Friday, January 31, 2020

Socialism Essay Example for Free

Socialism Essay The years between 1815-1848 saw the rise of a number of related and competing ideologies, one of them being Socialism. Socialism sought economic equality for all, and was very much against the the Laissez Faire ideal of liberalism. There were different forms of socialism as it evolved over the years. Throughout the 19th century, Europe saw an uprising and evolution of socialism led by key names Karl Marx, Henri de Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, and Robert Owen. It created equality for the majority of workers and prompted ideas of revolution. Socialism was partly rooted in the French Revolution, with a number of radical Jacobins taking the idea of political equality for all and moving it to the next step: economic equality for all through the common ownership of all property. The earliest socialist writers were coined â€Å"Utopian Socialists† by Karl Marx. Marx believed the earliest socialists offered non-scientific, unrealistic solutions to the problems of modern society. One of the influential early socialist thinkers was Count Henri de Saint-Simon. He argued the key to progress was proper organization. He also thought in highly moralistic terms. He said that every social institution must make improving conditions for the poor their main goal. In around 1830, another socialist thinker emerged: Charles Fourier. He took another approach. He was a fierce defender of freedom of choice. He established utopian communities, each with 1,620 people, where free love and voluntary unions were the norm. Many women were enthusiastic followers of Fourier because he was an early proponent of the total emancipation of women. The socialist Louis Blanc fought for a whole different right. He wanted the right to work. He believed the government should provide jobs when the private sector could not. These early Socialists birthed the ideology, but they had relatively little impact in comparison with Marx’s proletarian socialism. In 1848, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published The Communist Manifesto, which became the bible of socialism. Early Socialism was most prevalent in France, since it benefited the majority of citizens. It was mostly concentrated in France because early French utopian socialists interacted with the experiences of French urban workers. Workers cherished the memory of the radical phase of the French Revolution, and they despised the laissez-faire laws that denied workers the right to organize. Workers favored collective action and government intervention in economic life. These aspirations of the workers directly connected to utopian theorists, and a genuine socialist movement emerged in Paris in the 1830’s. From here, Karl Marx was left the task of establishing effective socialist foundations. Socialist ideas favored the working class, because the primary reason it started was to make the proletariats more equal to the bourgeoisie. Socialism looked at the free-market economies of Western Europe in the midst of the Industrial Revolution and saw exploited workers leading miserable existences while manufacturers profited enormously. Socialists felt that since the rich benefited so much, the poor should get some benefits too, since their labor supported the entire system. Karl Marx even predicted that the proletariat class would one day arise and supplant those capitalists who had exploited them. The Revolts of 1848 represented the power of the middle and lower classes. These revolts were started as an attempt to achieve universal male suffrage. The socialists showed the workers there is a solution to the severely divided social classes. The proletariats attempted to destroy the bourgeoisies for economic equality. The middle class were the victims and many lives were taken in 1848 during the horrific â€Å"June Days. Because of the lack of leadership and organization, the working class failed in their revolution. These revolts represented the idea of socialism but also showed how much power the upper classes possessed. It is almost impossible to have a perfect socialist society and the socialists and working class of 19th century Europe failed to create one. However, the revolts and ideas of socialist thinkers showed how important the working class is. Socialism is a very important factor in the history of the 19th century. That influence has extended into present days, where there are still socialist ideologies.

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Biological Attack Essay -- essays research papers

