Analysis Of Blindness By Jose Saramago English Literature Essay

Analysis Of Blindness By Jose Saramago English Literature Essay Blindness, a novel by Portuguese author Josà © Saramago, depicts the dystopian outcome of a plague of white blindness, (clunky) a mysterious disease that eventually becomes known among the novels characters as the white evil. Saramago quickly introduces the malady, recounting the first infection within the first few pages of the novel. Out of fear of future contamination, the government arranges for a quarantine in an abandoned mental asylum.  Inside the asylum, the reader follows the harrowing account of a small group of internees led by the Doctors Wife, who is the only person to retain her eyesight. The white blindness spreads at a seemingly exponential rate to the point that the whole world has fallen victim to the white evil. Once the number of quarantined individuals accumulates in the asylum, social order crumbles and morality disintegrates, for even the Doctors Wife balances on the cusp of right and wrong. However, there still remains those individuals who make decisions t hat demonstrate altruistic sacrifice for the good of the rest. Josà © Saramago writes a captivating story of not only social decay, but also the emergence of a new morality only present in the most desperate circumstances. An easier way to establish context for Blindness would be to analyze Saramagos life as well as the historical events surrounding it. On November 16, 1992, Josà © Saramago was born in Azinhaga, Portugal in the Ribatejo province to a poor farming family. His father had served in the French military during World War I, and he decided to pursue a career in law enforcement in Lisbon, Portugals capital. Their way of living had greatly improved because of his new job, but they remained poor regardless of a new home. Saramagos parents sent him to grammar school, though, they could not afford the tuition long enough for him to finish his studies. As a result, Saramago attended a technical school to become a mechanic while studying literature during his free time. Before marrying his first wife Ilda Reis in 1944, he began working as an administrative civil servant for the Social Welfare Service. Three years later he published his first book, The Land of Sin, though his initial literary endeav ors were not very successful. He wrote more novels, but he failed to publish his projects. Saramago describes his early attempts at writing in his autobiography, The matter was settled when I abandoned the project[s]: it was becoming quite clear to me that I had nothing worthwhile to say For 19 years, I was absent from the Portuguese literary scene, where few people can have noticed my absence (Saramago, Autobiography). For more than half of Saramagos life, the brutal Portuguese fascist dictator, Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, a former professor, was in power (1928 1974). Salazar drew inspiration for his own dictatorial rule from Hitler and Mussolini, just as Saramago modeled his mental asylum in Blindness after Salazars appalling and inhumane prisons that simulated Nazi concentration camps as well as the Japanese internment camps in the United States following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In an interview for a Portuguese newspaper, Saramago calls his mental asylum the final solution, a resemblance of Hitlers plan to exterminate the Jews (quoted in Frier). Not only were the prisoners subjected to horrifying punishments such as being forced to lie under the African sun, the ocean water flowed into the chambers everyday, washing up both garbage and human waste (Frier). The mental asylum, though not against an ocean, also filled with human excrement because the internees had given up locating the restro oms after a few days, resorting to defecating on the floor or on their beds. ( Same as last sentence?) One could be sent to these prisons, the most notorious being Tarrafal on the Cape Verde Islands, for being a dissident and for criticizing the Portuguese government, often without physical evidence. Antà ³nio de Rigueiredo, a Portuguese dissident, recounts his experience in Tarrafal, After 1945, as soon as the regime felt sure of its survival and new alliances, it passed from arbitrary but casual repression to a scientific system of incarcerating individuals (quoted in Frier). Another prisoner recalls that the only doctor in Taraffal neglected prisoners and allowed them to die in the unsanitary conditions of the prison (Frier). Though the victims of the white evil in Blindness were not interned for any political reason, they experienced many of the same abuses by the military; their force was a direct order from the government as well as out of fear of being contaminated. A sergeant on assignment tells his soldiers after he has killed an internee, From now on, we shall leave the con tainers at the halfway point, let the/m come and fetch them, well keep them under surveillance, and at the slightest suspicious movement, we fire (Saramago 84). Although these prisoners try to approach their providers without provoking attack, their blindness prevents them from knowing whether they will be shot for making a wrong move. Acquiring the daily rations most often ends in violence or verbal abuse from the military. Saramago was highly distrusting of the Salazar regime and government, so he joined the Portuguese Communist Party in 1969. To do so was illegal under Salazars dictatorship. Within the last few years of Salazars rule, Saramago worked for two Lisbon newspapers, Dià ¡rio de Lisboa and, later, Dià ¡rio de Nà ³ticias. He lost his job from the latter in 1975 after the new anti-Communist government had come into power. With no hopes of finding another journalistic position, he turned to writing literature and developed his unique writing, consisting of very little punctuation and dialogue within narration. His later novels became much more successful, though he met much opposition from both the Catholic Church and the Portuguese government because of Communistic and anti-religious undertones. Baltazar and Bilmunda (1982) criticized the role of Catholicism in 18th-century Portugal. The Church criticized The Gospel According to Jesus Christ (1991), claiming that Saramagos depiction of Jesus was too human and offensive to the Church (Saramago, Autobiography). Because the government was very much influenced by the Church, it did not allow this novel to be presented for the European Literary Prize. Many of Saramagos supporters protested the decision. Later on, Saramago moved to the Canary Islands with his second wife, Pilar del Rà ­o, because the support he received inspired him to write even more. There, he wrote his two most famous novels, Blindness (1995) and All the Names (1997). Saramago expresses his distrust for the Church again in Blindness in a scene towards the end of the novel in which the Doctors Wife enters a church that has become a refugee camp for the blind. She observes that all the images in the church had their eyes covered, statues with a white cloth tied around the head, paintings with a thick brushstroke of white paint, there was only one woman who did not have her eyes covered, because she carried her gouged-out eyes on a silver tray (Saramago 317). She tells her husband and he