several levels of meaning into a coherent whole†.5 Jesus showed himself through compassionate and real life applications of his miracles. The sign of the wine is also connected to prophesy concerning the messiah. According to Koestner, the use of wine was symbolic of the expectation that there would be an â€Å"outpouring of divine favor upon Israel†, the quote from reflections that suggested that â€Å"the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it’ and sometimes connecting abundant wine with the restoration of Davidic rule (Amos 9:11, 13; Joel 3:18; Isa 25:6)†.6 That the messiah was from the line of Davis was an important proof of his deity, however reinforcing that deification through associating his miracles with wine provided for symbolic proof, as well the proof of his lineage. Because of the well known, but sometimes vague nature of prophesy, creating symbolic proofs was as important as creating blatant proofs. Short of crying out this claim, the miracle of creating wine from water was a sign to those who had studied the prophesies that Jesus was the Messiah that Israel had been waiting to arrive. The second sign miracle can be considered as the act of healing the royal official’s son. According to Gross who paraphrases John 4: 46-54, Jesus says to the official that â€Å"

PTLLS- Preparing to teach in the lifelong sector Essay

PTLLS- Preparing to teach in the lifelong sector - Essay Example Educational bodies and institutions have greatly increased these standards to ensure the growth of education standards in different markets. Apart from the growth in provision of education, the growth in this particular field has been visible in the training activities for teachers. Tutor training programs have been made more effective and simpler but with greater efficiency. In the words of Gearon (2002) training tutors has been made more of a social relation feature than a professional educational duty. As an English teacher there is specific training and teaching cycles that I need to adhere to. The paper will highlight the roles, responsibilities and boundaries of a teacher in an institution setting. The paper will also focus on the changes on these fields and their effect on the fields and their impact either negative or positive (Machin & Vignoles, 2005). Additionally, the paper will provide an insight to the roles of the LSIS, BIS and IFL in terms of professional development in education. The general of a teacher is provision of education to scholars depending on the guidelines provided. This role is specified by the specific subject is interested in Giddens & Griffiths (2006). As an English teacher my roles would be to equip my students with the appropriate skills of communicating in this particular language. This particular role is divided in sections depending on the level of teaching. This differs as per the stipulations provided in the curriculum. In different classes and grades the complexity of the curriculum elevates. These guidelines provide teachers with the required and appropriate mode of teaching languages. According to Giddens & Griffiths (2006), in teaching of languages tutors are trained to provide education depending on the maturity of their audience. With a lower grade, my main role would be to equip the students with the basic skills of writing and communicating in English.

Using concrete examples compare and contrast hearing and listening Essay

Using concrete examples compare and contrast hearing and listening - Essay Example ps; like when one tries to recall any past event and he is able to remember hearing one or two things unconsciously and these tits and bits of information do come handy in many ways. However, active listening is vital and is explicitly significant for learning and progressing in academic, professional or personal life. Like, if one sits in a Professional Development Sessions and he does not pay conscious attention towards the taught concepts, he will suffer from developing skills and will be stuck in a challenging situation due to lack of strategic solutions. However, if a person actively listens in such session and remembers even one of the taught strategies, he will be able to integrate it easily in his day to day working and will definitely benefit from the learnt concept. Lets! Suppose, if an enthusiast Father is preaching God’s magnificence in his Sermon, he will quote direct biblical verses to prove his point to the Listeners. And he can only quote them aptly if he integrates them with day to day occurrences or issues of the listeners (which he hears during confessions). Similarly, if he is not attentive in confessions box, he will not be able to speak effectively with his audience, as he will not be aware of their core problems or pressing issues. Likewise, if his audience is only hearing and they have diverse nature (content oriented, time oriented or passive listeners) they will not benefit or acquire any information from his sermon and their faith will decline eventually. Active listeners tend to comprehend the received information in diverse ways. Simultaneously, hearing is a natural act of receiving sounds from the environment. Like the traffic noise, wind blowing, honking horns, animal cries, people talking in crowded subways, one can hear them; but does not focus on them consciously or unconsciously. And if he does concentrate on any of them like consciously hearing the chirping of the birds then the act becomes listening instead of hearing. For

I will upload the specific question later on the file Essay

I will upload the specific question later on the file - Essay Example They held anti-abortion campaigns among other family values and were even for all types of conservatism including open anti-homosexual campaigns led by Anita Bryant according to the new right and religious right slide. What this led to is a clash between the Christians and the non-Christians as well as made people be divided along party sides. With this division and support, the number of Christians increased tremendously as those opposing joined the different churches. with the growth came the strength in numbers which reduced some of the proposals being made as well as led to rejection of others as well as reduction in their negative impact in society. The Watergate incident was marked with a series of lies and criminal offenses. The worst but was that the man the people had re-elected thinking he would shed light into the issue turned out to be the greatest betrayer of the people’s vote and confidence in the office. It turned out that government leaders in the executive branch of government were the ones breaking laws and committing crimes that negatively affected the people. How could they trust such a government which only thought about their individual benefits and not about the people they represented? The irony of the situations that took place during the Watergate scandal and the Carter administration reflected an epic fail of government. According to the slide on Despair and doubt 1975, they were meant to protect the citizens and safeguard their interests and needs but their selfishness to remain in power and continue ruling the people and implementing unjust and unhelpful policies led to commit atrocities in the eyes of the American citizens. The government failed to protect the rights for equality for the minority groups from the homosexuals to the women and the African-Americans effectively. They implemented laws that angered the people and they did all these without consulting the grassroots. This was an

