The Legitimacy Of The Armed Struggle Of The Tamil People Essays

The legitimacy of the armed struggle of the Tamil people Democracy may mean acceding to the rule of the majority, but democracy also means governments by discussion and persuasion. It is the belief that the minority of today may become the majority of tomorrow that ensures the stability of a functioning democracy. The practice of democracy in Sri Lanka within the confines of a unitary state served to perpetuate the oppressive rule of a permanent Sinhala majority. It was a permanent Sinhala majority, which through a series of legislative and administrative acts, ranging from disenfranchisement, and standardisation of University admissions, to discriminatory language and employment policies, and state sponsored colonisation of the homelands of the Tamil people, sough to establish its hegemony over people of Tamil Eelam. These legislative and administrative acts were reinforced from time to time with physical attacks on the Tamil people with intent to terrorise and intimidate them into submission. It was a course of conduct which led eventually to rise of Tamil militancy in the mid 1970s with, initially, sporadic acts of violence. The militancy was met with wide ranging retaliatory attacks on increasingly large sections of the Tamil people with intent, once again to subjugate them. In the late 1970s large numbers of Tamil youths were detained without trial and tortured under emergency regulations and later under the Prevention of Terrorism Act which has been described by the International Commission of Jurists as a 'blot on the statute book of any civilised country'. In 1980s and thereafter, there were random killings of Tamils by the state security forces and Tamil hostages were taken by the state when 'suspects' were not found. The preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads: "Whereas it is essential if man is not compelled as a last resort to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law." The rise of the armed struggle of the Tamil people constituted the Tamil rebellion against a continuing Sinhala oppression over a period of several decades. The gross consistent and continuing violations of the human rights of the Tamil people have been well documented by innumerable reports of human rights organisations as well as of independent observers of the Sri Lankan scene. Walter Schwarz commented in the Minority Rights Group Report on Tamils of Sri Lanka, 1983 "...The makings of an embattled freedom movement now seem assembled: martyrs, prisoners and a pitiful mass of refugees. Talk of 'Biafra' which had sounded misplaced in 1975, seemed less unreal a few years later... As this report goes to press in September 1983, the general outlook for human rights in Sri Lanka is not promising. The present conflict has transcended the special consideration of minority rights and has reached the point where the basic human rights of the Tamil community - the rights to life and property, freedom of speech and self expression and freedom from arbitrary arrest have in fact and in law been subject to gross and continued violations. The two communities are mow polarised and continued repression coupled with economic stagnation can only produce stronger demands from the embattled minority, which unless there is a change in direction by the central government, will result in a stronger Sinhalese backlash and the possibility of outright civil war". David Selbourne remarked in July 1984: "The crimes committed by the Sri Lankan state against the Tamil minority - against its physical security, citizenship rights, and political representation -are of growing gravity.. Report after report by impartial bodies - By Amnesty International, By the International Commission of jurists, By parliamentary delegates from the West by journalists and scholars - have set out clearly the scale of growing degeneration of the political and physical well being of the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka... Their cause represents the very essence of the cause of human rights and justice; and to deny it, debases and reduces us all". A Working Group chaired by Goran Backstrand, of the Swedish Red Cross at the Second Consultation on Ethnic Violence, Development and Human Rights, Netherlands, in February 1985 concluded: "There was a general consensus that within Sri Lanka today, the Tamils do not have the

Person Experience Essay Essays - Cold Winter Days, Lifetime Goals

Person Experience Essay Essays - Cold Winter Days, Lifetime Goals Person Experience Essay Syracuse University 8:02 a.m. Saturday. It's still dark, as usual, on these cold, winter days. Everybody else is still sleeping and enjoying the comfprting heat of their beds. I crack open the locked window by my bed, an act some deemed downright idiotic. I strip off my pj's, throw on my robe, and head for the shower. Drying off, I think about where I am abou to go. I dress piece by layered piece. I can't wait to hit the slopes! I round up my tools: body, boards, boots, bindings. Everything is in working order and ready for take-off. As I open the front door, I am shocked by the cold and fight my way through the wind to my car. I turn the key and put the heater on full blast. I am almost there. I step out of my car and survey the parking lot. Not too many cars. That's the way I like it. I take a deep breath and savor the frsh air. Already, I can feel the pressure of deadlines lifted off my chest. I strap my skis on, and prepare not just to tackle a run but other situations in my life as well. I skate over to the first pitch of the double diamond slope, and map out where I will take the first couple turns. It is almost like I am assessing my goals in life: getting accepted into Syracuse, owning a house in Colorado, raising a healthy family. I appreciate the sound of carving the first turn as if it was my very last. The crunching of the snow under my feet empowers me to crush the antagonists in my everyday life. The second and third turns secure my self-confidence. Only with the fourth turn do I start to realize that things are not always that easy. I heard it said often, "It's easier said than done." I never believed it until now. I only skid slightly over a patch of ice, but it is enough to start my heart thumping. I am suddenly aware that to finish this run or to reach my goals, I have to be ready for the tricky spots. I know that at any moment I could fall and be forced to start over. My lifetime goals can be affected by any number of things - grades slipping, drugs and alcohol - and I have to be ready to handle anything. I clear my mind of all fear and continue through turns, but with more caution. Once the focus of my goal is on track, I persevere to attain it. I quickly aquire my rhythm. I become more determined. Now, I take sharper, shorter turns. I glide swiftly toward the chairlift just now appearing in my sights. I know that through hard work I can achieve these realistic goals! I am almost there! I thrill at the prospect of conquering this hill. I feel proud of myself. I am gratified to know that I can accomplish a goal endurance. I can achieve despite the many ice patches I encounter. I ride the lift back to my car. I only came for one run, the run to help me survive the week. I drive home grinning ear to ear.