replies, Perhaps it was the work of someone whose faith was badly shaken when he realised that he would be blind like the others, maybe it was even the local priest (Saramago 317). The strange alteration of the images and the speculation that a priest may be behind them suggests that, just as the world has been struck blind, so too has the Church. God and the saints no longer listen to the pleas of the victims. Naturally, those who in the church are offended from he aring the mere suggestion that their faith could not cure them. However, they flee the church after a few scream at the thought that what the Doctor and his wife say may be true. Shortly after, people slowly begin to regain their sight. In her analysis of the novel, Carole Champagne says that the powers associated with the images in the church have been transferred to humanity, who are empowered to use their own moral and spiritual resources-their own eyes-which are their birthright (Champagne). So long had the refugees in the church depended on their faith for a moral balance until they had regained their sight. They would no longer have to look to a higher power that did not answer their prayers. The presence of morality in a damaged society, and the lack thereof, and the consequences that result from right and wrong are major themes of Josà © Saramagos Blindness. Early in the novel, as the Ministry of Health arrives at the Doctors apartment, his wife attempts to accompany him. The ambulance driver refuses to let her in, but she claims that she has been struck blind. Shortly after, the reader learns that she had faked her blindness though she is sure that she will eventually become blind. After days of experiencing the unsanitary conditions and constant conflict between internees, the Doctors Wife feels the need to help them, though she struggles both with herself and with her husband over the proposition. Her husband tells her, Think of the consequences, they will almost certainly try to turn you into their slave, [Y]ou will be at the beck and call of everyone [D]ont think that blindness has made us better people, It hasnt made us any worse, Were on our way though (Saramag o 133). The Doctor suggests that the peoples morality has left along with their sight, and that once his wife tries to assist them, she will be taken advantage of until she no longer can utilize her sight for herself. What she had thought was the right thing to do had gotten her caught in a downward spiral of disintegrating social order and chaos. Also, early in the novel, the First Blind Man confronts the Car Thief in the asylum. As soon as the First Blind Man discovers that his Samaritan had stolen his car after bringing him home, they immediately resort to hopeless fist fighting. This event signifies the first descent into moral decline, especially with how quickly the event transpires, though the First Blind Mans reaction to the car theft is still a normal reaction a sighted person would have. As the novel progresses, interpersonal conflicts become more prevalent among the internees, especially when dealing with the meager rations the government supplies them. The Doctor says, Fighting has always been, more or less, a form of blindness (Saramago 133). Fighting had existed before the whole world was struck blind, suggesting that people had already been blind, not in the literal sense but blind to each others needs. The conflict over food finally escalates to the point that a group of hoodlums band together to take control of all the food in hopes of taking all the internees valuables. The Doctors Wife organizes a resistance to fight against the gang, though it end in bloodshed on her side. In their confrontation, the head of the gang says to the Doctors Wife, I wont forget your voice, and she responds without thinking, Nor I your face (Saramago 140). Though she can physically see the hoodlums face, her threat suggests that only his face could belong to something so evil that would take food away from the rest of the internees. As if foreshadowing a heightened conflict, the First Blind Man says to the Doctor, Well, Im not entirely convinced that there are limits to misfortune and evil (Saramago 144). After the hoodlums run out of valuables to steal from the other internees, they demand that each ward send in all its women to satisfy their lust. Otherwise, the wards would not get their food. Immediately the men pressure the women to visit the hoodlums and have sex with them for the well-being of the others. The women, fearing for their lives, become enraged and chastise the men for suggesting they appease the hoodlums. While some of the women listened to the mens reasoning, others challenge the men with the same attitude the men had expressed. And what would you do if these rascals instead of asking for women had asked for men, what would you do then[?] (Saramago 168). One man replies, There are no pansies here, while another woman says, And no whores either (Saramago 168). In desperation, the asylum has eru pted into a mess of sexism and moral degradation. The men would be willing to give up their women in exchange for food, thus reducing and objectifying the status of women. A small group of women including the First Blind Mans Wife and the Doctors Wife agree to prostitute themselves despite protests by their husbands, the former especially. The narrator concludes the womens decisions: [D]ignity has no price, that when someone starts making small concessions, in the end life loses all meaning (Saramago 169). At the expense of the men, the group of women experience a brutal gang rape, resulting in the death of one of the women. To restore the dead womans dignity, the Doctors Wife finds water to wash her. This event indicates how much the community within the asylum has degenerated, for the men have put a price on the bodies of the women they know. Perhaps the event that illustrates the most difficult moral decision of the whole novel is the murder of the hoodlums leader. Prior to the event, the Doctors Wife discovers that she had brought a pair of scissors with the intent of helping her husband shave. She never uses them for the original purpose and hangs them on a wall. However, after her rape, she grabs the scissors without hesitation and heads for the hoodlums ward. As the leader rapes one of the women, the Doctors Wife sneaks behind him and stabs him in the throat as he has an orgasm. His cry was barely audible, it might have been the grunting of an animal about to ejaculate, as was happening to some of the other men (Saramago 189). Saramago describes the hoodlums as having degenerated to the point of becoming animals, acting solely upon appeasing natural inclinations and vices. The Doctors Wife runs away with the raped woman and breaks down. She justifies the murder by thinking, And when is it necessary to kill When what is still alive is already dead (Saramago 192-93). Though the first inclination is to think that the Doctors Wife justified the murder because the hoodlum had proven himself to be incapable of being human, she could have meant that it was she who was the inhuman one. She is the only sighted person among the blind. If even she has dropped to this level of moral decay, then the rest of the internees have little hope in restoring their own humanity until they regain their sight.

