The Main Critiques Of Liberal Democratic Model

The Main Critiques Of Liberal Democratic Model One of the most important political ideologies used in the modern era especially by the Western countries is liberal democracy. A liberal democratic state involves of the goals of both liberalism and democracy. This essay will talk about the critiques of liberal democracy explaining the four criteria of liberal democracy and why it works or does not work in the context to the case study countries. In a liberal democratic model, it is necessary to have some basic criteria on liberal democracy. The four criteria that will be explored in relation to the case study countries are multiple distinct political parties, separation of power into different branches of government, an idea of equality and lastly secularism. According to Gordon Smith political parties are, the summation of pluralist tradition. This means political parties are very important because of the role they play in society. Pluralists debate that there should be multiple contenders in opposing centres of power as the power should not rest in one group rather be divided and diffused (Schwarzmantel, 1994:51). Political parties represent the public interests. Likewise, multi- party system creates diversity and competition in turn parties makes efforts and try out to reach to a larger group of people making their policies relevant. It emphasises different groups of interests within the liberal democratic state which prevents any one group from dominating. As each human being have different perspective of looking at the world, similarly each party might have a different interpretation on a policy because of the different ideals and values. The main aim of political parties is to capture state power. This pluralist view applies to a co untry like Russia where they have multi-party system. It is practically accurate to argue that at the national level Russia has attained at least a semi-pluralistic political system, with number of national parties and the strong influence of business interests. On the other hand Elite theory rejects the pluralist theory that power can be diffused and can be divided and spread among different groups of society. Elite theory argues that the power rests in the hands of few, who are wealthy. They assert that the average person cannot be heard because the power is usually concentrated in a few at the top. Democratic elite theorists argued that the decrease in internal party democracy and meeting process did not matter much, so long as competition between parties still give voters the final power. Elite theory says that two-party or multi-party system is usually dominated by an elite. For example in a country like USA elite theory works more than the pluralist theory. United States has two parties unlike the other countries that have multi-party system. In a multi-party system, political parties usually have specialised agenda which in turn represents their interests like environment, labor or business. But in America with a more generalised syst em, the two parties have to please a wider range of people to be elected. Consequently, both parties act neither too liberal nor too conservative. Many people agree that United States has a two-party system but there have been few cases where third party candidate won an election. Third party candidates have to struggle to get elected. The last time when the country saw a third party presented elected was in 1860 when Abraham Lincoln became President. In the view of elite theory they agree with the two-party system in United States as campaigns costs a fortune in this country. In their view the wealth buys the political power by recruiting capable individuals to serve the interests of the ruling class, and by financing the campaigns of politicians and the operation of political parties'(Module guide).Political parties are important for keeping the check and balance of power through peaceful means and are thus important in a liberal democracy. Without having any form of competition t hen from an elitist, then there would be only one outcome and that is whatever the elite considers the best then that will be the decision. In a country to be liberal democratic state power should be divided among different groups so that state cannot rule the masses on their own and the power is distributed among different factions of government. Pluralism critique of the state suggests a solution to how democracies can be realised in large and complex societies and how to achieve popular power and at the same time limit the power of the state. Pluralism is strictly against the totalitarian government. A pluralist society is on in which the decisions are taken by associations of citizens, acting independently of state. They assume state as a neutral actor which helps control conflicts and negotiations among groups. As all groups do not have equal resources or influence as some of the other groups in society, state does not favour any of the group rather remain neutral. Pluralism prefers a federal system of government in which power is divided among executive, legislature and judiciary. So that there is checks and balanc es and no one can misuse the power. Madison advocated a simple logic stating that, grant independent power to the different