Economic Developments Essay Example for Free

Economic Developments Essay The current system of the world economy has emerged as a result of the historical trends and economic developments that occurred in the past particularly during the periods of World War I, World War II and the Cold War. To a significant extent, the current world order and the capitalist and industrial prosperity that is being experienced today are products of historical economic developments. This paper examines the economic developments from 1913 to the present including the history of self-determination in the world economy in relation to the current world economy. Consequently, the role of the United States from being an isolationist to an economic hegemon is analyzed. Economic Developments from 1913-Present The period from Post World War I up to the present can be considered to be a see-saw of economic prosperity and economic crises for most countries. For countries like the United States the war had brought about economic development but it also caused the economic downturn for countries like France and Germany. Capitalism began to ensue and trading had been more active. Hence, the period from 1920-1929 signaled the massive economic progress in the world economy- industries were established and the percentage of industries to agriculture rose. After this massive growth however, the unemployment rate and poverty that ensued from the period of 1929-1941 had led to the Great Depression- interest rates were high, hyperinflation ensued and the rise in debt had led to stock market collapse. The world economy had experienced a systemic recession leading the collapse of markets worldwide. In this era, the GDP and GNP of nations dropped and poverty ensued as world trade had been inactive. After the Great Depression, the World War II had created another economic era- post World War II had been considered to be a golden era for capitalism worldwide. This is because of the rapid rise in industries, the technological advancement, the prospering and stabilization of world trade, domestic and international institutions had been established in order to facilitate the world economy. Consequently, the World Trade Organization, the World Bank and the IMF were established in order to aid countries needing economic lift in order to aid in their industrialization. Backed by capitalism and foreign direct investments, this era can be considered the time when the world economy had boomed. However, after this period the time between 1970s-1980s, inflation and interest rates grew up and the fixed interest rates were deregulated in order to let the world economy repair itself. This era had however, contributed in terms of the massive plan to reorganize domestic economies through fiscal policies. The post Cold War on the other hand, marked the era when the US became the sole hegemon after the downfall of Russia. Before the Cold War, democratic countries can only trade with democratic countries and communist countries are only limited to trade with communist countries- the downfall of Russia opened the doors for all countries to be participants in the world economy. Hence, during the period of 1990 and up to the present times, despite some economic fluctuations, the world economy can be considered as stable and progressive. While there are ups and downs, the stability of the world economy in the present times cannot easily succumb to another depression. Self-Determination and in the World Economy Self-determination started after the World War I as a result of the Treaty of Versailles- it declared that the sovereignty of the states should take charge of the whole population. World War I led to the breakup of the Hapsburg and Ottoman empires and the birth of a new generation of nation-states. At Versailles, U. S. President Woodrow Wilsons famous Fourteen Pointsthe fifth of which declared that sovereignty should take full account of the interests of the populations concernedformed the basis for the treaty ending the war. After World Wars One and Two, self-determination inspired the demolition of empires and the formation of new sovereign states; the concept being thus extended in the 1940s and 1950s to apply in the context of the decolonisation process. In the 1960s and 1970s, the principle of self-determination clashes with the principle of territorial integrity and global leaders are increasingly seeing this angle to the problem. In fact, even the UN resolution 1514 adopted in 1960 which elevated the status of self-determination, had also emphasized territorial integrity: any attempt aimed at the partial or total disruption of national unity and territorial integrity of a country is incompatible with the Purposes and Principles of the Charter of the United Nations. The international system was caught up in the contradiction and had exhibited some degree of ambivalence at least after the post-war decolonisation. It can be observed that the further extension of the principle today, as it inspires the surge of ethnic politics and threatens the break-up of the established post-colonial order. The United States as the World’s Political and Economic Hegemon The United States before World War I cannot be considered to be an economic or a political superpower, it derived its wealth from World War I from selling ammunitions and exploiting the economic opportunities caused by the war. However, in World War II, the US emerged as one of the more powerful countries not only in terms of technology but also politically and economically after surviving the Great Depression. The Post World War II established the United States from a country in the middle to that of a global hegemon. For one, post World War I saw the US to be involved in trade, the importation and exportation of goods as well as in searching for new territories to expand its power and industries. Post World War II saw the United States cementing its economic and political hegemony- it had established itself as one of the most prosperous and progressive countries not only through its GDP and GNP but also in terms of its ability to impose upon other countries. The United States during this time served as one of the economic powers together with countries in Europe, Japan and the USSR. Upon entering the Cold War, the world became a division of the US and the USSR or democracy versus communism. During this era, the United States served as an international role model for democracies as well as the patron of democratic countries. The fall of the USSR catapulted the US to its role today as a global hegemon- except for North Korea, there had been no real threat to the supremacy of democracy and hence, the United States. During this time until the present times, the United States had been a major player in sanctioning countries that do not abide by international laws and regulations as well as being a forerunner in providing foreign aids as well as regulating trade activities. To be a partner with the US would be tantamount to economic growth. The power held by the US both politically and economically can be considered to spawn countries even in Asia and Third World countries. Needless to say, the United States can be considered to be the most important international player today.

