Wednesday, July 8, 2020

The Bureaucracy Defining Moral Boundaries in Literature from the Soviet Union - Literature Essay Samples

An extensive bureaucracy is one of the identifying features of the modern nation state. Distributed government administration allows for those factors which drive the state to function smoothly; without it, enforcing legal codes and economic policies would be impossible. During Stalin’s reign, the USSR’s rapid growth necessitated an expeditious rollout of a bureaucratic system to control the strict regulations that accompanied collectivization, the growth of transportation systems, and the massive prison and labor camp programs. This expansion put bureaucrats in positions of great power, with little oversight. Soviet literature is saturated with dissident literature, created by authors frustrated by both the structural abuse of the working/peasant class, and by the inhumane treatment of the clandestine Gulag system. In systems where those in positions of power are given such autonomy, the question of how superiors act when they hate their inferiors comes up often. †Å"Berries† and â€Å"Story of an Illness† are two stories that demonstrate the moral boundaries of the government workers who detest their inferiors, while â€Å"Bees and People† serves as a warning against pushing those boundaries. Varlam Shalamov’s â€Å"Berries†, published in 1970, is a (likely autobiographical) tale of exploitation within the boundaries of bureaucracy within the Gulag system. In the story, the narrator and his comrade deviate from their task of collecting and hauling wood to collect berries. The story opens with the narrator being accused by a guard of being a Fascist, for ‘jamming sticks into the wheel’ of the Motherland. The narrator counters the insult, leading to the guards becoming very angry and threatening to shoot him the next day. The next day, the normal boundary is moved two yards closer, preventing the protagonist and his comrade from collecting from the ripe berry bushes and luring them to cross. The narrator’s friend violates this boundary, and is immediately shot twice in the back. The most interesting facet of the story is how the guards go about punishing a prisoner they do not like. Despite having no apparent supervision, they never deviate from what would be considered reasonable treatment of a prisoner. In other words, their moral codes are the only barriers from simply shooting the narrator and saying he attempted escape. As Leona Toker describes, â€Å"Seroshapkas shooting of the man who has crossed the line does not merely exemplify the guards attitude toward the value of the prisoners lives; it also suggests that there is still a residual moral line (likewise arbitrary) that Seroshapka himself does not cross: according to the rules of his game, he still cannot shoot the prisoner who has not gone off limits†¦Ã¢â‚¬ [1] This story reveals a shared understanding between the guards and prisoners: the rules are the rules. Violation of the rules will be dealt with at the guards’ discretion (likely with as much force as possible), but punishment will not occur without a violation, even if the prisoner is tempted into that violation. Zoshchenko’s â€Å"Story of an Illness† reveals a very similar relationship, with the guard-prisoner relationship replaced with that of a patient and several workers. In the story, the protagonist checks in to a hospital with typhoid fever, only to be quickly appalled at the lack of attention paid towards patient comfort. His complaints compel very negative reactions from nurses and orderlies, who constantly threaten his health both verbally and through dangerous â€Å"mistakes†. The subtler verbal threats come often in response to his criticism, such as â€Å"Really, patient, such subtleties you notice; I don’t see how such a nosey one can recover.†[2] The next step up in his mistreatment is the deliberate humiliation of the narrator, such as giving him pajamas that are far too large and bathing him in the women’s room. The most severe backlash is the deliberate prolonging of his stay, by making the â€Å"mistake† of feeding him from a sick child’s plate, ‘missing’ his chart, and telling his family to collect his corpse. Within the hospital system, there is not quite as much autonomy for orderlies and nurses as in the Gulag system. However, under the guise of medical care, there is certainly room for â€Å"mistakes† to happen and mistreatment to occur. In this system, the nurses seem to have even looser moral boundaries than the Gulag guards. They deliberately get him sick, knowing full well that complications could kill him. They go after his family as well, and have no right to treat him as poorly as they do (whereas Gulag prisoners are believed to have committed crimes). Overall, â€Å"Story of an Illness† demonstrates a situation in which nurses abuse their position of power, with no clear moral line drawn. Zoshchenko’s â€Å"Bees and People† serves as a warning of revolt when the moral boundaries are pushed too far. In the story, Ivan Panfilich fetches bees for his collective farm, but his train’s engineer attempts to abandon the narrator and his hives. The bees begin attacking passengers and bureaucrats, and the train is forced to return to collect the bees. On the surface, it is hard to see how the boundaries are being pushed too far. The conductor is simply trying to stay as close to schedule as possible. The personification of the bees is what highlights the abuse, as Ivan says â€Å"They’re perishing. They haven’t had anything to eat or drink and they can’t feed the little ones.†[3] Despite Ivan’s polite request, the stationmaster shows no sympathy. The bees’ retribution is swift, as they not only attack passengers but especially target the stationmaster, telegrapher, and stationmaster’s wife. Ivan’s brie f monologue spells out the threat to the bureaucracy: â€Å"Bees absolutely will not stand for being pushed around by indifferent bureaucrats. You probably treated them the way you treat people—and you see what you get.†[4] The thinly veiled metaphor explains that pushing the moral boundaries further, so far as to have indifference towards starvation of those who can’t help themselves, will inevitably elicit a violent and successful response from the masses. The three stories very greatly in their solemnity, ranging from an autobiographical experience in a labor camp to a satirical story about bees. All three stories, however, accurately convey the bureaucratic exploitation of the Russian people and lack of moral character shown by the institutions of the USSR. The very real issue of the exploitation of prisoners and peasants at the hands of the government was a common characteristic of the Soviet system. However, without the individual perspective provided by these writers, it’s impossible to know the variation of oppression in different circles. In the end, Zoshchenko’s warning of peasant revolution was never fully realized, as Stalin’s death and the Soviet Union’s collapse largely mitigated government repression. [1] Toker, Leona. â€Å"Toward a Poetics of Documentary ProseFrom the Perspective of Gulag Testimonies.† Poetics Today, vol. 18, no. 2, 1997, pp. 187–222., www.jstor.org/stable/1773432. [2] Story of an Illness. The Baffler. N.p., 17 Mar. 2017. Web. 20 Apr. 2017. [3] Brown, Clarence. The portable twentieth-century Russian reader. New York: Penguin, 1993. Print. Page 235 [4] Ibid, Page 238