My own communication and interpersonal skills Essay Example for Free

My own communication and interpersonal skills Essay I will be assessing my own communication and interpersonal skills in relation to each interaction. Verbal Communication My placement is at a pre-school, I have good verbal communication as I interact well with the children when I am speaking to them I listen to what their saying when they are speaking to me, I keep an open mind and concentrate on the main direction of the children’s message to me, I avoid distractions to make sure I am effectively listening to them at all times, usually the children speak to me about the toys they are playing with and they tell me about the activities they are doing. For example the in my last one to one interaction I was talking a girl in the nursery about her pets at home and if she looks after them, even though I don’t have any pets I listened to the girl and gave her appropriate feedback and questions. I make sure I am in a comfortable environment so I can hear the children effectively so it’s not noisy; I am always prepared to listen to everything the children say to me. In a one to one interaction I find it easier to communicate verbally as I’m only speaking to one child so I can stay focused on that particular child and what they’re saying to me to make sure I am actively listening to the child, this is an area I communicate well with and many skills in this area improve every time I go. Whereas in group interaction I find verbal communication harder so I need to improve on this, I find it hard to speak to more than one child at a time because they are children they are all speaking at the same time so I am getting a lot of information at the same time I try my best to effectively listen to them but with a lot of information being told to me it’s hard to process the information, I need to improve on this by making sure the children are taking turns so I can listen to them without getting bored. For example in my last group interaction I was making a puzzle with the three children and they were all asking me questions at the same time to I found it hard to listen to all the questions. I also need to improve on the questions I ask the children to make a conversation with them; I ask them questions but then I run out of questions to ask them so then the conversation stops, I should ask more questions that interest the children so my communication skills improve. In a group interaction I am better, so I am good at asking questions as there are more children with more questions to ask me so the  conversation run more better and information is shared quicker and more effectively, compared to a one to one interaction I run out of questions to ask the child as I do not obtain information well. I need to improve on this skill to I can communicate better with a single child to give them more involvement in the conversation. I can respond to questions more effectively as I find it easier to understand the question they have asked me because they are children and the questions are quite simple. I let the children tell me what they want to say to me so I can clarify my info rmation. Reflective speaking I think this skill is something I need to improve on; I do try my best to give the best feedback to the children in both types of interactions. In a one to one interaction I find it easier to communicate as I can understand the child’s message clearly and I am able to give feedback as the how the message is received, however sometimes I struggle to speak back to them if I haven’t understood what they are saying, this skill is vital and I need to improve on it every time I go to placement. In a group I interaction it’s the same with the listening as lots of children are speaking to me at the same time I need more time to process and give feedback but as they are children they get impatient waiting for me, I do have an interest in what the children are saying it’s just a matter of finding balance in my communication and interpersonal skills. Even though I am good at speaking to them effectively but I can’t give them feedback or start a conversation if I struggle to make a conversation but I can speak to the children and make sure they understand what I am saying to them. For example I was speaking to a child about her family and what jobs her mum and dad does but I couldn’t think of what to respond back to her so she got confused even though I did try my best. Non-verbal communication skills My non-verbal communication skills could do with some improvement, when I am communicating one to one my body movements can sometimes show to the child that I am not enjoying a conversation with them I try and show as much interest in possible but sometimes things like my posture if I am slumped while talking to a child it can communicate to them that I have a negative attitude to the conversation. In both types of interaction I struggle to  make eye contact it’s something I need to improve on I often don’t look at the children, in a group interaction I can’t keep eye contact with every child but I try my best to make them realise that I am going to talk to them and to let them know when it is their turn to speak to me, in a one to one I only have one child to focus one so I find this easier to do, however I am still nervous and this is why I struggle to keep eye contact , I think with more confidence I will be able to keep eye contact with the children when I am speaking to them. My closeness towards the children is a thing that I am doing well I make sure I give the appropriate space for the children to feel relaxed and for me to also to feel relaxed to effectively communicate with them. I thing I think I am good at in both type of interactions is my facial expression I always make sure i am smiling at the children to make it seem like I am interested in what they are saying to me so it then makes them realise that I am interested in what they have to say to me it makes sure that my communication with the children is effective. I am also good at gestures I do gestures a lot to express to the children what I am feelings, if I am speaking to them about something exciting I use my hand gestures to show them that I am interested in what they are saying to me. In my one to one to interactions I can focus more on what a child Is saying to me so my hand gestures express to them how I am feelings about what they or saying or what I am saying to them, this is the same with group interactions as I am able to use gestures to what all the children or saying as they are often talking about near enough the same things. However, I need to improve on negotiating with the children, a s they often argue with each other and I find it hard to stop the argument and reach an agreement. I need to make sure a negotiation is best for themselves, this is in a one to one interaction I do not need to negotiate but in a group I need to find common interests so they don’t argue. I need to improve on ending the conversation as I often don’t end the conversation so then the children might still have something they want to say to me, I should tell the children that I am going to go elsewhere so that they know the conversation is over or make it aware by body language or my facial expressions. One of the main things I need to improve on is my communication with the staff; I don’t communicate with the staff much. When they ask me to do something like helping the children wash their hands, I listen effectively and give appropriate feedback this is  something I can do well. But I need to speak to them more if I am unsure of things, but it is the children who I communicate with every time I go, the staffs are busy doing other things and they communicate with me when it is needed. I don’t really need to improve on this but I can talk to the staff and communicate with them if I need to for the benefit of the children. Overall I have more things I need to improve on for my communication and interpersonal skills. I find it easier to communicate in a one to one interaction as it is only one child and I can speak to them better as I am able to process my information faster and give the correct feedback to the child in order for them to understand. In a group interaction there is more than one children speaking to me and sometimes too much information is given to me at once and I can then not give feedback to the children, this is something I need to improve on and this can be done through effective turn taking so the children understand that they need to take turns in communication this will then make my skills better so I will be able to communicate more effective. I am able to stay calm and stay focused when communicating with both the staff and the children this is my main skill that I can do well, but my main skill that I need to improve on is my non-verbal communication skills as this is where I often find myself communicating that I am bored to the children because they can go on for a while and I do get bored of what they are saying so I can fold my arms and yawn portraying bad body language , this is why I need to make sure I am listening to what they are saying, I could ask different questions to change the subject of the conversation to something that I understand better. Good communication and interpersonal skills are vital when I am in my placement setting as I need to communicate well with service user to develop a good relationship with them so they understand what I am saying and for me to give them feedback to them. As I now know the things I need to improve on every time I go to placement I can improve my communication skills with the children and adults in order for my communication and interpersonal skills to be effective. I am going to be evaluating factors that influenced the effectiveness of both the one to one and group interaction. (D1) Effective Factors in one to one interactions Having good confidence– In my one to one interactions I have more confidence  as I am only talking to one child, I felt like I had more control over the conversation as I only had to deliver information to and from the person. Only talking to one child made me less anxious and nervous and I was speaking clearly and calmly as my nerves weren’t making me stumble on my words so this meant that the child could understand what I was saying so she was able to give me good feedback and I was able to respond without feeling anxious that I was going to mess up. My good confidence influenced my communication to make it better because I felt like I was enjoying the conversation instead of it being all over the place this enabled the conversation to run more smoothly and fun. Only having one child to speak to doesn’t overwhelm me with information so as I said earlier I had more control over what I was saying to the child and what I would respond so it made me feel better a bout the communication I was saying so I could then think of more questions to ask so the conversation between me and the child would last longer. It also helped that the child I was speaking to had good confidence she’s outgoing and she always has something to say to me so this influenced the effectiveness of the interactions because she wasn’t quiet and this helped me to speak to her so it didn’t effect my nerves as she kept asking me questions so it made the conversation more enjoyable. Knowing the child well– In my one to one interactions I speak to a child I know best, a child that I feel more comfortable speaking to because I speak to them a lot compared to the other children. It helps me because if I know the child then I have more things that I know about them e.g. favourite singers or their favourite foods, so I can then speak to them about a specific thing that they like to talk about then that child speaks to me a lot about that, so I am then able to respond better as I already know things about the child from previous conversations. The conversation is influenced by this as my confidence is better when I speaking to them because I know them better and I know how they interact with me so this then enables me to be more engaged with that child. As I know more things about them I can ask them questions related to something they like so they feel happier speaking to me about it as it excites them to tell me more about it so I more information is given and the conversations runs more effectively. When I child knows me better it helps as they then feel more comfortable speaking me as they know who I am so when I’m having a conversation with the child like in my last one to one  interactions we are happier speaking to each other so we are more likely to find common interests and make the communication more effective as we can listen better to each other and respond better. Environmental factors good amount of space- In my one to one interactions I have more space a around me as I am only talking to one child compared to several in a group interaction. Having more space around me made me more relaxed and comfortable to talk to the child as I don’t feel like I am consumed to one area, this makes me more less nervous when I’m speaking to a child as I know that I have more space around me to express how I’m feeling in a conversations through gestures and this can make a conversation more funnier. Having personal space around me means I can move around while I’m speaking to a child and I can do some actions to get the child more involved. Space influenced the effectiveness in my one to one interactions as when I have a good amount of personal space around me I can think my thoughts through better without getting paranoid that I don’t have enough space this enables me to deliver my information clearly and effectively so the child understand what I am saying to them. The amount of space I have is always at a reasonable amount as there is only one child, so this means I can effectively respond to what the child’s saying to me without getting panicked and I can then think of more questions to ask so this means that the communication is effective. Also this meant that the child had space to talk to me effectively so she didn’t get panicked that she didn’t have enough space to move around like through her gestures, so we were able to speak to each other clearly and all these reasons enabled me to communicate effectively with the child. Environmental, Good noise level When I’m having my one to one interaction with a child the room has some background noise but its fairly quiet and it makes sure I am able to concentrate on the children without getting distracted by other noises that the staff or children could be making, I can listen to them effectively to them as the noise is at a respectable level, as I am listening to them effectively the conversation runs faster and more smoothly. Being able to hear everything the child is saying helped them to understand what I was saying to them therefore I gave them appropriate feedback. It also allowed me not to misunderstand anything the child said to me so I didn’t make mistakes in what I said back to them so this influenced the effectiveness of my  communication between the child as it helped me to have full concentration on everything the child was saying, as the room was at a good noise level and the information to be delivered effectively and me and the child was able to carry on the conversation without the noise level being to loud, as it was just one child I could understand what she was saying to me as she was close to me so the noise levels were good so I was relaxed and so was the child so it made our communication effective as we were ab le to talk more freely. Group interactions Questions being planned out – In my group interaction there was four children in the group and all of them were confident and they each had lots of questions to ask me and each other. On child asked a question to me and I was able to answer it effectively as the questions were straightforward and every child on the table understood them so they were able to effectively listen to the question and they all responded well, this allowed the conversation to run smoothly without any arguments happening as the children all agreed on the questions and they were interested in them so it made the conversation more enjoyable so it was effective as all children participated because they were interested in the questions being asked or explained. Having the questions being planed out before hand allowed me to have some kind of structure to what I was going to ask so I had a basic idea of how the children would respond and how I would respond to them, I looked at what children was in the gro up and what type of questions they would enjoy answering to help the communication be effective, this then made sure no-one was left not knowing what to say as I always had a back up question. Once one child asked a question all the rest of the children thought of a question to ask as it related to the first question, so they all took turns and asked their questions it influenced the effectiveness of the interaction as questions were being asked so more information was being shared and the communication was effectively being listened and responded to. I had some good questions to ask the children and they were all interested in them so they listened to what I was saying and if a child got stuck on a question I aided them along. Having good and relatable question effectively helped the conversation as the more information was being responded to, as the children understood and were interested in what was being asked the listen nicely to  other children’s answers, I was listening to the children and giving good feedback and the overall conversation was enjoyable and fun and all the children were interacting well with me and each other from the questions said. Me bein g the group leader – As I was talking to a small group I was in charge of the conversation as I was the oldest and the most responsible in the group. Having a group leader helped me to have control of the conversation as I was able to help the children if they were struggling with the activity I was doing to I guided them through step by step so they understood what they had to do. When we had a group discussion I guided the group and made sure that everyone was having a turn so it was a fair conversation and it gave chance for other children to think of something to say. I had control over the conversation so when the children started disagreeing with each other I can stop them from arguing so this made sure that the conversation was running smoothly and calmly without arguments. I made sure that the if a child wasn’t speaking much I prompted them to speak so everything was fair and in order, and when the children went of topic I could ask a question to that was related to what we were previously speaking to, me being their made sure that the communication was effective as it could make sure that the children were listenin g to each other and responding to each effectively so I could make the group function better without the children getting frustrated. For example, I was making sparkles with my group and I talked them through step by step and made sure that they were sharing out the equipment fairly without them arguing with each other so I could effectively communicate and that they could listen and respond with each other, all these reasons helped me to effectively guide the group conversation so the communication was effective, so I was effectively interacting, listening and speaking to them as a group leader and that they were effectively listening and speaking to me. As a group leader me smiling and being open armed encouraged the children to participate with me as I was the group leader so they were looking up to me. Having a good amount of time to speak – In my group interactions I have a good amount of time to listen to what the children are saying to me, having a good amount of time to listen to the children allows to think through what I am saying and what I will say to them without being rushed by other things tha t are happening. I also allows the children to have enough time to listen to what I am saying  so they didn’t misunderstand what I was saying to them, this influenced the effectiveness of the conversation as having time to communicate made things not rushed so I was more relaxed when speaking to the children. I could then speak to the group of children without feeling that I had to rush things with them so I was speaking clearly, as it was a group and there was more then one person having an effective time to communicate helped me to speak to all of the children and it made sure everyone had a turn so there was no arguing. I was able to clarify my information so it was correct and it helped me and the children as I wasn’t anxious about what I was saying, my body language showed that I was relaxed and I was interacting well with the children, having enough time to do the discussion/activity with the children helped me to not rush things and it influenced the communication as it was pla nned out well and everyone was listening and responding well to each other. Having common interests – In my group interaction, picked a group of children that were all doing the same activity which was playing with the dinosaurs, I then went over and started to talk to the children and asked them questions like ‘what is your favourite dinosaurs’ and ‘what shall we call this dinosaur’, this influenced the communication as they were all doing the same thing so all the children were interested in what I was asking them, so this helped the conversation to flow better as more information was being delivered from each child. As I was interested in what they were playing with so I listened well to the children and then I responded well to them to keep the interested, having common interests helped the effectiveness of my group interaction as everyone was interested in the topic of the conversation so it made me and the children more relaxed. My good confidence, knowing the child well, having a good amount of space and it not being noisy influenced the effectiveness of my one to one interactions they each helped in different ways and they allowed me to have good listening and speaking skills as well as portraying good non-verbal communication skills. They helped me to understand the child better and to give good feedback to him/her. Questions, common interests, having enough time and me being a group leader all influenced the effectiveness of my interactions with four children in different ways, having more children to speak and listen helped me in some ways compared to my one to one interactions, but all these factors helped me to communicate  better with the children and for them to communicate with me. References Sheet given in class on what to do for the tasks (Accessed 08/12/14) PowerPoint on learning box – ‘Barriers to effective communication’ (Accessed 08/12/14)

