Sunday, November 3, 2019
The USSR's Voracity for Power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words
The USSR's Voracity for Power - Essay Example The two powers distrusted each other. America resented Joseph Stalinââ¬â¢s dictatorship and communism in the USSR. The USSR, also referred to as the Soviet Union also distrusted America for not accepting them into the international community. They were also unhappy with Americaââ¬â¢s delay to participate in the World War II, leading to the death of many Russians. Therefore, even though the Soviet Union and the United States fought during the Word War II as allies, they had only joined hands to fight a common enemy, the Nazi Germany. The major cause of the Cold War was the move by the Soviet Union to try and gain power and influence in East European countries. After the World War II ended, the Soviet Union separated itself from the Western allies. The Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin initiated aggressive policies in order to gain influence in east European countries. The United States intervened to stop the Soviet Unionââ¬â¢s expansion, and this resulted in the Cold War. Afte r Stalinââ¬â¢s death, the Soviet Union was taken over by Khrushchev and later by Brezhnev. These leaders implemented various foreign policies. This discussion explores the Soviet Unionââ¬â¢s voracity for power and influence as the chief cause of the Cold War, and the impact of Khrushchevââ¬â¢s and Brezhnevââ¬â¢s foreign policies. Origination of the Cold War Before World War II began, the United States and the Soviet Union had several differences. Firstly, the two nations supported different types of governments. The United States supported democracy while the Soviet Union favoured communism. There were also economic differences whereby the United States supported world free trade. However, the Soviet Union was against international trade as the Russians felt it would bring in influences from the west that would threaten their dictatorial system. Moreover, when Europe was weakened in World War II, the Soviet Union and the United States were the most influential powers and each of them wanted to control the other. When the World War II ended, the distrust between the Soviet Union and the United States was heightened by the domination of the USSR in Eastern Europe and the confrontational and domineering attitude of the United States to international matters, as well as their possession of an atomic bomb (Painter, 1999: 15). The Soviet Union had gained considerable influence in Eastern Europe even before World War II ended. The Red Army was in control of some parts of Eastern Europe by 1944. The Soviet Union also obtained the control of eastern Germany and obtained a new border line with Poland at the Yalta Conference in 1945. Towards the end of the war in 1945, the Soviet Union actively dominated the eastern European control and influenced the elections to ensure communist domination in their governments. Moreover, communists in these countries took charge of the most significant ministries of Military and Defence. The Soviet Union also influenced Wes tern Europeââ¬â¢s post-war elections in countries like France and Italy in 1946 (Phillips, 2001: 123). Stalin consolidated the Soviet authority in east European countries and used the Soviet Unionââ¬â¢
Friday, November 1, 2019
Karate King Letter to Mr. Johnnie Petro - Case Study
Karate King Letter to Mr. Johnnie Petro - - Case Study Example Just for your information, accounting is not a static system but a dynamic process that incorporates the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) that is evolved to suit the needs of the people who read the financial statements of any business. This memo provides some basic details on the principles and concepts like business entity, monetary unit, going concern, cost principle, time period, consistency, materiality, full disclosure, objectivity, revenue recognition and matching principle, which form the basis for applying the GAAP. Under this principle, from an accounting point of view the transactions of a business entity operating in any form of organisation are considered separate and distinct from that of the personal transactions. It is necessary to maintain the personal transactions separate even if the owners work in the business entity. Monetary Unit Principle The assumption behind this principle is that the recording of the accounting transactions would be done in the primary national monetary unit. In the case of Karate King the monetary unit used is US Dollars. It is the responsibility of the accounting function to record all the inflows of sales revenue and the expense outflows in the dollar terms. Going Concern Principle In general it is assumed that a business entity will remain in operation for an indefinite period. This is the principle behind the going concern concept. The continuity of business assumes that the cost of the assets engaged in the business will be recovered over their useful life by way of profits from the business. Cost Principle This principle is closely associated with the monetary unit principle and it requires that the value of business transactions need to be recorded at the actual or equivalent cash cost. This principle is also related to stable dollar assumption. When the economy of any country suffers from continued periods of inflation or deflation comparing the revenues and earnings for different years would be meaningless if it is assumed that the dollar will have a stable