Franz Kafkas The Metamorphosis Study Guide

Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis Study Guide Franz Kafka’s well-known story â€Å"The Metamorphosis† begins with a description of a disturbing situation: â€Å"As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect† (89). However, Gregor himself seems most disturbed by the possibility of missing the train to work and losing his job as a traveling salesman. Without asking for aid or alerting his family to his new form, he attempts to maneuver his unwieldy insect body- which has several tiny legs and a broad, hard back- out of bed. Soon, however, the chief clerk from Gregor’s company arrives at the apartment. Gregor is determined â€Å"to show himself and speak to the chief clerk; he was eager to find out what the others, after all their insistence, would say at the sight of him† (98). When Gregor finally opens his door and appears, everyone in the Samsas’ apartment is horrified; Gregor’s mother cries for help, the chief clerk flees the premises, and Gregor’s father, â€Å"hissing and crying ‘Shoo!’ like a savage,† mercilessly drives Gregor back into his bedroom (103-104). Back in his room, Gregor reflects on the fine life he had once provided for his family and wonders â€Å"if all the quiet, the comfort, the contentment were now to end in horror† (106). Soon enough, Gregor’s parents and sister start adapting to a life without Gregor’s earnings, and Gregor adapts to his new insectoid form. He develops a taste for rotten food and forms a new hobby- scurrying all over the walls in his room. He also feels grateful for the caring attention of his sister, Grete, who â€Å"tried to make as light as possible of whatever was disagreeable in her task, and as time went on she succeeded, of course, more and more† (113). But when Grete forms a plan to remove Gregor’s bedroom furniture and give him â€Å"as wide a field as possible to crawl in,† Gregor, determined to hold on to at least a few reminders of his human form, opposes her (115). He rushes out of his usual hiding place, sends his mother into a fainting fit, and s ends Grete running for help. In the midst of this chaos, Gregor’s father arrives home from work and bombards Gregor â€Å"with fruit from the dish on the sideboard,† convinced that Gregor is a danger to the family (122). This attack on Gregor makes â€Å"even his father recollect that Gregor was a member of the family, despite his present unfortunate and repulsive shape† (122). Over time, the Samsas become resigned to Gregor’s condition and take measures to provide for themselves. The servants are dismissed, Grete and her mother find jobs of their own, and three lodgers- â€Å"serious gentlemen† with â€Å"a passion for order†- come to stay in one of the Samsas’ rooms (127). Gregor himself has stopped eating, and his room is becoming dirty and crowded with unused objects. But one night, Gregor hears his sister playing the violin. He emerges from his room, feeling as if â€Å"the way were opening before him to the unknown nourishment he craved† (130-131). After seeing Gregor, the lodgers react angrily to the â€Å"disgusting conditions† in the Samsa household, while the anguished Grete declares that the Samsas must, despite their past efforts at accommo dation, finally get rid of Gregor (132-133). After this latest conflict, Gregor retreats to the darkness of his room. He feels â€Å"relatively comfortable.† In the early morning, his head sinks â€Å"to the floor of its own accord and from his nostrils came the last faint flicker of his breath† (135). The dead Gregor is quickly removed from the premises. And with Gregor’s death, the rest of the family is reinvigorated. Gregor’s father confronts the three lodgers and forces them to leave, then takes Grete and Mrs. Samsa on an excursion â€Å"into the open country outside the town† (139). The two elder Samsas are now confident that Grete will find a â€Å"good husband, and watch hopefully and optimistically as â€Å"at the end of their journey their daughter sprang to her feet first and stretched her young body† (139). Background and Contexts Kafka’s Own Professions: Like Gregor Samsa, Kafka himself was caught up in the world of money, commerce, and day-to-day bureaucracy. Kafka wrote â€Å"The Metamorphosis† in 1912, at a time when he was employed by the Workers’ Accident Insurance Company of the Kingdom of Bohemia. But even though Kafka remained at the Company until a few years before his death, he viewed another kind of activity- his writing- as his most important and most challenging life’s work. As he wrote in a 1910 letter, highlighting the daily difficulties that devotion to writing can bring: â€Å"When I wanted to get out of bed this morning I simply folded up. This has a very simple cause, that I am completely overworked. Not by my office but by my other work.† While Gregor gradually forgets his professional habits and discovers the power of art as â€Å"The Metamorphosis† progresses, Kafka was firmly convinced for much of his adult life that art was his true calling. To quote another Kafka letter, this time from 1913: â€Å"My job is unbearable to me because it conflicts with my only desire and my only calling, which is literature. Since I am nothing but literature and want to be nothing else, my job will never take possession of me.