The Entertainment Industrys Standards of Beauty and Impact on Youth Es

The Entertainment Industry's Standards of Beauty and Impact on Youth â€Å"Man, I am hungry. But if I eat, I will never be able to look like that celebrity.† These words could come out of a typical teenager’s mouth. If a teenager sees someone on TV, in a movie, or in a magazine that he or she wishes to look like, he or she may try anything necessary to accomplish it. The standards of beauty set by the entertainment industry today are having a negative effect on today’s youth. Have you ever heard of Calista Flockhart, Lara Flynn Boyle, Jennifer Aniston, or Antonio Sabato Jr.? They are all celebrities that the typical teenager idolizes, but these idolizations are not necessarily a good thing. Unfortunately, they are all setting standards of beauty that are not only unrealistic but could prove to be dangerous when trying to be attained. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of eating disorders, steroid use, and plastic surgery among teenagers. The main reason for this trend is that â€Å"the beauty ideal has shifted towards an increasing emphasis on thinness† (Brown). In the article â€Å"Body Obsessed†, Rebecca Barry says that the world is sending out many mixed messages about being a girl (Barry 112). Today, women in the entertainment industry are put into many different roles, but all of the roles have one thing in common. They all tend to be very beautiful and very thin. In fact, while the average body weight of women has increased, the majority of women on TV and in magazines have remained thin (Brown). This makes many people believe that actresses will try anything to lose weight. The most common ways are by either exercising or by trying one of many different kind... ... in any way, shape, or form define who they are as a person. Our main message to our youth should be: â€Å"Self-esteem and confidence must start from within not from our outward appearance† (Brown). Works Cited Barry, Rebecca. â€Å"Body Obsessed.† Seventeen. July 1995: 112. Infotrac. Online. 24 Oct. 1999 Brown, Crystal C. â€Å"Modern Beauty Standards Unrealistic.† The Capitol Times. Vol. 2 No. 21. Online. 03 Nov. 1999. Available: http://www.capitoltimes.com. McClelland, Susan. â€Å"The Lure of the Body Image: In Their Quest for the Beefcake Look, Some Men Try Extreme Measures.† Maclean’s. 22 Feb. 1999: 38. Infotrac. Online. 18 Oct. 1999. Stevens, Liz. â€Å"Today’s Teen Magazines May be Sending Mixed Messages to Girls.† Knight- Ridder/Tribune News Service. 14 July 1999. Infotrac. Online. 2 Nov. 1999.

Free Measure for Measure Essays: Mercy vs. Justice :: Measure for Measure

Mercy vs. Justice in Measure for Measure Theme: Mercy vs. Justice. Allusion to justice = eye for eye, tooth for tooth [measure for measure]; allusion to mercy = let him without sin cast the first stone [esp. sexual sin]. Summary: Duke wants to restore the strictness of fornication/adultery laws. He sets up Angelo to do it, while he feigns that he will be away. Instead he remains to check up on Angelo and the town (Vienna). Angelo goes ahead and closes down Overdone's brothel and the others, and puts Claudio in jail, condemned to die the morrow, for impregnating Juliet. Isabella, Claudio's sister and about to enter a nunnery, pleads for Angelo's mercy on him. Lucio counsels her to be warm to him, and she is just warm enough to inspire Angelo to seduce her: seduction in exchange for Claudio. The Duke, posing as a Friar, overhears her exchange with Claudio in which he counsels her to go through with the act. He enters and sets up a plan: Angelo ought to have married Mariana but didn't: Mariana therefore will go in Isabella's place. Angelo, after the deed, calls even more quickly for Claudio's head. The Duke (as Friar) puts this off: now Angelo is two steps behind (not knowing about either Mariana or Claudio). The Duke returns, as Duke, and asks for anyone against Angelo to speak. Isabella does: finally it comes out that the Friar was behind Isabella's suit. The Friar is called for, and so the Duke disappears and comes back as the Friar, but is revealed to be the Duke. The switch is revealed and Angelo must marry Mariana; Claudio is revealed as alive and is pardoned by the Duke. Lucio (a subplot) also gets his deserts. Morality: mercy wins over justice, and yet there is a strong sense of justice having been done. Symbolically accomplished by the Duke (justice) taking on the habit of "a true friar" (mercy but with sense of justice) starting with I.iii.48. II.i.17 ff, Angelo on justice without mercy: "'Tis one thing to be tempted, Escalus,/Another thing to fall. I not deny,/The jury, passing on the prisoner's life,/May in the sworn twelve have a thief or two/Guiltier than him they try. What's open made to justice,/That justice seizes: what know the laws/That thieves do pass on thieves?"--this is unmitigated justice, just as II.i.30-31: "Let mine own judgement pattern out my death, [which Angelo is willing to accept once caught, in V.

Land Rover North America, Inc. Case Analysis :: LRNA Business Marketing Case Study, solution

Land Rover North America, Inc. Case Analysis I. Executive Summary   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Charles Hughes, president and CEO of Land Rover North America (LRNA), and his executive committee want to expand LRNA’s reach within North America. Based on the growing strength of the U.S. SUV market, research which suggests consumers are seeking vehicles that can help them have â€Å"experiences† while being practical, safe, reliable and luxurious, the success of the Discovery in the U.K. and near doubling of the Land Rover brand worldwide, LNRA is seeking to become the â€Å"world’s premier 4x4 specialty company† through effective brand, product and retail strategies. LNRA’s success hinges on making the correct positioning, marketing mix and retailing decisions. II. Problems and Recommendations   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  LRNA needs to determine a positioning strategy for the Discovery and itself in North America to entice its two distinct target markets. LRNA is aware that it has two distinct target markets whose purchasing decisions are impacted by various drivers but also knows that factors such as quality, safety, reliability, comfort, off-road capability and aesthetics overlap. When compared with other SUVs or SUV alternatives, we believe the following differences should be highlighted to develop a distinctive niche for the Discovery and Land Rover brand in the target audience’s mind. The Discovery and Land Rover brand should be positioned as luxury car alternatives with rich histories and superb off-road capabilities designed for the crà ¨me-de-la-crà ¨me of consumers: affluent, intelligent, practical, unique, full of character, and seeking to empower themselves through adventure and exploration during their driving experiences. The Discovery and Land Rover brand sho uld, in effect, convey the following message: you are what you drive.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  LRNA must also determine what marketing mix to utilize and how much of its marketing budget should be allocated to each media strategy. First, we would advocate increasing the marketing budget to approximately $30 million to better position LRNA against our competitors. Since our target consumers are educated, married males in the 35-64 age group with annual incomes of $100K or above, we would suggest allocating sixty percent of our budget to advertising through television and print ads with a 65-35 split between the two. Ads should present the dual nature of the Discovery and Land Rover brand as rugged, exciting, but safe vehicles equally adept at handling the challenge of the jungles of Madagascar and the challenge of the city highway with your children onboard. Print ads would be placed in business and news magazines as well as national newspapers such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and Washington Post.