Why Do People Help Others? Essay -- essays research papers

To discuss why people help others we must consider whether people are by nature selfless or selfish. The dominant view today in psychology is of universal egoism; that we are fundamentally selfish, and that altruism (helping motivated by the wish to benefit another person) an impossibility.One form of universal egoism is Piliavin et al’s "arousal: cost-reward" model, whereby faced with a potential helping situation we weigh the probable costs and rewards of alternative courses of action, then arrive at a decision which produces the best outcome for ourselves.Darley and Batson (1973) conducted an experiment into the effect of the cost time in the decision to offer help. They found that 63% of students with plenty of time to get to their next lecture helped a man clearly ill in the doorway, whilst 45% who were right on schedule helped, but only 10% of those who were late. However, although a natural setting was used, as an experiment this evidence is not very ecologic ally valid.The Sociobioligical approach also sees helping as egoistic, but in terms of the individual maximising their inclusive fitness (increasing the chances of their genes being passed on), rather than their personal fitness. This seems to be the case when we look at the apparent altruistic behaviour of various species. For example, when a honey bee dies when stinging an enemy, "...by their sacrifice they are increasing the reproductive chances of their fertile relatives thus ensuring that the...

Education in Saudi Arabia and the United States of America Essay

Education continues to be the priority of all nations around the world. Countries devote vast resources to ensure equal opportunity to study for their people. In return, the educated segment of the population becomes the wealth of these nations and will more likely meet the social and economic demands of the country. The educational systems are continuously developed to meet not just the local but also the global demands and challenges. It is more appropriate to look at the disparity on the education sector of one country to another in order to determine what needs to be improved and developed in one’s educational system. This paper aims to provide an assessment on the similarities and differences of education in two countries, Saudi Arabia and the United States of America (USA). The education in Saudi Arabia and the USA are similar in terms of government spending on education, freedom to choose the school where they will attend to, and education for people with special needs, while differ in terms of attitude towards education, literacy rate, religion in school, gender roles, grading scales, and stages of education. Both the Saudi Arabia and USA government spend immense resources on the education sector. The Saudi Arabia government’s increased awareness on the importance of education to its people paved way to its provision of bountiful support to education. Like the USA government, the Saudi Arabia government finance general education for both boys and girls. It also provides free post-secondary education and offers financial help to students. At cases, meals, books, and transportation are subsidized. In the same way, the USA government offers free general and post-secondary education for all financed by the government. In both countries, students are also allowed to choose what school they will attend to. They have the options to enroll in public, private, or home school. Most of the parents prefer to send their children in public school practically because they are much â€Å"free† from burden. There were also those who prefer private schools thinking that these schools might provide better, quality education to their children especially for those seeking a competitive edge in college admission. A few considers home schooling best for their children for reasons that they can effectively tailor a curriculum that would best suit their children’s academic strengths and weaknesses, especially those with disabilities. Aside from home schooling, those with disabilities may be sent to schools which will cater to their needs like schools for the blind, deaf, physically and mentally handicapped, among others (Education, 2005). The Saudi Arabia and USA governments have put on these schools to encourage individuals to their full potential and share social and emotional experiences with their peers having the same conditions as themselves. The curricula in the special classes given to the students were tailored fit to their needs. For instance, the educational programs given to the blind and deaf