...Book Review: This Changes Everything, by Naomi Klein, published: Sept. 2014 Summarize the book. What is being discussed? Rob Nixon of the New York Times called Naomi Klein’s “This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate” “a book of such ambition and consequence that it is almost unreviewable.[1]” Naomi Klein researches the impact of Climate change and its relationship with free market capitalism. She discusses capitalism as failed economic system. She goes into great depth on the subject of resource extraction, pollution and the events of surrounding the affected communities in these regions across the world. However, rather than concluding that things are hopeless Naomi Klein argues that: We can build something better and reclaim our economic system. She argues that the market cannot save us. We have the tools/technology to get off of fossil fuels, but it requires leaving free market capitalism behind. We need to rebuild local economies, reign in corporate power and reclaim democracy. She argues that we aren’t all the all powerful saviours of the planet, but that as visitors on the earth we have to save ourselves from an earth that is rocking, burning and driving humanity into extinction because of our actions. Describe the three most important arguments or claims made in the book. The first argument Naomi Klein makes is that world leaders and climate scientists agree if we are going to avoid truly catastrophic consequences of climate change; we need to...
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...with American Capitalism today. It seems today that all people care about getting the best and newest innovations at the cheapest prices. Most of the products in Wal-Mart though come from outside imports from cheap factories in countries such as China and Mexico. The problem with buying products from Wal-Mart is that the factories that these products come from are made in dangerous conditions, for very cheap labor. Wal-Mart in fact is a supercenter which puts many other small American companies out of business. In fact, the products that are produced from Wal-Mart are often found to be dangerous because many factories that the products are made in have little safety regulations so the product that they sell can often be very harmful. This just shows how corrupt American capitalism has become because it does not matter to the consumer that Wal-Mart is running America by producing harmful product in factories that have little safety regulations for their workers. Purchasing products from Wal-Mart is a clear example of how American consumers do not care for the future of their economy but the amount of money they save on the product. Americans don’t ever ask why they are saving so much money on a product because they rather just ignore that they are supporting a supercenter such as Wal-Mart in destroying the future of American Economy. As American consumers we ignore the fact that Wal-Mart is corrupt because they provide us with low prices but, in fact it ruins us all as a country...
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...1. Summarize this article as a prelude to your analysis of your position. This article describes about capitalism through a social observer - Adam Smith because he was neither an economist nor a capitalist. Compare with communism and socialism, he is pleased to see that capitalism has triumphed over them in every part of the world. “Beloved capitalism” is the word that he used to describe it. However, he also condemned some bad influences and problems of capitalism. Instead of praising wealth creation, Smith set out only to describe the conditions in which wealth increases and spreads in a society. He also condemned the extravagance and ostentation of the rich and called for limited measures to alleviate the lot of the poor. Moreover, he provides credible solutions to cure what bad issues in modern capitalism. There are 4 ways that Smith would do in 2012 to improve the system and to modulate income disparities, such as, “. Save the euro and the European Union”, “Fix the US debt and deficit”, “Integrate the emerged markets” and “Educate”. 2. Provide your analysis to either support or oppose the supposed point of view of “Adam Smith” concerning today’s global economic environment Smith is also known for his explanation of how rational self-interest and competition can lead to economic well-being and prosperity. Smith believed that while human motives are often selfishness and greed, the competition in the free market would tend to benefit society as a whole by keeping prices...
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...importance of justice to business and society is to make the world just and bring equality for all. It is important for business and society to help other countries and treat them equally. It is important for business as well so that they can work fairly together to achieve the goal of global justice. Studying global justice allows people to become aware of the injustices that people around the globe face such as war, poverty, limited opportunities, etc. Moreover, global justice allows countries to be united under a legal system (Drydyk, 23). My research questions is what are the root causes of injustices in our world and how can they be solved? In this essay, I will demonstrate that the causes of injustices in our world stem from materialism (not helping the unfortunate nation because of selfishness and only caring about one countries profit), ignorance and capitalism where richer nations exploited poorer nations. First of all, I will discuss the issue of institutions of cosmopolitan failing to provide justice. Cosmopolitan principles urge for equality and moral worth of all humans and a shared economic system (Berry, 5). Similarly, Institutions of global justice fight to achieve moral equality and well being of people throughout the world (Kurasawa, 5). It is a process of reconstructing the world with human rights and cosmopolitan principles. Thomas Pogge a defender of cosmopolitan agrees that institutions are not abiding with the human rights principles. He indicates that...