Banned Hijab (headscarf or veil)

It is a common occurrence to find Muslim women wearing headscarf or the veil commonly referred to as Hijab in public. Public wearing of Hijab in the countries like France and Turkey has faced a ban as a result of the need to expose facial identity and prevent extremism. In Turkey, the headscarves were banned in official buildings and the civic places and also it was strictly banned in the universities hence allowing only to be worn under the chin. The French parliament also recommended a partial ban inside hospital buildings and schools for security reasons for those seeking public services.The main purpose here is to ensure safety by making it easier for identification of the faces of people involved. This is applicable more so when showing the faces in the passports in the airports and some transport systems. Therefore, it is necessary to see one’s face so that one identifies the person when the crime is committed and take respective measures. The banning is seen as a measur e to liberalize a Muslim woman. This is because it is assumed that Muslim women are forced to wear the Hijab.Therefore, the ban will reduce this restriction by making the Muslim women have a choice of wearing the Hijab or not. A considerable percentage of the Muslim women population is wearing the Hijab showing that the Muslim men are actually forcing their women in wearing them. Many have confessed that of those who wore the clothing they were simply forced and subjected to do so against their will (Asser, 2006). This is why the governments of France and Turkey decided to protect the rights of the Muslim women.Protection was effected by leading a Muslim woman, wearing a Hijab, to a safe place and asking her if she was forced to wear it and then offer help when necessary. Wearing of the Hijab actually meant to promote extremism. Extremism actually arises from the countries that order women to wear Hijab. In addition, the ban was considered as a way of expressing self in an oppressiv e way towards the modesty of a woman character. This is so because it was considered a way of denying a Muslim woman a right to choose what to wear in the present modernized world.The French community is itself banning the clothing for the interests of secularism. This is so because of the oppression received by the church for a few centuries in the past. Therefore, to see many of the French people increasingly becoming religious whether French or Immigrant is very disturbing to this community. The wearing of Hijab is an ethical requirement according to the teachings of Quran. The government ban will therefore lead to an infringement of a basic right of choice (Human Rights Watch).The issue of Banning the Hijab has lead to a number of challenges among Muslim community. This was seen as biasness towards Muslim religion. It was argued that if the ban was really for the purposes of security, it is even easier to conceal weapons under the garments than the face. Banning of the Hijab has also led to an increase in negative sentiments against governments of France and Turkey as a way of opposition to this ban. The extremists have also increased hatred in the west especially in France which has led to many attacks on the country in general.This has also had an effect on the increase in threat to public safety and also an increase in Islamophobia which is an Islamic religion which promotes wearing of the headscarves and the Hijab. Prohibition of the headscarves in Turkey has led to a drastic decrease on the student intake in most colleges and universities due to the fact that about 70 percent of the students in Turkey wear headscarves and that this bring about discrimination in the education sector. On the other hand, the state’s prohibition has changed the attitudes of the private sector on the employment of women who wear the Hijab.This has contributed to a decline of women’s employment rates in Turkey which is constantly declining. It was reported tha t women who wore headscarves were experiencing hard times in finding employment in the private sector which is the same like when trying to get a degree. This has made the government t to relax its ban (Islam online, 2010). Therefore, the issue of prohibiting wearing of the Hiijab by the Muslim society brings about many social issues towards both the religion and the involved governments.It is seen as a security factor to the public and also as a way of protecting those who are opposing the culture. But on the other hand it is seen as a contributory factor towards a decline in employment opportunities and also dangerous as it creates enmity and risk of terrorist attacks. Therefore, this issue should be addressed critically to balance the arising effects to both the governments and the Muslim community. Works Cited Human Rights Watch. France: Headscarf Ban Violates Religious Freedom.February 2004. Viewed on 14 July 2010 from http://www. hrw. org/en/news/2004/02/26/france-headscarf-ba n-violates-religious-freedom Asser, Martin. Why Muslim Women Wear the Veil. BBC News, October 2006. Viewed on 14 July 2010 from http://www. apologeticsindex. org/504-muslim-veils Islam online. Turkey Relaxes Hijab Ban. February 2010. Viewed on 14 July 2010 from http://www. islamonline. net/servlet/Satellite? c=Article_C&cid=1201957722066&pagename=Zone-English-News%2FNWELayout

Public School vs. Private School Essay

Are there any sentences that could be revised or restated? or anything that can make this sound a bit better? never mind the grammar and spelling. There are many reasons private schools are academically superior to public schools. There are vast differences between both public and private schools. Public school is controlled by the government. Public schools don’t charge tuition and accepts all children by law. They are financed through the federal, state and local taxes; functioning as part of the government and must adhere to the regulations by politicians. Thus, they can be greatly influenced by the political winds. Private schools are not administered by the government and are operated by private individuals. Unlike public school, they operate on student’s tuition and have different admissions requirements. Private schools accept students according to its academic standards but, generally private school students meet or exceed the standards of public school students . However, there are many advantages and disadvantages of both types of schools. Among the benefits of private school, private schools students generally have smaller class sizes and a lower student to teacher ratio. Children wil have more individualized attention and will allow more opportunities for access to instructors. Students would have better performance and brighter children can be challenged by harder lessons. They usually have more challenging curriculum. Students are also motivated to have better performance because private schooling requires tuition. Private schools also have more events and activities due to their small school sizes. Parents would have more opportunities to get involved with their children’s education. Private school students can benefit from the flexible teacher methods. Private school aren’t as tailored in rules as public schools. So, lesson teaching methods can vary greatly. Another aspect of