value. However it would make sense to express the value of the inventories for resale as well as some items of income and some other balance sheet items in terms of current dollar value rather than on historic dollar value. Time Period Principle This principle requires that the accounting transactions be recorded and analyzed for reporting the financial status and profitability of the business operations over a specific time period of operation. Conservatism Principle This principle requires that the balance sheet items like assets should not be overstated and the value of liabilities should not be understated. Consistency Principle Under consistency principle the financial statements should be prepared applying the same accounting principles from one period to another so that the statements become comparable over different periods. Materiality Concept The materiality concept implies that all items having value which are important and material should be reported in a correct way so that the readers of the financial statements can take proper decisions. Full Disclosure Principle This principle states that any future event which is likely to have a major economic impact on the financial position of the company should be disclosed fully to the potential readers of the financial statements. Objectivity Principle This principle implies that all the accounting tr
Organization Theory and Design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Organization Theory and Design - Essay Example Things have never moved so fast and threats and opportunities have never been so immense. Competitors have to be efficient and different to survive and stay on the top. Daft continues and presents the most recent developments in organizations' design - structures and management methods that have only emerged lately in response to the turbulences in the environments and competition worldwide. The rise of an emerging managerial philosophy of efficiency, system, and process is, according to Daft, reflected in the forms of internal communication that serve as mechanisms for managerial coordination and control. These have developed as a product not only of changing organizational needs but also of the technologies available to support them. Forms of organizational communication can thus be organized into specific and recognizable 'genres' such as letters, memorandums, meetings, agendas, proposals etc. These technologies as used by principals and senior managers within colleges not only to account for, but also to promote and disseminate, specific leadership visions and objectives. The overflow of more general managerial philosophies into the realm of globalizations in recent years has included the need to demonstrate competence, compliance and effectiveness to a variety of audiences. Going with Daft's idea1, the purpose of my study would suggest that this need for visible competence is now a dominant theme, driven by external inspection, funding and governance mechanisms as well as the service culture expectations of users and other stakeholders. Such 'audit cultures' (Strathern, 2000) are increasingly common in both public institutions and private enterprise, reflecting the need to perform a new kind of accountability based around the twin goals of economic efficiency and good practice. The concept of the audit, previously constrained within financial applications, has now expanded to become a ubiquitous element of daily life, with the learning and skills sector being no exception. The result is a raft of 'technologies of accountability'. The pan-national corporation, with its inherently complex structure, is the organizational form most severely affected by globalization. It is therefore important for the management of such corporations to improve the control and coordination of the corporations' spatially dispersed subsidiaries. Information technology (IT) has been hailed as an important tool in changing traditional control and coordination processes in complex environments. IT is being used for changing the nature of the relationship between headquarters and subsidiaries in a manner that makes the pan-national corporation more global in orientation. This is occurring as operations and decision-making processes in subsidiaries are redesigned in order to improve global management and local responsiveness Technology serves to shape the manner in which leadership work is
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Contingency Planning in Action Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words
Contingency Planning in Action - Term Paper Example In case the initial plan does not work out, the organization should have already identified an alternative to curb the risk (Doughty, K. 2001). The risks should first be identified and prioritized in order of the impacts they could have to the organization. Plan development should be the next step where certain guidelines such as definition of time periods should be done. The next step should be maintenance of the plan; it should be kept practical and relevant. Rephox is an organization based in India. It has its headquarters in Mumbai and a branch in Delhi. The organization has fifty employees in total, thirty of which work at the headquarters and the rest work in Delhi. It is an organization that provides auditing and accounting services. It helps its clients with cost accounting systems, preparation of financial statements, financial reporting, internal audits and services that provide assurance. The organization depends on