branches of government, and each member of that branch will have a personal interest in maintaining that power and preventing the other branches from carrying out their repressive designs. It means if the power is distributed among different bodies in the government, no person will be able to impose his or her will. Pluralist theory can apply to a country like France where there is a federal system of government although the executive is body is slightly stronger than that of legislature. However all the power does not rest with the executive, power also lies within the two remaining branches of government, the legislative, and the judiciary. The second critique which describes the state is elite theory. In their view, the separation of power is unimportant within the state because in the end unified elite hold the power. They assert that the elites will always hold power in the society in different forms and their nature will directly determine the properties of society in which they live. The post- war elite theory critique C. Wright Mills argued that important decisions made in United States policy making were most of the times made by unelected power elite. For example, Unites States has a federal system of government in which power is evenly distributed among the 3 bodies of government , namely legislature, executive and judiciary but there certain cases where there are power elite makes the decisions. For instance the head of a big American business corporation or even the President or his appointed staff. On the contrary, Marxist theory argues that economy is the most important element in the society and that the s ociety should grow towards a classless structure with an equal distribution of power. Each citizen should be treated equally irrespective of gender, cast and religion to live in peace. Thus, idea of equality should be present in every country which makes it an important aspect of a liberal democratic country. Marxist Theory can best explain that why there is inequality among countries. Marxists states that unequal distribution of wealth is caused by exploitation in production as well as distribution of wealth. Capitalism and notion of private property creates class differences and unequal distribution of power. Private property maximises the gap between rich and poor. For instance if a person owns a property, he gets to exploit people who dont which leads to other people working for the person who owns the property and can provide them with money. This form of organisation develops two classes, the bourgeoisie or ruling class who control and profit from the system and the working class who are much more numerous. In Marxist view wealth should be equally distributed am ong people. Rejecting this theory of Marxism, elite critiques argue that economic or social class forces do not determine what happens in society rather elites do. Italian writer Vilfredo Pareto criticises Marxists for overlooking the control of elite. For example in a country like America and Nigeria there is a huge income gap between rich and poor due to capitalism. The wealth is concentrated in the hands of elites which gives an adverse effect on the welfare of citizens. Utter poverty for a large percentage of the people of Nigeria is because of the mismanagement of the economy and widespread corruption by political elites. Therefore both the theories can be applied in the countries like Nigeria and United States. All the liberal democratic countries should accept that citizens should not be prevented from practicing their religion and the state is no one to interfere with the religious decisions of citizens or their institutions. Marxist sees religion as a feature only of a class-divided society. The theory argues that whichever class controls the economic production also controls the production and distribution of ideas in society via institutions such as church, education system and the media. For example, France has declared herself as a secular country having divided church and state during the French Revolution. However, over 80% of her citizens claim to be Roman Catholics, on the other hand 10% claim to be Muslim (CIA).In spite of being a secular state France does not allow manifestation of religion in public sphere. In 2004, an anti-religious law passed through legislature that banned the wearing of headscarves, turban, skullcaps, or large crosses in the public schools as (Graham, 109) .Therefore looking at this example of France it can be said that the Marxist theory can describe secularism in France as the person who is ruling is passing all the laws which controls all the power in the government and can influence any law in his favour. Moreover this law in the end can lead to divisions in society. Similarly, Pluralism accepts all the religions in the society and rejects the notion that there can be a single belief in religion or culture. That is, pluralism is a simple recognition of the fact that there are many different faith groups active in the country. Pluralist theory works well in the liberal democratic countries as they demonstrate well about secularism. Pluralist theory works well in religious country like United States which is a multi-cultural society consisting of many religious groups such as Christians, Muslims, Hindus.