private schools superiority is they offer specialized classes and courses beyond the basics. that students are expected. While, public schools only teach general and common studies that would be required for future life. Private schools cater specialized classes like religious teachings. Private schools are stricter in rules and behavior including a school code dress uniform. The stricter classroom rules provides a better learning environment and results in a better education. Also, private school teachers usually hold advanced degrees and tend to be  experts in their field. Typically, private schools have newer facilities and materials such as older textbooks, sports equipment. However, there are also some benefits of public schools that private students don’t have. There are disadvantages in private schools while there are benefits. Private schools are usually composed of students from very similar backgrounds and economic states Therefore, the lack of diversity and in-exposure to different people of economic backgrounds can lower their communication and social skills. Public school education also has its own advantages and disadvantages. It’s educational disadvantages compared to private school students are by far. Public schools have larger class sizes and more students. So, students would have less individualized attention. Public schools are required to follow a heavy set of rules, restricting them to different methods of teaching. The state determined teaching methods may not be the best methods in teaching students on certain subjects. Public schools can be affected by the economy and decisions made by politicians. Another big difference is that public schools are required to educate all children by law and can’t deny any student. Admitting all sorts of children into classrooms causes higher chances of disturbance. It’s diversity may also cause higher chances of bullying and violence. Public school facilities and materials are typically older. The drop out rates in public schools are usually lower than private students. But, there are social benefits of being a public school student. The public school system is diverse with people from a variety of backgrounds. The students are more exposed to people from different social economic backgrounds and can teach children to get along with one another regardless of the differences. It can improve communication and social skills. Another advantage is that they are financed through the governmental don’t charge tuition. Students are also provided with transportation and all teachers are certified educational instructors. There are upsides and downsides of both school systems. The benefits of private school education exceeds public school benefits. The lower student to teacher ratio in private schools can encourage students to learn and provide more challenging courses for the advanced students. The safer learning environments with less bullying can improve concentration.

International Development: Theories of Modernization, Dependency, Globalization

Minhchau Truong ID 125 Prof. Kevin Maclean Midterm Exam Citation Black, Maggie. The No-Nonsense Guide to International Development. (London: New Internationalist Publications Ltd, 2007). Naim, Moises. Illicit: How Smugglers, Traffickers, and Copycats are Hijacking the Global Economy. (New York: Anchor Books, 2005). Reding, Nick. Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town. (New York: Bloomsbury, 2009). Thurow, Roger and Scott Kilman. Enough: Why the World’s Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty. New York: Perseus Books, 2009). 1. ) Modernization Theory was used to justify the process of decolonization and intervention by the United States, which had the ulterior motive of gaining access to new markets and thus boosting the national economy. The U. S. separated this theory from Cold War ideologies with the distinguishing feature that it emphasized GNP and technical measures. The theory is ethnocentric and is posited in the belief that there is a ceaseless struggle again st scarcity and that underdeveloped nations must overcome this natural state. The role and ability of the developed state was framed by the teleological doctrine that began with preconditions to â€Å"take-off†, which was recognition that economic progress was necessary to move from â€Å"tradition† to â€Å"modernity† to the final â€Å"take-off†, to the â€Å"drive to maturity† (which was expected to be completed in 1-2 generations), to the â€Å"age of high-mass consumption† (similar to the historical patterns of the U. S. ). The strengths of Modernization theory included its organized capitalism, integration into the world economy, and outlook of economic expansion. These changes were to be achieved through institutions and a shift from earlier colonial hierarchy and integration into the United Nations family (a de jure equality). However, the weaknesses overpower benefits. The theory naturalizes â€Å"underdevelopment† as something that can be changed easily, and discounts implicit historical, geographical, sociological circumstances or specific constraints. Furthermore, it disregards underdeveloped countries by trivializing conditions by labeling it as the â€Å"global norm†. Economics is foremost on the agenda, rather than politics, because capital accumulation for developed states- not actual welfare of the concerned state- is the main objective. The theory displaces the more correct principle of the right to self-definition. The linear growth implied by the theory can only be achieved by mass consumption, competition, individualism. Essentially, modernization theory is an ahistorical narrative imposed by ethnocentric developed states that could not possibly relate to their underdeveloped states. Dependency Theory sees the historical relations of inequality, the unequal relationships developed between industrialized countries versus underdeveloped. Theoretically, the problem is explained as: economic growth in advanced industrialized countries did not lead to a growth in poorer countries. Dependency theory acknowledges that modernization theory directly contradicted neo-classical economic theory- the Pareto optimal, that economic growth was beneficial to all even if benefits not equally shared, this was not evident in the relationship between industrialized nations and unindustrialized nations. The strengths of dependency theory included that is accounted for real history as opposed to modernization theory, which was a philosophy of history. It saw states as a global structure, and saw inequalities as a problem rather than a way to promote competition and equalizations. There were realistic expectations, unacknowledged that imposition of â€Å"development† was actually an act of exclusion. What was preferred was a more natural, predestined process of inclusion. Economically, dependency accurately determined the outcomes of modernization: poor countries exported primary commodities to rich countries, which the rich countries used to then manufacture products out of them, therefore adding value to the overall product during the manufacture, which they then export back to poorer countries. In the end, these poorer countries would never earn enough from exports to pay for their imports due to the added value. However, the weaknesses are