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Persuasive Speech Essay - 870 Words

I. Introduction: A. Relate to self and audience: I love story. Matter of facts, I would love to get to know each of you and listen to your personal stories. Especially, I enjoy listening to struggles-related stories. Every day, each of us walks to class and acts â€Å"normal†, though we might carry something deep inside. Something that is too dark which we cannot let others know. From time to time, we keep carrying that wound. It hurts us every now and then, but we say nothing. Transition: For today, I am going to show you mine. B. Attention Getter: I was bullied for seven years straight. During the first five years, the end of middle school and entire high school, I was being targeted physically and emotionally. I tried to move on and start†¦show more content†¦Therefore, oxytocin is known as â€Å"cardio-protective† as it keeps the heart healthy (Hamilton, 2011). Transition: What I’m trying to say here is that all of these complicated processes happened because of giving and receiving kindness. It actually improves the soul of our heart, but also its physical well-beings. B. Main point II: Kindness reflects leadership quality because it teaches leader how to lead and take initiatives. - Orly Wahba, CEO of Life Vest Inside, once said that a small act of kindness shows that we have a power to make a change like a leader (TED Talk, 2014). It also demonstrates that we push ourselves out of our comfort zone and take actions to help others (TED Talk, 2014). - She emphasizes that our kind actions, big or small, prove that we want to take charge and make the world become a better place (TED Talk, 2014). And that, in her opinion (also mine), kindness is such a simple, valuable quality which demonstrates a powerful role, a leader (TED Talk, 2014). Transition: I want to you take these two points and understand them through my story and my perception. Need + Satisfaction + Visualization: Imagine this, you, in my body, wake up and ready to start your day. However, before you get out of bed, you have to look real quick at social media. Right that moment, you are flooded with hatred direct messages from people in your past. They call you fake. They call you a liar. TheyShow MoreRelatedEssay on Persuasive Speech822 Words   |  4 PagesAshley Buckner Persuasive Speech COMM210D 4/20/12 Why should you smile? I. Imagine: you wake up in the morning. You get ready and grab a cup of coffee. Then, you walk out the door, seeing many faces as you make your way to work, and walk up to your building. When you walk inside expecting to be greeted by many more positive faces, you see none, and so you walk over and sit down at your desk. While thinking back on your morning to work you were realizing that there was not a moment ofRead MorePersuasive Speech Essay1263 Words   |  6 PagesLike most Americans and members of the global community, I ve had the luxury to process the recent events of Charlottesville from a distance. Saturday s peaceful march by demonstrators against white racist and supremacist groups, who gathered to march against the removal of Confederate monuments, turned deadly. I ve been asked to share my thoughts of the tragic outcome we ve seen, as well as to offer steps that people of influence, especially those in leadership, can take to advance our nationRead MorePersuasive Sp eech Essay1059 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"I don’t belong here.† Lucy cried. â€Å"What is my purpose?† A few months earlier, Lucy is a very gifted girl. She has red rough hair, light blue eyes, and a big beautiful smile. Lucy is always sent from home to home because her parents died in a car crash when she was 5. She’s always getting bullied for how she dresses. Lucy has one thing to keep her calm, and that is art. Lucy loves art. She feels that it helps her express her emotions. The only person she can go to is Mrs.Ronald (the art teacher)Read MorePersuasive Speech Essays1052 Words   |  5 PagesPersuasive Speech Introduction a. Attention Getter : When people ask me why I joined the military I think of all the reason that I did it for, but I think Toby Keith sums it up the best : â€Å" cause freedom don’t come free.† b. Topic : Freedoms come with a great cost but yet we still do not care for our veterans well enough c. Preview: Today I will tell you how veterans suffer from Post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD and cant get help, how veterans are homeless and why they areRead MorePersuasive Speech Essay875 Words   |  4 PagesPERSUASIVE SPEECH GENERAL PURPOSE: To persuade the audience that pit bulls are nice loving dogs. SPECIFIC PURPOSE: To persuade the audience that pit bulls are not naturally dangerous. CENTRAL IDEA: Pit bulls are just like any other dog. It depends on how a pit bull or any other breed of dog is nurtured to determine the characteristics of the dog. Pit bulls are very loving and obedient INTRODUCTION I. Do you have a dog? Does anyone have a pit bull? Well I happy to say that IRead MorePersuasive Speech Essay873 Words   |  4 PagesBruno Chavez Persuasive Speech General Purpose: To Persuade Specific Purpose: To persuade people to support David Beckham’s soccer team in Miami Central Idea: Miami is a city where soccer has a lot to grow and will impact Miami. INTRODUCTION GAIN ATTENTION: Identify the problem Attention-Getter: Soccer is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries, making it the worlds number one sport. . Preview: To persuade my audience to support soccer in Miami. Relevance: It is importanceRead MorePersuasive Speech Essay1187 Words   |  5 Pagesmudslinging between the two opponents. Williams impassioned speech breathed new life into his campaign team. Loud cheers and claps erupt from his apartment prompting his neighbors to look outside their doors to see what was causing the commotion. Five minutes later the meeting is adjourned, and everyone leaves to go home. Everyone except for George who’s facial expression had not changed in the least bit in spite of Williams rousing speech. A Silence once again falls over the room. â€Å"You know I’ve alwaysRead MorePersuasive Speech Essay904 Words   |  4 PagesAt the young age of 11 years old the world is still a very scary place, but learning to go outside of your comfort zone will be the key to success. Overcoming your fears and living for yourself rather than trying to please everyone else will have a very positive effect in the end. You’ll think that life is great at the time because all of your friends are in your class and you all will be able to convince Mrs. Wadkins to let you sit at the same table. Every day after school a group of you will rideRead MorePersuasive Speech Essay1515 Words   |  7 PagesAs the man open the door, the princess yelled, â€Å"Stop!†. This made the audience turn away from her lover and to the princess, who stood up from her throne. Her father, the semi-barbaric king was stunted. His daughter had never interrupted the trials that he has held before. Nor had she disobey him since she was a child. He couldn’t understand why she would yell stop in the middle of the trial. Although, the man that was held for trial is her lover and they were in love for many months now. The kingRead MorePersuasive Speech Essay1493 Words   |  6 PagesPersuasive Speech Outline I. Introduction A. Topic: Texting and driving is dangerous, weather it has affected you or not. B. Hook: Did you know that texting while driving is now one of the most popular distractions that take a driver’s eyes off the road? C. Link to audience: Imagine that someone in your family, your mom, dad, or sibling were to be killed by a driver who was sending a text message. Was that text worth losing someone you love? D. Thesis statement: Today I will persuade you into