† Modernism Art and the Modern City: â€Å"The Metamorphosis† is but one of many early 20th-century works that depicts city life. Yet metropolitan commerce, technology, and living conditions evoked very different reactions from the various writers and artists of the modernist era. Some of this period’s painters and sculptors- including the Italian Futurists and the Russian Constructivists- celebrated the dynamic, revolutionary potential of city architecture and transportation systems. And several important novelists- James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, Andrei Bely, Marcel Proust- contrasted urban transformation and upheaval with calmer, though not necessarily better, past lifestyles. On the basis of bleak urban narratives such as â€Å"The Metamorphosis†, â€Å"The Judgment†, and The Trial, Kafka’s own stance toward the modern city is often understood as a position of extreme criticism and pessimism. For a story set in a modern city, â€Å"The Metamorphosis † can feel remarkably closed-in and uncomfortable; until the final pages, the whole of the action takes place in the Samsas’ apartment. Envisioning and Illustrating â€Å"The Metamorphosis†: Even though Kafka describes certain aspects of Gregor’s new, insect body in great detail, Kafka opposed efforts to draw, illustrate, or represent Gregor’s full shape. When â€Å"The Metamorphosis† was published in 1915, Kafka cautioned his editors that â€Å"the insect itself cannot be drawn. It cannot be drawn even as if seen from a distance.† Kafka may have given these directions in order to keep certain aspects of the text mysterious, or to allow readers to imagine Gregor’s precise shape on their own; nonetheless, future readers, critics, and artists would attempt to pin down Gregor’s exact appearance. Early commentators envisioned Gregor as an overgrown cockroach, yet novelist and insect specialist Vladimir Nabokov disagreed: â€Å"A cockroach is an insect that is flat in shape with large legs, and Gregor is anything but flat: he is convex on both sides, belly and back, and hi s legs are small. He approaches a cockroach in only one respect: his coloration is brown.† Instead, Nabokov hypothesized that Gregor is much closer to a beetle in shape and form. Direct visual representations of Gregor have in fact appeared in the graphic novel versions of â€Å"The Metamorphosis† created by Peter Kuper and R. Crumb. Key Topics Gregor’s Sense of Identity: Despite his disturbing physical transformation, Gregor holds on to many of the thoughts, emotions, and desires that he exhibited in his human form. At first, he is incapable of understanding the extent of his transformation and believes that he is only â€Å"temporarily incapacitated† (101). Later, Gregor realizes that he is a horror to his family adopts new habits- eating putrid food, climbing all over the walls. But he is unwilling to give up mementos of his human state, such as the furniture that remains in his bedroom: â€Å"Nothing should be taken out of his room; everything must stay as it was; he could not dispense with the good influence of the furniture on his state of mind; and even if the furniture did hamper him in his senseless crawling around and around, that was no drawback but a great advantage† (117). Even towards the end of â€Å"The Metamorphosis†, Gregor is convinced that elements of his human identity have remained intact. His thoughts turn to his inner human traits- affection, inspiration- as he hears Grete’s violin playing: â€Å"Was he an animal, that music had such an effect on him? He felt as if the way were opening before him to the unknown nourishment he craved. He was determined to push forward until he reached his sister, to pull at her skirt and let her know that she was to come into his room, with her violin, for no one here appreciated her playing as he would appreciate it† (131). By turning into an insect, Gregor displays deeply human traits such as artistic appreciation- traits that were uncommon to him in his over-worked, business-oriented human state. Multiple Transformations: Gregor’s stark change of shape is not major change in â€Å"The Metamorphosis†. Because of Gregor’s new tradition and its negative effects on his family, the Samsas’ apartments undergo a series of alterations. Early on, Grete and her mother attempt to remove all of Gregor’s bedroom furniture. Then, new characters are brought into the Samsas’ property: first a new housekeeper, an â€Å"old widow, whose strong bony frame had enabled her to survive the worst a long life could offer;† then the three lodgers, picky men â€Å"with full beards† (126-127). The Samsas even transform Gregor’s room into a storage space for â€Å"superfluous, not to say dirty, objects† in order to make the lodgers comfortable (127). Gregor’s parents and sister change considerably as well. Initially, the three of them live in comfort thanks to Gregor’s earnings. Yet after the transformation, they are forced to take jobs- and Mr. Samsa transforms from a â€Å"man who used to lie wearily sunk in bed† into a bank messenger â€Å"dressed in a smart blue uniform with gold buttons† (121). Gregor’s death, however, sparks a new series of transformations in the Samsas’ ways of thinking. With Gregor gone, Grete and her parents are convinced that their jobs are â€Å"all three admirable and likely to lead to better things later on.† And they decide to find new living quarters, too- â€Å"a smaller and cheaper but also better situated and more easily run apartment than the one they had, which Gregor had selected† (139). A Few Discussion Questions 1) Do you understand â€Å"The Metamorphosis† as a work that confronts political or social issues? Is Kafka using Gregor’s strange story to discuss (or attack) issues such as capitalism, traditional family life, or the place of art in society? Or is â€Å"The Metamorphosis† a story with few or no political or social concerns? 