individuals were different. For sure, blind students were thought of using Braille while deaf students do not. One variation the Saudi Arabia and the USA government have is the attitude towards education. In the USA, school attendance is mandatory and nearly universal at primary and secondary levels. School districts meet to discuss school curricula, funding, teaching, and other policies to further improve the education in the state. On the other hand, in Saudi Arabia, the government does not impose mandatory attendance in school. Although, it is encouraged that the free primary and secondary education are availed since education is given free and open to every citizen. The literacy rate for the two countries presented, are varied. The USA literacy rate is estimated at 99% for both men and women, whereas, literacy rate in Saudi Arabia is estimated at only 84. 7% for men and 70. 8% for women (Literacy, 2007). The Saudi Arabia government recognizes the importance of literacy in propelling the economy; hence, one of its objectives for the education sector is to eradicate illiteracy especially among adults and girls through several literacy programs. In the USA, despite the high literacy rate, the government is continually implementing programs to further develop the education sector. Religion is the main core of education in Saudi Arabia. The curricula developed conform to the Shari’ah (Islamic holy law) and the Qur’an. Men were trained of Islamic education to become members of religious clergy. They provide religious secondary education with focus primarily on Islamic and Arabic studies, although, the curriculum also includes general education. The schools which administer these were Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University and the Islamic University of Medinah (Sedgwick, 2001). On the contrary, education in the USA is not focused on religion but there are some schools which may offer religion subjects that are not quite extensive as religion studies in Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, education is segregated by sex. Education for boys is different from education for girls. Education is divided into three separately administered systems: general education for boys, education for girls and traditional Islamic education for boys (Sedgwick, 2001). However, in the recent years, education for girls was continuously being developed to meet the growing demands of the country. Unlike in the USA, education is offered to both sexes, giving them equal opportunity to study. The educational programs that were developed cater to both sexes. Grading scales were prepared to gauge the students’ performance on school. Grading scales in the USA and Saudi Arabia differ. In the USA, marks were given on the scale of A to F. In the criterion-referenced system, the equivalent grades of these to 0 to 100 percentile are as follows: A=95-100 or 90-100, B=85-95 or 80-90, C=75-85 or 70-80, D=65-75 or 60-70, and F is given to marks below 65 or 60. There is also the norm-referenced system where marks are given as follows: A=top 10% of the class, B=next 20% of the class, C=next 30% of the class, D=next 20% of the class, and bottom 20% of the class (Grading systems, n. d). On the contrary, the grading scale in Saudi Arabia was given as follows: 5=90-100, 4=80-89, 3=70-79, 2=60-69, and 1=0-59 (Sedgwick, 2001). The stages of education in both countries also vary. Education in Saudi Arabia starts with primary, followed by secondary, and higher education. Primary education is for ages 6 to 12. An intermediate education, which is part of primary education, is carried out for ages 12 to 15. Secondary education is divided into three: general, religious, and technical. These are taken by ages 15 to 18. The higher education is also divided into three stages: the baccaloreus (bachelor’s degree-4 years), darajat al majisteer (master’s degree – 2years), and doctoorah (doctorate– minimum of 3 years) (Sedgwick, 2001). On the other hand, education in the USA is composed of these stages: preschool (1 or 2 yrs), elementary/middle/high school (12 yrs), associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees (Structure: General Information, n. . ). The differences in education in both countries mainly lie on their history, culture, social and economic conditions, whereas, the similarities were bought about by their desire to provide accessible, quality education free and open to all. Education stimulates the people to contribute to its country in addressing the increasing local and global demands. This motivates the countries to improve and further develop its educational system.