technology for the provision of their services to clients. It has systems that protect information systems which comply with regulatory requirements. The organization provides information controls for the reduction of costs and gaining of competitive advantage. It uses professional accreditations where personnel handling the information systems must qualify. The business faces certain threats which include internet insecurity. Internet and firewall threats also exist where viruses may infect the audit systems through online services. There is also network and data insecurity threat when transferring information from the branch to the headquarters and vice versa. The organizationââ¬â¢s systems might be hacked into and security details such as passwords and biometric controls interfered with. The wide area network for the organization may be interfered with affecting the clientsââ¬â¢ servers. The mission of the organization is to serve public interest. This is done by contribution to development of standards and guidance of
Discuss the uses of recombinant DNA technology with respect to Essay
Discuss the uses of recombinant DNA technology with respect to medicine - Essay Example From a medical viewpoint, recombinant DNA technology can have immense potential. For example, many diseases are caused by the lack of certain genes or faulty protein production which leads to impaired functioning of important biochemical pathways. By using recombinant DNA technology to complement those defects and producing the lacking protein it is possible to effectively treat these diseases. An extremely successful example of this particular use is the case of insulin production for the treatment of diabetes. Previously, insulin for treatment used to be isolated from bovine sources, by extracting the pancreatic tissue and purifying insulin from here. However, two major problems are immediately obvious: first, this is extremely labor-intensive, yields are low and therefore it becomes expensive and quantities are limiting, thus treatment becomes an expensive option. Second, due to the exquisite specificity of our immune systems, the bovine protein is immediately differentiated from the human and this could lead to rejection by our immune system. Recombinant DNA using the human gene would solve this problem as the gene and therefore protein would be the human variety and would not be rejected. Second, since cloning is most often done in bacteria which have short doubling times, the massive amplification of the gene and therefore the protein leads to cheaper bulk production and lowers costs. Insulin therefore has become far more available for treatment with the advent of recombinant DNA technology. Growth hormone has also been successfully used this way. Another application of this technology is in the production of vaccines. Historically, the identification of antigens and the production of vaccines against them has been a laborious task. It involved purifying various protein components from viruses or bacteria after culturing them, and testing them in animal subjects to determine their antigenicity. The major problems there were, first, the difficulty in purifying those microbial toxins due to contamination, low concentrations etc., and furthermore, viruses and certain bacteria, like Mycobacterium, are obligate parasites and cannot be grown in vitro cultures in order to purify their components. By cloning their genes via PCR amplification and cloning into bacterial expression hosts, we can circumvent these issues and skip past the rate-limiting step of purification since cloning produces proteins in bulk. This strategy has been used with some success for many viruses, including the HBV virus. (Medscape). However this is not without its own problems when one looks at the evolution of viral antigens and the rate of mutation and development of new strains. Nevertheless DNA technology has speeded up the development of vaccines to a point where we now hold a sporting chance against these diseases. The technology is also used in the field of diagnostics. PCR and other DNA technology techniques are used to determine if people are carriers of cystic fibrosis genes, Huntington's disease gene and to help in gene therapy for these diseases. PCR and DNA
Monday, October 28, 2019
Essay on the the Secret Book Essay Example for Free
Essay on the the Secret Book Essay According to recent studies, self-help books ââ¬â non-fiction books that offer advice for behavior modification and make explicit promises for positive change ââ¬â have doubled as a percentage of all book titles since the 1970s. The increasing popularity of self-help books is an indicator of the modern societys quest to maximize personal happiness through a process of self-discovery. Self-help books are a response to a real and genuine hunger for psychological understanding and self-improvement and are part of the larger market of advice media. Readers buy self-help books seeking self-control ââ¬â both as a good-faith attempt to increase their self-control and to elicit a temporary sensation that, in fact, the first step toward self-control has already been taken. And of recent years, one of the increasing self-help or spirituality books involve the teachings of New Age-ism. The New Age is a decentralized Western social and spiritual movement that seeks Universal Truth and the attainment of the highest individual human potential. It includes aspects of Occultism, astrology, esotericism, metaphysics, alternative medicine, music, collectivism, sustainability, and