2) Consider the issue of illustrating â€Å"The Metamorphosis†. Do you think that Kafka’s reluctance to show exactly what the transformed Gregor looks like was justified? Despite Kafka’s reservations, did you have a strong mental image of Gregor? Could you, perhaps, draw his insectoid body? 3) Which character in Kafka’s story is most deserving of pity and sympathy- the hideously transformed Gregor, his persevering sister Grete, the rather helpless Mrs. Samsa, or someone else? Did you find yourself siding with different characters- for example, liking Grete more and Gregor less- as the story moved forward? 4) Who changes the most in the course of â€Å"The Metamorphosis†? Gregor is an obvious choice because of his new shape, but you should also think about the changes in the characters’ emotions, desires, and living situations. Which character undergoes the strongest shift in values or personality as the story progresses? Note on Citations All in-text page citations refer to the following edition of Kafkas works: The Complete Stories, Centennial Edition with a New Foreword by John Updike (â€Å"The Metamorphosis† translated by Willa and Edwin Muir. Schocken: 1983).

Working Groups and Teams Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Working Groups and Teams - Essay Example Within that group, teams may be formed to achieve specific tasks in the way of achievement of the overall goal of the group. Group is a larger term as compared to a team. Another fundamental difference between a group and a team is that individual members of a group do not need to have concern with the achievement of the other members of the group whereas people forming part of a team have concern with and are affected by the performance of other members of the team. Challenges of communicating in a team are more than those in a group. Groups normally have a well-established and organized system of communication. There is a process through which message is conveyed and received, e.g. through emails or letters. The challenge of communication in a group is that it is more time consuming as compared to communication in a team. For example, let’s suppose the member of a political group writes a letter to the chairman of the party. The chairman might take long to reply. On the other hand, people working in a team are generally in constant connection with one another. Even if they are working separately at different places, they communicate through cell phones. Since the performance of one team-member affects that of all others, team-members are concerned to maintain constant contact with one another. However, communication in a team is very challenging since the team-members develop friction among one another while constantly working together. â€Å"Conflicting goals can quickly turn into personal dislike† (Mind Tools, 2012). Team members become agitated, develop attitude problems, and enter into dysfunctional conflicts. These team members avoid talking to one another and if they have to, there is always a risk that the conversation might end up in an argument. Effective collaboration within teams is more difficult to achieve as compared to the groups. The leader of the group can generate a

Change is a consistent issue for the modern organisation. Discuss the Essay

Change is a consistent issue for the modern organisation. Discuss the various ways in which the employee may offer effective resistance to this change - Essay Example Because both of these forces, inertia and change forces, are necessary and inevitable, both forces are intrinsic to change management equations and need to be managed well. The paper examines the roles that collective resistance, the resistance of key employees in influential positions, and disparate resistance, apathy and cynicism among employees play in successful efforts to thwart and resist organizational change. The paper examines the literature and finds that those factors or forces do make up the very ways that employees are able to resist external pressures to change with much success (Hodgkinson 1999; Singh and Dixit 2011; Visser 2011; Brown and Cregan 2008; Godin 2001; Hannan and Freeman 1984; March 1981; Judge 2001; Taylor 2013; March 1981). The paper aims to discuss the ways that employees may effectively resist change in modern organizations, as detailed in the academic literature. The paper looks at the academic literature to gain a broad perspective of the nature of change in general, and of the way change is inherent in the very nature of organizations of all kinds and of the environments in which those organizations operate. In essence because change is an inherent aspect of life, it is true too that change is an inherent aspect of organizations and the environments that organizations move in. The same holds for the various stakeholders of those organizations, with employees being one of the most vital stakeholder groups in organizations. The paper also looks at the psychology of organizational change and of inertia on the part of organizations and its employees, and why that inertia leads to employees resisting change. Along the way the paper traces the roots of that inertia to natural processes that enshrine est ablished ways of doing, via processes, groups, and practices that become embedded in the standard way of doing things in organizations, because those

Consequences and Benefits of Liberalism