Aldous Huxleys Brave New World Essay - 779 Words

In the quot;Brave New Worldquot; of 632 A. F. (After Ford), universal human happiness has been achieved. (Well, almost.) Control of reproduction, genetic engineering, conditioning--especially via repetitive messages delivered during sleep--and a perfect pleasure drug called quot;Somaquot; are the cornerstones of the new society. Reproduction has been removed from the womb and placed on the conveyor belt, where reproductive workers tinker with the embryos to produce various grades of human beings, ranging from the super-intelligent Alpha Pluses down to the shorter and dumber semi-moron Epsilons. The story takes place in England where the new society lives. Due to a gigantic biological attack almost all of the world is destroyed†¦show more content†¦Bernard and Lenina go on a vacation to the New Mexico reservations to meet linda and her son John. In these reservations are a society of people that are much like the people of today. They have morals and values but are considered to be savages. At this point Bernard discovers that Linda was impregnated by the D.H.C., and thus John is his son. Upon finding this out Bernard decides to bring John and Linda back to civilization with them for research purposes. Bernard learns that the D.H.C. is about to exile him for his uncivilized behavior when he and Lenina return to civilization. quot;..He (Bernard) has proved himself an enemy of society, a subverter, ... of all order and stability, a conspirator against civilization itself.quot; Bernard calls John and Linda from the next room, and they call upon the director as son and wife. Bernard is saved from exilation. Bernard becomes very popular in the civilization due to the connections he has with John the savage. Bernards friend Helmholtz befriends John and they share literature with each other. John does not like the civilization, and becomes more disgusted with each day that goes by. Lenina grows an infatuated passion for John, and constantly seeks him out. John thinks of Lenina very highly until she makes advances at him that are against his morals. He gets extremely upset one evening when Lenina makes a sexual advance towards him. quot;The savage pushed her away with such force that she staggered andShow MoreRelatedAldous Huxleys Brave New World1958 Words   |  8 Pagescognitive abilities, which include increased attention span and cognition span. Drugs like OxyContin have also been used to help with empathy, and to make people feel happier. It may be believed that a drug like soma was only possible in Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World, but perhaps not. Utilitarian’s have been pushing for human enhancement that uses drugs, genetic engineering and nanotechnology to ensure the maximum amount of happiness possible while attempting to eliminate any pain. Proponents believeRead MoreAn Analysis of Aldous Huxleys Brave New World699 Words   |  3 Pagessoma?: Teens and distracted driving Aldous Huxleys Brave New World portrays a future dystopia in which all the inhabitants merely live for pleasure. All of the characters focus on enjoying things in the moment rather than allow themselves to experience unpleasant truths regarding the past or future. The society even denies death and encourages children to laugh and play around dying people to desensitize the next generation. However, as awful as Huxleys vision may be, some of the warped thinkingRead MoreAldous Huxleys Brave New World Essay1423 Words   |  6 PagesExamined in Brave New World Huxley observes in his work, Brave New World that the modern world revolves around technological development. The aspirations and morals of modern society do not entirely rely on social issues such as love, family, and success but rather on industrial progress and social development. According to Huxley, technological improvement and growth are critical factors that shape the operation and activities in modern society. So far, community members need to observe the world as technologicallyRead More Aldous Huxleys A Brave New World Essay1452 Words   |  6 Pages Aldous Huxleys A Brave New World The New World, a man-made Utopia, governed by its motto, Community, Identity, Stability (Huxley 3). A man-made world in every way. Human beings fertilized in bottles. Identity, gender, intelligence, position in society, all predestined. Human beings classified in the order of precedence: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon. Every one conditioned to be a certain way. Every one works for every one else (Huxley, 74). All man-made to ensure social stabilityRead MoreAnalysis of Aldous Huxleys Brave New World1452 Words   |  6 Pages In our world, there is a plethora of societies. Different societies have different approaches to freedom, and have different ideas of what freedom is. In our society, we are taught that freedom is something that everybody should have no matter who they are or where they are from. In A Brave New World, Huxley gives us two examples of societies. These societies are the World State and the Reservation and they both have very different types of and views on f reedom. By using these two examples and providingRead MoreCivilization Is Sterilization in Aldous Huxleys Brave New World1045 Words   |  4 PagesCivilization is Sterilization In Aldous Huxleys Brave New World (1932), the Fordist system of mass production and consumption allows governments/business to establish dependencies and control of the people in a totalitarian way. The entire society of the World State in this dystopian novel revolves around Fordism, including the way their dates begin in 1908, the year that the first Model-T rolled off the assembly line. Every year after that is considered A.F. or After Ford, instead of the ChristianRead More Society Exposed in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World Essay880 Words   |  4 PagesSociety Exposed in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World One may think that the society in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World is a gross representation of the future, but perhaps our society isn’t that much different. In his foreword to the novel Brave New World, Aldous Huxley envisioned this statement when he wrote: To make them love it is the task assigned, in present-day totalitarian states, to ministries of propaganda.... Thus, through hypnopaedic teaching (brainwashing), mandatory attendanceRead MoreIndividualism And Individuality In Aldous Huxleys Brave New World1546 Words   |  7 PagesRalph Waldo Emerson once said, â€Å"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment†. And how true that is. We learn from a young age that it is better to fit in than stand out and that if one does stand out they will be ridiculed and teased into conforming. Our society stifles individuality and hides how they truly feel in order to fit in. Not only that, but we tend t o stifle emotions in our society just as much as individualism. We refuseRead MoreMustafa Mond And Aldous Huxleys Brave New World1001 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Civil Disobedience†, and Aldous Huxley would greatly agree with the phrase. In Huxley’s novel, Brave New World, he creates a world dominated by the tyrannical leader Mustafa Mond. Mond’s way of ruling is very similar to that of Henry Ford, and Huxley draws attention to parallels between Ford and Mond throughout the book. He mocks their style of leadership, which values science over nature, and demonstrates the detrimental effects of it. In Aldous Huxley’s work, Brave New World, he utilizes the characterRead MoreEssay on Aldous Huxleys Brave New World1949 Words   |  8 Pagesof the savage reservation in New Mexico. Despite not being introduced until Chapter 7, John is seen as the centralizing character of the novel. Unlike the rest of his community, he is educated. When Lenina and Bernard come across John during their trip, they soon realize John’s biological father is the Director, Thomas. Once reaffirming this, Bernard and Lenina offer to bring John and Linda back to the World State. Hoping to connect better to the people in the World State, John gladly accepts. It