The Waging of War :: War Violence History of Sexuality Essays

The Waging of War â€Å"Wars are no longer waged in the name of a sovereign who must be defended; they are waged on behalf of the existence of everyone; entire populations are mobilized for the purpose of wholesale slaughter in the name of life necessity: massacres have become vital.†[1] In Foucault’s pithy explanation of a new form of warfare, in its justification, causes, and even execution, several units of logic enter a rationality of massacre. In the context of the sentence, amid a discussion of bio-politics as a population-level version of bio-power, the facet he takes issue with seems primarily to be this justification for war. He understands its logic as part and parcel of the movement of thinking that declares â€Å"we are repressed†, that liberation is the alternative, and that the truth will set you free - a romantic positivism. His move makes the slogan of sexual liberation, â€Å"make love not war†, something between naà ¯ve and cunningly sinister - perhaps the latter for the very reason of the former. However close his politics here seem to sophisticatedly anti-war, the comment is not a thesis statement or a way to collect together all political sentiment for one clear and explicit goal to which all philosophical moves can be i nstrumentalized and all other political objectives subordinated. That bio-political power has become dominant, and has not always been so (a genealogical reminder kept in the preface to the political statement), is instead an important consideration in discussions of which discourses and what rationalities are more or less politically appreciable, almost separately of their philosophical merits. In his juxtaposition of different ages’ wars, Foucault suggests some changes in political rationality: more clearly the name of the survival of the population as a kind of substitute for the name of the sovereign, and less obviously a shift in understanding of death. Yet, the contrast is not so simple as wars having once been waged for the sovereign and now for the population. First, and most pressingly in this context of discussion of the population, the sovereign and the population are not necessarily characters of a similar kind. Indeed, Foucault writes early in The History of Sexuality: Volume One that One of the great innovations in the techniques of power in the eighteenth century was the emergence of â€Å"population† as an economic and political problem: population as wealth, population as manpower or labor capacity, population balanced between its own growth and the resources it commanded.

Memory †The mysterious phenomenon

Memory, a phenomenon which has been bewildering scientists and philosophers is san entity that needs to be analyzed very carefully for finding out the truth behind it. Going deep in to the subject, memory comes under a prominent branch of neuroscience called the cognitive neuroscience. The basic factors that lead to the phenomenon of memory are reception of information, processing, storage and recollection. There are various factors that affect each of these processes. Based on this memory is broadly classified in to three heads. They are: 1) long-term memory 2) short-term memory and 3) sensory memory Long-term memory Long term memory refers to those memories that are stored in the brain for a considerably prolonged period of time with out any loss. Here when an idea is stored in long-term memory, the information is stored in a semantically encoded format. As a result of this it is easier for us to remember a telephone number by virtue of repeating the same but it is difficult to memorize a random ten digit number. For the later case the encoding format is acoustic and hence the information is stored in short-term memory. Baddeley, the great researcher on human memory has found out that when given a test to recollect words uttered was given to a group of respondents the result was that people failed to recall words with same meanings like small, tiny, minute etc.. Short-term memory This is a much more volatile memory that stores information just for a period of several seconds to few minutes with out memorizing it by heart. George A. Miller, held various demonstrations and the conclusion was that the storage capacity of short -term memory was just 7  ± 2 entities (he presented a paper entitled â€Å"The magical number 7 ±2†). In the present day the projected capability of short-term memory is still less. But hen the same group of words or letters, for an example is presented in different order, greater are the chances for recollecting it. For example it is difficult to recollect the string FBIUNOASDFUS But when the same string is presented as below, greater chances re there for anyone to recollect it FBI UNO ASDF US. In the first combination of letters the information was lying stray with no order to memorise, whereas in the second one, they have an opportunity to memorise it as bits which could be identified to something that they know. Short-term memory relies on the phonemes and the acoustic symbols for retaining information. Visual codes are rarely converted to short-term memory. Conrad a renowned researcher on human memory found out that the subjects of his experiments had difficulty in identifying and recollecting acoustically confusing phonemes and words like he, ghee, bee, see, etc.. Sensory memory This kind of memory refers to the memory that is retained in the receivers mind for about 200 to 500 milliseconds, once the information is acquired. Hence this is highly volatile and short-life memory. Sensory Memory can be identified as the ability to identify the specific features of an item, let it be a sound or an object by virtue of an observation of the same for a fraction of a second. George Sperling is the pioneer to conduct experiments on Sensory Memory. Respondents were provided with a set of 12 letters, which were made into 3 rows of four each. After completing a small introduction, the candidates were then made to hear either a high, medium or low pitch tone, providing them info