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Truman s Foreign Policy For The Atomic Bomb - 2235 Words

2. Truman’s need to address foreign policy itself did not even exist until he actually became president in 1945, which may have had an impact on his decisions when it became a primary issue for him during his presidency. This began with the Potsdam Conference, which has been noted as the time when Truman started to carry views against the Soviets, because of his repulsion to compromising with Stalin. The fact that Truman’s enthusiasm fell after testing for the atomic bomb finished suggested that the two events directly correlated. On top of that, after Japan’s surrender due to the atomic bomb, Truman ended the Lend-Lease act that was originally initiated by Roosevelt. Considering these two examples of Truman’s foreign policy, it is†¦show more content†¦Since WWII was needed to take the U.S. out of the Great Depression, the danger of the country returning to that state after the war finished was imminent. One event that exemplified this insecurity was the Strike Wave of 1946, which Truman solved by basically making it consequential by law to go on strike. However, economic problems were still occurring overseas in Europe. In order to assist them, Truman provided â€Å"Europe with badly needed economic recovery aid (the Marshall Plan)† (Hastedt). The Marshall Plan was an action that the U.S. took in an attempt to aid Europe’s economy, by paying $13 billion. This seemingly was also made in an effort to reduce the power of the Soviet Union, and allow Europe’s powers to compete, sequentially reducing the risk of an authoritarian influence. There was also Truman’s Fair Deal, which generally dealt with America’s domestic problems, but because of that also addressed its economic difficulties. Since it primarily aimed to make everything fair in domestic life, as the name suggested, the economy improved as a result. Overall, Truman’s economic policy revolved around keeping the economy at a man ageable level, rather than having it crash similar to the Great Depression, and have to bring it back up. 3. The six main parts, or principal organs, of the United Nations consist of the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the