Whole Life Cycle Costing Application Barriers Construction Essay

Whole Life Cycle Costing Application Barriers Construction Essay Ellingham and Fawcett (2006, p. 18) indicate that the net present value method for evaluating an investment cashflow was first developed about 50 years ago and is widely used in many spheres. In property and construction projects it has acquired a special name: whole-life costing. In fact, whole-life costing is simply the application of net present value analysis to construction projects. Most people will confused about the term of life-cycle costing, whole life costing, and whole life-cycle costing. As stated in Boussabaine and Kirkham study (2004, p. 4), prior to the 1970s, investment decisions made by most clients, developers and professionals was solely on the basis of capital cost. It appear a thought that spending more in capital cost will realize substantial cost savings in long term compared with a cheaper alternative, which we known as terotechnology. This concept was largely ignored because the lack of available data and collection mechanisms, and it shown that investor had no interest in the subsequent operational cost of the building. In the early 1970s, the term cost-in-use appear in the industry. It was recognized the concept of cost in use could apply to building and critical structures as to calculate the expenditure related to the operation of an asset. However, it also failed to consider the necessity for accurate future cost forecasting. It required some kind of technology to facilitate this problem (Boussabaine and Kirkham, 2004, p. 5). Until the mid to late 1970s, life-cycle costing emerged as a solution to this problem. It fostered a wide-ranging approach to cost appraisal, encompassing all perceivable cost from construction through to eventual disposal the whole life. By using a variety of forecasting techniques, the analyst was able to demonstrate how increase capital cost could be offset by long-term cost savings (Boussabaine and Kirkham, 2004, p. 5). As stated by Ashworth (1989), LCC is clearly a technique, which (at least in theory) has a potential for the correct financial evaluation of construction works. In should be noted that the concepts of LCC are not new. The principles are based upon economic theories, which have been used in investment appraisal in many areas of industrial and commercial activity.White and Ostwald (Korpi and Ala-Risku, 2008, p.241) show that LCC was originally designed for procurement purposes in the US Department of Defence and Woodward (Korpi and Ala-Risku, 2008, p.241) indicates that LCC is used most commonly in the military sector as well as in the construction industry. Towards the late 1990s, the concept of whole life costing and whole life-cycle costing emerged. The terms whole life costing and whole life-cycle costing are interchangeable (Boussabaine and Kirkham, 2004, p. 6). Whole life-cycle costing is a relatively new concept to the construction industry. It is essence an evolution of life-cycle costing techniques that are commonly used in many areas of procurement (Boussabaine and Kirkham, 2004, p. 3). Theoretically speaking, there is no different between LCC, WLC and WLCC. Schade (2007, p. 2), in reporting Flanagan and Jewell study, emphasizes that it is just a change of term form cost in use to life cycle costing and further to whole life cycle costing. Problem Statement According to Boussabaine and Kirkham (2004, p. xi), the construction industry has recently experienced a paradigmatic shift in its approach to product deliver and the achievement of customer satisfaction. Where previously the design and construction teams placed a heavy emphasis on delivering buildings at the lowest capital cost, a greater awareness and desire to consider cost over the whole life of the building have prevailed. Clients now want buildings that demonstrate value for money over the long term, and are not interested simply in the design solution which is the least expensive. These changes have lead to and highlighted the important of whole life-cycle costing approaches to the design, construction and operation of buildings. Schade (2007) claims that, production cost is the main cost factor in construction and is often set to the minimum in commonly, which does not necessarily improve the lifetime performance of buildings. Therefore, it is important to show the construction client in the early design phase the relationship between design choices and the resulting lifetime cost. Boussabaine and Kirkham (2004, p. ix) also note that the award of public construction contracts based on simply the lowest capital cost bid is no longer recognized as good practice; best value must be taken into account and thereby WLCC should be fully appraised as part of the decision making process. The research of Swaffield and McDonald (2007, p. 132) identify that contractors quantity surveyors generally did consider LCC when procuring new products/elements for Private Finance Initiative projects, but in certain circumstances, such as during exceptionally busy times or when working within tight construction budgets, LCC were not considered and procurement decisions for some product/elements were made on the basis of lowest capital cost. As Byron A. Ellis (2007, p.1) said, Designers, engineers and constructors are under pressure from owners to minimize total project cost. Unfortunately, many owners do not understand the concept of total project cost. As a result, they seek to minimize acquisition (first) cost. Economists Alchian and Allen (Byron, 2007, p.1) argue that the term cost should never be used by itself; they noted that it should always be identified with total, average, or marginal. According to Fischer et al (Tah and Aouad, 2007), although the significance of LCC has been recognized as early as 1980s, the current implementation has not been very satisfied due to two major barriers: first barrier is the historical data of building operation and maintenance. Second barrier is the complexity of the procedures and algorithms of calculating the LCC. For example, a building concern thousands of elements and construction method and maintenance activities. A simple change in the building material might take long hours of recalculations, it is therefore difficult to assist users to manipulate the large design and LCC analysis. However, even the idea of WLCC analysis is to help the owner to examine a economically alternative, there will always have the possibility of misleading the decision making by the error result of WLCC due to lack of data or unpredictable changes. There have no such as 100% accuracy for WLCC analysis because the limitation of forecast ability of human being are impossible to forecast everything that could be happen in future. This paper addresses the problems above by providing a detail discussion of WLCC for assisting and simplifying the application of the technique based on the WLCC in construction industry. At the same time reveal the popularity of application of WLCC in Malaysian construction industry. Aim To identified the barriers of applying whole life-cycle costing and investigate the popularity of implementation of whole life-cycle costing in Malaysian construction industry Objectives To review the important of usage of whole life-cycle costing in construction industry. To identify the barriers of application of whole-life cycle costing in construction industry. To analyse the factors affecting the accuracy of whole-life cycle costing. To investigate the popularity of application of whole-life cycle costing in Malaysian construction industry. Scope of Study The concept of Whole life-cycle costing (WLCC) can be use as many sector, to narrow the scope of study, the study will only be focus on the construction industries. Besides that, case study would not conduct to the project for the calculation of WLCC because it will be extremely difficult to obtain the large quantity of information across the long term of a building life cycle and data such as the project operation and maintenance cost, replacement cost, disposal cost could be confidential to its owners. Thus, to manually collect this data has to be very costly and time consuming and the missing of any result above will cause inaccurate of result. This study will focus on reviewing the important of application of WLCC into construction industry. The first issue to be study in deep is the discussion on the principles, advantages and purposes of WLCC analysis. The second issue is to identify the error and the difficulties of applying WLCC due to lack of necessary information and unpred ictable changes. The third issue is to do a research on the understanding of WLCC among owners and their frequency of applying WLCC. Research Methodology The methodology should be targeted at a consistent whole life-cycle costing (WLCC) approach and calculations and should not be aimed at reducing costs but at making more informed and consistent economic, financial and environmental decisions. The study was conducting in four stages. The first phase is the literature review. Second phase will be interview pilot study to the issue. Third phase will be constructing questionnaires. The last phase is to writing the research report. First stage: The literature review started with the important of application of WLCC and required data for a WLCC analysis. Searching of article about WLCC and the searching key words would be whole life-cycle costing, whole cycle costing and life-cycle costing. And the information of search will be limited into construction industry to filtered unnecessary information. The main sources for the literature research were databases, such as Emerald, web of science, Google and library of college Tunku Abdul Rahman. Second stage: Data collection will take form of a structured postal questionnaire. However an initial pilot study may be conducted to test the validity of the questionnaire through interviews with relevant parties. Third stage: Questionnaires will be conduct and send to respondent. The main ideas of the questionnaires are to test the owners of understanding about WLCC, and also research on the preferable of low initial cost or low WLCC when owner make decision of choosing alternatives. The questionnaire should be highlighted more prominently, to make it easier for respondents to participate in the final questionnaire survey. Last stage: This stage involves writing up the content of the dissertation and should cover the chapters proposed in the following section. The result of interview and questionnaires will be analysis and conclude. Example of WLCC analysis will provide by searching through media resources and calculate by myself with simple and reality assumption based on the WLCC principles.

Effects of Regionalisation

Effects of Regionalisation 1. Introduction Acknowledging the fact that future growth will depend on overcoming resource scarcity and a small domestic market, the Singapore government has been strongly encouraging local firms to regionalise their operations and invest abroad. This report discusses some of the social and economic downsides brought about by the regionalisation strategy. 2. Regionalisation Intent Of The Government Singapores scarceness in resources i.e. land labour as well as its undersized domestic market are the major drives for regionalisation. The rationales to propel Singapores economy beyond her shores are as follow. Boundless Boundaries Markets and workplaces are no longer limited by boundaries and distance. Capital is free to move to where it can generate the best returns. While our neighbouring countries gear up and build up, our competitiveness is eroded due to our high operational cost and unattractive domestic market. Many jobs are lost for good as business activities shift to these countries where operational costs are much lower e.g. for labour intensive industries. Also, the small consumer market here hinders the potential of local retailing industries unfavourably. On the other hand, the region offers far better returns for all. Economic Growth The United States and Europe have all along been our traditional markets. In view of this dependency, the slowdown of economic growth rates in these matured economies invariably puts a brake on Singapores economy. Consequently, we have to look towards the up and coming Asia-Pacific region where growth rates are in double digits, no doubt due to its low base. But it offers vast opportunities for Singapores produce to be a part of them and to grow with them. Mutual Benefits Regionalisation looks beyond the borders to tap and leverage on one anothers strengths. This constitutes a win-win situation. Wider exposure cultural diversity of people Expanded networks and contacts with international businesses, clients talents Larger job market where career is not confined to local employment opportunities Healthier relations with affiliated countries through mutual beneficial trade 3. The Family Pays For Regionalisation It is believed that while regionalisation brings us good, it will and is going to upset the family ties of Singaporeans in one way or another. The Children One major hurdle that deters Singaporeans who are married with children from taking up jobs overseas is their concern about their childrens education. Parents expressed concerns over the childs resistance and adaptability to foreign curriculum system, possibility of racial discrimination in foreign schools, denial of foreign education credentials in future and loss of emotional ties with Singapore. Nonetheless, measures are taken to resolve these concerns: Singapore International Schools: Simulating home-style schooling environment abroad with parallel curriculum including Mother Tongue Leave of Absence Scheme: Entitling previous students to rejoin their former schools upon returning home Flexibility in Admission Criteria: Recognising foreign examination scores and conducting in-house examinations and interviews for admittance decisions CAMP SINGAPORE: Assembling overseas Singaporeans children back home to live through Singapores all-embracing way of life in a good fun educating manner Abolishment of Monetary Bond Requirement: Encouraging males (> 11 years old) to follow their parents abroad to foster family cohesion promote regionalisation The Wife The regionalisation policy seems to have become one that helps men more than it does women. Findings of a study have shown that the careers of many women ended on the backburner because of the countrys regionalisation drive. Women get locked into the stereotypes of being only mothers and housewives. 100 out of 150 Man brings his wife children with him overseas 146 out of 150 Wife gives up a good career becomes a housewife 149 out of 150 Unable to secure a professional job she once held 001 out of 150 Only one man accompanies his wife overseas The Marriage Findings of the study have revealed that 148 out of 150 spouses felt neglected when the other heads overseas to work. More than 75% of them fear the problem of extramarital affair. Furthermore, research has shown that a disillusioned family returns in spite of all preparatory measures taken by the family e.g. pledging to call/visit one another often, to stay faithful etc. E.g. A top manager resigned, choosing his marriage over his career and another who did the exact opposite and as a result suffered a broken marriage. 4. The Country Pays For Regionalisation To begin with, let us understand that regionalisation implies the occurrence of a two-way flow of expertise between a sending country and a receiving country. When the inflow is greater than the outflow, we say there is â€Å"Brain Gain†. Conversely, when the outflow is greater than the inflow, we say there is â€Å"Brain Drain†. Some Reasons For The â€Å"Brain Drain† Phenomena Economical reasons e.g. better job development prospects, lower cost of living, higher disposable income Political Legal reasons e.g. less restrictive dominative grounds Social reasons e.g. stress-free work, education personal lifestyle, creative self-interest development space Physical Natural reasons e.g. ample cheap resources (land, labour, raw materials etc.), seasonal climate, picturesque landscapes The Undesirable Repercussion The phenomenon has weakened the countrys choice and pool of talents harshly. Given our diminutive population, we have no surplus of talents. This will in turn upset our competitiveness, economic potential as well as unbalance our mix of population e.g. Singaporeans versus PRs, aging population etc. In a way, we have flattened our own pyramid of talents with our own hands by encouraging the dispersal of Singaporeans. Many of our best now contribute to others economies permanently instead of returning to Singapore. They are only thinking, worrying and creating wealth for foreign lands. This is the facet of regionalisation that we need to reflect on and address (Goh Chok Tong, 1997). â€Å"Go Regional, Stay Local† Approach It is crucial that overseas Singaporeans are tied to Singapore strongly by helping them to stay in touch with us. The setting up of Singapore International Foundation, Singapore International Schools, Singaporeans Overseas Programmes, over 85 Singapore Clubs and the regular monthly SINGAPORE magazine are efforts paid out to preserve the Singaporean identity and the sense of national belonging of overseas Singaporeans (Lee Hsien Loong, 2003). Other efforts include giving overseas Singaporeans voting rights e.g. the recent GE 2006 in Shanghai, home-stand assistance in times of emergency e.g. evacuation from Cambodia Indonesia during those troubled times and welcoming them back by helping spouses to find jobs children to schools in the re-entry stage. 5. Foreign Talents Policy The policy aims to attract two groups of foreigners. It also covers transient low-skilled workers who will have to leave after a period of time. The first group refers to the crà ¨me de la crà ¨me of talent. Sought by countries all over the world, they include neurosurgeons, top-notch scientists, professors, sportsmen etc. Examples include table tennis player: Li Jia Wei from China, CEO of DBS Bank: John Olds from America etc. The other group refers to qualified young people who meet several objectives e.g. lab technicians, nurses, IT personnel, multi-skilled or experienced persons etc. Population Distress Statistics show that more than a quarter of the people in Singapore are foreigners (PRs and non-residents). In 1990, our population numbered 3.05 million. It has since jumped to 4.02 million with the gap mainly attributed to the increase of foreigners. As such, Singaporeans now make up approximately only 74% of the population size compared to 86.1% ten years ago. Importing Foreign Talents The rationale behind this is fairly apparent. Foreign talents are needed to boost the economy, create jobs and strengthen the countrys competitiveness (Goh Chok Tong, 2003). Singapores small population cannot produce enough talent; whats more when the â€Å"Brain Drain† phenomenon is mounting (Lee Kuan Yew, 2003). Foreigners are needed. America has been a top-notch marketplace for ideas owing to its readiness to welcome foreigners into all industries. The Singapore government wishes to emulate this example as well. Reasons for importing foreign talents include: Fill in jobs which Singaporeans lack the expertise in or that we do not want to do Promote healthy competition among foreigners and locals, motivating locals to work harder upgrade their skills to compete on fair grounds Encourage fruitful diversity in creative thinking and value-adding innovation For instance, out of the 32 Chairmen of Statutory Boards, 12 were born outside Singapore and in the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, 51 out of the 87 musicians were foreign born. Many ministers were also born overseas: Goh Keng Swee (Malacca), Rajaratnam (Ceylon), Toh Chin Chye (Taiping), Hon Sui Sen who joined later was from Penang. Without this inflow, Singapore could never have made it, let alone become what it is today. Nonetheless, many Singaporeans have raised questions over the following issues: Managerial positions and those of good pay benefits are taken up by expatriates Fear of â€Å"second-class citizen† treatment Nepotism over fellow foreigners, unfair gap in disposable income (foreign exchange difference) etc. 6. Regionalisation In Mandarin Our government has identified China, in addition to India and ASEAN nations, as the direction to our regionalisation strategy. In 20 years time, China will be the second most powerful nation in the world after the U.S. probably the worlds largest economy. Many non-Chinese will see the advantage of learning the Chinese language to do business in China. Therefore we must find ways to sustain a high level of proficiency in Mandarin in the Singapore. We have to reproduce a core group of Singaporeans who are steeped in and knowledgeable about the Chinese cultural heritage, history, literature, and the arts (Goh Chok Tong, 1991). More students are taking up the Higher Chinese subject More scholarships are offered to people learning and educating Chinese Language and Literature More bilingual local Chinese are able to speak Mandarin More promotional and educational support e.g. â€Å"Say It If You Dare† TV variety show, local pop idol Lin Jun Jie endorsing the Speak Chinese Campaign etc. are carried out actively 7. Conclusion We agree that regionalisation is today no longer a choice but very much a necessity. But as we encourage the dispersal of Singaporeans, there is a possibility that we are disposing them for good as our pyramid of talents gets flattened, family gets disillusioned and foreign talents gets within. If Singaporeans are not deeply rooted to Singapore through strong bonds of family, friends, community and nation, the core of our nation will be shattered. In a nutshell, regionalisation has a world of opportunities yields to offer to all of us as long as we fulfill our individual and collective rightful obligations with utmost virtuousness.