regarding which of the rows to report. On the base of this experiments, Sperling demonstrated that the range of sensory memory was about 12 items, but also found that it degenerated at a much more faster pace (it only had the life span of a few milliseconds and hence highly momentary). The main negative part of this kind of memory is that any sort of rehearsals do no not enhance the longevity. What is memory? Present day neuroscience and scientists are with the stream of thought that memory is a group of neural connections which are encoded so as to retrieve for future references. This sort of memory encoding may happen in different parts of the brain. Thus, a network of neural communication is likely to link various parts of the brain. The strength of the memory depends up on the strength of the neural connections. Recollection or calling back of any bit of memory can happen whenever a positive stimulus that trigger the particular part of the networked neural connections. As a result of this, when a part of the brain gets damaged, the neural network present there and obviously the memories associated with the particular neural connections is lost for ever. Why do we forget things? Forgetting can better be explained as an inability to keep memories secure. This is a condition when ideas and images perceived are either lost in full or part. The reasons for forgetting are many. The prominent factors that lead to forgetting include. 1. Poor encoding (this is why we forget dreams that we see while asleep. Encoding refers to converting the sounds, visuals, taste, smell tc. To corresponding chemical / neurological codes); 2. Unavailability of a retrieval mechanism (if there is no proper stimuli to trigger the memory, the information remains dormant); 3. Time factor : when a recent incident happens, the older data are sometimes wiped off from memory (We tend to forget exact dates of our vehicle insurance, when you have some 5 cars and 4 cruisers! ); 4. Continuous similar experiences (You may have memories of the first instance when you visited London, but if you fly London Every year, you many not remember when you landed for the fifth time! ) The Chemistry of memory! The human brain is a highly complicated organ with more than 20 billion nerve cells (neurons), about 150 trillion nerve connecters or synapses; an average of 7500 synapses per neuron within the brain, anyway, some neurons may have as many as 900,000 as well. Due to repair and safety from glial cells that protects the neurons, some nerve cells will be alive till the organism cease to live, however, it is calculated that about 85,000 neurons wear out everyday in the brain. The most prominent doubt regarding memory is the place / location where it is being stored. It was in 1960’s that the theory of Long-Term Potentiation (L. T. P) and it counter theory called opposite Long Term Depression came in to existence as molecularmemory postulates. Long-term potentiation refers to the reinforcement of neuron relations through elevating synaptic ion movements. In all connections of neurons there exists a synapse through which chemical neurotransmitters moves unhindered from the axonates and axons of the transmitting cell to the dendrites of the corresponding receiver cell. Neuro-transmitters like acetylcholine, gamma-aminobutyric acid, glutamate, serotonin, norepinephrine function in free flow of complex electrical signals between nerve cells, muscle cells and sensory cells. Where as in the mean time, inside the cell, the protein pumps located in the cell membrane and channels frequently retains a constantresting potential of – 70 m V by virtue of moving sodium cations on the outer part of the cell against a specific gradient. Presence of neurotransmitter into a receiver neuron located in the membrane part of a post-synaptic dendrite triggers and starts de-polarization of the specific membrane by the influence of calcium and sodium ions, this again results in the building of voltage-gated sodium and calcium channels to unlock, permitting rapid flow of calcium and sodium ions, this is then followed by the inflow of potassium ions . as a result of this ion flow, depolarization happens once again to + 40 m V. As a result of this continuous process, â€Å"action potential† rapidly happens in the cell membrane to the axon , axonates and the pre-synaptic cleft, thus repeating this each and every time the signal reaches a neuron. Once the action potential has completed, the voltage gated channels close by themselves, and the potassium and sodium pumps makes the cell membrane to return to their original potential. All these happens in milliseconds, thus permitting multiple contradictory signals in swift momentum.. Memory Disorders The branch of Human psychology and neurology is the basis for the diagnosis and treatment of many of the known memory disorders. In general the loss or degeneration of memory is termed as amnesia. Amnesia is of different categories. Analysing it can reveal the various forms of it and helps in the proper treatment as well. Many neuron related conditions like Alzheimer's disease may also result in full or partial memory loss. Hyperthymesia, also called hyperthymesic syndrome, is a serious memory disorder which has adverse effect on retention of personal memory. Some sort of memory loss can be symptom of hypothyroidism a severe medical condition. Increasing oxygen supply to the brain, is considered as one among the foremost techniques to improve memory. This can be achieved by doing exercises like swimming, bicycle riding, gymnastics etc.. Tips to improve memory Many factors to improve memory was furnished by the report published by ‘The International Longevity Center’ in the year 2001 (pages 14-16) The study recommends to stick to the following to improve memory stay intellectually active through learning, training or reading, keep physically active so as to make blood circulation in the brain more active, socialize, reduce stress to the maximum possible extend, observe regular sleep timings, avoid depression or emotional strain and good nutrition.

