Democracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Democracy - Essay Example Plutocracy is less idealistic than democracy in that it is not the people’s voice but the will of the institutions that holds sway over policy. But plutocracy is still better than a totalitarian society where power is concentrated in the hands of small ruling elite with no accountability. Dahl classifies political systems under a spectrum of five gradations. At the top of the scale are the fairest systems that employ ‘rational persuasion’ for gathering public consensus. At the bottom of the scale are brutal autocracies that regularly resort to ‘physical force’ to keep the population under control. But Dahl admits that even in the most fair of existing systems the power is wielded from top-down. This means that the notion of democracy as a people-inspired and people-regulated governing system does not exist anywhere today. Professor Charles Hauss understands democracy in terms of functioning electoral politics. Any nation-state that conducts free and f air elections periodically would qualify as democratic under this view. In Hauss’ own words â€Å"free, open and competitive elections are central conditions for a democracy†. (Hauss, as quoted in Edwards 2010) Also important to this setup is the credibility of ‘rule of law’. ... To this extent this latter category of countries would only be nominal democratic societies. When we analyze the American political system in the backdrop of the definitions of Hauss and Dahl, we can note a few divergences. What Dahl’s list of options for population control does not mention is ‘propaganda’. The Chomsky-Herman propaganda model fills the gap left by Dahl’s conceptualization. Given that America is the birthplace for modern advertising and the Public Relations industry (PR) in the country is billions of dollars worth, it is fair to claim that PR is the foremost method here for the control of public minds. It is difficult to place the American style of governance in the gradation offered by Dahl. The most benign method of generating public consensus proposed by Dahl is ‘rational persuasion’. America is an exception to even this benign form of manufactured consent, for what the PR industry does is irrational persuasion. As Chomsky-He rman note, advertising is all about â€Å"misinforming people so that they make irrational choices†. (Chomsky, quoted in Wilson 2010) There is less divergence with Hauss’ understanding of democracy, for he links it with the capitalist economy. America being the leading practitioner of capitalism qualifies under Hauss’ classification. Moreover, there is competent enforcement of law within the country, although America is well-known for breaching international law, especially under the auspices of the United Nations. Seymour Martin Lipset, on the other hand, would have found the American political system disappointing in terms of how democratic he found it to be. He believed that â€Å"the more well-to-do a nation, the greater the chances that it will sustain democracy†. (Lipset, quoted in Edwards

