...don’t think about it as the outcome of a history of political oppression but rather as just ‘the way things are’ (Mills, 46). Thus, it is first necessary to acknowledge such a system exists in the first place to then deal with the problem. Thus, like Rousseau and Marx, Mills advocates seeing the world through new eyes to see the inequalities and exploitation by a powerful group against one deprived of such, but how practical is it to try to solve this problem through their solutions? My opinion is that although they all have some pretty amazing ideas on how to solve the problem, Rousseau probably has the best way to think about it when he compares emancipation to the way humanity discovered fire. Our society has obiously discovered the fire for the very first time with Rousseau, and Marx had to deal with the fire and was burned by it and it seems like we might have even let the fire go out a few times, but eventually humanity, with the help of Mills, will master fire and thus allow every human being to be their own master regardless of race, class, wealth or gender, for once in history. There is immense emacipatory potential in Mills’ book, The Racial Contract the ideas of which stands on the shoulders of Rousseau and Marx. Being higher than the former have been before, Mills has the most accurate way of thinking of our society, though by far not yet complete. Nevertheless, the three philosophers understand to some degree or another, the way that social constructions affect...
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...concentrating power in a single head or centre, the state itself could be sufficiently controlled and its environment sufficiently managed to achieve self-sufficiency or at least a maximum of self-sufficiency in a world which would inevitably be hostile or at best neutral toward each state's interests and in which alliances would reflect temporary coalitions of interests that should not be expected to last beyond that convergence. The old maxim: "No state has friends, only interests," typified that situation. The first powerful nation-states were monarchies, advocates of the divine right of kings to protect central authority and power. After a series of modern revolutions, first in thought, led by people like Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, and Rousseau, and then in practice as articulated in The Federalist, kings were stripped of their exclusive powers and new power centres formed, presumably based upon popular citizenship and consent but in fact with the same centralized powers, only vested in representative assemblies and executive officers speaking in the name of the state. Only in a few...
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...problems is a universal vice the whole world subjects itself to and that is money. The money has become the root of all evils. Disease, famine, political infighting human rights abuses are all products as a result of lack of money, control of money, and the hoarding of money. In this paper, the extent to which money has corrupt human beings is analyzed. The paper will look at the reasons as to why the evils due to money issue arise and how they are related to alienation as expressed by Karl Marx in his paper-alienated labor. Marx became revolutionary figure because he came to sure that capitalism could not be reformed. At the end, capitalism could only create estrangement and alienation. As Marx describes, there is important connections between greed, private property, the separation of labor, monopoly, exchange and competition, capital and landed property, value and devaluation of man and competition. There is connection between the entire systems of estrangement and that of the money system. Karl Marx perspective Karl points to the common connection between money and the evil. He demonstrates in the consumerism, greed, and profiteering characteristic of capitalism. “Money, and all it symbolizes, is the root of all evils in a deeper”. Money if viewed from outside the system may be seen to do something insidious. It eliminates the very concepts of evil. On the other hand, it makes it impossible to discriminate evil and good. Money is shorthand means to say that capitalistic relations...
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...On ‘The Social Contract’ by Rousseau Hong Zhang In class I have discussed this book briefly. My previous discussion is based on how to frame and discuss possible problems like corruption based on Rousseau’s book. In this summary, I will analyze some of the key and interesting points either by this book or by the class discussion. This book is about political law, government and people. This book gives out bigger view of what a contract really means in different contents. It is one of the most powerful books in human history. Let me try to understand Rousseau's world as follows: • Legitimacy and Nature Law Rousseau starts this book by legitimacy. Unfortunately, we have very short life and no human being ever lives long enough to experience the historical changes of the society. Rousseau’s problem is a common problem to people who is born in a ready society with existing classes, governments and cultures. Back into the civilization history, there are too many examples of making power by force. Thus the first point Rousseau argue is that power is not right, unless it transfers obedience into duty, strength into right. Otherwise there is no need for a further discussion of the formation of the society: the strongest wins everything. Rather, Rousseau argues that right comes from social convention. But what types of social convention will prevent the strongest from being the absolute king of all others? Rousseau doesn’t answer this question directly. Instead...
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...Politicon? How does it affect his political ideas? 6. In what main ways does Aristotle’s view of democracy differ from Plato’s? 7. How does Aristotle justify slavery? 1. Mill is one of the main figures of the liberal tradition. Why? Characterize the main ideas of this ideology and discuss how they are represented in Mill’s philosophy. 2. Define and discuss the dangers of democracy according to Mill. What are his solutions? 3. Describe utilitarianism. In what ways can Mill be understood as an utilitarian and in which ways not? 4. Describe Marx’ historical materialism, including what role history plays in his philosophy. What relation does ‘revolution’ have to historical laws and human activity, respectively? 5. Describe Marx’ theory of alienation. Discuss its political implications. 6. What are the main arguments of Michael Hardt’s text? Discuss them in relation to Marx. 7. Compare and discuss the different understandings of ”freedom” in liberal and socialist ideology. 1. Characterize the main ideas of neoliberalism. 2. What are Nozick’s arguments against distributive justice and what does he mean by entitlement theory? 3. What aspects of enlightenment thought can be found in Wollestencraft’s writings? 4. What are the main points of the feminist critique of liberalism according to Nussbaum? 5. Discuss how Fanon views the mechanisms of colonial violence. How are...