Solstice Celebrations

If future archaeologists were to replay news audiotapes from the turn-of-the-21st century holidays, they would hear weekly updates on the success or failure of area merchants and editorials on how their sales figures reveal the true state of the economy. If they also had access to computer records, they might assume the legal definition of Christmas in the U.S. includes a fiscal obligation for each family to incur self-destructive debt. Is there a connection between dwindling light and conspicuous consumption? Between the end of the year and irresponsible behavior? Certainly, there is a connection between the solstice and the presence of millions of twinkling little bulbs illuminating a sky that has been dark for too long. And there is a biological connection between cold and overindulgence in food, but even if less logical, the connection between festivities and years end seems just as central to our behavior. There are many winter celebrations that antedate our placement of Christmas on December 25, three of which are described on the following pages: SaturnaliaHanukkahMithras Holiday Extravagance The festival of the Kalends is celebrated everywhere as far as the limits of the Roman Empire extend... The impulse to spend seizes everyone.... People are not only generous towards themselves, but also towards their fellow-men. A stream of presents pours itself out on all sides.... The Kalends festival banishes all that is connected with toil and allows men to give themselves up to undisturbed enjoyment. From the minds of young people, it removes two kinds of dread: the dread of the schoolmaster and the dread of the stern pedagogue.... Another great quality of the festival is that it teaches men not to hold too fast to their money, but to part with it and let it pass into other hands. Libanius, quoted in The Xmas Story Part 3 In Ancient Rome, the mythical age of Saturns kingship was a golden age of happiness for all men, without theft or servitude, and without private property. Saturn, dethroned by his son Jupiter, had joined Janus as ruler in Italy, but when his time as earthly king was up, he disappeared. â€Å"It is said that to this day He lies in a magic sleep on a secret island near Britain, and at some future time ... He will return to inaugurate another Golden Age.† Janus instituted the Saturnalia as a yearly tribute to his friend, Saturn. For mortals, the festival provided a yearly symbolic return to the Golden Age. It was an offense during this period to punish a criminal or start a war. The meal normally prepared only for the masters was prepared and served first to the slaves, and in further reversal of the normal order, it was served to the slaves by the masters. All people were equal and, because Saturn ruled before the current cosmic order, Misrule, with its lord (Saturnalia Princeps), was the order of the day. Children and adults exchanged gifts, but the adult exchange became so great a problem -- the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer -- that a law was enacted making it legal only for richer people to give them to poorer. According to Macrobius Saturnalia, the holiday was originally probably only one day, although he notes an Atellan playwright, Novius, described it as being seven days. With Caesars changing of the calendar, the number of days of the festival increased. Another festival connected with lights in the middle of winter, gift giving, and indulgent food is the 2000-year old holiday [www.ort.org/ort/hanukkah/history.htm] Hanukkah, literally, dedication, since Hanukkah is a celebration of the re-dedication of the Temple following a purification ritual. Following this re-dedication, in 164 B.C., the Maccabees were planning to relight the Temples candles, but there wasnt enough unpolluted oil to keep them burning until fresh oil could be obtained. By a miracle, the one nights worth of oil lasted eight days -- plenty of time for to obtain a new supply. In commemoration of this event a menorah, a 9-branched candlestick, is lit each of 8 nights (using the ninth candle), amid singing and blessings. This commemoration is Hanukkah (also spelled Hanukah or Channuka / Chanukkah). According to reader Ami Isseroff: â€Å"Channuka was originally Chag Haurim - the festival of light. This leads to the suspicion that it, too, was a solstice holiday that existed before the victory of the Maccabees, which was welded unto it.† Dateline: 12/23/97 Mithras, Mithra, Mitra Mithraism radiated from India where there is evidence of its practice from 1400 B.C. Mitra was part of the Hindu pantheon* and Mithra was, perhaps, a minor Zoroastrian deity**, the god of the airy light between heaven and earth. He was also said to have been a military general in Chinese mythology. The soldiers god, even in Rome (although the faith was embraced by male emperors, farmers, bureaucrats, merchants, and slaves, as well as soldiers), demanded a high standard of behavior, temperance, self-control, and compassion -- even in victory. Such virtues were sought by Christian, too. Tertullian chides his fellow Christians for unbecoming behavior: Are you not ashamed, my fellow soldiers of Christ, that you will be condemned, not by Christ, but by some soldier of Mithras? Survivals of Roman Religions p. 150 Since earliest history, the Sun has been celebrated with rituals by many cultures when it began its journey into dominance after its apparent weakness during winter. The origin of these rites, Mithrasists believe, is this proclamation at the dawn of human history by Mithras commanding His followers to observe such rites on that day to celebrate the birth of Mithras, the Invincible Sun. dies natalis solis invicti Mithraism, like Christianity, offers salvation to its adherents. Mithras was born into the world to save humanity from evil. Both figures ascended in human form, Mithras to wield the sun chariot, Christ to Heaven. The following summarizes the aspects of Mithraism that are also found in Christianity. Mithras, the sun-god, was born of a virgin in a cave on December 25, and worshipped on Sunday, the day of the conquering sun. He was a savior-god who rivaled Jesus in popularity. He died and was resurrected in order to become a messenger god, an intermediary between man and the good god of light, and the leader of the forces of righteousness against the dark forces of the god evil.