Cultural Anthropology Essay Example for Free

Cultural Anthropology Essay 1. How does a cultures physical environment shape the type of subsistence pattern they practice? How does subsistence impact a cultures degree of social stratification? How is the degree of social stratification mirrored in religious systems? The amount of sunlight and rainfall and the types of soil, forests, and mineral deposits all have an effect on the type of subsistence pattern a particular society develops. For example, In the U.S society people have different choices to obtain their food such as obtain their food from a fast-food restaurant or obtain their food for cooking from a grocery store or supermarket; other societies have different ways to obtain their food supplies. Which lead us to different type of life practices to get food such as people who live close to sea do fishing practices and people who live near to a desert obtain their food by hunting. The specific biome and environmental conditions may limit the development of certain types of subsistence patterns. For example, Arctic conditions are not conducive to agricultural activities, nor are arid regions suitable for rice production. In some societies of wealth, power and prestige are linked with ownership of land or the number of animals acquired. 2. Describe economic exchange among band societies and it purpose. How does this type of exchange change with different societal types and why? The major form of economic system with band societies is called reciprocal economic system; the system is based on exchanges among family groups as a means of distributing goods and services throughout the society. One of the main reasons for this system of reciprocal exchange is that food and other resources must usually be consumed immediately. There are three types of reciprocity: generalized, balanced, and negative. The most used one among societies is called generalized reciprocity (Own Group), an immediate return is not expected and that the value of the exchanges will balance out in the long run. For example, in our society parents take care of their kids, so you take care of them in their old age. Another one is balanced reciprocity (Other Groups); this type is more direct with immediate return. For example, in our society change money for someone, such as change a dollar for someone to four quarter to use the snick machine. The last one Negative Reciprocity (Rare), it is the attempt to get something out of nothing. For example, in our societies people who go to the car dealer try to take the car for the cheapest price they can and the dealer try to take more money from the buyer. Both of them are negative reciprocity which means try to get something out of nothing. They do them because it makes the life for them easier and without the sharing between them life would be barder and less pleasant. The greater predictability and concentration of resources within a particular region, the more pronounced the conceptions of private ownership and exclusive rights to territory among foragers in comparison to territorial rights among different hunter-gathers. 3.What are some ways in which the higher degree of mobility affects the technologies, subsistence behaviors, and social organization of pastoralists versus horticulturalists? Higher degree of mobility affects the group to maintain a certain number of people in the group to keep it effective to move to another place. To do so, they use this mean called, Fissioning, moving of people from one group to another. Another means of population control is infanticide, the deliberate abandonment or killing of infants, and geronticide, the killing of old people. Higher degree of mobility also affect the technologies. In this case, technology does not refer to just tools or artifacts, but it also includes the cultural knowledge that has to be maintained by the society. All foraging peoples have an extensive knowledge of their environmental conditions and of the appropriciate means of solving technological problems in these environments. Different from horticulturalists, foragers need to know where to find the plants, when to find them during different seasons, which plants are edible, and so on since they need to move during different seasons to pursue game and other resources. Inuit created an extremely complex foraging technology. Because of the weather conditions and the environment, they developed sophisticated techniques for curing hides from caribou and seals to make boots, parkas, and snow goggles. 4. Marriage is a human universal. In what forms does marriage exist and why? What is the function of endogamy and exogamy? How do forms of marriage exchange vary and how does each function to serve society? Marriage provide a systemic form of social mobility for the entire society. Endogamy is a type of marriage between people of the same social group or category. Endogamous marriages are carefully arranged so as to maintain genealogically appropriate kinship bonds and descent relations in the top-ranking descent group. Exogamy is a type of marriage between people of different social group or categories. Having this type of marriage gives significant benefit to the one side of kinship, which does not have as power as the another kinship, because they can share the power once one get married. Most agricultural states practiced some form of marital exchange. The most common type of exchange was dowry- goods and wealth paid by the bride’s family to the groom’s family. Dowry appears to be to the groom’s family exchanges wealth for the bride. The dowry was used as a social exchange between families to arrange a marriage contract.