nature. New Age spirituality is characterized by an individual approach to spiritual practices and philosophies, and the rejection of religious doctrine and dogma. New Age practices and philosophies sometimes draw inspiration from major world religions: Buddhism, Chinese folk religion, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism; with particularly strong influences from East Asian religions, Gnosticism, Neopaganism, New Thought, Spiritualism, Theosophy, Universalism, and Western esotericism. New Age spirituality has led to a wide array of literature on the subject and an active niche market: books, music, crafts, and services in alternative medicine are available at New Age stores, fairs, and festivals. And one of the most phenomenal publishing successes in the self-help/New Age teachings is a book called The Secret. ABOUT THE SECRET Product Details The English-language 6. 9 x 5. 7 x 0. 9 inches hardcover book is fairly lightweight at 198 pages. It was first published in November 28, 2006 by Atria Books in Australia. In the United States of America, the book is published by Beyond Words and in United Kingdom by Simon Schuster UK. Product Description Fragments of a Great Secret have been found in the oral traditions, in literature, in religions and philosophies throughout the centuries. For the first time, all the pieces of The Secret come together in an incredible revelation that will be life-transforming for all who experience it. In this book, youll learn how to use The Secret in every aspect of your life money, health, relationships, happiness, and in every interaction you have in the world. Youll begin to understand the hidden, untapped power thats within you, and this revelation can bring joy to every aspect of your life. The Secret contains wisdom from modern-day teachers men and women who have used it to achieve health, wealth, and happiness. By applying the knowledge of The Secret, they bring to light compelling stories of eradicating disease, acquiring massive wealth, overcoming obstacles, and achieving what many would regard as impossible. Content of The Secret 1. Foreword 2. Acknowledgements 3. The Secret Revealed 4. The Secret Made Simple 5. How to Use The Secret 6. Powerful Processes 7. The Secret to Money 8. The Secret to Relationships 9. The Secret to Health 10. The Secret to the World 11. The Secret to You 12. The Secret to Life 13. Biographies The Secret Revealed The first thing you need to know is that The Secret isnââ¬â¢t really a secret. The secret is actually ââ¬Å"The Law of Attractionâ⬠that asserts what you think creates what you feel, and these feelings flow from your body as magnetic energy waves over vast distances, which then cause the universe around you to vibrate at the same energy level as your feelings. The idea dates back nearly 3,000 years to early Hindu teachings that like attracts like. The law of attraction, which the author Rhonda Byrne says is the most powerful law in the universe, states that people experience the logical manifestations of their predominant thoughts, feelings, and words. This gives people direct control over their lives. A persons thoughts (whether conscious or unconscious) and feelings bring about corresponding positive or negative manifestations. Positive thoughts bring about positive manifestations while negative thoughts bring about negative manifestations. The theory is very simple. Because it is an absolute law, the law of attraction will always respond to your thoughts no matter what they are. Thus your thoughts become things. You are the most powerful power in the universe simply because whatever you think about will come to be. You shape the world that exists around you. You shape your own life and destiny through the power of your mind. To quote some of the teachings in this book are ââ¬Å"Thoughts are sending out that magnetic signal that is drawing the parallel back to you. â⬠Thus there is no such thing as accident or coincidence; it is you, the individual, who brings misery on yourself because of your toxic thinking. But the good news, if you can alter your thoughts, and therefore your feelings, you can actually cause the universe around you to vibrate at a positive energy level and the desires of your heart will come to be realized! All you have to do is Ask ââ¬â Believe ââ¬â Receive. You just have to visualize what you want, feel good about it, and then ask the universe ââ¬â and whatever you can imagine can be yours. It is like having the universe as your catalogue and you flip through it and go, ââ¬ËWell Iââ¬â¢d like to have this experience and Iââ¬â¢d like to have that product and Iââ¬â¢d like to have a person like thatââ¬â¢ â⬠¦ It is you just placing your order with the universe. The law of attraction was the power, the author argues, behind geniuses such as Plato, Newton, Beethoven and Einstein. In this book too, she has also gotten quotes, experiences and support from the whos who of the self-help industry, including John Gray, author of Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, and Jack Canfield, who wrote Chicken Soup for the Soul. Jack Canfield, provides an excellent example of the ask-believe-receive system where he tells us that he visualized earning $100,000 (even writing the desired amount on a bill worth far less and tacking it to the ceiling above his bed) and focused his mental energy only on the goal of attaining the money. He tells us that he had absolutely no idea how he was going to get the money ââ¬â he simply focused on believing that