Journal of Retailing Consumer Price Sensitivity

Question: Discuss about the Journal of Retailing for Consumer Price Sensitivity. Answer: Introduction: The above article is based on the journal retailing selected from the ABCD(Australian business deans council) journal ranking list within the quality level of A. In the article, Consumer Price Sensitivity and Price Thresholds, the authors have illustrated about the price model related to the price gains and losses of a particular company. The model as proposed by the authors, acts as a threshold for the companies related to their competitors and consumer specific factors. The proposed model, as claimed by the authors, is superior to the ordinary logit and other existing price models, which can be evident from the scanner panel data applications related to the purchase of coffee. The authors have been able to determine the sensitivity of the consumers towards the prices. They have postulated the fact that the higher price volatility makes the consumers more sensitive towards gains and less sensitive towards losses. On the contrary, the intense price promotion by the companies makes th e consumers less sensitive towards the gains and more sensitive toward losses. Thus, the authors, by this postulation, have been able to determine the price sensitivity of the consumers in respective of the price thresholds. The article marks the emergence of the two segments, which differ in the size of the thresholds. The article also discusses about the implications of the managers of the organizations because of segmentation. The article also help the readers in better understating of the power of the brands and the influence on the consumers related to their pricing strategy and thresholds. The article also makes a methodological commitment by recommending the price of threshold is probabilistic in nature. Type of Research: The author collects lot of data and he also grasps lots of different information and done huge amount of research in his article. They may utilize a wide range of approaches to depict their exploration the most well-known kind of research is Qualitative and Quantitative sort of research. Qualitative research is a fundamentally exploratory research which is used to gain an opinion, reason and motivations. It gives lots of insights knowledge into issues or creates thoughts. Qualitative research is used to uncover trends in opinion and thoughts which plunge into the issue is known as Qualitative. Where on the other hand Quantitative research is utilized to measure the data by way of gathering numerical information which can be changed into usable insights, techniques for gathering the information might be in different structure they may be online reviews interviews etc. These journal best suites the Quantitative sort of exploration, the information for study the Consumer Price Sensitivi ty And Price Thresholds have drawn from information resource. The research was done on the households who buy the ground caffeinated coffee in mid-1980 from Pittsfield caf The coffee dataset, as incorporated in the article, has been acting as a base of research where the researchers have been in the quest of determining the price thresholds. In addition, writers of this article likewise utilized comparative dataset gives to contrast their model with model with others and publish their study. Authors have deducted a portion of the information from the original source of data. They did not take into consideration of those households who ware non-continuous and light users. The data represents the purchase information for 376 households for 84-week period out of which first 32 weeks ware used for initializing model variables, and the last 52 weeks were used for model calibration. The fundamental center of analysis was on 4 major brands which accounted for more than 80% of the category volume. So while looking that we can say that this is Quantitative type of research. (S.Han et al./ journal of retailing77(2001)435-456). Author also has used lots of descriptive information in this article about the data information by using tables, graphs and formulas From the analysis of the information presented above, it can be evident that the article incorporates the Quantitative research. Motivation: Researchers believe that the purpose of this article is to investigate the presence and greatness of price thresholds and the factor that influence these thresholds. In this article we can see that there are 3 major factors that can affect the price thresholds, they are company, competitive and consumer factor. According to Han, Gupta and Lehmann (2002), there are four essential approaches, which the managers of the brands are required to implement while making changes in the price thresholds. The four essential things are (i) to offer minimum price discount for the customers, (ii) to segment the customers according to their purchasing power, (iii) recognizing the brand and understanding its value and (iv) identify and manage the variable cost that affects the price thresholds. These thresholds affect the customer purchasing power due to small changes in the price which capture the consumer insensitivity The main objective of the article is to describe the factors that affect the pri ce thresholds in brands including the brand choice, competing models and the influence of the price on the consumers. Research Question: Research questions are needed to be very clear, exact and researchable. Researchers motive is to find the solution of the relevant factor. The significance of the study is to conduct extensive research on the price threshold of brands and its effects on the consumers such that to produce a unique price model that could be helpful more superior than the existing models. The researchers might be very precise and associated with the overall interest of the related field. The introduction of the article is related to the existence of price thresholds and the multiple factor that affecting these types of thresholds it is the main purpose of this research. In related to the above there are research questions of how frequent price promotion on customer choice i.e. while doing the frequent price promotion reduce the effectiveness of price discount by making thresholds for gain larger and consequently making consumer less sensitivity to price discount? On the other hand do they sharpen client to cost marking down, in this way making them deal seekers? It was suggested that while giving more frequent discount makes the customer more price sensitive in the long run. In addition, the article also helps in proposing a model by implementing a probabilistic threshold in reference to the price model. Study has suggested that thresholds of misfortunes and increase are probabilistic in nature instead of deterministic. In regards to above research question it is important to know which key factors may affect these thresholds which will help in better way to understand the customer choice process? Controversial Results of the Paper: As we know that all the research has few controversial results. In this research also it was found that changing in price have a significant impact on the thresholds. In addition to this how frequently the price is changing and how promotion is influence the thresholds. Lastly, price volatility to have a major impact on these thresholds efficiently change taking into account the evaluating methodology of general stores. For instance, it is conceivable that EDLP stores have lower thresholds than HI-LO stores. These outcomes may have possibly capable ramifications for both manufactures and retailers. Discuss the Conclusions: Thus, to conclude, the researchers have emphasized on the price model that is superior to the existing models, which could be helpful in providing a better understanding of the consumer behaviour. In this article the researchers examine all the framework of proposed model and conclude that customers choice is affected by prices. Secondly, the researchers have been focusing on evaluating the factors that affect the price thresholds value of the brands and its effects on the consumers as well. Thirdly it helps the capacity to recognize the deviated effect of illustrative variables on the thresholds of loss and gain. At last the study has given two vital ramifications, which are manager based division and thresholds based brand power. From the analysis of the research study, it can be evident that the researchers have been able to provide better understanding of the consumer purchasing behaviour by illustrating a unique price model. The researchers also implemented the probabilistic thr esholds for gains and losses in respective of the price of a particular brand. Reference: Han, S., Gupta and Lehmann, D.R., 2002. Consumer Price Sensitivity and Price Thresholds. Journal of Retailing. 77(4), pp.435-456. University of Southern California, 2015, Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper: The Research Problem/Question, Viewed 22 October 2015, https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/introduction/researchproblem.