Rotavirus Essay -- Biology Protein Synthesis

Every year it kills approximately 1 Million children world wide. The invader sneakes in unnoticed, takes over, all the while increasing in number as it goes. These children are falling victim to a rotavirus responsible for severe pediatric diarrhea. This rotavirus takes over in the human digestive tract, invading its cells and hijacking its protein synthesis machinery. This inhibits normal protein production in favor of a virus army. Children affected by this have had no chance of recovery, but now a glimmer of hope is visible on the horizon-a cure, whose secret lies in the virus' unique structure-a tunnel, which, like the fate of the virus, could be sealed. So, what is the Rotavirus actually doing?? Our bodies consist of many, many cells. These cells make up our skin, our bones, our heart, liver, stomachs. Inside of every single cell is a protein synthesis factory containing a protein called eIF4G that produces the proteins that each tissue, organ and everything else needs to be whole and function correctly. When a Rotavirus infects a human being it affects the cells in the digestive tract causing severe diarrhea. Pediatric diarrhea caused by this Rotavirus is directly responsible for the death of 1 million children around the world. This picture illustrates normal protein synthesis (right) with host mRNA and abnormal protein synthesis (left). The poly-A tail and the PABP that are visible in the middle are part of the host machinery. The NSP3 on the far right is what the virus has in place of PABP.Reproduced with permission from Varani and Allain (2002) Nature Structural Biology, 9,158. During normal protein synthesis, the cell's machinery makes proteins using a template of its own DNA. This copy is known ... ...racts the viral NSP3 protein much like opposite poles of two magnets. Then... What's next?? The tunnel that was discovered as part of the NSP3 protein structure is the key to finding a cure for the virus that causes pediatric diarrhea. The viral protein functions by attracting the host mRNA into its tunnel much like a key would fit into a lock. If the lock is blocked the key cannot fit and the virus cannot replicate. This "blocker" is called an inhibitor. Inhibitors are used in modern day medicine to treat many illnesses by preventing the function of the invaders. Now that the structure has been discovered, the next step is to create a medication that will plug up the lock (viral NSP3's tunnel) and prevent the key (viral mRNA) from entering. This would effectively prevent viral takeover and putting a halt to suffering caused by pediatric diarrhea. Rotavirus Essay -- Biology Protein Synthesis Every year it kills approximately 1 Million children world wide. The invader sneakes in unnoticed, takes over, all the while increasing in number as it goes. These children are falling victim to a rotavirus responsible for severe pediatric diarrhea. This rotavirus takes over in the human digestive tract, invading its cells and hijacking its protein synthesis machinery. This inhibits normal protein production in favor of a virus army. Children affected by this have had no chance of recovery, but now a glimmer of hope is visible on the horizon-a cure, whose secret lies in the virus' unique structure-a tunnel, which, like the fate of the virus, could be sealed. So, what is the Rotavirus actually doing?? Our bodies consist of many, many cells. These cells make up our skin, our bones, our heart, liver, stomachs. Inside of every single cell is a protein synthesis factory containing a protein called eIF4G that produces the proteins that each tissue, organ and everything else needs to be whole and function correctly. When a Rotavirus infects a human being it affects the cells in the digestive tract causing severe diarrhea. Pediatric diarrhea caused by this Rotavirus is directly responsible for the death of 1 million children around the world. This picture illustrates normal protein synthesis (right) with host mRNA and abnormal protein synthesis (left). The poly-A tail and the PABP that are visible in the middle are part of the host machinery. The NSP3 on the far right is what the virus has in place of PABP.Reproduced with permission from Varani and Allain (2002) Nature Structural Biology, 9,158. During normal protein synthesis, the cell's machinery makes proteins using a template of its own DNA. This copy is known ... ...racts the viral NSP3 protein much like opposite poles of two magnets. Then... What's next?? The tunnel that was discovered as part of the NSP3 protein structure is the key to finding a cure for the virus that causes pediatric diarrhea. The viral protein functions by attracting the host mRNA into its tunnel much like a key would fit into a lock. If the lock is blocked the key cannot fit and the virus cannot replicate. This "blocker" is called an inhibitor. Inhibitors are used in modern day medicine to treat many illnesses by preventing the function of the invaders. Now that the structure has been discovered, the next step is to create a medication that will plug up the lock (viral NSP3's tunnel) and prevent the key (viral mRNA) from entering. This would effectively prevent viral takeover and putting a halt to suffering caused by pediatric diarrhea.

