...Economic Freedom and Wealth Economic freedom is the ability for an individual to prosper with minimal intervention from government. In an economically free society, individuals are empowered to succeed or fail based on their own individual abilities. Higher levels of economic freedom lead to higher levels of economic growth and income. The level of economic freedom varies among different regions and countries across the globe. Thus, levels of prosperity and wealth also vary widely across the globe. The Heritage Foundation, in cooperation with The Wall Street Journal, researches several factors to measure economic freedom across the globe. The Foundation issues the results of their research in the Index of Economic Freedom. The Foundation measures economic freedom based on ten factors: business freedom, trade freedom, fiscal freedom, government spending, monetary freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom, property rights, freedom from corruption, and labor freedom (The Heritage Foundation, 2011). While each of these factors are weighted equally in the Foundation’s results, business freedom, trade freedom, and government spending are some of the most important factors in the variation of wealth among nations. Business Freedom Business freedom measures the rights to establish and run a business within a country and the level of government interference. “Burdensome and redundant regulations are the most common barriers to the free conduct of entrepreneurial activity” (Miller...
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...Economic Freedom GB 540 Economics for Global Decision Makers Prof. Timothy Terrell Nhut (Andy) Diep 2010 GB540 Economic Freedom and Variations in Wealth Among Countries. 2 Introduction The Index for Economic Freedom published by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal (http://www.heritage.org/Index/) shows a clear correlation between economic freedom and country’s economic wealth. From a long list of countries around the world, viewer should see an almost perfect correlation why countries like Cuba, North Korea, Venezuela, or China is at the bottom of the list. Did the fall of the Soviet Union teach anyone anything? Just imagine if China does not open to economic reform, how it can survive with over 1.3 billion people. In fact, throughout our long history, including the failure of the Soviet Union, there is no doubt the free economies will outshine the less free ones. The Index shows the overwhelming evidence that countries like the United States, Japan, Canada, or England that have the most economic freedom have better standards of living, while socialist or communist countries have the least economic freedom tend to have the lowest. In fact, country like the United States generated unparalleled ability to produce wealth, raise the general standard of living, and provide goods and services in a society. Careful study of the long list of countries, and analyze each government system, viewer should see a trend that when too much government intrusion hinders...
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...Principles of Islamic economic system: a) Sole purpose is to obey and please Allah b) The wealth and asset in all their forms given under trust by Allah c) Moral values and guiding factors for all economic activities d) Maximum equitable utilization of human and material resources given by Allah e) Human dignity and respect of labor f) Maximum freedom for economic activity within a just framework g) Equitable distribution of wealth and income and disciplined private ownership h) Simplicity economy and austerity in expenditure i) Adal and Ihsan (justice and kindness) j) Strict prohibition of Riba, interest and usury in all forms. Some of the principles of the Islamic economic system, as laid down by the Qur’an and the Sunnah, are discussed as follows: 1. Allah determines Right and Wrong: We have already discussed in the first chapter that Islamic economic system makes distinction between what is permitted being lawful (Halal) and what is forbidden being unlawful (Haram). To determine what is permitted or lawful (Halal) and what is forbidden or unlawful (haram) is the soul prerogative of God. None but God is empowered to pronounce what is right and what is wrong. Allah has made demarcation between lawful and unlawful in the economic sphere and has allowed man to enjoy those food items and other articles of use which are lawful and avoid those things which are unlawful. The Qur’an says: “O ye who believe ! Forbid not the good things which Allah hath made lawful for...
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...Importance of Shab-e-Mairaaj The Night of Ascension 27th Rajjab A brief description of the Mairaj Just one year before his exodus from Mecca to Madina, on the 27th night of Rajab, Prophet MuhammadPBUH had a unique experience in the history of all religions. The ProphetPBUH, accompanied by Angel Gabriel was taken for Night Journey-(ISRA) from Mecca to Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. There he led a congregation of the souls of all the earlier ProphetsPBUT. Then accompanied by Angel Gabriel he had the Ascension-(MAIRAJ) to Heavens. In the heavens he met again with the ProphetsPBUT individually. Then he was taken to see the Paradise and the Hell. He was shown what the fate of the humans would be after the Day of Judgment. How the Believers and the Righteous would be rewarded in the Paradise and also how the non-believers and the wicked would be chastised in the Hell. After seeing several important divine Signs (Ayaat) he was led by Gabriel to the Sid’rah (The Berry Tree). Gabriel stopped there. The ProphetPBUH proceeded from there to the Divine Proximity. The ProphetPBUH had the Vision of Allah, Lord of the Universe. Five obligatory prayers were ordained by the way of Thanksgiving. The ProphetPBUH was brought back to the earth and to his own place before the Dawn prayers in the same night. Importance of Shab-e-Mairaj The most important things we believe about the Mairaj are noted below: 1) The night journey (ISRA) and the Ascension (MAIRAJ) both did not take place spiritually” nor...