Consequences and Benefits of Liberalism Liberalism as a political idea has become far too complicated. It appears there is as much liberalism as there are liberals. Some of which are: libertarianism, classical liberalism, bleeding heart liberalism, economic liberalism, political liberalism, social liberalism, high liberalism, objectivism, anarcho-capitalism, and most popularly neo-liberalism. It is safe to say that these numerous views on Liberalism amount to an opaque understanding of liberalism, which needs to be sorted out instantly. The controversial question is ‘’ what exactly is liberalism and what are the best ways to achieve maximum utility in the economy as well as the society via liberalism? Due to the inconclusive nature of this term, various economists have their distinct views on liberalism, ranging from absolute freedom to, liberalism with use of force, to feminism and liberalism, liberalism and its response to corporate political spending, liberalism and public reason and so on. Milton Friedman assesses political liberal thought from the 17th century to today. He explains that over the past 350 years, liberalism has been responsible for the progressive change that has taken place in the United States and England. Friedman believes that the success of liberalism is based on the initial idea of liberalism itself, and observes, that this ideology is committed to progress and has as its goal, the improvement in the preference of people both politically and economically. Regardless of this, liberalism has been criticised by the conservative agenda, which is of the opinion that there is an excess impact of government in liberalism, which contradicts the initial idea of th e term itself. Friedman is of the belief that the government engages in reckless spending, high taxation and monopolizing world power. However, liberalism holds that while government has power, the power should be limited; therefore the government has the duty to respect the liberty of individuals, tolerate religious groups, making modern democracy and outgrowth of liberalism. Liberalism is based on the idea of democracy; therefore its principles should be based factors that promote minimal government intervention on economic issues and maximum voice of the people. Some of these issues related to liberalism are as follows; the determination to get past nationalism. Liberalism should prioritize free movement of labour as well as capital. Basically, this view is against the existence of boarders, therefore it calls for advanced countries, to make major investments in 3rd world countries in order to elevate them to the point where emigration becomes optional as opposed to an act of sur vival. The bottom line of this view is the belief that the entire world should be a single economic zone. When this happens human potential can be fully maximized, hence labour’s ability to reach its maximum value. Secondly, education should be easily attainable, and should have no actual beginning and an end, hence the abolishment of an authoritarian structure of the traditional university. Education should not prepare individuals to serve others, but should acquire a global sense of joy and pleasure, a movement of play and adventure it has lost. Finally, the money economy must end in order for there to be diverse lifestyle. Neoliberalism is the theme of the current economy we live in; therefore exploitation is simply seen as a means to an end. Friedman’s view enables us to see reasons why liberalism should change the view of the economy and how it measures progress.   According to Friedman’s view, based on the initial idea of liberalism, separating human action from money and removing the need to accumulate money as a function of physical survival, new forms of human relationship, will come into being that we can hardly anticipate yet. Art will at last become democratized and liberating, because its compromise with money will not be a factor. Contrary to Milton Friedman’s view on liberalism and the ideal form it’s supposed to take, Liberalism is not as straightforward as it sounds. Greener, another economist is of believe that, liberalism and force are immensely related. He points out the fact that regardless of what we believe liberalism to be, the issue of military action may appear to be a contradiction. According to Greener, in the 1980’s, some authors have tried to show the relationship between liberalism and democracy, stating that liberalism promotes peaceful relations. There is a strong belief that liberalism is the nucleus of democracy. Regardless of these relations, greener believes that people are brainwashed and believe that there is only one view of liberalism; hence we have become programmed to do what the leaders of economy want, without even knowing it. Greener believes that there are actually various liberal approaches based on the priority that is given to the values that are held. H e is strongly of the opinion that liberal approaches differ because of the emphasis placed on different values. Some of the values that are part of the liberalism are tolerance and consent versus progress and civility, or values of cosmopolitanism versus communitarianism. Liberalism and the use of force could be justified on the grounds that’s there are different values, such as self-defence, or the creation of liberal entities. Liberals highlight the necessity of military forces in order to protect liberal societies and states.   