Essay --

Rohan Baishya Due 2/13/14 Block 5 Poem Commentary The Schoolboy by William Blake The Schoolboy is a poem which at first, William Blake, the author of the poem, put in his original version of Songs of Innocence but eventually moved it to the other half of his complete work, Songs of Innocence and Experience. His change of mind of the suitable position for The School Boy shows indecision by Blake regarding whether he should divide the works into two divergent sections or keep them together to resemble the crucial eminence of this particular poem. An elucidation of the poem is that Blake knew beforehand and was planning out the larger work when Songs of Innocence was first published, and that he intentionally decided to have dissimilar poems like The Schoolboy to institute at least some tension through the concurrence of them centered on other carefully planned out works. This understanding is further supported because Blake already completed plenty of the poems earlier, and these later became the Songs of Experience when the former work had been published. Therefor e, it is straightforward to envisage that Blake was experimenting, which led to a couple divergent poems added momentarily to Songs of Innocence. But beside the point, these distinctive characteristics of the background of The Schoolboy are incorporated to emphasize the poem as something worth evaluating more closely, for there is far more to it than meets the eye. Another rationale for concentrating on The Schoolboy is its subject matter. The poem is in relation to the results of official schooling on a child’s life. What happens to kids when they are brought into an atmosphere of strict, textbook style of learning? Is anything lost in exchange for the chance to learn in ... ...ful experiences in school can adversely shape the lives of kids and students. In the second half of The Schoolboy, William Blake gives a passionate call for the insightful handling of juvenile minds. In the fourth stanza, an additional element from the first stanza is used figuratively to exemplify the negative results of an authoritarian way of learning. The tenor of this allegory is an anxious kid required to go to school and disregard his or her way of thinking. The comparison is to an incarcerated bird that droops its young wings and is forced to forget its joyful urge to fly free. The similarity, which institutes the metaphor, is the incarcerating makeup of both the school and the bird’s cage; the purpose of both are to control and transform the being within at the cost of their innate, free self-expression, oppressing the delicate, youthful tunes within them.

Invalidity of the Creationism Theory :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Invalidity of the Creationism Theory Since I was a small child I have been interested in science, specifically the natural sciences. They have always intensely fascinated me. So of course being the curious child I was, I read many volumes on paleontology, paleo-archeology, and geology. During this same time, my parents were deeply involved in the church. They both had just graduated from seminary school and were thinking of starting their own ministry. This of course caused quite a conflict in me. Here on the one hand were all these famous authors telling me how the planet had evolved naturally over eons of time with no intervention from any deity. Then on the other, hand I had my parents and others telling me to trust in God for he was the creator of all. To settle these internal conflicts I read an extensive amount of literature on both creationism's position and that of main stream science. I settled eventually on one final conclusion. The three most common cases cited for the validity of creationism are unjustly fou nded. The Great Flood The great flood is, of course, the biblical story that tells of Gods judgment of man and His resulting punishment for what He saw as rampant wickedness. As the story goes, man had begun to multiply rapidly on the face of the earth, but to the Lord these men had become wicked. They had only evil thoughts in their hearts and minds. The Lord God decided he would obliterate all life on the planet, except for Noah's family and the two of every kind of animal and creeping thing (or seven according to the next verse) that they take with them on the ark. Creationists claim that this worldwide flood is responsible for the destruction of the dinosaurs. According to them, the flood is responsible for the extinction of thousands of species. They believe evolution never did occur and the earth is not billions of years old as claimed by main stream science. Of course, the first problem with the global flood idea is the availability of enough water to cover the whole earth. Using current standards God would have needed 4.4 billion cubic kilometers of water to cover the highest mountains, which the Bible claims the Lord accomplished. One popular explanation by Creationists for the water problem is that a giant vapor canopy once surrounded the whole planet.

Civil Disobedience and Thoreau

Are Thoreau’s Ideas About â€Å"Civil Disobedience† Outdated Today? â€Å"Civil disobedience† is an intentional and non-violent disobedience of law by an individual who believes that a certain law is unjust and who is willing to accept the penalty for breaking that law to bring about change and public awareness. When Henry David Thoreau wrote â€Å"On The Duty of Civil Disobedience† in 1849, he advocated that democracy in America could only be improved by individual activism and civil disobedience to unjust laws.Thoreau’s ideas in â€Å"Civil Disobedience† are outdated for contemporary American Society because the more effective solution for unjust laws today is active participation within the political system and not individual civil disobedience. The American political system allows the minority perspective to prevail, and any citizen can change the law through the courts, through Congress, and through the election of new government leaders . Thoreau’s ideas that American democracy is run by an unresponsive and tyrannical majority and that â€Å"A minority is powerless while it conforms to the majority† (Thoreau 231) are wrong or outdated in today’s society.In the American concept of democracy, individuals can, and do, challenge unjust laws through the court system and through the election process. While civil disobedience by individuals has historically been credited for civil rights reform in America, the government institutions were ultimately responsible for the reform of unjust laws and unjust practices. Civil rights reform began in the court system. Ultimately, unjust laws were overturned by the new laws. The Fourteenth Amendment gave all citizens the right to due process and equal protection under the law. Women have the right to vote because of the Nineteenth Amendment.Thus, Thoreau is incorrect when he states â€Å"Even voting for the right is doing nothing for it† and minimizes the effect that a citizen can have in the election process (Thoreau 226). American’s participation in the Iraq war will end as a result of President Obama’s election. One of President Obama’s significant campaign promises was that he would end the Iraq war begun by President Bush. The demonstrations across from the White House and the marches did not change President Bush’s conviction that military resources should be used in Iraq. Kathy Kelly’s Voices in America which defied economic sanctions against Iraq by taking edicine to Iraq and by being fined $20,000 did not cause any change in policy. Ethan and Vima Vesely-Flad’s purposeful payment of 51% their tax monies to the Quakers rather than the federal government to protest the military involvement in Iraq only resulted in the garnishment of Ethan’s wages. All of these civil disobedience efforts failed, and the change that all these protesters wanted occurred because people participated within the political system by voting for President Obama. The Court system legalized abortion rights and protected the rights of women. In contrast, the anti-abortion movement has marched on Washington, D.C. and engaged in civil disobedience for decades without changing those rights. These protestors of the right created by Roe v. Wade who have illegally blocked patients and health care providers from access to the abortion clinics have only helped those who favor abortion. The pharmacists who refused to provide birth control because they consider it a form of abortion have only lost their jobs and been subject to public disdain. Supporters of the right to choose and of abortion rights for women have devoted their energies to working within the political process with the results being that abortion remains legal.The Tea Party also demonstrates how an organized grassroots minority can influence government by organizing and by working within the political system to bring about chang e. The Tea Party organization began with a handful of citizens who were concerned about government spending and excessive taxation and regulation. The Tea Party created a platform called â€Å"The Contract For America† which caused Republicans to create their own â€Å"Commitment to America† and their â€Å"A Pledge to America. † The Tea Party has been able to influence several elections and is given the credit of having helped Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown be elected.The Tea Party has been predicted to have a significant impact on the coming November elections. If the Tea Party succeeds in electing state and federal legislators, it will affect government spending. The existence of the Tea Party has already influenced the Republican party, which shows that working within the system is more effective than the civil disobedience urged by Thoreau. Modern day civil disobedience is ineffective and will not result in change as Thoreau suggests. The reasons that ci vil disobedience is no longer the most effective mechanism for change is because of its nature.Civil disobedience involves a protest by an individual who breaks a law to change it. Most of those protests are uncoordinated. Individual disobedience without widespread participation or publicity does not create greater awareness of a moral issue. Civil disobedience has worked in the past when the unjust law affects a majority of the citizens and has widespread, albeit silent, support. Certain acts of disobedience like the pharmacist refusing to feel a prescription needed by a women for whatever reason or like blocking access to a medical clinic do not work and alienate the society.Thus, Thoreau’s ideas of â€Å"Civil Disobedience† about civil disobedience have less value today in American Society because the individual is far more likely to bring about change by working within the system as the modern Iraqi war protests, anti-abortion protests, and the Tea Party have shown . Civil disobedience is no longer the most effective agent for an individual to reform the law, and the more effective solution for unjust laws requires active participation in the political process to make the government more responsive to its citizens.