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...many different forms, each form different from one another, such as socialism, communism, nazism, and etc. Capitalism is an economic system in which most of the means of production and distribution, such as businesses or factories, are not owned by the government but by the private individuals who operate them for profits. (“13b. Comparing Economic Systems.”) In the center of the free-market capitalism is the individual who has four basic rights: • The right to own private property. • The right to own a business and to keep the profits made by operating his business. • The right to freedom of competition. • The right of freedom of choice. (Nickels, Understanding Business) On the other hand, socialism is an economic system that calls for putting most of the means of production in the hands of government which will share the wealth and income more equally among people.( Nickels, Understanding Business) The main goal of socialism is to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor. Thus, the government has the responsibility to evenly distribute the wealth in order to make the society just and fair. (“13b. Comparing Economic Systems.”) An individual attempts to become wealthy, which explains why his focus is only on profits, but to achieve this goal he has to exchange what he owns or produces with other people who value what he offers (the freedom of property & the right to own a business). Therefore, through the process of turning the self-directed gain to what benefits...
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...more freedom over their wealth, it is one of the many forms of oppression as it is the cause of exploitation of labour and resources. Capitalism leads to the exploitation of human resources. According to David William Pear, Henry Kissinger states that, “Who controls the food supply controls the people; who controls the energy can control whole...
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...In 1955 the Congress of the People adopted the Freedom Charter, which was declared as a communist document by the National Party government. The Freedom Charter is the backbone of the South African Constitution which is the most progressive constitution in the world. This paper aims to determine whether or not the Freedom Charter is a communist document, by examining the history of the Freedom Charter and why the National Party considered it a communist document, defining communism, finding similarities between communist principles and the Freedom Charter. With these, this paper will aim to show that the Freedom Charter is or is not a communist document. The Freedom Charter was the statement of core principles of the South African Congress Alliance, which consisted of the African National Congress and its allies the South African Indian Congress, the South African Congress of Democrats and the Coloured People's Congress. It is characterized by its opening demand; The People Shall Govern! The initiative for the Freedom Charter came from a multi-racial coalition of organizations, including the African National Congress (ANC), Congress of Democrats, Indian National Congress, and South African Coloured People’s Congress. . The Charter came to represent ANC policies over the next four decades (Willcock, 2005). The document formulated not only basic demands for human and political rights that had been included in previous petitions and deputations, it also spelled out the kind of...
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...Human-beings have unlimited wants and are living in a world of finite resources. In economics this concept is referred to as scarcity. In an effort to balance those wants and the amount of resources available at each point of time, we chose to regroup ourselves in societies and take advantage of our individual abilities to produce and to work together. Throughout human history, a lot of systems were invented to help us manage what mother nature provided to us. When it comes to create such systems, important questions need to be answered: what to produce? How much should we produce? And who is making those decisions. Capitalism is the economic system agreed upon in the United States of America. In the recent discussions of the efficacity of...
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...Political and Economic freedom is not an easy task to examine but it's not a difficult idea to grasp. What is freedom? Freedom starts with the ability to have self-control. In a free society, everyone has legal control of their mind and body as there is "an equal distribution of legal rights and in which each and every person has as much legal rights as possible" (Hughes). The concept of freedom refers to a certain type of political empowerment such as equal empowerment. Freedom entitles political equality, as it involves as much rights with the same legal rights in others. For example, freedom does not include the legal right to enslave an individual because freedom includes the legal right to not be enslaved. This broad topic of freedom is going to be narrowed into two specific concepts. The two main concepts that are going to be viewed is Political freedom and Economic freedom. Political Freedom are rights such as the rights to vote, the right of free association and the right of expression that helps individuals determine who the rulers would be and how they will be ruled. Political freedom is best appreciated in countries where those freedoms do not exist or are denied as people have a sense of global awareness. This freedom was prominent in western societies but it amounted to little except how the society will be organized in an order where individuals would be able to pursue their own happiness. This kind of freedom created the prosperity that we as individuals now...
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...Capitalism is the world’s dominant economic system. It can be defined as the unfettered pursuit of profit dependent on the belief that success is attainable to anyone and is based on personal autonomy and responsibility. Its rival, Socialism, involves the sharing of wealth and promotion of equality through increased taxation of the wealthy and redistribution of funds in the form of policy and programs designed to assist in the creation of equality. In theory, Socialism seems to be the most fair and honest of the two ideologies, however in practice this is not the case. Although Capitalism has a reputation of being harsh and corrupt, it is clear that it is the most moral and just economic system. The equality attained through Socialism would not be possible without the pilfering of funds from the working class. It is a system that condones lethargy and is built on “envy and self-sacrifice” ( ). In contrast, Capitalism a nonpartisan system based on hard-work and an “every man for himself” mindset. This economic system creates ideal citizens, and does not tolerate laziness. Success and wealth is used as an incentive to work hard. In a Capitalist state, freedom is ever-present, and every man has the ability to make his own decisions. Not only is Capitalism beneficial to society, but it is also ideal for the betterment of the economy. The writings of Karl Marx seem virtuous and honorable at first glance, but when one looks farther into his words, they are not what they seem. ...