- Pagan Origins of Christmas Update: 12/23/09 See: Mithraism Aurelian, Constantine, and Sol in Late Antiquity *On G. Wissowas (1912, 367) contention that the festival was instituted by Aurelian, cf. Wallraff 2001, 176-7 n. 12; Salzman 1990, 151 n. 106; Heim 1999, 643 with refs. There is no explicit evidence stating that the feast of December 25th was instituted by Aurelian. In fact the calendar of 354, supplemented by Julians hymn to Helios, is our only conclusive evidence for an official feast day in honour of Sol on that day. On the evidence currently available we cannot exclude the possibility that, for instance, the 30 chariot races held in honor of Sol on December 25th were instituted in reaction to the Christian claim of December 25th as the birthday of Christ. In general, the extent to which late pagan festivals copied, incorporated, or responded to Christian practices, elements, and dates deserves far more attention than it has received; cf. Bowersock 1990, 26-7, 44-53. For more on the virgin (or other) birth of Mithras, see: The Miraculous Birth of Mithras, by M. J. Vermaseren Mnemosyne, Fourth Series, Vol. 4, Fasc. 3/4 (1951), pp. 285-301 For more on modern biographies of Mithras, see: Merkelbachs Mithras, by Roger Beck. Phoenix, Vol. 41, No. 3 (Autumn, 1987), pp. 296-316 *On the Antiquity of Vedic CultureHermann OldenbergThe Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, (Oct., 1909), pp. 1095-1100 **On Mithras Part in ZoroastrianismMary BoyceBulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 32, No. 1 (1969), pp. 10-34andZoroastrian Survivals in Iranian FolkloreR. C. ZaehnerIran, Vol. 3, (1965), pp. 87-96

Girl, Interrupted Movie Review - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 555 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2019/08/05 Category Cinematographic Art Essay Level High school Tags: Girl Interrupted Essay Did you like this example? For this paper I chose to watch Girl, Interrupted. This film, to me, is wonderful, and I will proceed to tell you why I think so too. I will also explain why it is relevant to sociology. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Girl, Interrupted Movie Review" essay for you Create order Girl, Interrupted is about an 18-year-old girl named Susanna Kaysen who suffers a breakdown and attempts suicide. Susanna is sent to a psychiatric hospital in the 1960s, where her story is told between flashbacks and present day. Once at the hospital, named Claymoore, she meets her roommate Georgina who is a pathological liar; Polly, a childlike schizophrenic; Daisy, who has obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and self-harms. She also meets Lisa, a sociopath, who she is innately drawn to. Lisa is a charismatic, rebellious person who encourages Susanna, and others to stop taking their medicine and resist therapy. The central theme of this movie is the struggle Susanna has with herself and her identity, ultimately she questions if she is crazy. In flashbacks, we see Susannas highs and lows in life she cant sleep, uses sex with inappropriate men to cope with her feelings, acts out in with her family. It is ultimately determined that she has borderline personality disorder, which causes her to dramatically change. The movie goes through one major arc, Susanna and Lisa run away from Claymoore having no money and no where to go on their journey to Florida, they stop at Daisys home. Daisy was previously released for being cured, but everyone knows that she just told the doctors what they wanted to hear and it didnt hurt that her daddy is rich. Once at Daisys place Lisa begins to taunt Daisy after seeing her cuts on her arms confirming her suspensions regarding her release for her lavish apartment that her daddy is paying for, blatantly stating that he sexually abuses her and she likes it. Daisy proceeds to ask them to leave in the morning and to not contact her again. Susanna at this point is shocked, she goes up to Daisys room in the morning to talk, there she finds Daisy had slit her wrists and hanged herself. Susanna is appalled with Lisa, who shows no remorse for the harsh words that were said. Lisa proceeds to steal the money from Daisys dead body and leaves. Susanna realizes she doesnt wa nt to be like Lisa, she phones the police and returns to Claymoore. Upon her return, Susanna works hard on getting herself better. She begins to sleep through the night, paint and write, even cooperating with her therapy. Before she is released, Lisa finally returns to Claymoore. Lisa discovers that Susanna is getting out and steals her cat and diary, reading aloud to the amusement of the other patients they are lose to, trying to turn them against Susanna. Susanna, finally confronts Lisa about her being a cold, dark person, and that she ultimately feels sorry for her. On the day of her release, she goes to make amends with Lisa. While leaving the hospital, Susanna realizes her cab driver is the same one she had when entering Claymoore. As she reflects in the final moments, she states that almost every girl got out of Claymoore, some she has seen since and some she never saw again but she states that Claymoore and the memories with those girls will be with her forever.