Nationally Identity Cards

Real ID will not make people any safer no matter how people strive and spin it. In reality people will be less safe from tyranny and despotism than ever before for the reason that it doesn’t come from outside forces but right here in the homeland; our own backyard (AJY, 2005). The terrorist attacks of September 11  have revived proposals for a national identity card system as a way to confirm the identity of airline passengers and keep away from terrorists from entering the country (Kristof and Stanley, 2004). For instance, the Chairman and CEO of Oracle Corp., Larry Ellison, lately called for the creation of a national ID system and offered to make available the software for it without charge.The newest calls for a national ID are only the latest in a long series of proposals that have cropped up repeatedly over the past decade, typically in the framework of immigration policy, but also in connection with gun control or health care reform. But the creation of a national I.D . card remains a misplaced, superficial â€Å"quick fix.† It offers only a false sense of security and will not enhance our security but will pose serious threats to the civil liberties and civil rights. A National ID will not keep people safe or free.The problem is the card itself. No matter how unforgeable we make it, it will be forged. And even worse, people will get legitimate cards in fraudulent names (Schneier, 2004). A national ID card system will not avoid terrorism. It would not have thwarted the September 11 hijackers, for instance, lot of whom reportedly had identification documents on them, and were in the country legally.  Terrorists and criminals will continue to be able to get by legal and illegal means the documents needed to get a government ID, such as birth certificates.Yes, these new documents will have data like digital fingerprints on them, but that won't show real identity just that the carrier has obtained what could without difficulty be a fraudulen t document. And their creation would not justify the cost to American taxpayers, which according to the Social Security Administration would be at least $4 billion. It is an impractical and ineffective proposal a simplistic and naà ¯ve try to use gee-whiz technology to solve difficult social and economic problems.A national ID card system would not protect us from terrorism, but it would construct a system of internal passports that would extensively diminish the freedom and privacy of law-abiding citizens. Once put in place, it is extremely unlikely that such a system would be restricted to its original purpose. Social Security numbers, for instance, were initially intended to be used only to administer the retirement program.   But that limit has been routinely ignored and steadily abandoned over the past 50 years. A national ID system would threaten the privacy that Americans have always enjoyed and gradually amplify the control that government and business wields over everyda y citizens (Miller, 1995).What happens when an ID card is stolen? What proof is used to make a decision that gets a card? A national ID would require a governmental database of every person in the U.S. containing continually updated identifying information. It would likely contain numerous errors, any one of which could render someone unemployable and probably much worse until they get their â€Å"file† straightened out. And once that database was created, its use would almost certainly expand. Law enforcement and other government agencies would soon ask to link into it, while employers, direct mailers, landlords, private investigators, landlords, credit agencies, mortgage brokers, civil litigants, and a long list of other parties would begin seeking access, further eroding the privacy that Americans have always expected in their personal lives.Americans have long had a visceral aversion to building a society in which the authorities could act like totalitarian sentries and d emand â€Å"your papers please!† And that everyday intrusiveness would be conjoined with the full power of modern computer and database technology. When a police officer or security guard scans your ID card with his pocket bar-code reader, for instance, will a permanent record be created of that check, including the time and your location? How long before office buildings, doctors' offices, gas stations, highway tolls, subways and buses incorporate the ID card into their security or payment systems for greater efficiency? The end result could be a nation where citizens' movements inside their own country are monitored and recorded through these â€Å"internal passports.†Rather than eliminating discrimination, as some have claimed, a national identity card would foster new forms of discrimination and harassment of anyone perceived as looking or sounding â€Å"foreign.† That is what happened after Congress passed the Employer Sanctions provision of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1985: widespread discrimination against foreign-looking American workers, particularly Asians and Hispanics. A 1990 General Accounting Office study found almost 20 percent of employers engaged in such practices.A national ID card would have the same effect on a massive scale, as Latinos, Asians, Caribbean’s and other minorities became subject to ceaseless status and identity checks from police, banks, merchants and others. Failure to carry a national I.D. card would likely come to be viewed as a reason for search, detention or arrest of minorities. The stigma and humiliation of constantly having to prove that they are Americans or legal immigrants would weigh heavily on such groups.National ID is an extremely terrible idea it really isn't clear to me that a national ID card does not make identification more reliable as well as realizing important economic savings by standardization. In particular while I agree that using one ID system introduces an ordinary point of high value failure it also economically feasible to invest a great deal more in the ID system. If one ID replaces n IDs you can make the ID cost roughly about the sum of the costs of all those other IDs. If one national ID replaced our entire driver's licenses, passports, credit cards and so forth it could afford more sophisticated safeguards than any of the former IDs individually.National ID system is a bad idea. Unfortunately, insecure and badly abused national ID system already exist the Social Security Number. Using SSN and Driver's Licenses as ID systems is bad, bad, bad. There are little or no regulations governing how these data can be used and this result in the current state of things: with your name and SSN, an identity thief can wreak havoc on your life. With a plain, secure, and open architecture for individual ID's, then we, as citizens, could take power over how our identities are used and disseminated for things like insurance forms, employment appl ications, credit applications, etc. Unfortunately, the need to positively identify and track an individual for these purposes is a stone cold part of daily life.Rather than reject outright the notion of any form of national ID we should be actively working towards an architecture that actually works and provides safeguards for our personal information, while at the same time making application processes easier and more streamlined. Honestly, it makes me fume that I have to fill out my personal and insurance information every time I go to any medical professional. Why can't I enter a PIN number or password into a secured touch pad and automatically authorize the download of my information automatically? Enabling this sort of ability would be moving forward, not backward.REFERENCEAJY, Real ID Act Is Our National ID Card; Real Bad, Real Stupid, 2005 Bruce Schneier. A National ID Card Wouldn't Make Us Safer. Minneapolis Star Tribune, 2004 ;http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/05/r eal_id.html;Kristof and Jay Stanley. Should the U.S. adopt a national ID card system? Many countries issue national ID cards. Post-9/11 security concerns have prompted a debate about whether †¦ ): An article from: New York Times Upfront, Scholastic, Inc., 2004.Miller, John J.   A national ID system: Big brother's solution to illegal immigration, Cato Institute (1995).