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...account to be done justly, and with right. Neither by the word Right is anything else signified, than that liberty which every man hath to make use of his natural faculties according to right reason. Therefore the first foundation of natural Right is this, that every man as much as in him lies endeavor to protect his life and members” But because it is in vain for a man to have a right to the end, if the right to the necessary means denied him; it follows, that since every man has a right to preserve himself, he must also be allowed a right to use all the means without which he cannot preserve himself. If in the state of nature man is free and good there is reason to question the need for authority and the inequality that comes from it. Rousseau writes “this sentiment must serve as the praise of your earliest forebears, the criticism of you contemporaries, and the dread of those who will have...
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...Wollstonecraft’s idea that men and women should be equal is very important because in today’s society feminism it is still very relevant. Today a new wave of feminism all over young women’s minds believes women should rise above men and be treated greater rather than equal. Many should read Wollstonecraft’s Vindication of Women’s Rights to see her reasoning as to genders being equal rather than greater than another. Many women are so angry that our gender has been suppressed for so long that they believe we should rise above the other gender but Wollstonecraft makes great arguments as to why natural rights make us equal and women should just have power over themselves to be educated and skillful independently to make themselves happy. In return...
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...collectivism? 3. Draw out a spectrum of individualism and collectivism. 4. What is meant by ideology? Give some examples of major ideologies. 5. What does philosopher Thomas Hobbes believe in? 6. What does philosopher John Locke believe in? 7. What does philosopher Jean-Jacque Rousseau believe in? 8. Draw out a spectrum including the words individualism, collectivism, Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau. 9. Where was liberalism “born”? 10. What is meant by a liberal democracy? 11. What is meant by social contract? 12. What do the Magna Carta, French Revolution and Declaration of the Rights of Man, and American Revolution and Declaration of Independence/Constitution have in common? 13. Who is Adam Smith and famous book did he write? 14. Who is Karl Marx and what famous book did he write? 15. Draw out a spectrum with the words individualism, collectivism, Adam Smith and Karl Marx. Issue 2: Is resistance to liberalism justified? 16. What is liberalism? What are the major characteristics of liberalism? 17. What was mercantilism? Where did this occur, and between which countries? 18. What is meant by laissez-faire capitalism? 19. Why did capitalism emerge...
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...Concepts and Theories in Politics Welcome to Introduction to Politics! This lecture will supplement what you will hear in class. I’m going to discuss some important methodological and substantive issues having to do with political science, including the role of concepts and theories, human nature and politics, and ideologies. If you need more background, I suggest taking a look at Sheldon Wolin, Politics and Vision; C.B. Macpherson, The Real World of Democracy; or Robert Dahl, A Preface to Democratic Theory. To begin with, in some ways it is a misnomer to speak of political “science.” One crucial difference between political science and the natural sciences is that in the latter there is normally only one dominant paradigm at a time, while in the former there are what might be called competing paradigms. As T.S. Kuhn establishes in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, there was a paradigm shift from the Ptolemaic to the Copernican universe; in other words, from the idea that the Earth is the center of the universe we move to the idea that the Earth in fact goes around the sun, a radical conception when it was first put forward in 16th-century Europe but one that is now universally accepted. In the social sciences, however, there is no overriding consensus on how to analyze reality (or even on what counts as reality). In political science, for example, three major views may be distinguished on power and authority in the United States: (a) the pluralist model, in which...
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...from philosophers such as John Locke, people would not know about new ideas of society or government. Since new ideas about the government were being published, this lead to the French Revolution. Without the information of the government, common people would have been unable to overthrow the French government. Immanuel Kant – Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher who believed that the Enlightenment was the freedom from one’s immaturity. This meant that people should begin thinking for themselves rather than be influenced by the church or state and this would lead to an improved society. Immanuel Kant influenced many philosophers during the Enlightenment such as John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Locke believed that man possesses natural right to life, liberty, and property. Rousseau elaborated on Locke’s idea and stated that “man is born free and everywhere his is shackled.” Society corrupts man, but balanced civil liberty and equality can be achieved through reformed society and government. These values were revolutionary because they have formed today’s society. If it were not for Kant expressing what the Enlightenment was about, many would not have voiced their own thoughts and today’s world would be completely different. Thomas Malthus – In the late 18th century, Thomas Malthus was an English priest who was known for his Malthusian doctrine. In his doctrine, he argues that “poverty and distress are unavoidable, because population grows faster than food production.”...