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Jane Fonda Essays - Counterculture Of The 1960s,

Jane Fonda Who is Jane Fonda? This is a question often asked by many people with no one right answer. She is an actress, a fitness guru, a former communist sympathizer, and most importantly, an antiwar activist during the Vietnam War. Although Jane Fonda was honored as one of the ?100 Women of the Century?, her infamous name is one Vietnam veterans will never forget. As American soldiers were losing their lives, she traveled into enemy-territory, defaming American POWs, many of whom were tortured to death. Jane Fonda, a revolutionary woman whose efforts not only demoralized American servicemen but also created a personal war that would last a lifetime, mixed politics with film to make her an infamous legend. Born into a family of wealth, Jane Fonda evolved from a distinguished actress to one of the most controversial figures in Hollywood. Descending from prominent figures in history, including Samuel Adams and Jane Seymour, Fonda grew up with very little parental love and attention. Her father, actor Henry Fonda, rarely saw his daughter except for the occasional publicity photo-shoot. Her brother, Peter Fonda, and Jane spent most of their childhood at numerous boarding schools. ?The beginnings of Fonda's passion for communism can be ascribed to her early boarding school in Paris, where she befriended French communists and Vietcong representatives assigned in Paris? (Mraffin 1). Back in the United States, Jane made numerous theatrical appearances with her father. Developing her own fame, Jane began to take on numerous risque films, her most famous being Barbarella. Tired of her sex kitten roles and appearance, Jane took on a more serious role, titled They Shoot Horses Don't They? and also developed an interest in politics. Jane watched ?women leading marches, women getting beaten up, women walking up to bayonets, and they were not afraid. That experience completely changed her, and it began her searching for what was behind it all? (Andersen 171). March 8,1970, marked Jane's first entry into the world of militant protest. Jane, a strong advocate of ?Coffee houses?, or hangouts where servicemen could get a taste of antiwar propaganda and some coffee, was also drawn to the Black Panthers, the feminist movement, the plight of the American Indian, welfare mothers, and the farm movement. Jane decided that ?because of the success of my films, I have more power-and I intend to use it? (Andersen 169) and the best way to tackle all these issues was by way of a cross country tour. Using her acting fame, Jane obtained appearances on TV talk shows, and became a feature speaker at numerous college campuses, leading countless anti-war demonstrations. Her speeches could be summarized by her statement on November 22, 1970: ?I would think if you understood what communism was, you would pray on your knees that you would someday become Communists? (Mraffin 1). While traveling across country, Jane dropped in on Indian reservations, army bases, an d G.I. coffeehouses, hoping to convert nonbelievers. Whenever Jane spoke at a Coffeehouse, she was speaking to the converted?mostly disillusioned draftees, rearing no more then a few thousand spread across the country, a small fraction of the nations fighting force (Andersen...). Within time though, Jane's interest in everything but the Vietnam war diminished. No longer content with spreading her radicalism within the home ranks, Fonda decided to trade her glamorous attire in for a pair of Ho Chi Minh sandals, and Vietcong pajamas. She left for her two week stay in North Vietnam on July 8, 1972. Jane, with several cameras slung around her neck, was led on a tour of bombed-out hospitals, schools, factories, villages, and dikes. The devastation left Jane shaken, but not enough to stop her from doing some morale boosting for the enemy. It was then that Jane climbed aboard a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun, used to shoot American men, and peered through the gun sight looking for one of those blue eyed murderers (Sampley 1). Still, if She had stopped then, and returned home, her trip may have soon been forgotten. Instead, Fonda volunteered to make a series of ten propaganda broadcasts over Radio Hanoi, designed to demoralize American servicemen while encouraging the North Vietnamese to fight harder and kill more Americans. The broadcasts, al ong with