he would get the money, somehow. But how? For four weeks he had no breakthrough ideas but then, one day in the shower, he remembered that he had written a book and, if it was published (particularly if he sold 400,000 copies and he made a quarter on each) he just might achieve his financial goals. Of course the book was published, and the results were only a few thousand dollars shy of 100,000 dollars. And this is just one of the many testimonials in this book called The Secret. The Story Behind The Secret It is not a secret now that The Secret is a publishing phenomenon of recent years especially for in the non-fiction self-help category. This small book, with a parchment-brown cover engraved with the image of a red wax seal, debuted in 2006 and since then it has sold over four million copies worldwide and has been translated to 38 different languages. The Secret began as a DVD which came out end of 2004. Rhonda Byrne was a television producer in Australia in 2004 when the death of her father led her to discover ââ¬Ëthe secretââ¬â¢, which is her term for what is commonly known as the law of attraction. Her discovery was mainly caused by the 1910 book The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles. Wattless book struck such a chord with Byrne that she plunged into a crash course in Western, Eastern, ancient and modern thought, devouring hundreds of books and articles in just two and a half weeks. Inspired, she flew to the States in July 2005 and began lining up people to interview; the film was finished six months later and she began trying to find an Australian network to air it. The top-rated Nine Network was intrigued by her proposal, but the finished film struck Len Downs, the program manager, as just a whole range of talking heads giving their basis of the secret of life. It eventually ran in Australia just a few weeks ago, and, says Downs, it didnt do all that well. But armed with the law of attraction, Byrne was confident things would work out. A Web company situated just blocks away from her office in Melbourne had a technology for distributing streaming video over the Internet. In March 2006, her site (http://thesecret. tv) began selling downloads and DVDs, one of which found its way to Cynthia Black, president of the New Age-oriented publishing house Beyond Words saw its potential and by late November the book was in the stores and the rest as they say, is history. PURCHASING THE SECRET The Secret books are available at all major bookstores, online bookstore and through its official website. It is usually placed in the Health, Mind Body - Self Help category or Religion Spirituality - New Age category. At most of these major bookstores, The Secret books are placed most prominently on the shelves. Due to it being constantly on worldwide bestseller lists for non-fiction books thus the title is prominently displayed in the bookstores should the bookstore have a bestsellers display section. Its average retails price for cash carry stores are $23. 95 in the United States; ? 12. 00 in United Kingdom; and MYR79. 90 in Malaysia. While its average retail price for online purchases are $14. 00 and ? 12. 00 in United States and United Kingdom respectively. PROMOTING THE SECRET After the phenomenal success of the The Secret DVD, it made sense for it to be turned into a book and what better way for the marketers to embark on promoting the book than playing up the hype of the movie and using the popular internet marketing tool such as the viral video site YouTube. The book was marketed with an online viral video campaign focusing on wealth enhancement. The short video clips showed testimonials from readers of the book and practitioners of the secret claiming that the technique brought them wealth, cured sickness, and brought about a general life-change. The video clips do not disclose what the secret is, where it originated from or how it can be practiced, but rather pointed viewers to the website for both the book and film. Thus hooking the viewers and made them all the more intrigue by the claims made by the author in the book. As for packaging and promotional material, the book also played into the consumersââ¬â¢ senses by trying to showcase that the secret originates from the cosmos. The cover prominently displayed a parchment-brown cover engraved with the image of a red wax seal (see Appendix 1) to indicate it is somewhat a book from the olden days and in the inside pages, the background design are a field of stars, and various shots of the universe thus adding mystique to the claims and the practice. However, the most savvy and most probably the ultimate gambit of the book is to call it The Secret. To quote Mr Donavin Bennes, a buyer who specializes in metaphysics for Borders Books, We all want to be in on a secret. But to present it as the secret, that was brilliant. â⬠Thus the name evoke a sense of intrigue to readers who are looking for something magical or perhaps easier tool for them to understand and to fully live their lives. Another smart marketing move made by the publisher was to have it endorsed by well-known and highly popular worldwide celebrities. The book got its first break in the US when Ellen DeGeneres featured it on her show. And when Oprah Winfrey decided to run a show on it, although it was already a big success, the sales ballooned up much more. Oprah Winfrey first featured it on Feb. 8 2007 and according to Nielsen BookScan, the book had sold 18,000 copies the week before. During the week of the show, sales rocketed to 101,000 