America Needs The Death Penalty Essay example -- pro-capital punishmen

The death penalty has been a heated topic of debate for many of years. Some people believe that the death penalty is unconstitutional in that it is cruel and unusual punishment. Many people also think that the states do not have the authority to take a life. They think that it is god’s responsibility to judge life and death not mans. So they look at the death penalty from a religious view point. Items that this commission will consider in evaluating the humanity and constitutionality of the death penalty, are is lethal injection a humane way to put an offender to death. We will also consider the constitution to ensure the state follows the constitution. Further, consideration will be given to if the state ensuring that all death penalty offenders being given proper DNA testing to prove their guilt or innocence. One of the most important things that this commission needs to decide is whether the death penalty violates constitutional rights. Many people have claimed that the death penalty is unconstitutional because the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment. An example of this is in California when the state delayed the date an inmate was sentenced to die because his lawyer said that the death penalty by lethal injection was cruel and unusual punishment (Hooper, 2006). Michael Morales’ (the man sentenced to death by lethal injection) lawyers state that there were cases with other inmates that did not receive enough anesthetic and therefore felt too much pain while being put to death (Hooper). This doubt raised can create a great concern for any state and that is why the governor has decided to hault executions and put this panel in place. A good portion of this cruel and unusual punishment will be explaine... ... Constitution. However, even though the death penalty is more costly, there are people that are simply too dangerous to remain alive. The death penalty also offers deterrence for people who may be considering an awful act. It may prevent someone from robbing a store because there is a chance someone could die in the act, therefore making it a capital punishment. There are pros and cons to the death penalty, but in the end I believe that it should be considered when dealing with the most serious and gruesome criminals. Works Cited Allen, H. E., Latessa, E. J., & Ponder, B. S. (2010). Corrections in America (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Hooper, R. (2006). US States Face Dilemma Over Death Row Injections. New Scientist. 189(2541). P. 10. McGraw, D., & Locy, T. (2000). DNA and the Death Penalty. U.S. News & World Report. 128(23). P.20-21 America Needs The Death Penalty Essay example -- pro-capital punishmen The death penalty has been a heated topic of debate for many of years. Some people believe that the death penalty is unconstitutional in that it is cruel and unusual punishment. Many people also think that the states do not have the authority to take a life. They think that it is god’s responsibility to judge life and death not mans. So they look at the death penalty from a religious view point. Items that this commission will consider in evaluating the humanity and constitutionality of the death penalty, are is lethal injection a humane way to put an offender to death. We will also consider the constitution to ensure the state follows the constitution. Further, consideration will be given to if the state ensuring that all death penalty offenders being given proper DNA testing to prove their guilt or innocence. One of the most important things that this commission needs to decide is whether the death penalty violates constitutional rights. Many people have claimed that the death penalty is unconstitutional because the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment. An example of this is in California when the state delayed the date an inmate was sentenced to die because his lawyer said that the death penalty by lethal injection was cruel and unusual punishment (Hooper, 2006). Michael Morales’ (the man sentenced to death by lethal injection) lawyers state that there were cases with other inmates that did not receive enough anesthetic and therefore felt too much pain while being put to death (Hooper). This doubt raised can create a great concern for any state and that is why the governor has decided to hault executions and put this panel in place. A good portion of this cruel and unusual punishment will be explaine... ... Constitution. However, even though the death penalty is more costly, there are people that are simply too dangerous to remain alive. The death penalty also offers deterrence for people who may be considering an awful act. It may prevent someone from robbing a store because there is a chance someone could die in the act, therefore making it a capital punishment. There are pros and cons to the death penalty, but in the end I believe that it should be considered when dealing with the most serious and gruesome criminals. Works Cited Allen, H. E., Latessa, E. J., & Ponder, B. S. (2010). Corrections in America (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Hooper, R. (2006). US States Face Dilemma Over Death Row Injections. New Scientist. 189(2541). P. 10. McGraw, D., & Locy, T. (2000). DNA and the Death Penalty. U.S. News & World Report. 128(23). P.20-21