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...What was the Enlightenment and how did it influence the politics of the 19th century? The Enlightenment was, in its simplest sense, a body of writers and writings of 18th century Europe which advocated reason and the belief in human rationality above all else and challenged long-standing values and institutions which were based on traditional and religious beliefs. The political ideas of the Enlightenment, which can be best understood against the backdrop of 18th century absolutism and the dominance of Christian world-views, denounced the ‘divine right of kings’ and called for reform in governance (Gieben and Hall, 1992:23). These were the ideas that influenced 19th century politics, and gradually led to the switch from all-powerful monarchies to the democracies of the modern world. In this essay I shall give a brief overview of the Enlightenment whilst focusing mainly on its political ideas and put these ideas in context by describing the political landscape of the time. I will then discuss how these political ideas shaped the politics of the 19th century. I will limit myself to looking at the influence of the Enlightenment on European politics as that is where its affect was most sharply felt and was the main location for the Enlightenment movement (Gieben and Hall,1992:72). The Enlightenment was the emergence of new ways of thinking which came about mainly in 18th century Europe, although Enlightenment ideas can also be seen in the 17th century, for example in the writings...
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...Marcelo Colussi * (1) Comentarios * Imprimir * Enviar a un amigo * 948 Visitas * Publicado: May 09, 2009 Ahora el gobierno mexicano, en medio de su más mediática que real crisis creada por la nueva gripe “asesina”, ha decretado la eliminación de los cursos de filosofía en la escuela media. Pero pese a ello, todo indica que seguirá habiendo filosofía. O, al menos, eso debemos impulsar. La filosofía, esa gran aventura del pensamiento, no puede morir por un decreto. En definitiva: si eso fuera a lo que se apunta, no lo podemos permitir. La imaginación al poder “Hasta ahora los filósofos se han limitado a interpretar el mundo de distintas maneras; de lo que se trata es de transformarlo”, sentenciaba terminante el joven Marx en la tesis XI sobre Ludwig Feuerbach, en 1845. Para muchos esa fue la declaración de muerte de la filosofía clásica. De todos modos siguió habiendo filosofía. Para muchos, la obra del alemán Martin Heidegger fue la última expresión de un gran sistema filosófico, tal como existieron por más de dos milenios en la tradición occidental, desde los griegos clásicos hasta el idealismo alemán. Pero desaparecido Heidegger, el gran filósofo del siglo XX, siguió habiendo filosofía. Ahora el gobierno mexicano, en medio de su más mediática que real crisis creada por la nueva gripe “asesina”, ha decretado la eliminación de los cursos de filosofía en la escuela media. Pero pese a ello, todo indica que seguirá habiendo filosofía. O, al menos, eso debemos...
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...Society is a very complex subject that contains many interrelating elements that construct its foundation. There is no such thing as a perfect society; however there are a variety of different views on what would make it ideal. This ideal society would create a community in which all aspects of it may function at their highest potential and in a smooth manner. This essentially would be a “Utopia”, which is a community or society that possesses near perfect qualities. Plato, Niccolo Machiavelli, Karl Marx, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Thomas Hobbs, and John Locke are just some of the few who have taken up views on this topic. There have been many disputes on what specific characteristics would produce a “just” society. What is justice? The dictionary defines justice as being righteous, equitable, or moral. Plato portrays it as “the...
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...Noha Ghobrial Soc 431 Dr. Ian Morrison Frankfurt School Reaction paper: The Frankfurt school was the most interesting reading and discussion this semester. They were different than the other ideas that we discussed this semester. The school presented ideas in different aspects than politics and economics through their different variety of minds that worked together on understanding how did the man reached the form he exists in now. Summary: The first reading was discussing the concept on enlightenment and how the world deals with ideas and knowledge these days. The writing of that piece was done by Adorno and Horkheimer in a very dark period in the human history which is after the World War 2. What they meant by enlightenment wasn’t a certain period of time or a philosophical movement, they were addressing the way of thinking that existed in Europe. Before that spreading of enlightenment, anything wasn’t scientific, a combination between myths and magic. Then enlightenment arrived to bring knowledge and logic and to make the world more scientific. Not all of the information that excited the man was able to fit it and analysis with it with logic and numbers so it has become not scientific. Then people took that division to be the ultimate truth and ignore any new attempts to question both the scientific and not scientific ideas. For them the enlightenment has created a kind of fear; people are afraid to break the scientific ideas and questioning them. The other reading...
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...Plato'argued'that'there'is'a'“fundamental'reality”' in'the'world,'of'which'our'observaJons'provide' only'a'“shadow”'of'that'possible'reality.' – Aristotle'argued'that'knowledge'of'reality'is' possible'through'experience'and'wisdom.' – Why'are'these'two'perspecJves'fundamentally' different'and'what'may'be'some'of'the'current' manifestaJons'of'these'differences?' Self'Interest'vs.'Altruism' • SelfQInterest:'Maximizing'Profit'&'CompeJJon'' • Altruism:'CooperaJon,'Care'of'the'Other' – Bowels'&'GinJs:'posit'that'strong'reciprocity'and' generosity'around'basic'needs'are'found'in'nature' and'fundamental'to'human'society' – Altruism'can'be'linked'to'selfQinterest'(care'for'others' ensures'one’s'own'needs'are'also'met)' Good'&'Evil' • Human'perfecJbility' (Rousseau,'Marx)' • Original'Sin'(Saint'...
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