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...due to the inability to properly define "development," those concerned with the affairs and quality of life of people in far, distant lands have also encountered difficulties in proposing a solution that engenders some kind of successful outcome to the problem at hand. Is a country with a high Gross Domestic Product (GDP) a "developed" country? Or is development about relatively high levels of Gross National Product (GNP)? Maybe a more proper comparison to make amongst countries of varied economic development is Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). Perhaps development is not primarily a question of the static level of income a person within the country receives in a given year, but is more related to the annual rate of growth of a person's income, or of the economy as a whole. But there are still other considerations to take into account when examining the economic development of a country, such as the quality and quantity of health care (and health), education and political and religious freedoms. Several real-world examples show the difficulty of approaching the question of which countries are and aren't developed from one or more basic indicators. The Communist government of Cuba, for instance, guarantees education through to the university level, as well as universal health care for all citizens through tax receipts. Despite...
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...Patrick Moyes Economics for Global Decision Makers Week 2 Dr. Barbara-Leigh Tonelli February 12, 2013 Introduction: Economic freedom is defined as the basic right of all people to act freely in how they work, what they produce, what they consume, and how they invest their time and money. It is “an essential aspect of human liberty, without which a person’s rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness may be fundamentally compromised” (Miller, Kim, 2013). Economist/philosopher Friedrich A. Hayek stated that economic freedom is the “prerequisite of any other freedom” (Miller, Kim, 2013). Economic freedom, or lack thereof, is experienced in different levels throughout the world, depending on the degree to which governments restrain them in their countries. The Index of Economic Freedom, created 1995 by The Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation, ranks the economic freedom of every country and reports year to year how the levels have changed. This paper will focus on the relationship between economic freedom and variations in wealth among countries, and will describe specifically how one country from the index has changed over the past 5 – 10 years. The Relationship between Economic Freedom and Variations in Wealth: According to the Index of Economic Freedom, researchers have established that economic freedom is directly associated with economic growth and prosperity (Mitchell, 2013). The wealthiest countries in the world, based on per capita GDP...
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...morality and don’t see justice to have a higher priority than any other moral concern. In particular, utilitarians think that we should promote goodness (things of value), and many think that goodness can be found in a single good; such as happiness, flourishing, well-being, or desire satisfaction. Utilitarian ideas of justice connect morality to the law, economic distribution, and politics. What economic or political principles will utilitarians say we should accept? That is not an easy question to answer and is still up in the air. We have to discover the best economic and political systems for ourselves by seeing the effects they produce (90). Utilitarians often advocate for social welfare because everyone’s well-being is of moral interest and social welfare seems like a good way to make sure everyone flourishes to a minimal extent. On the other hand utilitarians often advocate free trade because (a) free trade can help reward people for hard work and encourage people to be productive, (b) the free market allows for a great deal of freedom, (c) freedom has a tendency to lead to more prosperity, and (d) taking away freedom has a tendency to cause suffering. One conception of utilitarian justice can be found in the work Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill (91). Mill said that justice was a subset of morality—“injustice involves the violation of the rights of some identifiable individual” (ibid.). Mill suggests, “Justice implies something which is not only right to do, and wrong...
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...Does the capitalist free enterprise system improve justice in society? In what way does it do so? In what ways does it not? Explain and defend your overall conclusion? “Capitalism can be defined ideally as an economic system in which the major portion of production and distribution is in private hands, operating under what is termed a profit or market system (Shaw, Barry, & Sansbury, 2009, p.127).” Over the many centuries, capitalism has evolved from the emergence of capitalism during fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, mercantile capitalism, financial capitalism with the increased industrialisation and the intensified competition, to today’s globalised capitalism. Although, the names used to describe capitalism have been changed over the time, the dynamic nature of laissez-faire (to let people do as they choose) (Shaw et al., pp.131) in capitalism has never been changed. We have to admit that the free enterprise system has created the greatest productive power in all of our history and become the most influential socioeconomic system in the world. It is important that we understand the characters of the capitalist free enterprise system and how does this system work for our economy and society. Therefore, we are able to judge whether the capitalist free enterprise system improves justice in our society based on the moral principles. In the following paragraphs, it lists out important features within the capitalist free enterprise system and analyzes its strengths and...
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...Socialism is an economic system that is associated with multiple other economic systems. This system is a range of both economic and political systems based on the idea that wealth should be equally distributed throughout society. Socialism favors ideas that the government should own and control resources instead of the people. "Socialism" is a vague term used to disguise political and economic beliefs, Such as production and distribution of goods are managed by the government rather than by private enterprises or businesses not owned by the government . This way of thinking was easily rejected by the socialists. The socialists disagreed on how much was tolerable under this unlawful idea. Socialism and communism are two closely related economic systems, both...
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