Religion vs Ethics

Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics return to religion-online Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics by Reinhold Niebuhr One of the foremost philsophers and theologians of the twentieth century, Reinhold Niebuhr was for many years a Professor at Union Theological Seminary, New York City. He is the author of many classics in their field, including The Nature and Destiny of Man, Moral Man and Immoral Society, The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness, and Discerning the Signs of Our Times.He was also the founding editor of the publication Christianity and Crisis. Published in 1932 by Charles Scribner's Sons. This material was prepared for Religion Online by Ted and Winnie Brock. In this classic study, Niebuhr draws a sharp distinction between the moral and social behavior of individuals versus social groups — national, racial, and economic. He shows how this distinction then requires political policies which a purely indi vidualistic ethic will necessarily find embarrassing. IntroductionThe inferiority of the morality of groups to that of individuals is due in part to the difficulty of establishing a rational social force which is powerful enough to cope with the natural impulses by which society achieves its cohesion; but in part it is merely the revelation of a collective egoism, compounded of the egoistic impulses of individuals, which achieve a more vivid expression and a more cumulative effect when they are united in a common impulse than when they express themselves separately and discreetly.Chapter 1: Man and Society: The Art of Living Together History is a long tale of abortive efforts toward the desired end of social cohesion and justice in which failure was usually due either to the effort to eliminate the factor of force entirely or to an undue reliance upon it. Chapter 2: The Rational Resources of the Individual for Social Living The traditions and superstitions, which seemed to the eight eenth century to be the very root of injustice, have been eliminated, without checking the constant growth of social injustice.Yet the men of learning persist in their hope that more intelligence will solve the social problem. They may view present realities quite realistically; but they cling to their hope that an adequate pedagogical technique will finally produce the â€Å"socialised man† and thus solve the problems of society. file:///D:/rb/relsearchd. dll-action=showitem=415. htm (1 of 4) [2/4/03 12:43:52 PM] Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics Chapter 3: The Religious Resources of the Individual for Social LivingIf the recognition of selfishness is prerequisite to the mitigation of its force and the diminution of its antisocial consequences in society, religion should be a dominant influence in the socialisation of man; for religion is fruitful of the spirit of contrition. Chapter 3: The Religious Resources of the Individual for Social Living I f the recognition of selfishness is prerequisite to the mitigation of its force and the diminution of its antisocial consequences in society, religion should be a dominant influence in the socialisation of man; for religion is fruitful of the spirit of contrition.Chapter 4: The Morality of Nations A discussion of the moral characteristics of a nation and the reasons for the selfishness and hypocrasy found therein. Chapter 4: The Morality of Nations A discussion of the moral characteristics of a nation and the reasons for the selfishness and hypocrasy found therein. Chapter 5: The Ethical Attitudes of Privileged Classes The prejudices, hypocrisies and dishonesties of the privileged and ruling classes is analyzed. The moral attitudes of dominant and privileged groups are characterised by universal selfdeception and hypocrisy.Chapter 5: The Ethical Attitudes of Privileged Classes The prejudices, hypocrisies and dishonesties of the privileged and ruling classes is analyzed. The moral at titudes of dominant and privileged groups are characterised by universal selfdeception and hypocrisy. Chapter 6: The Ethical Attitudes of the Proletarian Class If we analyse the attitudes of the politically self-conscious worker in ethical terms, their most striking characteristic is probably the combination of moral cynicism and unqualified equalitarian social idealism which they betray.The industrial worker has little confidence in the morality of men; but this does not deter him from projecting a rigorous ethical ideal for society. The effect of this development of an industrial civilisation is vividly revealed in the social and political attitudes of the modern proletarian class. These attitudes have achieved their file:///D:/rb/relsearchd. dll-action=showitem=415. htm (2 of 4) [2/4/03 12:43:52 PM] Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics authoritative expression and definition in Marxian political philosophy.Chapter 6: The Ethical Attitudes of the Proletari an Class If we analyse the attitudes of the politically self-conscious worker in ethical terms, their most striking characteristic is probably the combination of moral cynicism and unqualified equalitarian social idealism which they betray. The industrial worker has little confidence in the morality of men; but this does not deter him from projecting a rigorous ethical ideal for society. The effect of this development of an industrial civilisation is vividly revealed in the social and political attitudes of the modern proletarian class.These attitudes have achieved their authoritative expression and definition in Marxian political philosophy. Chapter 7: Justice Through Revolution Difficult as the method of revolution is for any Western industrial civilisation, it must not be regarded as impossible. The forces which make for concentration of wealth and power are operative, even though they do not move as unambiguously as the Marxians prophesied. Chapter 7: Justice Through Revolution Difficult as the method of revolution is for any Western industrial civilisation, it must not be regarded as impossible.The forces which make for concentration of wealth and power are operative, even though they do not move as unambiguously as the Marxians prophesied. Chapter 8: Justice Through Political Force The group, which feels itself defrauded of its just proportion of the common wealth of society, but which has a measure of security and therefore does not feel itself completely disinherited, expresses its political aspirations in a qualified Marxism in which the collectivist goal is shared with the more revolutionary Marxians, but in which parliamentary and evolutionary methods are substituted for revolution as means of achieving the goal.Chapter 8: Justice Through Political Force The group, which feels itself defrauded of its just proportion of the common wealth of society, but which has a measure of security and therefore does not feel itself completely disinherited, expres ses its political aspirations in a qualified Marxism in which the collectivist goal is shared with the more revolutionary Marxians, but in which parliamentary and evolutionary methods are substituted for revolution as means of achieving the goal. Chapter 9: The Preservation of Moral Values in PoliticsIf coercion, self-assertion and conflict are regarded as permissible and necessary instruments of social redemption, how are perpetual conflict and perennial tyranny to be avoided? file:///D:/rb/relsearchd. dll-action=showitem=415. htm (3 of 4) [2/4/03 12:43:52 PM] Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics Chapter 9: The Preservation of Moral Values in Politics If coercion, self-assertion and conflict are regarded as permissible and necessary instruments of social redemption, how are perpetual conflict and perennial tyranny to be avoided?Chapter 10: The Conflict Between Individual and Social Morality The conflict between ethics and politics is made inevitable by the double focus of the moral life. One focus is in the inner life of the individual, and the other in the necessities of man's social life. From the perspective of society the highest moral ideal is justice. From the perspective of the individual the highest ideal is unselfishness. 31 file:///D:/rb/relsearchd. dll-action=showitem&id=415. htm (4 of 4) [2/4/03 12:43:52 PM] Religion-Online religion-online. orgFull texts by recognized religious scholars More than 1,500 articles and chapters. Topics include Old and New Testament, Theology, Ethics, History and Sociology of Religions, Comparative Religion, Religious Communication, Pastoral Care, Counselling, Homiletics, Worship, Missions and Religious Education. site map (click on any subject) THE SITE THE BIBLE About Religion Online Copyright and Use A Note to Professors THEOLOGY Authority of the Bible Theology Old Testament Ethics New Testament Missions Comparative Religion Bible Commentary Religion and CultureHistory of Religious Thought R ELIGION & COMMUNICATION Communication Theory Communication in the Local Church Communication and Public Policy Media Education THE LOCAL CHURCH The Local Congregation Pastoral Care and Counseling Homiletics: The Art of Preaching Religious Education SEARCH Search Religion Online Church and Society Sociology of Religion Social Issues BROWSE Books Index By Author Index By Recommended Sites Category A member of the Science and Theology Web Ring [ Previous | Next | Random Site | List Sites ] file:///D:/rb/index. htm [2/4/03 12:43:55 PM]RELIGION & SOCIETY Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics return to religion-online Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics by Reinhold Niebuhr One of the foremost philsophers and theologians of the twentieth century, Reinhold Niebuhr was for many years a Professor at Union Theological Seminary, New York City. He is the author of many classics in their field, including The Nature and Destiny of Man, Moral Man an d Immoral Society, The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness, and Discerning the Signs of Our Times.He was also the founding editor of the publication Christianity and Crisis. Published in 1932 by Charles Scribner's Sons. This material was prepared for Religion Online by Ted and Winnie Brock. Introduction The thesis to be elaborated in these pages is that a sharp distinction must be drawn between the moral and social behavior of individuals and of social groups, national, racial, and economic; and that this distinction justifies and necessitates political policies which a purely individualistic ethic must always find embarrassing.The title â€Å"Moral Man and Immoral Society† suggests the intended distinction too unqualifiedly, but it is nevertheless a fair indication of the argument to which the following pages are devoted. Individual men may be moral in the sense that they are able to consider interests other than their own in determining problems of conduct, and a re capable, on occasion, of preferring the advantages of others to their own. They are endowed by nature with a measure of sympathy and consideration for their kind, the breadth of which may be extended by an astute social pedagogy.Their rational faculty prompts them to a sense of justice which educational discipline may refine and purge of egoistic elements until they are able to view a social situation, in which their own interests are involved, with a fair measure of objectivity. But all these achievements are more difficult, if not impossible, for human societies and social groups. In every human group there is less reason to guide and to check impulse, less capacity for self-transcendence, less ability to comprehend the needs of others and therefore more unrestrained egoism than the individuals, who compose the group, reveal in their personal relationships.The inferiority of the morality of groups to that of individuals is due in part to the difficulty of establishing a rationa l social force which is powerful enough to cope with the natural impulses by which society achieves its cohesion; but in part it is merely the revelation of a collective egoism, compounded of the egoistic impulses of individuals, which achieve a more vivid expression and a more cumulative effect when they are united in a common impulse than when they express themselves separately and discreetly. file:///D:/rb/relsearchd. ll-action=showitem=1=415. htm (1 of 8) [2/4/03 12:43:58 PM] Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics Inasfar as this treatise has a polemic interest it is directed against the moralists both religious and secular, who imagine that the egoism of individuals is being progressively checked by the development of rationality or the growth of a religiously inspired goodwill and that nothing but the continuance of this process is necessary to establish social harmony between all the human societies and collectives.Social analyses and prophecies made by moralists, sociologists and educators upon the basis of these assumptions lead to a very considerable moral and political confusion in our day. They completely disregard the political necessities in the struggle for justice in human society by failing to recognise those elements in man's collective behavior which belong to the order of nature and can never be brought completely under the dominion of reason or conscience. They do not recognise that when collective power, whether in the form of imperialism or class domination, exploits weakness, it can never be dislodged unless power is raised against it.If conscience and reason can be insinuated into the resulting struggle they can only qualify but not abolish it. The most persistent error of modern educators and moralists is the assumption that our social difficulties are due to the failure of the social sciences to keep pace with the physical sciences which have created our technological civilisation. The invariable implication of this assumption is that, with a little more time, a little more adequate moral and social pedagogy and a generally higher development of human intelligence, our social problems will approach solution. It is,† declares Professor John Dewey, â€Å"our human intelligence and our human courage which is on trial; it is incredible that men who have brought the technique of physical discovery, invention and use to such a pitch of perfection will abdicate in the face of the infinitely more important human problem. What stands in the way (of a planned economy) is a lot of outworn traditions, moth-eaten slogans and catchwords that do substitute duty for thought, as well as our entrenched predatory self-interest. We shall only make a real beginning in intelligent thought when we cease mouthing platitudes†¦.Just as soon as we begin to use the knowledge and skills we have, to control social consequences in the interest of a shared, abundant and secured life, we shall cease to compla in of the backwardness of our social knowledge†¦. We shall then take the road which leads to the assured building up of social science just as men built up physical science when they actively used techniques and tools and numbers in physical experimentation. †(John Dewey, Philosophy and Civilization [New York: Minton, Balch], p. 329. In spite of Professor Dewey's great interest in and understanding of the modern social problem there is very little clarity in this statement. The real cause of social inertia, â€Å"our predatory self-interest,† is mentioned only in passing without influencing his reasoning, and with no indication that he understands how much social conservatism is due to the economic interests of the owning classes. On the whole, social conservatism is ascribed to ignorance, a viewpoint which states only part of the truth and reveals the natural bias of the educator.The suggestion that we will only make a beginning in intelligent thought when we â₠¬Å"cease mouthing platitudes,† is itself so platitudinous that it rather betrays the confusion of an analyst who has no clear counsels about the way to overcome social inertia. The idea that we cannot be socially intelligent until we begin experimentation in social problems in the way that the physical scientists experimented fails to take account of an important difference between the physical file:///D:/rb/relsearchd. dll-action=showitem=1=415. tm (2 of 8) [2/4/03 12:43:58 PM] Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics and the social sciences. The physical sciences gained their freedom when they overcame the traditionalism based on ignorance, but the traditionalism which the social sciences face is based upon the economic interest of the dominant social classes who are trying to maintain their special privileges in society. Nor can the difference between the very character of social and physical sciences be overlooked.Complete rational objectivity in a soc ial situation is impossible. The very social scientists who are so anxious to offer our generation counsels of salvation and are disappointed that an ignorant and slothful people are so slow to accept their wisdom, betray middle-class prejudices in almost everything they write. Since reason is always, to some degree, the servant of interest in a social situation, social injustice cannot be resolved by moral and rational suasion alone, as the educator and social scientist usually believes.Conflict is inevitable, and in this conflict power must be challenged by power. That fact is not recognized by most of the educators, and only very grudgingly admitted by most of the social scientists. If social conflict be a part of the process of gaining social justice, the idea of most of Professor Newey's disciples that our salvation depends upon the development of â€Å"experimental procedures? â€Å"( Cf. inter alia, John Childs, Education and the Philosophy of Experimentalism, p. 37. in soc ial life, commensurate with the experimentalism of the physical sciences, does not have quite the plausibility which they attribute to it. Contending factions in a social struggle require morale; and morale is created by the right dogmas, symbols and emotionally potent oversimplifications. These are at least as necessary as the scientific spirit of tentativity. No class of industrial workers will ever win freedom from the dominant classes if they give themselves completely to the â€Å"experimental techniques† of the modern educators.They will have to believe rather more firmly in the justice and in the probable triumph of their cause, than any impartial science would give them the right to believe, if they are to have enough energy to contest the power of the strong. They may be very scientific in projecting their social goal and in choosing the most effective instruments for its attainment, but a motive force will be required to nerve them for their task which is not easily derived from the cool objectivity of science. Modern educators are, like rationalists of all the ages, too enamored of the function of reason in life.The world of history, particularly in man's collective behavior, will never be conquered by reason, unless reason uses tools, and is itself driven by forces which are not rational. The sociologists as a class, understand the modern social problem even less than the educators. They usually interpret social conflict as the result of a clash between different kinds of â€Å"behavior patterns,† which can be eliminated if the contending parties will only allow the social scientist to furnish them with a new and more perfect pattern which will do justice to the needs of both parties.With the educators they regard ignorance rather than self-interest as the cause of conflict. â€Å"Apparently,† declares Kimball Young, â€Å"the only way in which collective conflicts, as well as individual conflicts, can be successfully and hygi enically solved is by securing a redirection of behavior toward a more feasible environmental objective. This can be accomplished most successfully by the rational reconditioning of attitudes on a higher neuropsychic or intellectual symbolic plane to the facts of science, preferably through a free file:///D:/rb/relsearchd. ll-action=showitem&gotochapter=1&id=415. htm (3 of 8) [2/4/03 12:43:58 PM] Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics discussion with a minimum of propaganda. This is not an easy road to mental and social sanity but it appears to be the only one which arrives at the goal. â€Å"( Kimball Young, Social Attitudes p. 72) Here a technique which works very well in individual relations, and in certain types of social conflict due to differences in culture, is made a general panacea. How is it to solve the problem between England and