Reparations: African Americans Justice Essay

The United States government should pay reparations to African Americans as a means of admitting their wrong-doing and making amends. The damages African Americans have sustained from White America’s policy of slavery have been agonizing and inhumane. Therefore, I am in favor of reparations for African Americans. The effect of slavery has been an enduring issue within the African American community. Many of us are cognizant of the harm racism brought to the African American race, conveyed through slavery, racial segregation and discrimination. African Americans suffered many atrocities, but the greatest damage done to them was the destruction of they’re original identity. African Americans no longer have a native language or any African customs to connect them to Africa. Today, African Americans are connected together because they all share a common foundation-the horrendous experience of slavery-and the great effort to conquer its lingering result. (www. AcedemicLibrary. com) Americans should realize the magnitude of slavery’s consequences on African Americans as a whole. Blacks were brainwashed and stripped of self-esteem and taught to be ashamed of dark color of their skin. Many African Americans have effortlessly tried to advocate â€Å"Black Pride†, trying to re-instill self-worth and being proud of our distinct facial and body features, and darker complexions. African Americans had zilch to begin with after the abolishment of slavery in 1865. Slaves were promised a â€Å"mule/ and 40 acres† and they didn’t live to receive it nor did generations to follow; because the American government has yet to live up to its word. The fruit of the slaves’ labor was stolen from the â€Å"land of the free†. The victims of the White people’s African slave trade never experienced such freedom. This race deserves compensation for the mistreatment Pongee Bryant it has suffered and continues to endure. Paying reparations to the descendants of African American slaves would bring about a tremendous improvement for the advancement of Black America. (Douglass, Fredrick, 1845, Narrative of the life of Fredrick Douglass). White Americans have profited from education, life experiences, riches that were handed down by their ancestors. As well, African Americans have been handed down the hardship of race-related issues, poverty, and the unknown history of their past. African Americans have constantly been inflicted with the social status of their low-income level in contrast with that of White Americans. America should be ashamed for their mistreatment of a race that did not ask or even desire to reside in this country. Yet, they still wear their ugly face of racism, and discrimination, and only seek to segregate African Americans, as if they were at fault. Americans may argue Blacks shouldn’t be complaining, whining, and to pull themselves up by their boot straps. Well, Martin Luther King once said â€Å"White America wants us to pull ourselves up from our boot straps, but we don’t have any boots†. (Shuttlesworth, Fred, 1999, A Fire You Can’t Put Out). The U. S. government has a moral responsibility to this race of people to compensate, African American’s because they were denied their heritage, religion, family, and culture. America alleges it is a religious-based country and their faith resides in God. The bible says: â€Å"If a man steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. † This country consistently contradicts itself in the way it wants to be perceived. If America has any belief in God, they should feel an obligation to compensate the African American descendants of slave ancestors. (Exodus 22, Bible). Pongee Bryant White Americans may argue that the country did enough when it passed the Civil Rights Act in 1960. They may also state America has enough resources and equal opportunity for each individual of every race to succeed. However, there is a huge wealth gap in social status among blacks and whites mostly because of oppression, discrimination and racism toward the modern day contemporary black. Whether anybody wants to admit it, there is still a glass ceiling (i. e. ,a status barrier) against African Americans. Reparations would bring African Americans justice and economic power in this country. There are numerous black reparation organizations which could receive the money and distribute it evenly among African Americans, to incorporate black-owned businesses, home ownership, and better education selective for young and old blacks. These reparation organizations could also invest money into smaller black-owned businesses, and other industries that would further the African American race, and ensure a rapid growth of African American middle-class and beyond. (Robert J. Brym/ John Lie, Sociology) The exploitation of African Americans in this country took on many forms through decades. The centuries of slavery in this country laid the foundation of our current relationship to America. From cotton fields to building America’s most significant buildings African Americans have helped build the wealth in this country. Yet, the African American race has endured the most terrorism from the Ku Klux Klan, lynchings, plantation jails, police torture and murder, and poverty. Slavery was a crime against humanity; and it still is in existence in many other ways and forms. America has created a system with, voter discrimination, drugs, and drug sentences to keep the African Pongee Bryant American man enslaved. The government should compensate the African American race and put an end to a never-ending oppression cycle. The government of the United States of America was instrumental in having pressured the German and Japanese governments into the payments of reparations to the people who suffered and survived the crimes and legacy of slavery endured during World War II. The government of the United States has also already paid reparations to the Japanese-Americans who were detained in concentration camps during World War II. America calls herself a fair nation: a civilized country which respects civil and human rights, encourages opportunity for and well-being of all her people, and can be trusted by other nations as a county whom honors her word. Well, America promised African Americans 40 acres and a mule and didn’t live up to her promise. America’s attitude and silence on reparations reeks of hypocrisy. (X, Malcolm, Biography of Malcolm X). America should also pay reparations to African Americans because they consistently want us to labor for their work and take all the credit. For instance America is at fault for African American dead and injured men who served and were drafted in the Vietnam War. America put young black men on the front-line of a war they had nothing to do with nor helped contribute to. America wanted a race that was not yet â€Å"capable† of voting but was competent enough to fight in a war. A race that did not have the option of drinking from any fountain, sitting anywhere on a bus, using any bathroom, however we were fit for fighting. The point is America constantly benefits from African Americans, but refuses to compensate African Americans for their contributions to this country. (www. AcedemicLibrary. com).