This is a paradox in itself but greener lays emphasis on the importance of rights, rule of law, individualism, tolerance and consent. The idea of the comprehensiveness of liberalism, based on concept of progress and a resolute view of development and civility, provides a major site of altercation in speculating about the use of force when apposed against ideals of tolerance and consent. The second part of the article examines this key site of deba te and explores the tension between cosmopolitan and communitarian views point out the various instances   the deployment of militaries can be justified by which of those liberal terms. Finally, with some reflections about the urgent need for those of us in the international relations field to be able to articulate just what kinds of liberal values are being pursued in the global arena so that we may better assess future actions undertaken in the name of liberal values. An interesting question to ask is, is feminist political liberalism possible? Hartley. C and Watson lay emphasis on the relationship between feminism and liberalism. The ideal idea behind liberalism is to promote equality, but feminism recognizes in the liberal capitalist system that there is still gender inequality. The fact is the liberal principles include democracy, tolerance and equality for all citizens. Besides that, liberalism holds many different comprehensive doctrines as reasonable. The position taken is that political liberalism can be feminist, as far as particular political conceptions of justice can have feminist content’’, but also because the core commitments of political liberalism is geared only to secure genuine substantive equality for all, including women’’(p122). Feminism was simply the application of liberal principles to women. Women were seen as having fundamentally the same nature and interests as men and thereby entitled to the same rights. Thorough feminists in the 1970’s strongly opposed the liberal assimilation of womens claims; based on the belief that liberal conception of person did not signify women’s nature.   They insisted that although  Ã‚   the liberal individual was based on impersonal notion and coherence, womens moral life was entrenched in her body and emotions.   Higgins, T.E supports this point by enlightening us on how liberalism has limited has limited the usefulness for promoting feminism. She lays emphasis on this point by stating that liberalism does not really define an agenda that guarantees women’s rights and improvements in women’s condition in society. Higgins basically sees liberalism as holding many of the contradictions that prevents it from being a theory that could stand strongly in favour of feminism. Higgins claims that liberalism holds that there are commitments to equal citizenship in the public as well as in private realms, hence creati ng the corresponding conflict, due to the lack of agreement as to where the boundary is, between public and private. Higgins claims that for a theory to be considered liberal there has to be some agreement as to a robust boundary defining these two. Basically this just means that, for something to be liberal it has to respect the liberty of choice and people must be considered as having equal worth as choosers. Unfortunately, she is of the belief that liberalism disregards boundaries and fails women in the private area. Seeing that womens difference develop into an illiberal nature in contrast to liberal man, the identical issues are raised as those that occur in the cultural case, although as well as     the mere fact that men and women would seem to have to live together in the private realm if the race is to be satisfactorily continued. Women are not treated as a self-reproducing cultural group. Nevertheless, illiberal women could be distinctively represented in the public sphere. This would turn into a compromise between the representatives of conflicting values. One could argue that woman be viewed as a weaker group whose members need an element of preferential treatment in order to attain equality on all grounds, but this view is heavily frowned on, due to the mere fact that it contradicts the idea of liberalism, which is treat everyone equally. Liberalism can also been viewed from the point of view of public reason. Macedo.S criticizes the society, showing many areas in which liberalism has shown shortcomings. He criticizes the fact that many liberal societies condone war through their war like foreign policies. He is also goes further to criticize the way in which the society accepts the unequal treatment of African Americans, the poor as well as the disabled and the way it marginalizes and excludes people. In addition to that, he sees society as mobilizing people to work on their behalf. Other areas of criticism that have been raised include sexual permissiveness, the lack of commitment in marriage and the divorce that has become commonplace, as well as the practice of abortion. As Macedo explains, He believes the society ‘’should be like Jesus’ ‘and not be as focused on materialism, consumerism and self- concern as they are. The materialistic nature, catalysed by the hunger for profit maximizati on, has led to gross exploitation of individuals, increasing the gap between the poor and the rich. This neoliberal effect contradicts the value and practices that liberalism supports. Liberalism seems to be inevitable in the global economy we live in and has significant impact on every economy. The European economy is the one of the most dominant and Pheiffer.C review of resilient liberalism in Europe’s political economy enlightens us on how liberalism appears to have lost its dominance in society with capitalism being the means of moving ahead of progress. But it appears that’s liberalism had to make some changes, and as Pheiffer maintains, liberalism shows that it was resilient and emerged as neo-liberalism, and supported competitive markets, with global free trade, and capital mobility, with a state that is no longer in charge and wanting to help everyone, but rather a state that Is there to provide support the growth of business.   