The Thinking Behind Interactive Notebooks - 1083 Words

Introduction Interactive Notebooks are broadly utilized as a part of classrooms; some school systems have made them required for specific subjects while in other systems, instructors use them independently. The reason behind an interactive notebooks is to help students organize, and synthesize information given to them in class. The thinking behind Interactive notebooks started with instructional procedures, for example, note taking, idea mapping, and association of data as well as brain research about how students learn best. Interactive notebooks combine all of the research into one instructional strategy to advance student learning. Brief Review of Literature A significant amount of research has been done in the areas of learning styles, numerous intelligences and methods for note taking. To date there has been little research connected to Interactive Notebooks; this study will concentrate on the theories that support the utilization of interactive notebooks. When teachers choose to use Interactive Notebooks in their class rooms, they must be aware of the students learning style to better serve them. Note-Taking Strategies Note taking is something that is used in almost every classroom throughout the US. A learning strategy can be used to rehearse, organize, and elaborate on presented material to make it more meaningful (Kenny Schroeder, 1994). 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Illiberal Instituions Essay Example For Students

Illiberal Instituions Essay MOST OF THE INSTITUTIONS WITHIN WHICH WE LIVE OUR LIVES ARE MANIFESTLY ILLIBERALWe all lives are governed by the institutions like law, government, religion, education, family, employment market and others. All these institutions tends to look towards the formation of a society. They do not say that society is made up of aggregated individuals but that individuals are the product of society. This is a conservative notion which is in conflict with the ideology of liberalism. To look at all the institutions within which we live our lives and focus on their characteristics is beyond the scope of this essay. In this some of these institutions would be reviewed and their political approach would be examined. Where possible I would try and look at the whole institution on its own, but where the discussions about the whole institution is too broad, the focus would be on specific examples of the attitude of the institution. In case of law, I would emphasise would be on the laws treatment of women and how that shows the law approach to be illiberal. In religion I would be focusing on one kind of religion, Islam to show how all religions are conservative. In the same way focus in education would be on boarding schools. The rest of the institutions: family, employment, government and market economics are covered in singularity as institutions. As I mentioned earlier the focus in respect to religion would be Islam. I intend to look all some of the basic rules and principles of Islam and examine their attitudes. Islam believes in the authority higher then humans. It believes in the sovereign power of God which is called Allah in the religion. He is suppose to be higher than all the other beings in the world. He is referred in Quran (Muslims holy book) as the Creator and Sustainer of lives. This means that all the human are dependent on Him for their living. This is against the liberal theory, which believes in all beings, being equal. Thus, this concept of higher authority brings out the conservative attitude of the religion. Allah is the ultimate authority in an Islamic society and all the rules and regulations emerge from him. There are two kinds of duties that a Muslim owes one to Allah and the others to his fellow beings. The duties owed to Allah are Tauheed (believe in oneness of God), Salat (five time prayers), Fasting and Haj (the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.) Those owed to his fellow human beings are numerous, as individuals have certain duties to fulfil in different relationships for the building of a society; but each individual has the basic duty to pay Zakat (a portion of their income to help the poor.) This goes towards the building of a homogenous society, where Muslim society as a group has to be supported so those individuals arising from that society are on as much of an equal scale as possible. In this way Islam realises the hierarchy in a society, where some individuals are more powerful than the rest. They have more resources and the others in the society, and the religion promotes the use of those extra resources for the use of the weaker ones in the society. This is completely against the liberal idea, which says that all individuals are equal and have the same governing power. Islam does not believe in formal equality, which strips the individuals of their difference and puts them in the situations that are more adverse to their situations then the illiberal ideas. It recognises the difference that exists in the society and tries to help individuals those bases by making a stronger society, which would support them. Zakat is an obligation, which every earning Muslim has to fulfil, but there are other duties, which are specific to the position one occupies in the society. A ruler is responsible for his subjects well being, he has the responsibility of making sure that all his empire have food and everyone is being treated fairly and justly. In the same way, people have the responsibility to choose the ruler who would abide by the Islamic principles. Parents have duty to take care of their children, and in return of this duties children owe complete obedience to their parents. There is Prophet Mohammed (P.B It's amazing how you feel you can trust someone with your life, and then they just turn against you and make your life living hell EssayAll these developments in the martial relationship has led to the liberal view that marriage is purely contractual agreement, where both the parties have equal opportunity