The character and actions of Romeo and Juliets Nurse in Act essays

The character and actions of Romeo and Juliets Nurse in Act essays In this scene Nurse has three main goals. First, she wants to convey her message to Romeo: not to mess around with Juliet. Second, she wants to maintain some vestiges of dignity in front of Romeos mercilessly tormenting friends. Finally, she wants some news from Romeo to satisfy Juliet, i.e. a wedding tomorrow. Nurse wants to make sure Romeo understands that Juliet, who is from a good family, and has protectors, will not stand for any ill-treatment. The kindly nurse doesnt want her charges heart broken at age fourteen. In addition, she wants to keep her wits about her in front of the Montagues. She doesnt like them, and attempts to show them up by using fancy (incomprehensible) language, and ordering Peter around. Nurse wants Juliet to stop annoying her about Romeo, and to assure Juliet (and herself?) that Romeos intentions are honorable. Nurses primary obstacle in this scene is her own dim-witted attempt at using erudite language (at which she fails miserably). She is almost unable to communicate her message to Romeo, her word usage is so convoluted. This issue also makes it difficult for her to appear intelligent, elegant and dignified in front of Romeos wiser friends. Not only are her communication deficiencies evident in her own messages, they are apparent in her interpretation of Romeos speech. She very nearly delivers the wrong message to Juliet! Obviously, Nurse never confronts this obstacle. Romeo often has to question her interpretation of his messages to Juliet, but she seems unaware of her linguistic flaws. Benvolio makes fun of the nurses language usage when he says she will indite him to some supper (2.4) instead of invite. She is unable to make Juliets message to Romeo clear, using deal double and sententious instead of double deal and sentence ...

102 Week 7 Journal Response Professor Ramos Blog

102 Week 7 Journal Response This week we looked at monster reviews, analyzing monsters, library research, and Frankenstein to name a few. You have started to research your monsters, so this is a great opportunity to look up modern representations of your monster, and even reviews of the monster representation you are looking at. What was the critical and popular reception to your monsters, both when it came out and a modern day version? Requirements are still the same. About 250 words, summary and response to the article/post/news/etc; aka text. Comment below with a link to the text and your summary and response.

Early Childhood Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Early Childhood Learning - Essay Example The third part will summarize some of the commentaries on the controversy and finally the conclusion will discuss which if any view is correct, and the importance of the controversy at hand. In an experiment conducted by Booth and Waxman (2002), a group of three years old children were subject to the same objects which were separated into two groups, either as animate objects or artifacts. When some of the objects with eyes on them, which are strong perceptual cues to animacy, and the objects were presented as artifacts, the children characterized them as artifacts. This shows that even in the face of strong perceptual gestures, conceptual information still aids the process of word learning in childhood, a view that contradicts the Attentional Learning Account view. Something which sparked a number of responses and different interpretations to this experiment but which face certain difficulties that further support the view that conceptual information does have a role in early word learning. First it was noted that both conc... s, in what sense then is perceptual information immune to conceptual information This simply means that if two factors affect the same variable, the only way one of the factors can be immune to the other is if one of them does not have an effect at all on the variable, something that the experiment mentioned above excludes. Second it was claimed by the Attentional Learning Account that perceptual information contributes directly to word learning unaided by any conceptual information; the experiment shows however that perceptual learning can be aided by conceptual information in a way that can change the outcome of the experiment. A special case of these two different views will be taken into account; namely the disagreement about the shape bias. The controversy over the role of conceptual learning in early word learning for children has initiated the shape bias controversy; briefly stated it is an implication of the two views outlined above. On the one hand the proponents of the Attentional Learning Account claim that shape bias does not emerge until infants are able to distinguish at least 50 nouns which is in line with the claim they support that conceptual knowledge is only available much later. On the other hand Booth and Waxman have shown with an experiment they conducted with 18 to 22 months old children with vocabulary that does not exceed 18 nouns that these children have extended their uses of words on the basis of shape. This experiment thus interpreted challenges the whole of the Attentional Learning Account proponents. In a paper in the Developmental Science journal, Booth and Waxman have shown experiments in support of the Attentional Learning Account view and have tried to show that they can be interpreted in a way that does not do any harm to their view

Four pillars of a hyper-social organization Essay

Four pillars of a hyper-social organization - Essay Example The four pillars are based on the need to abandon concepts that were applicable in the previous marketplace, but can be harmful when held onto during hyper-social strategy development. Essentially, the theme of the four pillars theory is addition by subtraction, as the elimination of outdated beliefs will only help to strengthen the development of appropriate hyper-social business strategies. The four pillars approach states that four ideas need to be forgotten: market segmentation, company centricity, processes/hierarchies, and discrete information channels. Each of these previously integral guidelines have been compromised by the development of hyper-social societies. Market segments are no longer relevant as groups have become associated in non-traditional ways, such as due to ideological beliefs (Gaines & Mondak, 2009), that require the focus to shift from the behaviour of markets to the behaviour of people. Accordingly, the next pillar requires businesses to change their operations to be human-centric as opposed to the traditional company-centered structure. Lastly, information channels have become similarly irrelevant due to the vast availability of information through group resources, and structure in general has become unrealistic as a characteristic principle of socially-influenced