substantial, and expose the logical fallacies dependency theory is built upon. It is more of a critique than an independent theory for improvement, there is some insight but not much. With dependency theory, there is little to no success from its initial conclusions. Its avocation for protectionism and trade tariffs was not enough for developing countries to emerge economically. The suggestion of Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI) was also not enough because the economic theory required implementation of incubation of domestic infant industries that many times were difficult to start-up without the help local governments. Various avenues, tariffs, import quotas and subsidized government loans were many times not possible due to absence of political will or ability. The development of production channels were often times distorted or disrupted due to external forces or inability of states to handle. Here, an imperialist mindset is once again imposed onto undeveloped nations, Transnational corporations (TNCs) stationed in undeveloped nations impose standards and expectations, which are most pronounced in their monopolistic practices and assertion of political and economic agenda onto the concerned country. In addition, many times, when a country did specialize in their production of goods, their own internal markets were not large enough to support the economies of scale. People either didn’t have enough money or had a preference for outside foreign goods. Essentially, relations cannot simply be fixed, there is a much more dynamic complexity. Peripheral states cannot possibly â€Å"just catch up†, they did not ask to be placed in their respective positions within the world economy, they were forced by dominate states (developed countries like the U. S. – they were labeled as â€Å"under-developed† when their â€Å"inequalities† were identified by us, pitted against our own standards- unfairly so. Advanced industrial economies can’t serve as models for developing ones, their success was contingent upon highly exploitive colonial relationships (with the very underdeveloped countries they are trying to aid now, which is ironic) these relationships cannot be created. Implications of dependency include: Alternative use of resources preferable to current patterns of use- they don’t want our methodologies. The practice of diverted resources are maintained by dominant states and power elites within dependant states, this fixes nothing, rather, it further complicates relations between concerned â€Å"underdeveloped† country and those who are in control of them. There are overlapping interests, value and culture assumptions, assumption that this dependency is voluntary, elites believe key to economic development is to follow liberal economic doctrine, this is essentially hegemony. Economic growth does not equal economic development, more attention needs to be paid o social indicators- life expectancy, literacy, infant mortality, education, emergence of human index. Greater integration is not the answer, equality cannot be achieved World System Theory was first was labeled as â€Å"Modern World system. † An integration through market rather than political center, the state was an economic tool for capital accumulation by certain classes. The world was comprised of mini-system s, which made up world empires, which made up a capitalist world economy. This world-wide perspective with historical depth of centuries was necessary to understanding the present. Single tripartite division of labor notion induced that countries do not have economies but are part of a world economy. The core zones benefited from monopolies, while the semi-peripheries were dominated by the core zones, and the peripheries themselves were developing countries dominated by both core and semi-periphery countries. Labor-intensive production took place in periphery states as a means to former states’ economic deliverance. Periphery states’ subordinate status is due to a number of factors including, technological conditions and the difference in strength of states on the global market scale, thus the differential flow of surplus to core results in unequal exchange. However, the strengths of the theory lies in the assumption that capital accumulation on a global scale will in turn, benefit developing countries. The weakness of the theory is how it is debilitating regarding focus towards strong and weak states. The theory concentrates on the historical evidence of failure rather than success, and discounts the class structure and economic growth, among other important elements, within states. The zero-sum economic narrative is limited, grounded in ahistorical euro-centrism. The theory polarizes periphery states by keeping them down, with the ideology of ruling groups presiding over them. Conclusively, the theory is a capitalist structure that operates on the endless accumulation of capital rather than the well-being of particular periphery states. The contemporary forms of â€Å"globalization† make these three theories of state-led development irrelevant and require us to rethink some of the assumptions upon which they were based for many reasons. Firstly, the increased but selective flow of financial capita between major metropoles exemplified in Illicit Trade shows the unrecognized potential of â€Å"dependant† states, how they are actually able to thrive despite conditions (of scarcity, etc. ). In Illicit Trade, the examples of countries thriving on the wholesale of contraband commodities, or transshipment havens (Suriname, Nauru) shows how the differentiated labor markets within and across national borders have essentially been empowered, there is no definitive route to economic growth, illicit trade just so happens to be this new growth- for the good or the bad. The increased, but uneven integration of consumer markets worldwide proves the irrelevancy of modernization and dependency theory, as there was no prerequisite in this integration that was previously said necessary in the former theories. The Governments were a emphasized factor in the theories for growth and development, however, in this context of globalization and illicit trade, the private facilitation of capitalist penetration from countryside to countryside has actually been the impetus. The new, emerging aspects of illicit trade is that it’s not just a crime, or an underground phenomenon, but it could fashion economic possibilities. There is now an intrinsic connection to political structures, emerging Governments. High-profile trafficking organizations now have a heavy influence and control over governments. The dependency on illicit trade has pervaded into the basic exchange of commodities, thus the interaction of people, thus it is now well stitched into the fabric of existence, it has constituted cultures. The entire disarraying manifestations of illicit trade has now coalesced, it is now a part of history, it has become facet of life. 2. ) The manufacture, distribution, and sale of methamphetamine rose largely out of the recent developments of Globalization and free trade, long term trends in agricultural and pharmaceutical companies, and the action of government lobbyists. These basic components make up for what Reding describes in Methland, as the meth epidemic of today. Reding’s