Liberalism that had existed for so many years came under attack but still maintained most of its principles, although it’s constantly moving towards the idea of smaller government intervention. Liberalism has transformed into neo-liberalism and has compromised its principles in light of what it sees as progress. Laying emphasis on minimal government intervention and the increased transformation of liberalism to neo-liberalism, Isaacs, D.M, in his review of liberalism’s response to corporate political spending, talks about how liberalism is ‘’the intellectual movement that emphasizes freedom as the ultimate goal and the individual as the ultimate entity in society, pertaining to a free man’’ This basically means, in a society where there is liberalism, , there is minimal effort to limit and restrain individuals. Isaac’s claims that regardless of the fact that liberalism is about freedom as well as progress, corporate political spending is inconsistent with liberalism because it undermines government’s ability to fulfil its proper role; weakens the checks and balances that the separation of political and economic power places on political authority, and reduces the ability of individuals to counter special interests (Isaacs, p12). Ironically, he enlightens us on a major similarity between liberalism and conservatism, showing how liberalism embraces some of the thinking of conservatism. Both liberals and conservationist believe in substantial economic growth, hence their gross support of neo-liberalism.   Both parties are of belief that neo-liberalism is the sole aim for economic growth, seeing no alternate factor. Due to their rigid views on neo-liberalism they fail to see any cons of this system, regardless of the fact that neo-liberalism is potentially responsible for obliterating various economies. Referring to the initial question, on what liberalism actually is, over the years, it has been able to transform itself. Due to the inevitable adaptation of globalization and its popularity in the world we live in today, the most dominant form of liberalism is neo-liberalism.   Personally, I have a neo-liberal perspective globalization, hence my support of profit maximization. I believe we earn what we work for, and it serves as an incentive to maximize efficiency. On the other hand, profit is not always maximized in a corporate socially responsible way, making exploitation the order of the day in neo-liberal system. Like everything in life, there is always a way to make the best of every situation. Neo-liberalism is undoubtedly inevitable; considering the adoption of globalization therefore we have to adopt ways to incorporate the neo-liberal view into an efficient economic and social system. Neoliberalism comes with some major issues as mentioned all through the essay, some of which are the increase in gap between rich and poor, increase in unemployment rate and after effects from globalization. However, these issues can be solved with one basic solution; the Government should partially take care of the market in the best way it can. To start of, the government should prioritize the welfare system so that less privileged individuals can get enough financial support to live a safe life. If the world is only dependent on laws of neo-liberalism, less privileged individuals find it impossible to earn any chance to   thrive nor enhance their economic conditions, however, they will get the opportunity to broaden their family budgets and go achieve their goals, when the government provides financial back-up to them. Personally, I am of the belief that it’s nation’s duty to support members of the society and inspire them to reveal their potentials for nation and themselves. Afterwards the legislative council should consider providing jobs for people. Some of the nations are aiding unemployed people by offering living expenses and find the jobs for them.   Due to this, there has been a significant reduction in the unemployment rate in those countries.   Finally, it will be helpful if the nation controls how much the country should be globalized. Globalization, due to its profit-making motive, has the potential to promote cultural neglect. Therefore, it’ll be vital for the government to supervise the balance between folk cultures and new cultures that both globalization and neo-liberalism have created.   What is liberalism? I ask again. Some say it is the maximum level of freedom, others say it’s a faà §ade for exploitation. Truth is, it is simply what we make it. Major economist like Milton Friedman has enlightened us on the positive consequences of liberalism; such as economic growth. While others such as Macedo and Hartely, highlight the weaknesses of liberalisms, emphasizing on how it has the potential to brain-wash individuals, due to the placebo effect that liberalism is the ultimate solution to all economic and societal issues; as well as its hidden discrimination against females respectively. After intense evaluation of liberalism, it is safe to say that the viral spread of globalization has made it inevitable, so as mentioned earlier; the best way to fully utilize this system is through the corporation of the government as well as the private sector in the right proportions. CITATIONS Friedman, M.B.