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..."Urgent: Evoke." Waddington wrote about how the game is not a game but used to teach us how to become "social entrepreneurship." “Be a Gamer, Save the world” by Jane McGonigal is about how playing games can help the world. McGonigal also wrote about how gaming can improve our lives. "My research over the past decade at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Institute for the Future has shown that games consistently provide us with the four ingredients that make for a happy and meaningful life: satisfying work, real hope for success, strong social connections and the chance to become a part of something bigger than ourselves." In this quote from the essay, McGonigal argues that people who play games will have happy and meaningful lives....
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...Simon talking about how America is split up in its society, economy, and it's politics. He then goes on with America explaining how America is split in two. One part of America shows how the country is in sync with it's economy & the possibilty of a great future for the people that live in it. Then the other America, which isn't too far away from the first America, looks like it lacks a future for the people in it. He then goes in greater detail on how America is seems to divide itself between the rich and the poor. He talks about how capitalism is the down fall of us, how capitalism measures things by profit. Mr.Simon understands the functioing and neccesary of unions. Unions were what brought people togther when they felt injustice was amoung them. Unions helped workers realize that they were worth more and that they had to stand up for themselves if they wanted to be treated equally. More or less, Mr.Simon talks aout how America is becoming "a horror show" because it's killing its self. He uses examples such as the hunting of the underclass and how basic services are being cut off like public education. Not only is America killing itself but its also punishing its people. The imprisonment rate in America is higher then any other county on earth. These facts are facts that many people are aware of but rarely are they put together in such a way that strikes us with grief and fear as the way that Mr.Simon has done. Finally, he talks about the market & how "amazing" it is. He...
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...Big Business Corporatism Versus Free Market Capitalism Right now, there is a lot of talk about the evils of “capitalism”. But it is not really accurate to say that we live in a capitalist system. Rather, what we have in the United States today, and what most of the world is living under, is much more accurately described as “corporatism”. Under corporatism, most wealth and power is concentrated in the hands of giant corporations and big government is used as a tool by these corporations to consolidate wealth and power even further. In a corporatist system, the wealth and power of individuals and small businesses is dwarfed by the overwhelming dominance of the corporations. Eventually, the corporations end up owning almost everything and they end up dominating nearly every aspect of society. As you will see below, this very accurately describes the United States of America today. Corporatism is killing this country, and it is not what our founding fathers intended. Corporatism is actually not too different from socialism or communism. They are all “collectivist” economic systems. Under corporatism, wealth and power are even more highly concentrated than they are under socialism or communism, and the truth is that none of them are “egalitarian” economic systems. Under all collectivist systems, a small elite almost always enjoys most of the benefits while most of the rest of the population suffers.The Occupy Wall Street protesters realize that our economic system is...
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...developed off of the predecessors principles, while other beliefs were opposing the ideas completely. Overall, it is important to study and learn from their methods to help understand how an economy works and how to attain their goals. The first economists I found the most important to the history of economics was Adam Smith. Adam Smith was not only a founder of the classical school but he had many influential ideas of moral values and political economy. The two books he wrote that were very important to economic thinking were The Theory of Moral Sentiments and Wealth of Nations. They complimented it each and demonstrate his way of thinking. Smith believed in a free market and that this idea is best for society. He developed the idea of the “invisible hand”, meaning if people went after their own self-interests that it would also benefit society. The division of labor was another idea that Smith was noted on discovering. Smith also disliked government connection in the economy. From these major ideas, he is commonly known as the father of capitalism. Karl Marx was not only an economist but was a philosopher, social scientist, and revolutionary thinker for his time. He is definitely noted for being an advocate socialist thinker and was extremely against the thoughts of capitalism. He was known...