India?Through the Round-Table Conference? But how much would England have granted India at the conference if a non-co-o peration campaign, a type of conflict, had not forced the issue? A favorite counsel of the social scientists is that of accommodation. If two parties are in a conflict, let them, by conferring together, moderate their demands and arrive at a modus vivendi. This is, among others, the advice of Professor Hornell Hart. (Hornell Hart, The Science of Social Relations. ) Undoubtedly there are innumerable conflicts which must be resolved in this fashion.But will a disinherited group, such as the Negroes for instance, ever win full justice in society in this fashion? Will not even its most minimum demands seem exorbitant to the dominant whites, among whom only a very small minority will regard the inter-racial problem from the perspective of objective justice? Or how are the industrial workers to follow Professor Hart's advice in dealing with industrial owners, when the owners possess so much power that they can win the debate with the workers, no matter how unconvincing their arguments ?On ly a very few sociologists seem to have learned that an adjustment of a social conflict, caused by the disproportion of power in society, will hardly result in justice as long as the disproportion of power remains. Sometimes the sociologists are so completely oblivious to the real facts of an industrial civilisation that, as Floyd Allport for instance, they can suggest that the unrest of industrial workers is due not to economic injustice but to a sense of inferiority which will be overcome just as soon as benevolent social psychologists are able to teach the workers that â€Å"no one is charging them with inferiority except themselves. ( FIoyd Allport, Social Psychology, pp. 14-17. ) These omniscient social scientists will also teach the owners that â€Å"interests and profits must be tempered by regard for the worker. † Thus â€Å"the socialisation of individual control† in industry will obviate the necessity of â€Å"socialistic control. † Most of the social scientists are such unqualified rationalists that they seem to imagine that men of power will immediately check their exactions and pretensions in society, as soon as they have been apprised by the social scientists that their actions and attitudes are anti-social.Professor Clarence Marsh Case, in an excellent analysis of the social problem, places his confidence in a â€Å"reorganisation of values†in which, among other things, industrial leaders must be made to see â€Å"that despotically controlled industry in a society that professes democracy as an article of faith is an anachronism that cannot endure. â€Å"( Clarence Marsh Case, Social Process and Human Progress, p. 233. ) It may be that despotism cannot endure but it will not abdicate merely because the despots have discovered it to be anachronistic.Sir Arthur Salter, to name a brilliant economist among the social scientists, finishes his penetrating analysis of the distempers of our civilisation by expressing the u sual hope that a higher intelligence or a sincerer morality will prevent the governments of the future from perpetrating the mistakes of the past. His own analysis proves conclu-sively that the failure of governments is due to the pressure of economic interest upon them rather than to the â€Å"limited capacities of uman wisdom. † In his own words file:///D:/rb/relsearchd. dll-action=showitem&gotochapter=1&id=415. htm (4 of 8) [2/4/03 12:43:58 PM] Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics â€Å"government is failing above all because it has become enmeshed in the task of giving discretionary, particularly preferential, privileges to competitive industry. † (Sir Arthur Salter, Recovery, p. 41) In spite of this analysis Sir Arthur expects the governments to redeem our civilisation by becoming more socially minded and he thinks that one method which will help them to do so is to â€Å"draw into the service of the public the great private institutions which represent the organised activities of the country, chambers of commerce, banking institutions, industrial and labor organisations. † His entire hope for recovery rests upon the possibility of developing a degree of economic disinterestedness among men of power which the entire history of mankind proves them incapable of acquiring.It is rather discouraging to find such naive confidence in the moral capacities of collective man, among men who make it their business to study collective human behavior. Even when, as Professor Howard Odum, they are prepared to admit that â€Å"conflict will be necessary† as long as unfairness in the distribution of the rewards of labor exists,† they put their hope in the future. They regard social conflict as only an expedient of the moment â€Å"until broader principles of education and cooperation can be established. † (Howard W.Odum, Man's Quest for Social Guidance, p. 477. ) Anarchism, with an uncoerced and voluntary j ustice, seems to be either an explicit or implicit social goal of every second social scientist. Modern religious idealists usually follow in the wake of social scientists in advocating compromise and accommodation as the way to social justice. Many leaders of the church like to insist that it is not their business to champion the cause of either labor or capital, but only to admonish both sides to a spirit of fairness and accommodation. Between the far-visioned capitalism of Owen Young and the hard-headed socialism of Ramsay MacDonald,† declares Doctor Justin Wroe Nixon, â€Å"there is probably no impassable gulf. The progress of mankind . . . depends upon following the MacDonalds and Youngs into those areas. † (Justin Wroe Nixon, An Emerging Christian Faith p. 294) Unfortunately, since those lines were written the socialism of MacDonald has been revealed as not particularly hard-headed, and the depression has shown how little difference there really is between Mr.Youn g's â€Å"new capitalism† and the older and less suave types of capitalism. What is lacking among all these moralists, whether re1igious or rational, is an understanding of the brutal character of the behavior of all human collectives, and the power of self-interest and collective egoism in all intergroup relations. Failure to recognise the stubborn resistance of group egoism to all moral and inclusive social objectives inevitably involves them in unrealistic and confused political thought.They regard social conflict either as an impossible method of achieving morally ap- proved ends or as a momentary expedient which a more perfect education or a purer religion will make unnecessary. They do not see that the limitations of the human imagination, the easy subservience of reason to prejudice and passion, and the consequent persistence of irrational egoism, particularly in group behavior, make social conflict an inevitability in human history, probably to its very end. The roman tic overestimate of human virtue and moral capacity, current in our modern middlefile:///D:/rb/relsearchd. ll-action=showitem&gotochapter=1&id=415. htm (5 of 8) [2/4/03 12:43:58 PM] Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics class culture, does not always result in an unrealistic appraisal of present social facts. Contemporary social situations are frequently appraised quite realistically, but the hope is expressed that a new pedagogy or a revival of religion will make conflict unnecessary in the future. Nevertheless a considerable portion of middle-class culture remains quite unrealistic in its analysis of the contemporary situation.It assumes that evidences of a growing brotherliness between classes and nations are apparent in the present moment. It gives such arrangements as the League of Nations, such ventures as the Kellogg Pact and such schemes as company industrial unions, a connotation of moral and social achievement which the total facts completely belie. â€Å"There must,† declares Professor George Stratton, a social psychologist, â€Å"always be a continuing and widening progress. But our present time seems to promise distinctly the close of an old epoch in world relations and the opening of a new†¦.Under the solemn teaching of the War, most of the nations have made political commitments which are of signal promise for international discipline and for still further and more effective governmental acts. †(George M. Stratton, Social Psychology and International Conduct, pp. 355-361. ) This glorification of the League of Nations as a symbol of a new epoch in international relations has been very general, and frequently very unqualified, in the Christian churches, where liberal Christianity has given itself to the illusion that all social relations are being brought progressively under â€Å"the law of Christ. William Adams Brown speaks for the whole liberal Christian viewpoint when he declares: â€Å"From many di fferent centres and in many different forms the crusade for a unified and brotherly society is being carried on. The ideal of the League of Nations in which all civilised people shall be represented and in which they shall cooperate with one another in fighting common enemies like war and disease is winning recognition in circles which have hitherto been little suspected of idealism. . . In relations between races, in strife between capital and labor, in our attitudes toward the weaker and more dependent members of society we are developing a social conscience, and situations which would have been accepted a generation ago as a matter of course are felt as an intolerable scandal. †(William Adams Brown, Pathways to Certainty, p. 246. ) Another theologian and pastor, Justin Wroe Nixon, thinks that â€Å"another reason for believing in the growth of social statesmanship on the part of business leaders is based upon their experience as trustees in various philanthropic and educat ional enterprises. ‘ (Justin Wroe Nixon, An Emerging Christian Faith, p. 291) This judgment reveals the moral confusion of liberal Christianity with perfect clarity. Teachers of morals who do not see the difference between the problem of charity within the limits of an accepted social system and the problem of justice between economic groups, holding uneven power within modern industrial society, have simply not faced the most obvious differences between the morals of groups and those of individuals. The suggestion that the fight against disease is in the same category with the fight against war reveals the same confusion.Our contemporary culture fails to realise the power, extent and persistence of group egoism in human relations. It may be possible, though it is never easy, to establish just relations between individuals within a group purely by moral and rational suasion and accommodation. In intergroup relations this is practically an impossibility. The relations between g roups must therefore always be predominantly political rather than ethical, that is, they will be determined by the proportion of power which each group possesses at least as much as by any rational and moral appraisal of the comparative needs and claims of each group.The coercive factors, in file:///D:/rb/relsearchd. dll-action=showitem&gotochapter=1&id=415. htm (6 of 8) [2/4/03 12:43:58 PM] Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics distinction to the more purely moral and rational factors, in political relations can never be sharply differentiated and defined. It is not possible to estimate exactly how much a party to a social conflict is influenced by a rational argument or by the threat of force.It is impossible, for instance, to know what proportion of a privileged class accepts higher inheritance taxes because it believes that such taxes are good social policy and what proportion submits merely because the power of the state supports the taxation policy. Si nce political conflict, at least in times when controversies have not reached the point of crisis, is carried on by the threat, rather than the actual use, of force, it is always easy for the casual or superficial observer to overestimate the moral and rational factors, and to remain oblivious to the covert types of coercion and force which are used in the conflict.Whatever increase in social intelligence and moral goodwill may be achieved in human history, may serve to mitigate the brutalities of social conflict, but they cannot abolish the conflict itself. That could be accomplished only if human groups, whether racial, national or economic, could achieve a degree of reason and sympathy which would permit them to see and to understand the interests of others as vividly as they understand their own, and a moral goodwill which would prompt them to affirm the rights of others as vigorously as they affirm their own.Given the inevitable limitations of human nature and the limits of the human imagination and intelligence, this is an ideal which individuals may approximate but which is beyond the capacities of human societies. Educators who emphasise the pliability of human nature, social and psychological scientists who dream of â€Å"socialising† man and religious idealists who strive to increase the sense of moral responsibility, can serve a very useful function in society in humanising individuals within an established social system and in purging the relations of individuals of as much egoism as possible.In dealing with the problems and necessities of radical social change they are almost invariably confusing in their counsels because they are not conscious of the limitations in human nature which finally frustrate their efforts. The following pages are devoted to the task of analysing the moral resources and limitations of human nature, of tracing their consequences and cumulative effect in the life of human groups and of weighing political strategies in the light of the ascertained facts. The ultimate purpose of this task is to find political methods which will offer the most promise of achieving an ethical social goal for society.Such methods must always be judged by two criteria: 1. Do they do justice to the moral resources and possibilities in human nature and provide for the exploitation of every latent moral capacity in man? 2. Do they take account of the limitations of human nature, particularly those which manifest themselves in man's collective behavior? So persistent are the moralistic illusions about politics in the middle-class world, that any emphasis upon the second question will probably impress the average reader as unduly cynical. Social viewpoints and analyses are relative to the temper of the age which gives them birth.In America our contemporary culture is still pretty firmly enmeshed in the illusions and sentimentalities of the Age of Reason. A social analysis which is written, at least partially, from the pe rspective of a disillusioned generation will seem to be almost pure cynicism from the perspective of those who will stand in the credo of the ninteenth century. file:///D:/rb/relsearchd. dll-action=showitem&gotochapter=1&id=415. htm (7 of 8) [2/4/03 12:43:58 PM] Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics 0 file:///D:/rb/relsearchd. dll-action=showitem&gotochapter=1&id=415. tm (8 of 8) [2/4/03 12:43:58 PM] Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics return to religion-online Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics by Reinhold Niebuhr One of the foremost philsophers and theologians of the twentieth century, Reinhold Niebuhr was for many years a Professor at Union Theological Seminary, New York City. He is the author of many classics in their field, including The Nature and Destiny of Man, Moral Man and Immoral Society, The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness, and Discerning the Signs of Our Times.He was also the fou nding editor of the publication Christianity and Crisis. Published in 1932 by Charles Scribner's Sons. This material was prepared for Religion Online by Ted and Winnie Brock. Chapter 1: Man and Society: The Art of Living Together Though human society has roots which lie deeper in history than the beginning of human life, men have made comparatively but little progress in solving the problem of their aggregate existence. Each century originates a new complexity and each new generation faces a new vexation in it. For all the enturies of experience, men have not yet learned how to live together without compounding their vices and covering each other â€Å"with mud and with blood. † The society in which each man lives is at once the basis for, and the nemesis of, that fullness of life which each man seeks. However much human ingenuity may increase the treasures which nature provides for the satisfaction of human needs, they can never be sufficient to satisfy all human wants; for man, unlike other creatures, is gifted and cursed with an imagination which extends his appetites beyond the requirements of subsistence.Human society will never escape the problem of the equitable distribution of the physical and cultural goods which provide for the preservation and fulfillment of human life. Unfortunately the conquest of nature, and the consequent increase in nature's beneficences to man, have not eased, but rather accentuated, the problem of justice. The same technology, which drew the fangs of nature's enmity of man, also created a society in which the intensity and extent of social cohesion has been greatly increased, and in which power is so unevenly distributed, that justice has become a more difficult achievement.Perhaps it is man's sorry fate, suffering from ills which have their source in the inadequacies of both nature and human society, that the tools by which he eliminates the former should become the means of increasing the latter. That, at least, has been his fate up to the present hour; and it may be that there will be no salvation for the human spirit from the more and more painful burdens of social injustice until the ominous tendency in human history has resulted in perfect tragedy. file:///D:/rb/relsearchd. ll-action=showitem&gotochapter=2&id=415. htm (1 of 11) [2/4/03 12:44:05 PM] Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics Human nature is not wanting in certain endowments for the solution of the problem of human society. Man is endowed by nature with organic relations to his fellowmen; and natural impulse prompts him to consider the needs of others even when they compete with his own. With the higher mammals man shares concern for his offspring; and the long infancy of the child created he basis for an organic social group in the earliest period of human history. Gradually intelligence, imagination, and the necessities of social conflict increased the size of this group. Natural impulse was refined and e xtended until a less obvious type of consanguinity than an immediate family relationship could be made the basis of social solidarity. Since those early days the units of human cooperation have constantly grown in size, and the areas of significant relationships between the units have likewise increased.Nevertheless conflict between the national units remains as a permanent rather than a passing characteristic of their relations to each other; and each national unit finds it increasingly difficult to maintain either peace or justice within its common life. While it is possible for intelligence to increase the range of benevolent impulse, and thus prompt a human being to consider the needs and rights of other than those to whom he is bound by organic and physical relationship, there are definite limits in the capacity of ordinary mortals which makes it impossible for them to grant to others what they claim for themselves.Though educators ever since the eighteenth century have given t hemselves to the fond illusion that justice through voluntary co-operation waited only upon a more universal or a more adequate educational enterprise, there is good reason to believe that the sentiments of benevolence and social goodwill will never be so pure or powerful, and the rational capacity to consider the rights and needs of others in fair competition with our own will never be so fully developed as to create the possibility for the anarchistic millennium which is the social utopia, either explicit or implicit, of all intellectual or religious moralists.All social co-operation on a larger scale than the most intimate social group requires a measure of coercion. While no state can maintain its unity purely by coercion neither can it preserve itself without coercion. Where the factor of mutual consent is strongly developed, and where standardised