to negotiate. However, this is not the view that common law tends to take. Common law ten ds to bend towards the idea that there is just one standard contract of marriage. If individuals want they may make the amendments in their own marriage and negotiate the terms but as far as the law is considered those terms will not apply. The contract that common law hold to be binding is same for everyone, and there is no place for negotiations there. The only choice that an individual has in this case is whether to enter the contract or not. What liberals have done is that they have confused the private relations of the couples with the institution itself. The marriage itself is very patriarchal, and still very much about the domination of male over the female. This is because the law presumes that both are in equal free to make choices, of whether to work or to stay home, to own property individually or jointly, and to acquire assets. However, that is not the case as women earn only 70% of male income. Thus, males still remains the dominant wage earner and ultimately the decisi on-maker, whereas, wife is still responsible for taking care of husband, children and home. In a modern society like England, the relationship between parent and child is non-contractual as well irrespective of what liberals would like to believe. A child does not choose his own parents in a market where he can bargain the best terms. He is brought into the world without any say of what type of parents he will have. There is no liberal idea of freedom and equality involved here, and if the society treated both the parents and children as individuals, it would be the most obscure thing to do. Children are dependent on parents in any society, and so is the case in Britain. Parents are the dominant partners in this relationship and this is even recognised by the law. Parents have legal rights over children because of the financial support they provide them. This defies the liberal idea of individuality, which says that all the individuals are equal and have same bargaining powers. The result of treating the Parent-child relationship as purely contractual would result in complete commotion and anarchy. The third power relationship described by Aristotle in a family was that of master and servant. He puts this relationship in this category because of the economic set-up of his time. With the industrial revolution, the master-servant relationship has been replaced by employment contract. This contract is the strongest key to the liberal ideas which dictates that each individuals will make the best deal in the market and the ultimate result would be a better society. This liberal thought is the surface appearance of the capitalistic approach that believes people are like commodities sold in the open market and all have equal opportunity to negotiate the best bargains. The liberal ideology, which finds it origin in capitalism, is very superficial, as on the surface we are just exchanging commodities for money. However, this is not what happens in reality; reality is b ased on the elements of master-servant relationship of early 17th and 18th century. To actually believe that all individuals have equal probability is to diminish from the reality. It is an obscure belief that a single individual would be in anyway equivalent to the big co-operate multinationals or that an employee in any organisation would have same bargaining power as the employer. An individual in the market has the choice of finding the best party available to make the contract; but that does not imply, that the party he has chosen is the best one for him. There is no chance for him to negotiate the terms if all the employers are offering the terms that are in their favour. An individual looking for an employment, only one choice and that is whether to accept the job on the terms offered or to have no job at all. Beyond that it all goes in the favour of employer. The irony of the fact is that the line between an opportunity to choose ones contract and to negotiates one contract is in favour of the powerful. This shows the liberal idea of freedom of contract is manipulated to the benefit of the dominant class, which swings it back into the domains of 17th century master-servant relationship. This is a relationship of subordinate and the dominant, which has more conservative element than liberal. Open market is an institution, which has an adverse on our lives, we are mostly acting as consumers in one form or another in most of contracts. Liberal tends to view that individuals should be allowed to negotiate their own contracts and law should not interfere with the contracts all. They believe that each individual is formally equal and has the equal opportunity to negotiate the best bargain for himself / herself. However, this is not true, as each of us do not have equal resources and knowledge. This unbalance in power will automatically lead to contracts, which are one-sided; again with the rich and powerful taking advantage of the underprivileged. Looking at the inflation in the market, the graph is positively skewed towards the big multinational companies rather than the individuals. There is a very limited scope for liberalism in the market; it can only give individuals theoretical equality, which is deprived of any factual reality. The liberal surface appearance has an und erlying conservative ideology, which governs the market. Even the common law recognises this underlying conservative ideology. This is evident from the decisions made in cases where the judges have held implied obligations and dismiss exclusion clauses which may be of deficient to a particular party in contract. The legislation also recognises this and has passed Acts and Regulations, which protect consumer rights. UCTA and UTCCR are the two important legal codes, which protect the individuals against the unfair contract terms. This completes forgoes the liberal idea of freedom of contract. thus, rendering another important institution to be illiberal. Education is another