and when the show did a follow-up on Feb. 16 2007, the sales that week reached 190,000. With the success of the book, the publishers decided to create more spin-off titles, which they call The Secret tools. There are now The Secret to Teen Power (see Appendix 2), The Secret Daily Teachings (see Appendix 3) and The Secret Gratitude Book (see Appendix 4). Not only that, at its official website there are also ââ¬Ëgiftsââ¬â¢ for the readers such as visualization tools, The Secret memory game, wallpapers, ebook and blank checks (see Appendix 5) which goes hand-in-hand with the teachings of the book. THE SECRET S. W. O. T ANALYSIS Strengths 1. The intriguing title. As elaborated above, the title play a major role in inciting readersââ¬â¢ interest in the book. 2. The cover design. Alongside its intriguing title, the odd-shaped book with its olden-days personification invoke a sense of mystery that is definitely eye-catching and surely pique a personââ¬â¢s interest while browsing the shelves at a bookstore. 3. The content is an easy read with its simple language and peppered with inspiring testimonials from many men women who has experienced the use of the secret plus personal experience quotations from the the whos who of the self-help industry. 4. The savvy marketing ideas of the publishers that has created the hype that constantly raise awareness of the book. 5. Endorsement by high-profile influential personalities that are recognized world-wide certainly helped boosted its sale internationally. 6. Constant high-placing in best-selling charts, most probably due to the savvy marketing ideas of the publisher and as theà long-term effect of the celebrity associated to the book especially Oprah Winfrey. Weaknesses 1. The selling price in Malaysia of RM79. 90 is definitely a setback to potential buyers as the price is rather steep for many people especially for books in the self-help category. 2. The book is not available in paperback form thus some book buyers are not keen on buying hardback cover books due to its steeper price or its slightly heavy weight. 3. The content is not something that is unique and there are many similar teachings that one can get in many other books thus it does lack a little originality. 4. As typical with many New Age teachings, the content of the book has garnered much criticism which try to debunked the bookââ¬â¢s teaching as merely hype, mumbo-jumbo or just plain illogical. 5. The book has to complete with many other form of self-help books available that are cheaper, more accessible and from much more renowned authors (Paulo Coelho, Eckhart Tolle, Anthony Robbins) Opportunities 1. Publishers could promote to younger readers especially The Secret for Teens book first and therefore will garner their interest in the main book The Secret. 2. Use the The Secret movie to lure potential readers as there are those who would like to have to book in hand as a way to look back or do revision which is harder to do with the dvd. 3. Offer a cheaper paperback form, thus the book is able to be sold at a cheaper price and therefore garner many more readers. Threats 1. With the easy access to internet, potential readers might decide to check out what the book is about online and thus stumbling on the many critics that the book has garnered. This in turn can make them believe the critics before actually reading the book, thus will result in loss of sales. 2. Like many other things in life, people are apt to stumble upon a new idea for a book or a belief that could help the world, thus there will be brand new books in the future that will probably come with a much more savvy marketing approach and thus will affect the interest of the people about The Secret! THE SECRET CONCLUSION The Secret is a phenomenon and it is likely to become one of the best-selling self-help books of all time. Venture into your local bookstore or look around you while waiting at an airport, and youre bound to see people reading it and absorbing it. They will not just be people who consult astrologers and who listen to Tony Robbins tapes, but normal, average people like the ones who live next door to you. There are almost 1400 reviews of the book printed at Amazon with an average rating of 3. 5 out of 5. The breakdown of those scores is interesting: fifty-two percent of them are 5-star, thirteen percent are 4-star and twenty-one percent are 1-star. This means that the majority of people, the great majority even, believe in at least some aspects of the books premise and teaching. They believe in the law of attraction. The one problem that The Secret poses is that it simplifies and speculates way too much and there are a quite a significant level of moral defects, the lack of scientific backing, and the various philosophical shortcomings, how is it that a significant number of people still believe thereââ¬â¢s something to The Law of Attraction? Part of the reason must certainly be the powerful testimonials coming from celebrity figures such as Oprah Winfrey, a woman who attributes her success to her mighty powers of attraction. Of course, thats a long way from the simple model of Ask-Believe-Receive. In most peoples lives, positive thought leads to success only through the transforming medium of action. But as the author Rhonda said in an interview, she just wants to bring happiness to everybody. Thats the reason it all began. And to her credit, she does bring happiness to many people worldwide and surely there is nothing, in principle, wrong with thinking about what makes you happy.