(2015). In praise of liberalism: An assessment of liberal political thought from the 17th century to today. Review of contemporary philosophy, 14,11-36. Greener, B.K.(2011). Liberalism and the use of force: Core themes and conceptual tensions. Alternatives: Global, Local, political,36(3) Hartley.C.& Watson(2010). Is a feminist political liberalism possible? Journal of Ethics & Social Philosophy, 5(1), 121-142 Higgins, T.E.(2010). Feminism as liberalism: A tribute to the work of Martha Nussbaum Columbia Journal of Gender and Law, 19(1). Isaacs, D.M.(2014). An unexpected frond: Liberalism’s response to corporate political spending. Suffolk University Law Review, 47(2),1-30 Macedo, S. (2012). Hauerwas, Liberalism, and Public Reasons: Terms of engagement? Law and Contemporary Problems, 75(4) Pheiffer, C.F.(2013). Review of resilient liberalism in Europe’s political economy. The journal of philosophical Economics. 7(1),1-5 diZerega, G.(2011). Spontaneous order and liberalism’s complex relation to democracy. Independent review,16(2)

Own story Essay

It is often difficult to tell your own story, as you do not know where to start. It takes a lot of determination for every individual to take up responsibilities as well as responsible decisions in life. There comes a time in every individual’s life when they are confronted with oppositions from all sides, from relatives, well-wishers and from people who do not want them to do well in life. It is only when an individual overcomes these oppositions, and does in life, that which (s)he always wanted to do, that the individual experiences satisfaction and pleasure in narrating her/his story. I feel happy to narrate my story, purely because I have always followed my dream. Literature is a subject that I have loved from the age of fourteen and continue to do so. This passion for my subject is what encouraged me to take up literature for my graduation and the only bit of support that I had in doing so was that which I received from my parents. Being born into a family full of conservative science graduates who were ready to accept nothing but positivism, I had to face resistance, a mighty lot of it. My high grades in English language at National level school examinations were not at all impressive to most of the people who were ‘truly concerned’ about my future. Nevertheless, the unrelenting support that I received from my parents was the main factor that gave me strength to face this resistance. Hence, I pursued my dream, leaving behind all the grumblings of discontent from my well-wishers and entered my beloved classroom in one of the most prestigious colleges of my State. It is in this classroom that I discovered that I had taken the right decision after all, and started loving my subject even more. Having a military background often helps people to cultivate various qualities like punctuality and a temper that can never stand non-sense. They are the people who get an opportunity to travel a lot in their childhood and this further helps them to communicate easily and express themselves without any ambiguity. Since my father served as a Wing Commander in the Indian Air Force, I was fortunate enough to meet many kinds of people from various backgrounds, could make friends easily and could communicate effectively. These communication skills helped me a great deal with my academics and contributed to my success as a student, as proven by the position I hold in the class rank list. Education is empowerment and every individual has a right to this empowerment. Bias and prejudices based on caste, creed and poverty should never come in the way of this empowerment. Children should never be denied the right to education, merely because their parents cannot afford to send them to nice educational institutions. Keeping this view in mind, I signed up in Make A Difference charity organization, which helps to teach under privileged children important subjects like English, Computer Science and Placements. I have enrolled as an English teaching volunteer and this organization aims at teaching the Cambridge syllabus for English, that which is taught in most of the International Schools in the country. As a volunteer, I would like to give these children the best as they have an equal right to education. The urge to become independent is usually a driving force when it comes to youngsters seeking employment. This urge, combined with a desire to be of financial help to my family is what led me to register at www. asiawriters. com. Writing is a boon given by God and at the same time, it is a talent that I have cultivated since childhood. I wanted to take maximum advantage of my talent in order to pursue my career as a freelance journalist. That is why, today, at the age of eighteen, I find myself writing this article. With the very little experience that I have in life and with acknowledging the fact that I am only a student, who recently completed her 1st year BA English Literature, I can say that this is my story. The above-mentioned reasons have made me what I am today and although I am aware of the fact that I am a very young girl, I feel happy at having realized my dream. It was always my dream to learn literature and I have always dreamt of writing. Today I feel that I have accomplished something.