best illustration is his microcosmic case example of Lori Kaye Arnold, starting from the origins of her entrepreneurial endeavors to her quick succession of wealth and monopoly control over meth. Lori’s decision to drop out of high school and house herself through her meth delivery service exemplifies the opportunities of income that are available to small rural communities subjugated to lack of employment. Due to this facet, production of meth transferred to underground population sites of small town meth addicts (like Lori) and outlaw chemists. Rural economies of small towns like Oelwein were gradually taken over by profiteering industries. The turning over of Iowa Ham to Gillette to Iowa Beef Products (IBP) to Tyson, resulted in a shrinkage of worker demand and stationary wages. In January 2006, Tyson officially closed the plant , â€Å"the initial workforce had been reduced from nearly two thousand people to ninety-nine, a remarkable, devastating loss of revenue in a town of only six thousand† (Reding 2009, 53). Ottumwa, a town in southeast Iowa endured the same hardship that crept into Oelwein. The town was eventually also starved of tax revenue and disposable income from the shut-down of the town’s railroad, air force base, and the sale of its meat-processing plant to Cargill. And like Oelwein, â€Å"Methamphetamine moved into the new economic gap,† and helped to sustain not just the market in Oelwein, â€Å"but also in towns all over Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, and the Dakotas† (Reding 2009, 60). It was Lori’s success in Ottumwa that made her decide to expand her horizons in meth distribution. Lori went straight to her middleman in Des Moines, and continued in her ambitions to her supplier in Long Beach, California. Meanwhile, Lori’s own enterprise fueled the franchises of people like Jeffrey William Hayes and Steve Jelinek, such is the lucrative nature of the meth business. Lori’s eventual partnership with the Mexican Mafia, the Ameczua brothers ushers in powerful forces that make up a web of interdependence, all revealing the scale of hold meth has on not just small towners like Lori, but also our local and global economy. The U. S. mmigration policy could not prevent the influx of Mexican immigrants that came, who were now seen as excellent transportation devices for large quantities of the meth throughout California and the west. Midwestern residents who just lost their jobs were now headed for booming labor-markets in Los Angeles and San Diego, becoming ideal social and business connections for drug cartels like the Amezcua brothers. These factors enable d drug cartels to expand their business prospects, but also provided a source of income for those involved, a major motivator. Additionally there was the appeal of the drug itself. Meth was powerful; a vocational drug rather than a recreational one, it was perfect for labor-intensive occupations, thus effectively converting mere middlemen or workers into consumers. The cost-effective narcotic had been around since industrialization, and its cheap convenience was made all the more apparent when rural economies collapsed and people felt like they needed the drug in order to survive. For all these reasons, meth was a sustainable business in its inception that allowed it to go unnoticed. The precursor to meth production (ephedrine, and soon, pseudoephedrine) was made readily available by pharmaceutical companies and engineers in legal, enormous, and unmonitored supplies. The high-demand for these precursors provided a huge incentive for pharmaceutical companies to prevent purchasing restrictions that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was trying to enforce. When the DEA discovered bulk shipments of ephedrine being redirected to the Amezcua brothers, there was also a realization of a â€Å"narrow processing window† of ephedrine that was perfect for the meth trade. Cooperation from the nine processing factories in India, China, Germany, Czech Republic and pharmaceutical companies was the only thing needed. Despite DEA efforts, pharmaceutical industry lobbyists blocked every single anti-meth bill with help of key senators and members of congress. The relentless battle of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine prohibition was most often times won by powerful companies and corporations, thus the manufacture, distribution, and sale of meth proceeded. Through the lens of Dependency theory, rural economies like the town of Oelwein would be encouraged to discontinue the market of meth because it has become a dependant source of revenue that creates unequal relationships between powerful entities (such as drug cartels, pharmaceutical companies, agricultural based corporations) and small town communities, poor job-seeking immigrants and aspiring meth cooks. The manufacturing of meth is not sustainable and does not result in equal or greater proportions of benefit for those dependant on the business, rather, it enslaves them. Thus, dependency theory is good in its avocation of meth abolishment, but it does not provide other revenue generating substitutes or a way into economic stability. Dependency theory stresses independence while keeping up with developed nations, but in the case of Oelwein, their economy was crippled by external forces and now has to be rebuilt, and thus, their regeneration would require an initial dependence on outside sources. 3. ) In 1940, Vice-President elect Henry Wallace, who formerly served as Franklin D. Roosevelt’s activist agriculture secretary desired to visit Latin America before starting his official duties. He was dispatched to Mexico as a representative, where he applied his unique perspective to the Mexico’s destitute situation. Most Mexicans depended on farming. The Mexican revolution ousted a dictatorship and then seized land from a wealthy few and redistributed it among the poor. The new government had distributed out land to 1. 7 million landless peasants so that they could grow their own food, however this land form was not enough. Mexico did not have the necessary support systems for agricultural scientists, the rural population was illiterate, soils were depleted of nutrients and heavily eroded, basic tools were lacking; tractors were rare- this in turn limited production growth. In addition, diseases often times wiped out the wheat crop, forcing Mexico to import half of its needs. Wallace’s evaluative approach was to raise crop yields combined with Mexican farmer’s disciplined work ethic. Wallace connected to the resources at the Rockefeller foundation asking to the President Raymond B. Fosdick to conduct a study on how to increase Mexican harvests, Fosdick himself dispatched a trio of experts to scour the countryside. Soon enough, Harvard plant breeder Paul Mangelsdorf, Cornell agronomist Richard Bradfield, and University of Minnesota plant pathologist E. C. Stakman commenced on their research, convincing the foundation to set up a joint research program with the Mexican government in 1943, called the Office of Special Studies. The program’s mission was to train Mexican scientist on how to breed higher-yielding varieties of corn, wheat, and beans. Initial successes of the program included the newfound knowledge of â€Å"how to plant a few verities of inbred seed- the