Biological Attack   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Living Terrors by Michael T. Osterholm and John Schwartz, the threat of biological attack on the United States is introduced to the public. Using Living Terrors and a number of sources that are extremely knowledgeable on the question of preparedness of the United States to a biological attack, I will argue that the United States is in no way prepared to handle a biological attack on its soil.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nuclear, chemical and biological weapons are all considered weapons of mass destruction. However, unlike chemical or nuclear weapons, biological weapons combine maximum destructiveness and easy availability. According to Richard Betts, â€Å"nuclear arms have great killing capacity but are hard to get; chemical weapons are easy to get but lack such killing capacity; biological agents have both qualities† (9). In 1993, a study by the Office of Technology Assessment concluded that â€Å"a single airplane delivering 100 kilograms of anthrax spores by aerosol on a clear, calm night over Washington D.C., could kill up to 1 to 3 million people in a three hundred square mile area surrounding Washington D.C.† (Osterholm and Schwartz 9).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Biological weapons are a dangerous threat to the United States. According to Eric Noji, associate director of bioterrorism preparedness for the Center for Disease Control, â€Å"the threat of chemical and biological intentional releases is a clear and present danger† (Fialka et al B1). However, there is evidence that the United States is not taking the threat of a biological attack seriously. The investigating branch of Congress named the General Accounting Office or GAO, â€Å"charged that the government has failed to properly manage the medical stockpiles developed to protect the public from the scourge of potentially devastating biological weapons† (Cohen M2). Lack of Government funding against a biological attack is also evidence that the United States is not taking the threat of bioterrorism seriously. Mohammad N. Akhter, who is the executive director of the American Public Health Association, was quoted as saying that he â€Å"barely had the budget to deal adequately with a severe outbreak of the flu, let alone contain a smallpox epidemic† (A23). In the fiscal year of 2000: The Department of Health and Human Services received $238 million out of a ... ... C. Byrd has claimed that Mr. Thompson’s comments on 60 minutes â€Å"were not credible --- especially in light of Thompson’s request for nearly $1 billion in emergency anti-terrorism projects† (Connolly A29).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Osterholm, Michael T, Ph.D., M.P.H., and John Schwartz. Living Terrors. New York: Delacorte Press, 2000. Betts, Richard K. â€Å"Biological Weapons Are a Serious Threat.† Biological and Chemical Weapons. Ed. David M. Haugen. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1998. 7. Cohen, Stephen L. â€Å"The Nation/Medicine; U.S. a sitting Duck for Bioterrorism.† Los Angeles Times 27 February 2000: M2. Fialka, John, Marilyn Chase, Neil King and Ron Winslow. â€Å"Are We   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Prepared for the Unthinkable? --- Officials Fear U.S. Ill-Equipped To Cope With Biological Or Chemical Terrorism.† Wall Street   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Journal 18 September 2001: B1. Akhter, Mohammad. â€Å"Bioterrorism: How Unready We Are.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Washington Post 10 October: A23. Connolly, Ceci. â€Å"Senators Criticize HHS Chief On Readiness; Bio-   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Terrorism Comments ‘Will Not Really Help’.† Washington Post 4 October 2001: A29.

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Behaviorism, Cognitivism, and Cconstructivism

Without going in to details, learning is† a permanent change in behavior.† (Burns, R, 1995) and can be gained through observation or interaction. These include behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. In this paper we are going to comprise and have personal reactions toward these three schools of thought. â€Å"Is there any best method in teaching English?†. This is the commonest question that English teachers raise. Most teachers try to be the best in their classrooms, but they even don't know how. Obviously, there is no best method to use in teaching English; we should take all of them in to consideration and manipulate the fruitful points. According to scholars in cognitivism and constructivism students are responsible for their own knowledge; experiences, cultural and social aspects are so important in constructing the knowledge and the teacher is a guider. In contrast to behaviorists who know humans as a programmed machine which achieve knowledge through repetition and conditioning. In my opinion, when learners think about an issue critically and have some ideas from different aspects to solve the problems, they understand the idea better, Thus, collaboration and interaction motivate the students; the motivated student has no time to devote to do other unrelated things in the classroom. Therefore, they can work in groups and have explanation or prediction and make sense of current experience. However, we can't deny the role of conditioning and repetition in learning another language. According to elements of observational learning students pay attention by marking and highlighting and as they memorize the knowledge they can remember it easily. â€Å"when individuals are learning a new behavior, they will learn it faster if they are reinforced correct response.† (Woolfolk, A, 2016). Reinforcement plays a really essential role in learning. When the teacher commends the students systematically they have more positive reactions toward their learning. As a teacher who works in ministry of education, I think behaviorism is more dominant at Iranian school. Students and their inner abilities, intelligence – according to multiple intelligence theory by Gardner – are ignored. The higher level the students are the less creativity and critical views they have. The cultural and social learning (authenticity) are ignored as well. Moreover, group working and collaborating play little role in Iranian schools. Students are not able to predict and organize their knowledge. As they are fed by the teacher they can't use the knowledge they know to understand the subject that they don't know. The focus is most on the operant conditioning and students are likely to memorize the knowledge rather than understand the point. The testing tools also are not that professional in order to evaluate students who are learning through constructivism and cognitivism. The materials which have been covered in the books are not powerful enough to juice up the students discovering abilities and help them to build their own knowledge. In conclusion, as I mentioned before none is superior to another. We have to recognize the advantages of each and use them appropriately. Teachers have to put both students' inner abilities and the effects of habit formation into consideration. But they have to help students to level up their intellectual abilities and build their own knowledge with previous experiences.