Encouraging Students to Be Literate

It is important for teachers to motivate students to develop literate lives both in the classroom and in society. For some children the desire and importance of literacy is not instilled within the home so teachers need to be prepared to handle this job on their own. In my opinion students need to understand the importance of being literate. They need to understand that reading, writing, listening and speaking are essential to functioning in society. Everyday our lives revolve around our literacy. It seems nearly impossible to live a functional and successful life as an illiterate individual.If students do not understand the significance of literacy they may not aspire to become literate. In my classroom I stress the importance of literacy and try to make my students think about the future. Aside from stressing the importance of literacy, I also use strategies to help motivate my students to literate. Many of these strategies and ideas were discussed in our textbook and I feel they a re beneficial in motivating students to become literate citizens. One way I motivate my students is through modeling. I try to modeling that literacy can be pleasurable and it does not have to be a painful and forced activity.Students need to see that I enjoy reading and writing. I also model good reading and writing strategies. It only makes sense that the more my students see and hear me read the more they will want to try it themselves. I can model literacy through read-alouds and other activities. It is also important that students are given real-life experiences. I try to find real reasons for students to write. Sometimes students need to feel a significance to their reading and writing. Are they just constantly writing just to write or is there a purpose?I ask myself that question frequently. I try to create writing assignments that are meaningful; Students can write thank you cards, Christmas cards and etc. I also feel that technology can be an important piece in motivating s tudents. Some reluctant writers can type out their papers rather then write it out. For some students this is a huge motivator. Using the computer and not worrying about hand-writing can be exciting and relieving for some children. I have used this within my classroom and found it helpful for many students. It is also important to tress here that technology is large part of society today so students should be given the opportunity to express their abilities through technology. Last but not least, Id like to stress the importance to selecting activities that are meaningful, engaging and challenging. Too many times I hear and see students listening to a teacher explain something and then students complete endless worksheets. In my opinion this does not motivate and encourage students to become literate individuals. This tells students that literacy is boring in irrelevant. Teachers need to design lessons that have meaning to the students.There needs to be some background knowledge and relationship to the student. Lessons should also be engaging and interactive. Students should be able to participate through discussions, think-pair-share, concept maps and other activities that promote thinking and learning. Activities should be challenging but not too challenging. They should require thinking but not too stressful. I like my students to feel success when doing activities. The feeling of success builds confidence. It just seems that when one is confident in their literacy abilities they will be more willing to practice and grow to become better.

Branches of Philosophy Essay

1. Logic Logic is the science and art of correct thinking. It attempts to codify the rules of rational thought. Logicians explore the structure of arguments that preserve truth or allow the optimal extraction of knowledge from evidence. Logic is one of the primary tools philosophers use in their inquiries; the precision of logic helps them to cope with the subtlety of philosophical problems and the often misleading nature of conversational language. 2. Ethics. Ethics is the study of the nature of right and wrong and good and evil, in terms both of considerations about the foundations of morality, and of practical considerations about the fine details of moral conduct. Moral philosophers may investigate questions as sweeping as whether there are such things moral facts at all, or as focused as whether or not the law ought to accord to rape victims the right to an abortion. 3. Metaphysics Metaphysics is the study of the nature of things. Metaphysicians ask what kinds of things exist, and what they are like. They reason about such things as whether or not people have free will, in what sense abstract objects can be said to exist, and how it is that brains are able to generate minds. 4. Epistemology Epistemology is the study of knowledge itself. Epistemologists ask, for instance, what criteria must be satisfied for something we believe to count as something we know, and even what it means for a proposition to be true. Epistemology is sometimes referred to as the â€Å"theory of knowledge. † 5. Axiology Axiology is philosophical the study of value; the investigation of its nature, criteria, and metaphysical status. More often than not, the term â€Å"value theory† is used instead of â€Å"axiology. † 6. Aesthetics Aesthetics is the study of value in the arts or the inquiry into feelings, judgments, or standards of beauty and related concepts. Philosophy of art is concerned with judgments of sense, taste, and emotion. Other Divisions of Philosophy 1. Philosophy of the Mind 2. Philosophy of the Person 3. Political Philosophy 4. Social Philosophy 5. Philosophy of Language 6. Philosophy of Science 7. Philosophy of Art 8. Philosophy of Language 9. Philosophy of Religion 10. Philosophy of Law 11. Philosophy of Education 12. Philosophy of History _______________________________ Cruz, Corazon L. 2005. Philosophy of man (third edition). Mandaluyong City: National bookstore Divisions and definition of philosophy. 2005. Available at http://philosophy. lander. edu/intro/what. shtml. Retrieved last November 8, 2010. Gripaldo, Rolando M. 2008. Philosophy, Sophism/Sophistry, and Pilosopo. Included in The philosophical landscape : A panoramic perspective on philosophy. Quezon City: C&E Publishing. Vuletic, Mark I. 2010. What is philosophy? Available at http://www. vuletic. com/hume/ph/philosophy. html. Accessed last November 8, 2010.