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Rawls Notion of the Political and the Realism View
Rawls Notion of the Political and the Realism View Bree Dela Rosaà Rawls Political Concept and the View Associated with Realism Introduction John Rawls in his work sought to capitalize on the concept of justice; enabled by his exploration on The Theory of Justice. As discussed by Rawls, the bone of contention when it comes to the aspect of the truth is that; the principles of justice in the structural dimension of the society are the main guidelines.[1] Getting back to the main idea which is the political aspect, there is an intertwine between the concept of justice and the political aspect. Rawls noted that to attain an upper hand in the political arena; there is a collision with the discussed principles of justice.[2] On the liberties that the citizens of a particular country are endowed to; political independence is one of the same. Political freedom gives a citizen the right to participate in a voting exercise, and also, can be a participant in elective public positions.[3] Political liberty is one of the political reasons that the same citizens get to enjoy. Realism, as highlighted, is a phrase that enjoys a broad ra nge of definitions.[4] The different usage it has is in the various areas such as; art, moral philosophy, politics among others. It is important to note that realism involves adorning in a particular attitude towards the world, to focus on the most salient dimensions of a given situation, whether or not they conform to our preferences or desires.[5] Through the in-depth study of the film Glory, it shall be possible to determine the differences that exist between the political aspect and realism. The shared thoughts of Rawls opined that a society based on ideologies of politics is that where the citizens get to enjoy the outlined political liberties which are free from ambiguity.[6] All the people despite their political inclinations, races, sexual orientation or even religious affiliations are to enjoy these political rights. However, in the Edward Zwick-directed film Glory, this is not the case. There seemed to be some alienation when it came to the enjoyment of the liberties endowed to the citizens and especially those partaking in the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.[7] All the soldiers and army personnel participating in the field were bound to receive their provisions and personal effects from their heads charged with that duty by the government. Robert Shaw in the film Glory unearthed that black soldiers were discriminated upon and even denied basic items such as the shoes. It is important to know that as determined by a particular author; realism is frequently employed as a term to describe approaches that focus on the sources, modalities, and effects of power.[8] Therefore, realism augurs easily with the various slots whether in leadership or the political arena. Besides, realism aligns to the realpolitik, which is a subject of both the military and political power and which finds unworthy the steps that would bring changes that ensure that there is progress on the global front.[9] In the film Glory, there are obvious stumbling blocks to the initiation of the changes that would provide the relative deduction of the racism menace and the ill treatment of the slaves. The federal government was itself, in fact, paying the black soldiers lesser amount compared to that given to the white soldiers.[10] The soldiers under the command of Shaw were being denied personal effects such as shoes due to their race. Some of these black soldiers who had joined the co mbat were former slaves. Despite having been soldiers for the primary purpose of participating in the battlefield, there was no awarding of black soldiers with a chance to do so. Instead, treatment as manual laborers was the order of the day. Another political notion offered by Rawls is that a society that is politically ideal is that in which there is some economic balance where those that are in socially unjust position are also able to live comfortably. This economic balance in a practical manner involves ensuring that the society is economically just where the haves and the have-nots get access to basic social amenities. In most communities, striking a balance in the distribution of resources among these two groups is considered a big challenge. The large gap existing evidences the situation between the wealthy and the have-nots. This gap between the rich and the have-nots continues to widen since the rich become richer while the poor become poorer. The disparity between the haves and the poor is because of the uneven sharing of resources. Among the needy in the society, there are fewer resources, and in other scenarios, these resources do not exist. The film Glory apparently pictures this kind of setup present in mos t communities. There is a major disparity in the economic resources at the disposal of the white soldiers and the black soldiers. Payments to the black soldiers are lesser than that of the white soldiers; where they get $10 in a month and their white counterparts receiving $13 during the same duration.