hierarchic society which ignores the liberal ideas, the best way to view the hierarchy in the education is to look at the system that operates within the boarding schools. The strong chains of traditions in a school regulate this system, where there is a patriarchal relationship between the students and the academic staff, student and the administration and among the students themselves. In boarding schools, the relationship between teachers and students is based on more authority than in a regular school. This is because if the atmosphere is relaxed the students would loose the respect required for the functioning of the school. The administrative staffs like the housemasters and housemistresses have an enormous amount of power to detain the students, if they are found to be breaking rules. The rules on the whole are a lot stricter than at a normal school. In a boarding school students are refrain from eating chewing gums, from spending excess money, from keepin g more than specified amount of objects on their dressing tables and eating mid-night meals. These rules are usually non-existent on the students living home, because they are not required to maintain the authority if the superiors. The other reason for these rules is to make sure that there is no supremacy between the students of the same standard. This is a development towards a homogenous society, where individuals are put under shadow for the benefit of the society. The extra privileges come from the position one holds in the boarding school. If one is senior student there are extra privileges awarded to him. The rules relaxed as one climbs the stairs of the boarding school hierarchy, and if one ends up in the position of prefect or head students. The privileges awarded are far greater compared to other students. This hierarchic build up in the boarding system is the reflection of a society which awards rights and powers in accordance with the position one holds. This is complete antithesis of the liberal ideas of individual before the society and formal equality. These are all very conservative ideas, which maintain the patriarchal society. This shows that even though most of the institutions which govern are lives appear to be liberal in their view, are extremely conservative. All of them tend to put the good of society before the good of individuals. The liberal ideas of equality and freedom seem very attractive when viewed under the dust of idealism, but when looked through the prism of realities they seem shatter into pieces. All the institutions viewed seem to suggest that liberal ideas cannot exist without the underlying conservative theory.

Over what issues, if any, was there a political consensus in the period 1945-1979 Essay Example

Over what issues, if any, was there a political consensus in the period 1945-1979 Essay The postwar political consensus is a much debated and controversial area of British politics. The postwar consensus is traditionally seen as lasting until 1979 over which time the political governing class was committed to Keynesian social democracy (as dubbed by Marquand). It involved a major world role for Britain; a welfare state based on cradle to grave provision of benefits and services for all citizens; and a mixed economy managed by governments on Keynesian lines in such a way as to maintain full employment. However, the evidence suggests that a political consensus did not exist or rather not in the traditional view. British governments are rarely revolutionary they are evolutionary and this would appear to be the case, certainly from 1945 to 1979 governments evolved to change. What did exist was a centre-left policy bias that had become convention because of the events in domestic politics of the Second World War. Britain had a war to win and collectivism was needed to mobilise the economy in the most efficient way possible. This led to a great expansion in the role of government in society. Whitehall grew to accommodate this role and there was now an institutional momentum behind greater government intervention in postwar Britain. New peacetime departments were in place, new administrative procedures were at an advanced stage of preparation, and new mentalities were ingrained in officials. This interventionism was firmly toward the left of the political spectrum; liberalism and tempered socialism were the fashionable tools to deal with societies ills. We will write a custom essay sample on Over what issues, if any, was there a political consensus in the period 1945-1979 specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Over what issues, if any, was there a political consensus in the period 1945-1979 specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Over what issues, if any, was there a political consensus in the period 1945-1979 specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The Labour party and liberal intellectuals, for instance Keynes and Beveridge, dominated postwar planning. The Beveridge Report (1942) was the source of future policy commitments on social policy and full employment. The lack of Conservative impression on the postwar planning was due in part to the nature of Churchills relationship with the party and his greater concern with the war in progress. The impact of collectivism was really only properly felt by the two governments following the Second World War, both led by two significant figures from it Attlee and Churchill. Three key policy areas highlight the consensus reached, Britains world role, the welfare state and a mixed economy. British foreign policy from 1945 to 1955 was based on the view that Britains special relationship with the US, leadership of the Commonwealth, possession of nuclear weapons and large conventional military capability gave the country a continuing leading status as a world power. Events following 1955 firmly changed policy aims, breaking the supposed consensus. The Suez crisis of 1956 severely dented Britains claim to an independent world role. In 1962 the policy pursued by the two previous governments