Monday, March 16, 2020

The Need for New Space Travel Systems essays

The Need for New Space Travel Systems essays NASA is known worldwide for putting people into Earth orbit. The agency is also known as the only organization that has shot humans at escape velocity speeds to the Moon. However, NASA could also be known as an agency thats going nowhere fast (David). Even NASAs chief Sean OKeefe is eager about the need for speed. The agency is stuck in slow gear, scooting about in spacecraft today at velocities not much greater than when John Glenn first entered Earth orbit over 40 years ago (OKeefe). The horrendously high price to orbit of over 20,000US$ per pound is a bitter indicator for the need of new propulsion systems. Fatal accidents as the Columbia tragedy early last year show the extremely high loads on materials and structures that occur during launch phases with actual propulsion systems and thus the utter need for totally new propulsion concepts. Space flight such as missions to the Moon and Mars and the exploration of deep space require new propulsion technologies that not only reduce travel time, but are cost effective, safe, and have short turnaround periods. The illusion that the Space Shuttle along with its traditional chemical propulsion was a safe enough system to commercially transport people into Earth orbit was tragically ended by the first Shuttle tragedy in late January, 1986, when the Challenger exploded only 73 seconds into launch. The seven member of the Challenger crew were all killed in this terrible accident. A Presidential investigation commission composed of 13 members quickly found the mechanical cause of the accident to be the failure of the joint of one of the Solid Rocket Boosters. The commission came to the conclusion that the design was not well understood and that it had not been adequately tested. Seventeen years after the Challenger accident yet another tragedy of the same dimensions traumatized both the population and NASA. At 9 AM EST on Saturday, February 1, 2003 ...