and approximately fair methods of adjudicating and resolving conflicting interests within an organised group have been established, the coercive factor in social life is frequently covert, and becomes apparent only in moments of crisis and in the group's policy toward recalcitrant individuals.Yet it is never absent. Divergence of interest, based upon geographic and functional differences within a society, is bound to create different social philosophies and political attitudes which goodwill and intelligence may partly, but never completely, harmonise. Ultimately, unity within an organised social group, or within a federation of such groups, is created by the ability of a dominant group to impose its will.Politics will to the end of history,be an area where conscience and power meet, where the ethical and coercive factors of human life will interpenetrate and work out their tentative and uneasy compromises. The democratic method of resolving social conflict, which some romanticists hail as a triumph of the ethical over the coercive factor, is really much more coercive than at first seems apparent. file:///D:/rb /relsearchd. dll-action=showitem&gotochapter=2&id=415. htm (2 of 11) [2/4/03 12:44:05 PM] Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and PoliticsThe majority has its way, not because the minority believes that the majority is right (few minorities are willing to grant the majority the moral prestige of such a concession), but because the votes of the majority are a symbol of its social strength. Whenever a minority believes that it has some strategic advantage which outweighs the power of numbers, and whenever it is sufficiently intent upon its ends, or desperate enough about its position in society, it refuses to accept the dictates of the majority.Military and economic overlords and revolutionary zealots have been traditionally contemptuous of the will of majorities. Recently Trotsky advised the German communists not to be dismayed by the greater voting strength of the fascists since in the inevitable revolution the power of industrial workers, in charge of the nation's indu strial process, would be found much more significant than the social power of clerks and other petty bourgeoisie who comprised the fascist movement. There are, no doubt, rational and ethical factors in the democratic process.Contending social forces presumably use the forum rather than the battleground to arbitrate their differences in the democratic method, and thus differences are resolved by moral suasion and a rational adjustment of rights to rights. If political issues were really abstract questions of social policy upon which unbiased citizens were asked to commit themselves, the business of voting and the debate which precedes the election might actually be regarded as an educational programme in which a social group discovers its common mind.But the fact is that political opinions are inevitably rooted in economic interests of some kind or other, and only comparatively few citizens can view a problem of social policy without regard to their interest. Conflicting interests th erefore can never be completely resolved; and minorities will yield only because the majority has come into control of the police power of the state and may, if the occasion arises, augment that power by its own military strength.Should a minority regard its own strength, whether economic or martial, as strong enough to challenge the ,power of the majority, it may attempt to wrest control of the state apparatus from the majority, as in the case of the fascist movement in Italy. Sometimes it will resort to armed conflict, even if the prospects of victory are none too bright, as in the instance of the American Civil War, in which the Southern planting interests, outvoted by a combination of Eastern industrialists and Western agrarians, resolved to protect their peculiar interests and privileges by a forceful dissolution of the national union.The coercive factor is, in other words, always present in politics. If economic interests do not conflict too sharply, if the spirit of accommoda tion partially resolves them, and if the democratic process has achieved moral prestige and historic dignity, the coercive factor in politics may become too covert to be visible to the casual observer. Nevertheless, only a romanticist of the purest water could maintain that a national group ever arrives at a â€Å"common mind† or becomes conscious of a â€Å"general will† without the use of either force or the threat of force.This is particularly true of nations, but it is also true, though in a slighter degree, of other social groups. Even religious communities, if they are sufficiently large, and if they deal with issues regarded as vital by their members, resort to coercion to preserve their unity. Religious organisations have usually availed themselves of a covert type of coercion (excommunication and the interdict) or they have called upon the police power of the state. file:///D:/rb/relsearchd. dll-action=showitem&gotochapter=2&id=415. htm (3 of 11) [2/4/03 12:44 :05 PM] Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and PoliticsThe limitations of the human mind and imagination, the inability of human beings to transcend their own interests sufficiently to envisage the interests of their fellowmen as clearly as they do their own makes force an inevitable part of the process of social cohesion. But the same force which guarantees peace also makes for injustice. â€Å"Power,† said Henry Adams, â€Å"is poison†; and it is a poison which blinds the eyes of moral insight and lames the will of moral purpose. The individual or the group which organises any society, however social its intentions or pretensions, arrogates an inordinate portion of social privilege to itself.The two most obvious types of power are the military and the economic, though in primitive society the power of the priest, partly because he dispenses supernatural benefits and partly because he establishes public order by methods less arduous than those of the sol dier, vies with that of the soldier and the landlord. The chief difference between the agrarian civilisations, which lasted from the rise of ancient Babylon and Egypt to the fall of European feudalism, and the commercial and industrial civilisations of today is that in the former the military power is primary, and in the latter it has become secondary, to economic power.In agrarian civilisations the soldier becomes the landlord. In more primitive periods he may claim the land by his own military prowess. In later periods a grateful sovereign bestowed land upon the soldiers who defended his realm and consolidated his dominion. The soldier thus gained the economic security and the social prestige which could be exploited in further martial service to his sovereign. The business man and industrial overlord are gradually usurping the position of eminence and privilege once held by the soldier and the priest.In most European nations their ascendancy over the landed aristocrat of military traditions is not as complete as in America, which has no feudal traditions. In present-day Japan the military caste is still so powerful that it threatens to destroy the rising power of the commercial groups. On the pre-eminence of economic power in an industrial civilisation and its ability to make the military power its tool we shall have more to say later. Our interest at the moment is to record that any kind of significant social power develops social inequality.Even if history is viewed from other than equalitarian perspectives, and it is granted that differentials in economic rewards are morally justified and socially useful, it is impossible to justify the degree of inequality which complex societies inevitably create by the increased centralisation of power which develops with more elaborate civilisations. The literature of all ages is filled with rational and moral justifications of these inequalities, but most of them are specious. If superior abilities and services to s ociety deserve special rewards it may be regarded as axiomatic that the rewards are always higher than the services warrant.No impartial society determines the rewards. The men of power who control society grant these perquisites to themselves. Whenever special ability is not associated with power, as in the case of the modern professional man, his excess of income over the average is ridiculously low in comparison with that of the economic overlords, who are the real centres of power in an industrial society. Most rational and social justifications of unequal privilege are clearly afterthoughts. The facts are created by the disproportion of power which exists in a given social system.The justifications are usually dictated by the desire of the men of power to hide the nakedness of their greed, and by the inclination of society itself to veil the brutal facts of human life from itself. This is a rather pathetic but understandable inclination; since the facts of man's collective life easily rob the average individual of confidence in the human enterprise. The inevitable hypocrisy, which is associated with all of the |collective activities of the human race, springs chiefly from this file:///D:/rb/relsearchd. ll-action=showitem&gotochapter=2&id=415. htm (4 of 11) [2/4/03 12:44:05 PM] Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics source: that individuals have a moral code which makes the actions of collective man an outrage to their conscience. They therefore invent romantic and moral interpretations of the real facts, preferring to obscure rather than reveal the true character of their collective behavior Sometimes they are as anxious to offer moral justifications for the brutalities from which they suffer as for those which they commit.The fact that the hypocrisy of man's group behavior, about which we shall have much more to say later, expresses itself not only in terms of selfjustification but in terms of moral justification of human behavior in general, symbolises one of the tragedies of the human spirit: its inability to conform its collective life to its individual ideals. As individuals, men believe that they ought to love and serve each other and establish justice between each other. As racial, economic and national groups they take for themselves, whatever their power can command.The disproportion of power in a complex society which began with the transmutation of the pastoral to the agrarian economy, and which destroyed the simple equalitarianism and communism of the hunting and nomadic social organisation, has perpetuated social injustice in every form through all the ages. Types of power have changed, and gradations of social inequality have varied, but the essential facts have remained unchanged. In Egypt the land was divided into three parts, respectively claimed by the king, the soldiers and the priests. The common people were landless.In Peru, where a rather remarkable despotic communism developed, the king owned all the land but gave the use of one third to the people, another third to the priests and kept one third for himself and his nobles. Needless to say, the commoners were expected to till not only their third but the other two thirds of the lands. In China, where the emperor maintained the right of eminent domain for many centuries, defeating the experiment in feudalism in the third century A. D. , and giving each family inalienable rights in the soil which nominally belonged to him, there has probably been less inequality than in any other ancient empire.Nevertheless slavery persisted until a very recent day. In Japan the emperor gave the land to feudal princes, who again sublet it to the inferior nobility. The power of the feudal clans, originating in martial prowess and perpetuated through land ownership, has remained practically unbroken to this day, though the imperial power was ostensibly restored in the latter part of the last century, and growing industry has developed a class of industrial overlords who were partly drawn from the landed aristocracy.In Rome the absolute property rights of the pater familias of the patrician class gave him power which placed him on top of the social pyramid. All other classes, beginning with his own women and children, then the plebeians and finally the slaves, took their places in the various lower rungs of the social ladder. The efforts of the Gracchi to destroy the ever growing inequality, which resulted from power breeding more power, proved abortive, as did the land reforms of Solon and Lycurgus in Greece.Military conquest gave the owners of the Roman latifundia hundreds of slaves by the labor of which they reduced the small freeholders to penury. Thus the decay of the Roman Empire was prepared; for a state which has only lords and slaves lacks the social cement to preserve it from internal disintegration and the military force to protect it from external aggression. file:///D:/rb/relsearchd. dll-action=showit em&gotochapter=2&id=415. htm (5 of 11) [2/4/03 12:44:05 PM]Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics All through history one may observe the tendency of power to destroy its very raison d'etre. It is suffered because it achieves internal unity and creates external defenses for the nation. But it grows to such proportions that it destroys the social peace of the state by the animosities which its exactions arouse, and it enervates the sentiment of patriotism by robbing the common man of the basic privileges which might bind him to his nation.The words attributed by Plutarch to Tiberius Gracchus reveal the hollowness of the pretensions by which the powerful classes enlist their slaves in the defense of their dominions: â€Å"The wild beasts in Italy had at least their lairs, dens and caves whereto they might retreat; whereas the men who fought and died for that land had nothing in it save air and light, but were forced to wander to and fro with their wives and chi ldren, without resting place or house wherein they might lodge†¦. The poor folk go to war, to fight and to die for the delights, riches and superfluities of others. Plutarch, The Parallel Lives, see â€Å"Tiberius Gracchus,† Loeb Classical Library, Vol. X). † In the long run these pretensions are revealed and the sentiment of patriotism is throttled in the breasts of the disinherited. The privileged groups who are outraged by the want of patriotism among modern proletarians could learn the cause of proletarian internationalism by a little study of history. â€Å"It is absurd,† says Diodorus Siculus, speaking of Egypt, â€Å"to entrust the defence of a country to people who own nothing in it,†(Quoted by C. J. M. Letourneau, Property; Its Origin and Development. p. 77) a reflection which has applicability to other ages and other nations than his own. Russian communists of pure water pour their scorn upon European socialists, among whom patriotism outwei ghed class loyalty in the World War. But there is a very simple explanation for the nationalism of European socialists. They were not as completely, or at least not as obviously, disinherited as their Russian comrades. The history of slavery in all ancient civilisations offers an interesting illustration of the development of social injustice with the growing size and complexity of the social unit.In primitive tribal organisation rights are essentially equal within the group, and no rights, or only very minimum rights are recognised outside of the group. The captives of war are killed. With the growth of agriculture the labor of captives becomes useful, and they are enslaved rather than destroyed. Since rightless individuals are introduced into the intimate life of the group, equality of rights disappears; and the inequality remains even after the slaves are no longer regarded as enemies and have become completely organic to the life of the group.The principle of slavery once establ ished, is enlarged to include debt slaves, victims of the growing property system. The membership of the debt slaves in the original community at first guarantees them rights which the captive slaves do not enjoy. But the years gradually wipe out these distinctions and the captive slaves are finally raised to the status of debtor slaves. Thus the more humane attitudes which men practice within their social groups gains a slight victory over the more brutal attitudes towards individuals in other groups.But the victory is insignificant in comparison with the previous introduction of the morals of inter group relations into the intimate life of the group by the very establishment of slavery. Barbarism knows little or nothing of class distinctions. These are created and more and more highly elaborated by civilisation. The social impulses, with which men are endowed by nature are not powerful enough, even when they are extended by a growing intelligence, to apply with equal force ile:/// D:/rb/relsearchd. dll-action=showitem=2=415. htm (6 of 11) [2/4/03 12:44:05 PM] Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics toward all members of a large community. The distinction between slave and freeman is only one of the many social gradations which higher societies develop. They are determined in every case by the disproportion of power, military and economic, which develops in the more complex civilisations and in the larger social units.A growing social intelligence may be affronted by them and may protest against them, but it changes them only slightly. Neither the prophets of Israel nor the social idealists of Egypt and Babylon, who protested against social injustice, could make their vision of a just society effective. The man of power, though humane impulse may awaken in him, always remains something of the beast of prey. He may be generous within his family, and just within the confines of the group which shares his power and privilege.With only rare e xceptions, his highest moral attitude toward members of other groups is one of warlike sportsmanship toward those who equal his power and challenge it, and one of philanthropic generosity toward those who possess less power and privilege. His philanthropy is a perfect illustration of the curious compound of the brutal and the moral which we find in all human behavior; for his generosity is at once a display of his power and an expression of his pity. His generous impulses freeze within him if his power is challenged or his generosities are accepted without grateful humility.If individual men of power should achieve more ethical attitudes than the one described, it remains nevertheless typical for them as a class; and is their practically unvarying attitude when they express themselves not as individuals but as a group. The rise of modern democracy, beginning with the Eighteenth Century, is sometimes supposed to have substituted the consent of the governed for the power of royal fami lies and aristocratic classes as the cohesive force of national society. This judgment is partly true but not nearly as true as the uncritical devotees of modern democracy assume.The doctrine that government exists by the consent of the governed, and the democratic technique by which the suffrage of the governed determines the policy of the state, may actually reduce the coercive factor in national life, and provide for peaceful and gradual methods of resolving conflicting social interests and changing political institutions. But the creeds and institutions of democracy have never become fully divorced from the special interests of the commercial classes who conceived and developed them.It was their interest to destroy political restraint upon economic activity, and they therefore weakened the authority of the state and made it more pliant to their needs. With the increased centralisation of economic power in the period of modern industrialism, this development merely means that soc iety as such does not control economic power as much as social well-being requires; and that the economic, rather than the political and military, power has become the significant coercive force of modern society. Either it defies the authority of the state or it bends the institutions of the state to its own purposes.Political power has been made responsible, but economic power has become irresponsible in society. The net result is that political power has been made more responsible to economic power. It is, in other words, again the man of power or the dominant class which binds society together, regulates its processes, always paying itself inordinate rewards for its labors. The difference is that