of an independent nuclear deterrent was ended when Britain became totally dependent on the US for the supply of nuclear weapons. By the mid-1960s the notion of the Commonwealth as a world force was at an end. Also membership of the EEC, which had been firmly off the agenda during the 1950s, became a pressing desire during the 1960s and on the third attempt in 1973 Britain became a member. This highlights that in foreign policy there was not a consensus extending until 1979, objectives changed by the mid-1950s. The major theme of postwar economic policy in Britain was closer government involvement in running the economy. The main elements of economic policy were: a largely private enterprise economy with a significant public sector of recently nationalised industries; governments acceptance of the responsibility to manage the economy at a level of demand sufficient to maintain a high and stable rate of employment; their adoption of Keynesian methods in order to do so; and the operation of a corporatist style partnership. The Attlee Government with nationalisation of major industries, for instance coal and railways, achieved the creation of a mixed economy. The Conservative Government of 1951 to 1964 only privatised steel and road haulage in response to the nationalisation, signalling the political consensus. Chancellors of both parties used a combination of fiscal techniques (for example tax rates) and monetary methods (for example interest rates) to manage the economy in a Keynesian manor. The government also employed corporate bias (Keith Middlemas) to avoid industrial conflict through close relationship with industry and trade unions. These policies remained broadly the same until they came under increasing strain with the economic crises of the 1970s. These led to the winter of discontent of 1979 and the election of New Right Conservatives. This ended the postwar consensus on economic policy with the Conservatives now pursuing the reduction of inflation over the maintenance of a low rate of unemployment. Tax cuts were introduced and the privatisation of public sector industries and services. Also relationships with the trade unions deteriorated, with legislation introduced to curb their influence. Therefore there was a political consensus from 1945 to 1979 on how to run the economy, though it began to collapse toward the end of the 1970s and completely ended with the introduction of monetarism under Thatcher. There was certainly political consensus in the area of the welfare state. The accepted basis of social policy was that a wide range of publicly provided benefits and universal services should be available to all on demonstration of need and, in the case of services, free at the point of receipt. The keystones of the welfare state were a National Health Service providing health care to all regardless of income, a comprehensive system of social security and pensions based on national insurance contributions, and a state educational service. These policies have been broadly upheld since their conception during the Second World War and implementation under the Attlee Government. There have of course been differences, for instance the Conservatives encouraged the purchase of council homes whilst Labour stressed the need to increase their stock. Even under Thatcher changes that were introduced were predominantly organisational and managerial and sought greater cost-consciousness, efficiency and diversity in the delivery of services rather than any erosion of the principles of taxpayer financing or of free services at the point of use. Therefore the broad principles of the welfare state remain to this day, outlasting the traditionally perceived end of the political consensus of 1979. Therefore in the three main policy areas of the political consensus consistency across all three in the same time period has only existed until 1955. Foreign policy changed dramatically after 1955 with the policy objective of maintaining Britain as a world power reversing to complete withdrawal from the Empire and joining the European Union. Also the dependence on America for a nuclear deterrent was at odds with the pursuit of an independent deterrent under the Attlee and Churchill Governments. Thus the postwar political consensus on foreign policy ended in 1955. The economic policies pursued after the Second World War were broadly consistent until 1979, with the goals of high employment and a mixed economy top of the agenda. Thatcherism was at odds with this, with low inflation as the target and privatisation of state industries. However, with the welfare state it would appear that the postwar consensus continues to this day, with cradle to grave services free at the point of service still in existence. The Thatcher Governments may have introduced market forces into to the welfare state but this has not changed the broad principles laid down by Beveridge in 1942. In conclusion, it is a misconception to see the period of 1945 to 1979 as a postwar political consensus. At most it can be argued that there was a centre-left domination of policy during this period, leading from the shift in public opinion and from the ability of Labour and leading liberals to command the postwar planning process. The breakdown of Britain during 1970s economically, then led to the introduction of what would appear to be a true political consensus. This is because in the three main policy areas, Britains world role, the welfare state and the economy. Thatcher, Major and Blair have pursued broadly similar policy objectives. It could conceivably be argued that the institution of Whitehall holds the key to policy direction. When the bureaucracy grew substantially during the Second World War it was under the auspices of Labour and liberal policy thinking. Thus policy implementation was biased toward the centre-left. After the Thatcherite reforms of the Civil Service during the 1980s, it may now have a bias toward the centre-right, therefore possibly explaining the policies pursued under the current Labour Government.