Saturday, February 29, 2020

1984 - Socialism

1984 Socialism Essay 1984 SocialismEric Blair, known to his readers under the English pen name of George Orwell (1903-1950), was a man familiar with the roles of government.He served with the British government in Burma under the Indian Imperial Police.Returning to his European roots, Orwell also sided with the Spanish government as he fought with the Loyalists in their civil war.It wasnt until he wrote professionally as a political writer that Orwells ideas of government were fully expressed.Orwell, in his political writings, was extremely contradictory.He was a critic of communism, yet he also considered himself a Socialist.He had hatred toward intellectuals, but he too was a political writer.It is only natural that a man of paradoxes would write of them.In his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell develops his Socialist Utopia as a paradoxical society that ultimately succeeds rather than flounders. The society that Orwell creates is full of paradoxes that existed all the way up to its origins.The founders of the new lifestyle, known as the revolutionaries of the mid-twentieth century, leads the public to believe false intentions of revolt, as these purposes soon become exact opposite outcomes.The original designers seek to create an ideal social order out of England that is beneficial to all.Marin Kessler, a literary essayist, agrees that these utopianshad hoped to construct a perfect society in which men and women could enjoy that ultimate degree of happiness which, it was implied denied through the folly and wickedness of their present rulers (304).Besides being founded on the concept of a Utopia, the revolutionaries believe they could achieve their goals through Ingsoc, a variation on English socialism (named justly).The main concept of socialism is its stress on social equality, so much that the government distributes any possessions equally.In reality, this policy sought t o destroy individual property, instead emphasizing collective property, owned by the government for the ultimate purpose of equality.Socialism is also often considered the politics of the working class and lower regime, since they actually benefited from it.Although the founders claim to create a socialist Utopia with its respective freedoms, the society of Oceania they create is exactly the opposite of their original principles.OBrien, a major contributor to the government organization known as the Party, describes the contradictory characteristics of the world power of Oceania, Do you begin to see then, what kind of world we are creating?It is the exact opposite of the stupid hedonistic Utopias that the old reformers imaginedThe old civilizations claimed they were founded upon love and justice.Ours is founded upon hatred (Nineteen Eighty-Four 220).Oceania is anything but socialist; it is rather a totalitarian empire.The Party is all-powerful in this nation and limits the peoples o wn power as well.Oceanias people are oppressed by the government that is supposed to be protecting them and their rights.Orwell foresaw the approach of a totalist society from which faith, custom, common sense, justice, order, freedom, brotherhood, art, literature, and even sexual love would be eradicated, declares literary critic Russell Kirk.The new socialist oligarchy would live for the intoxication of brutal power (311).Every action and policy of the Party demonstrates its oppressiveness.The Party destroys the concept of privacy via the telescreen, an instrument used to transmit and receive images.The Party conceals the truth and only tells lies to its people through the controlled media.The Party destroys a language as it evolves English into Newspeak, a language limited in abstract ideas.The Party outlaws the act of sexual intercourse and procreation.The most horrific violation of natural rights is the Partys prohibition of individuality.Although there are no written laws in O ceania, there is only one true offense: opposing the Party.Socialism attempts to create a society with only one true social order, so that all members are equal parts.Oceania, on the other hand, is composed of three real class orders with the top oppressing the other two. A work entitled The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism, more simply known to the Oceanic public as the book, describes the true class structure: At the apex of the pyramid comes Big Brother.Big Brother is infallible and all-powerfulBelow Big Brother comes the Inner Party, its numbers limited to six millions, or something less then two percent of the population of Oceania.Below the Inner Party comes the Outer Party, which, if