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...1. Introduction. This project is about the comparison between 2 country that is USA and China in terms of capitalism and democracy their economic growth and their personal growth and growth due to internet 2. Does the growth of the economies of the two nations have any relationship to capitalism and democracy? 3.1 Comparing the U.S. Federal Republic with the Republic of China All the countries in the world don’t have same form of government some work on the belief of their leader and some work on the basis of written constitution For Instance if you compare USA with China both have different system Democratic system of United state of America is strong. Whereas China is Communist which falls under the classification of People Republic United state has a government national organization stand upon 2 thing 1) Separation of Power 2) Federal system US government had a fear that if excess deliberation of power is given in that hand of commen man or in the hand of company it would not be safe for the freedom of the nation, so they revised the organization into 3 branch 1) Legislative 2) Executive 3) Judicial All these power are vested by US system named a Constitution which has 1) President 2) Federal Court 3) Supreme Court which is part of federal court All the power and duties of these 3 branches are clearly explained in act of Congress which also includes formation of department and courts inferior to the Supreme Court All...
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...more than what everybody would be led to put at first sight of this title, that ‘Devil’ and ‘Cross’ are mere symbols, they can be constructed into metaphors after a careful reading of the novel. The findings show that the following metaphors would be correct if based on the novel’s analysis: Colonialism was a devil. Capitalism is a devil. Imperialism is a devil. Neocolonialism is a devil. Independence was a cross. Communism is a cross. Unity is a cross. But the title of Ngugi’s novel ‘Devil on the Cross’ draws attention to itself and raises some queries whether the devil he is talking about : is on the cross; was on the cross; has been put on the cross; or should be put on the cross. The opening of the book, however, unfolds this initial ambiguity by specifying that the devil should be put on the cross by the oppressed class: thus my interest in the topic because the title appears as an invitation to crucify the devil and this justifies the title of the paper, Devil on the Cross: Ngugi’s Marxist Invitation. Still, after agreeing that the title is an invitation, there is need to know who is/are invited to crucify the devil and how they should proceed to crucify him. The analysis in the whole paper seeks to give satisfactory answers to any of these queries. This paper uses the Marxist approach due to the class conflict and the reinforcement of class distinction portrayed in the novel. The Marxist theory uses traditional techniques of literary analysis...
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...financial crisis happen. The views on what roles the government should have in the economy range from capitalism, which is a belief that the economy should be controlled by individuals (hrw ESL dictionary 85), to communism, which is a belief that a social organization such as the state should control economy.(558) Most people adopt a view somewhere between these extremes, yet even those moderate views vary greatly. Because society put emphasis on productivity and profit, most economic systems in the world tend to be oriented toward capitalism instead of communism. Many believe that capitalism is immoral because it is based on profit, which they claim to be the result of egoistic actions. I personally think that it is not the system that is unethical, but more how it is used and what is done with it. It can be compared to a neutral instrument such as a knife, which can be used either to cut food or kill. There is no morality in the knife itself. In this essay, it will be argued that, unlike most beliefs, capitalism is a morally acceptable economic system. To support this claim, three premises will be used. First of all, the market economy on which capitalism is based upon, promotes mutual help and fair exchange. Also, under such a system, when an individual is pursuing his own interests, he is simultaneously increasing the general wealth of his society as well as his own. Lastly, capitalism facilitates exchanges with people outside of our circle of care by dealing with them voluntarily...