precursor to hybrid seed- allowing them to cross-pollinate naturally† (Thurow and Kilman 2009, 8). Stakman was interested in Mexico’s second-biggest crop, wheat. Wheat was a crop often subjugated to the fugal epidemics that turned fields into tangles of dead plants, leading to the discontinued production of wheat by Mexican farmers which were an unfortunate lost opportunity for protein. Stakman called upon two proteges from the University of Minnesota to aid him in his mission to end this plight, one would be the founder of the Green Revolution- Norman Borlaug. Borlaug, impatient by the time sucking process of cross-pollinating different varieties of wheat in rust-infested areas to find a natural immunity among them, decided on an unconventional method of breeding that including â€Å"shuttling newly harvested seed between the Yaqui Valley and his experimental plots near Mexico City† (Thurow and Kilman 2009, ). In four years, Borlaug generated his first rust-resistant plants, setting in motion a series of events that would lead to the Green Revolution. The main achievements of the Food Revolution were the high-yielding wheat crops that occurred with every Mexican farmer, leading to the successive spread of the seed throughout Mexico, and therefore the end of Mexico’s wheat shortage by the mid 1950s. And unlike hybrid corn, farmers could â€Å"save seeds from the best of their wheat harvest and plant them the next year to get the same results† (Thurow and Kilman 2009, 11). Borlaug’s wheat permeated to Asia, in India and Pakistan, which spurred Governments, private philanthropies and humanitarian organizations to fund and implement the construction of fertilizer factories, irrigation networks, infrastructure, and an introduction to new modern farming techniques. Similar effects took place in Pakistan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Tunisia, Morocco, Lebanon, Iraq, China and elsewhere throughout Asia. Additionally, the Green Revolution encouraged foundations and organizations from around the world to establish research centers, projects, and laboratories specializing in number of agricultural-based crops (agroforestry to fish). The shortcomings were evident in its early beginning; the yields were plentiful but sucked so much out of the soil that water and synthetic fertilizer replenishment was necessary. And because farmers could afford fertilizer, this boosted their harvests even further, reinforcing dependency on foreign supplied fertilizers, and therefore diverting funds from the local economy to an outside economy. Increase fertilizer use also introduced pesticides and nitrates that were poisoning to millions and millions of acres of land and some drinking water. This chemical pollution led to a general distrust of the Green Revolution by environmental groups and negative press. Geopolitical considerations would overpower altruistic intentions of the Green Revolution. The idea â€Å"to create an international agency that would control vast grain reserves for the purpose of responding to emergencies and feeding hungry children† was shot down because it would â€Å"reduce opportunities for the world’s agricultural powers to use their homegrown food aid as a tool for furthering their own diplomatic aims† (Thurow and Kilman 2009, 23). Ironically, the food revolution had empowered nations enough to the extent of elevating countries’ abilities for political and economic agendas. Another disappointment of the Green Revolution was the failed momentum. Public consciousness no longer had a strong grip; the â€Å"Malthusian Optimism† had befallen upon developed countries. The new crop surpluses and thus, low grain prices â€Å"created a false sense of accomplishment and security in the rich world† (Thurow and Kilman 2009, 24). Financial institutions, religious affiliated and nonreligious charity organizations slowly turned away, and aid agencies shifted attention to other social programs. Trends and use of agricultural subsidies have affected food security in developed and developing states more generally. The Green Revolution indirectly started overwhelming Government subsidies for exports, thereby instigating competition between developing countries. Between 1975 and 1985, the Green Revolution helped old U. S. customers such as Mexico and India to become less dependent on the west for grain. In order to keep domestic prices from depressing U. S. government subsidized exports of surplus wheat overseas. The European Community followed along the same strategy, subsidizing exports of wheat, beef, butter, milk and so on- all in efforts to protect farmers. Big multinational commodities firms took advantage of the subsidies race, playing the U. S. and Europe against each other for the cheapest grain, resulting in a distorted world market. The two arising developments, rich-world subsidies and cheaper commodities harshly impacted farmers in the developing countries who were not aided by their impoverished governments and therefore could not compete with similar levels of subsidies. Sasakawa Africa (Norman Borlaug and his team) and the Ethiopian government pushed for heavy production of crops resulting in surplus harvest through the late 1990s, and then a bumper year of 2001-2001, â€Å"when fields burst with about 13 million tons of grains and cereals† (Thurow and Kilman 2009, 72). But this positive outcome was not cultivated or optimized due to a number of factors unpredicted by Government and foreign aid shortsightedness. The government policy of structural adjustment failed the agricultural market in Ethiopia and Africa. Under this new policy, government ended responsibility for market functions (such as buying, transporting, storing, marketing of crops, fertilizer) and left them to a private sector, in expectation that the sectors would pick up these tasks. But rarely did these sectors have the capital and infrastructure to complete such tasks. Roads to ports were appalling, let alone the practically nonexistent ties to foreign buyers- exporting options were dismal. The country’s transportation network still relied on unproductive methods (donkeys), and local markets were undercapitalized to buy and store harvest. This, along with the absence of storage facilities that forced crops to come into the market at the same time caused a nationwide glut of corn and wheat, triggering a free fall in grain prices. Ethiopian farmers suffered as what was reaped was far below what it had cost to sow. Another main effort to mitigate food famines in Ethiopia was a considerable amount of American food aid, but this was also not enough. After the 1894 famine, â€Å"Ethiopia routinely had been the largest annual recipient of emergency food aid†¦. U. S. ood aid was running at more than $250 million a year leading up to 2003† (Thurow and Kilman 2009, 88). The negative reaction to this, however, was the contraction of longer-term aid and projects to develop agriculture. In 2003, U. S. aid was $500 million and $5 million in development projects. It was illogical, food aid partly helped in aiding against the hunger, but never entirely, rather it seemed to be perpetuating it. Ethiopia became a global welf are state, its farmers and people at first feeling shameful and resentful to having willful acceptance that border on righteousness to aid.