the Inner Part..y is described as the brain of the State, may be justly likened to the hands.Below that come the dumb masses whom we habitually refer to as the proles, numbering perhaps eighty-five percent of the population.In terms of our earlier classification, the proles are th e Low, whoare not a permanent or necessary part of the structure. (171-172). READ: The Hound of the Baskervilles EssayThe Party of Oceania completely rejects the class structure that Socialism is founded on.Oceania is more a monarchy than that of a Socialist society, with Big Brother as its immortal and superhuman king; the Party is the nobility class and the proles, mere peasants.Additionally, Socialism is the politics of the proletarians, the working class of a society, differing immensely from the Oceanic structure as the proles are exactly those who are neglected and oppressed.All of the goals the founders sought to bestow upon their supposed, Socialist Utopia do not even imitate those actually outcomes.These intentions, therefore, play a major paradoxical role in this mixed up society. Although the origins of Oceania are paradoxes, the institutions that make up this massive power are also baffling.The most notable signs of paradox to indicate that its establishments are also paradoxical are literally contained in the Partys slogan: War is Peace.Freedom is slavery.Ignorance is strength (7).Even though this slogan appears irrational, it is due to the fact that it is devised by an irrational and contracting government.The paradoxical government represents the philosophies of that government.The Partys entire existence lies upon one ultimate paradox, Doublethink. Doublethink is the ultimate paradox, because as its name suggests it is the philosophy of holding a double meaning, two ideas that are contradictory to one another.It would be impossible, however, for the repressive dictatorship to realize the full benefitswithout DoublethinkWithout Doublethink the party would not function, explains expert on politics Martin Kessler.For, when the party intellectual lies, it is essential that he both know that he is tampering with reality and at the same time genuinely believe in his lie (306).Since the philosophies of Oceanic government are paradoxical, it is no surprise that its four major institution are as well.The Ministry of Truth, which tells little of it, is responsible for all forms of news, entertainment, education, and fine arts.In reality, the Minitrue, as translated in Newspeak, falsifies all information and media exposed to the public, destroying any details hinting otherwise.The Ministry of Peace (Minipax) deals only with waging war, rather than keeping peace since Oceania was always in combat with either Eastasia or Eurasia, the only two other superpowers.The Ministry of Love (Miniluv) offers little compassion whatsoever, because they were responsible for punishing and even vaporizing people with even a hint at anything against the Party.The majority of those sent to the Miniluv by the Thought Police are truly guilty of nothing.Lastly, the Ministry of Plenty (Miniplenty) is contradictory to its name, because although its job is to supply the public with economic goods, it rarely distributes anything to keep the power and property within the Party (8).The institutions within the Ocenic society are mere paradoxes of the society as a whole. Even more paradoxes exist within the Partys primary ways of ruling the continental power of Oceania.Its contradictory methods and instruments used for managing demonstrate the true paradox of the society.The technology and use of the telesceen exhibits many paradoxical qualities.This device, while seeming like an entertainment, is able to cause more suffering than pleasure.It is an oppressive instrument that completely abolishes the concept of privacy as the people that are forced to hear and see the television screen can themselves be heard and seen at all times under constant supervision even while sleeping or in the bathroom, according to writer Issaac Asimov (315).The utilization of the telescreen becomes unpleasurable when it makes it easier for the Party to catch one in any act suspicious to it.The Paradox arises even in its mechanism as it transmits propaganda to the people like a television, but at the same time it receives images of the people like a camera.The true paradox arises, because there may have to be five watchers for every person watched.And then, of course, the watchers must themselves be watched, since no one in the Orwellian world is suspicion-free (Asimov 315).It is a wonder how such a technology is able to work, as the philosophies of the Party must be broken at one point.