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...consequences. Utilitarianism Actions are judged by how much they benefit the majority. The greatest good for the greatest number of people. It is ethical to make the minority unhappy or suffer to create the greatest good The various ways of defining the greatest good should be taken into consideration. Promulgated by John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham Act Utilitarianism Every act has an individual moral obligation. Rule Utilitarianism Apply utilitarianism to a set of rules that will benefit the majority. Kantian Ethics Intention based The categorical Imperative contains three maxims. Universality: You should only do something if you think it would be ok if everyone did it all the time. E.g. cheating in business, if everyone did it the economy would collapse. Every human should be treated as an end not a means to an end: So you can’t manipulate people to achieve an end. Contrasts to consequentialism which is based on ‘the greater good’. Means you cannot lie, (example about com101 being fav class) Act as if you were the moral authority of the universe: If any action that you undertake, repeated across the universe would create negative effects it is deemed unethical and you should not do it. Whistleblowing WB: Corporate governance codes require people to whistleblow on breaches of the codes. E.g. Enron: Positives: Required by corporate governance to report unethical business actions. Saves...
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...Capitalism ADI IGNATIUS: Now, your article is meant to fix a problem. What is the problem? MICHAEL PORTER: Well, the problem is I think we've gotten into a very vicious cycle in thinking about the relationship between business and society. And really, the purpose of capitalism, and the benefits of the capitalist system to society, and to meeting society's needs-- needs like improving people's lives, and improving the health of communities. We've gotten into a cycle where, I think, business has evolved and thinking about business management has evolved, in a direction that we've narrowed the scope of how you create economic value. And increasingly, companies are being perceived as creating profit at the expense of the community, not creating profit that actually ultimately benefits the communities. As a result of this, I think government has increasingly seen business as a problem, as a source of bad things in society. And the mindset is becoming increasingly to regulate, to control, to tax. And ultimately, now often political leaders are unable to pursue business-friendly public policies, because the political environment almost forces them to be tough on business. Despite the fact that we know at some deep level, business and society need each other. But we've kind of gotten ourselves into a bad place. ADI IGNATIUS: But, I think a lot of business people would argue, what we do is run businesses, and we make profits. And when we're successful we hire people. And that's...
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...with this statement in a large extent. Overview Fukuyama published the idea of ‘end of ideology’, which became a controversial issue in 1989. No doubt, fascism and communism had both lost their appeal after the collapse of the communism in east Europe. In the postwar period, the three ideologies-liberalism, socialism and conservation –came to accept the common goal of capitalism. ( Lee, 1990) However, it does not mean that capitalism is a triumph of the world. Jacques mentions that there are many types of Marxism. For instance, orthodox Marxism is produced by the unique history tradition. Therefore, when one specific communism is collapsed, it does not mean that the communism is collapsed. In fact, there still are states that pursue other types of communism. People reflect and become interested in Marxist if capitalism cannot bring them into utopian era. There is no way to say that ideologies are becoming irrelevant to the discussion of politics. Also, All human are political thinkers. We all have difficult thoughts and diverse perceptions when the things happen around us. Modern ideologies such as feminism and ecologism are witnessed. From the observations and judgments, we can find out our own belief of what our world is and what we ought to be. ‘equality , ’rights’ ,’freedom’ ,’justice’ are the expression that always appear in our life. Of course, different ideologists have different point of view. Simply, where people are congregate, there are ideologies...
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...1. What are the major differences between capitalism, communism, and socialism? The mayor differences between these type of economies are that, capitalism is a free market system, were most of the factor of production and distribution are privately owned. Although government get involved into some issues and decide minimum wages and such. “People under free-market capitalism have four basic rights: 1) The right to private property, 2) the right to own a business and to keep all of that business’s profits, 3) the right to freedom of competition and 4) the right to freedom of choice (Nickels, pg. 35, 36)”. Socialism is an economic system where basic business should be owned by the government, in that way profits are distributed evenly on society. Even though the socialist system has more equality, taxes are higher, so usually bright and hard work people leave that society for a capitalistic one. Taxes are so high that most of the times is hardly any profit left. Communism is a politic and economic system where the government has control of the economy and the factors of productions. Basically, communism control almost every single aspect of people life. People, under this kind of system, is not motivated to work hard because government take almost all of their profits. 2. Discuss the three major economic indicators and how they are indicative of our current economic climate. The three major economic indicators are: Gross domestic product is the total value of final goods...
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