[11] Also, the film depicts a picture where there is a subjection of harsh conditions on black soldiers. In totality, economic imbalance characterizes this society of members of the troops, which is the contrary of what Rawls advocated of a politically ideal society. Realism in the political angle as highlighted is not a new subject in general.[12] In a bid to make a comeback to the aspect of realism; one of the main areas eyed was the political philosophy and the normative political theory. Realism, in particular, is deeply entrenched in political philosophy.[13] In matters about the realism in political philosophy, it involves a roughly spoken manner. Besides that, its main area of interest is not in how people are supposed to act in an ideal or rational situation, what they are to vest their desires in or even the types of individuals they are meant to be. In fact, its primary interest is the operation of the social, economic or even political functions in a given community at a particular point in time. Another bestowed on the same is what moves members of this community to act in certain situations. There is a painting of this angle of realism in the film Glory. The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry is the particular circumstances at a p articular point in time of the members of the soldiers fraternity. Operations of the social, economic and political functions of the community of the troops depict realism in political philosophy. Socially, the black soldiers were considered to be in a cluster different from their white counterparts. There is outright discrimination in the job description, overall treatment, and even remunerations. The treatment of the black soldiers in this quarter was a clear reflection of the reigning political era. Therefore, fuelling of these actions against the black soldiers was by the federal government and the political class inclusive. The political ideas that Rawls had differed from the real situation that was on the ground. In fact, there was an intriguing disparity between political compliance and the political reality.[14] These emerging differences are the ultimate case scenarios in most situations and the one provided by the film Glory is no different. Shaw aggressively campaigned for the proper treatment of the black soldiers that he was commanding. Despite his desire for a perfect situation for these black soldiers, this would not be the case as the reality was that there was a deep entrenchment of racism in this particular society. In conclusion, there are standing differences in the political notion that Rawlings sought to communicate and the aspect of realism. There was a significant evidence of these different points in the film Glory. These differences provide a stable ground for the Rawls political notion and realism both on an independent framework. Bibliography Bell, Duncan. 2008. Political Thought and International Relations Bird, Colin. Ethics and Analytical Political Philosophy Broderick, Mathew; Washington, Denzel; Elwes, Cary; Freeman, Morgan. Glory. Dir. Zwick, Edward. The United States. TriStar Pictures. 1998. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZbXA4lyCtqr4OBF9B8fwe1WxcCTRARKM Philp, Mark. 2012.Ãâà Realism without Illusions. DOI: 10 1177/0090591712541723 Rawls, John. 1971. Justice as Fairness [1] Rawls, John. 1971. Justice as Fairness. Pg. 1 [2] Ibid, pg. 4 [3] Ibid, pg. 8 [4] Bell, Duncan. 2008. Political Thought and International Relations, pg. 1 [5] Ibid [6] Bird, Colin. Ethics and Analytical Political Philosophy. Pg. 22 [7] Broderick, Mathew; Washington, Denzel; Elwes, Cary; Freeman, Morgan. Glory. Dir. Zwick, Edward. The United States. TriStar Pictures. 1998. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZbXA4lyCtqr4OBF9B8fwe1WxcCTRARKM [8]Bell, Duncan. pg. 1 [9] Ibid, pg. 2 [10] Broderick, Mathew; Washington, Denzel; n.p. [11] Ibid [12] Philp, Mark. 2012.Ãâà Realism without Illusions. pg. 2. DOI: 10 1177/0090591712541723 [13] Ibid, pg. 2 [14] Bird, Colin, pg. 22
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