The Marxist Theories Of International Relations Politics Essay

The Marxist Theories Of International Relations Politics Essay Nothing to do with Marxism/Leninism as a State Ideology, although associated with it, and embarrassed by it. Marxism is a set of analytical theories, that experience a renaissance today, because it appears clearly again, after the triumphalism of the 1990s, that Capitalism is in a constant crisis. In Latin America, in Asia, and even here in the USA, financial crises happen quite frequently. Also, even when capitalism is working, it might not produce favourable outcomes for everybody. Globalisation is good for American companies, but not necessarily for the American blue collar worker. Strength of Marxism: to understand the role of the economy in politics and analyse why crises are part of it. In International Politics: it investigates the role of global capitalism in world politics. It is a theory that is very disconcerting, for it demonstrates things that we usually dont want to hear or know: that our wealth in the West is dependent upon the poverty and misery of the people in the other parts of the world. In Marxs words; accumulation of wealth at one pole is, therefore, at the same time accumulation of misery, agony of toil, slavery, ignorance, brutality at the opposite pole. Hence, that 1/5 of the worlds population is living in extreme poverty, 30,000 children die every day from preventable diseases 1 bn people dont have access to clean water In 34 countries the life expectancy is now lower than it was in 1990 is not a god-given feature of our world, but to a significant extent caused by the way the global economy works. Here we will talk about four different theories that take inspiration from Marxism. What do they have in common? Society and Politics are a Totality. The division into History, Sociology, IR, Political Science, Economics and so on is misleading and problematic. Every issue, problem is part of this totality. Current example: USA vs. Iraq: what is relevant? Military power, nuclear weapons, balance of power, regime type, culture, religion, economic interests in oil and so on. So to isolate one of these point always misses that the picture is always a large one and a complicated one. A materialist conception of history. History is driven by the tension between the means of production (labour, tools, technology, capital) and the relations of production (the socio-economic conditions that prevail in a society: Feudalism, Slaveholder society, Capitalism) Former transform and improve, straining against the latter: during Feudalism, manufacturing needed more free worker, undermining the bondage of peasants and the power of guilds. Slavery in 1865 was not only a moral depravity but also economically outdated. It is too inefficient to compete with modern manufacturing in large scale. This tension will over time lead to the transformation of social relations: the freeing of peasants in Europe, of slaves here in the USA, and so on. Also, the economic sector (means and relations of production) dominates the political, legal, and cultural system. This superstructure reflects and reinforces the way the economic sector, the base is run. We have a political system that support s and reinforces capitalist property, our laws protect property, our welfare states keep the people alive so they wont revolt or starve. Our culture facilitates the reaping of profits for large companies and corporations: fashion, music, arts, entertainment, also education is guided towards profit maximisation of capital. Class is a central concept: in every society there is class conflict. In capitalist society, there is the conflict between bourgeoisie and proletariat. A bit too simple perhaps today, but if you know what Enron did to its employees, you get an idea that the interest of the capitalist are not always the interests of the workers or employees. Philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways, the point, however, is to change it. Emancipation and change were the goal for him: to end capitalism and its exploitation of the workers, and to create a more just society. This is still on the agenda, not least in global politics. World Systems Theory (Wallerstein) Based on insights that globalised capitalism is creating a core-periphery in the world, and that all economic interactions take place within a global context. The location of states in this system determines their behaviour and their interactions. Page 207: Core: industrialised and modern parts of world economy. Periphery: the exploited part from which we receive cheap resources and raw material. Terms of trade are deteriorating in the long run for Periphery: raw material gets cheaper, manufactured goods more expansive. Semi-Periphery: plays an interesting part: stabilizes capitalism in Core by providing cheap labour and by taking up labour intensive industries that move out of core. Temporal factor: cyclical rhythms: expansion and contraction: stock market, trade, etc secular trends: over time moving up or down through cyclical rhythms contradictions: central part of capitalism: crisis of underconsumption laying off workers makes profits rise, but then no-one buys stuff, so even more lay-offs Crisis: of a whole world system, possibility for change Gramscianism Problem that Antonio Gramsci dealt with: how come there is no revolution occurring in Western Europe? How can capitalism stabilize itself and make workers believe that Capitalism is also in their interest? Why is nobody really challenging it? Hegemony: dominant ideology distributed through society via media, culture, education, churches, etc (civil society). Its a soft form of power, complementing coercion. People are raised and socialized to accept no alternative to Capitalism, schools teach about its virtues, and everybody takes it for granted that we are a capitalist society. So the Superstructure (politics, culture, etc) feeds back and stabilizes the basis. In international politics, Robert Cox above all has used and developed these fascinating ideas about the relationship between material reality (economics) and ideological superstructure (politics and culture) in investigating the way this works in the international economy. Success of free trade and neoliberalism all over the world needs to be explained: How come everybody assumes that free trade is the solution to the economic problems of every country, when it so blatantly is not? As Cox points out, theory is always a theory for some one, and for some purpose. Its never neutral and objective, it always benefits some and does not benefit or oppresses others. Values about right and wrong are inherent and implicit in any theory. And the hegemonic ideology of neoliberalism does just that: it benefits the interest of the rich and powerful in world economics. It opens up markets to their powerful and efficient companies. It makes resources and raw materials available for a cheap price, as it forces these countries to focus on those resources for income, and forces them into a competition with each other. It allows Western companies to snap up privatised companies in Third World countries at bargain prices. . Thus, by forcing the countries of the underdeveloped world into the free market economy, we do this above all to support our own interests. By claiming and spreading the news that there is no alternative to neoliberalism and free trade, we abolish alternatives for these countries. And if they still resist, ideology is enforced by international institutions. Case discussed in Box 10.3 is very good here. It should be noted in this context that those countries that successfully developed their economies since the 1950s in the Third World (South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, India) did so with a significant role for the state and protectionist policies. Education systems were crucial. If countries resist, the IMF refused to give them financial aid that they need to get out of debt. Also, further problem: West itself does not take free trade all that seriously. OXFAM REPORT HERE. Marxism and Globalisation: The growing integration of national economies, the increasing interdependence of societies, and the proliferation of global organisations and networks are in a sense nothing new to Marxism. They have been looking at these developments for the longest time: Capitalism itself is the driving force behind it. Capitalism is expansive, and transformative. It constantly seeks new markets for its products, and it transforms the societies it reaches in this pursuit. Traditional societies that have survived through centuries are melted down and turned into modern capitalist societies with all the repercussions this has. And as economic developments and economic power will only increase in the future, these kind of theories will become more relevant than Realism and Liberalism. And as the globalising economy now produces more and more undesirable outcomes, not only in the Third World, but also here at home, we might also pay attention to the emancipatory aspect of Marxism and the question of transforming the global economy to make it fairer, and more just.

Chondrichthyes vs Arthropod :: essays papers

Chondrichthyes vs Arthropod The black widow is most easily recognized by the hourglass marking on the underside of its abdomen. When bitten, a neurotoxin is released that can cause dull pain and cramping in muscles, that can be accompanied by sweating and vomiting. Less than 1% of black widow bites result in death. Black widow spiders are usually not aggressive. If disturbed, they will retreat to a corner of their web. These spiders are more aggressive if they are protecting an egg sac. The natural habitat of a black widow is outdoors, under rocks, brush or piles of debris. Indoors, these spiders can usually be found behind furniture, in storage boxes, etc. A black widow's eyes are on top and near the front of its head. They have 8 eyes, arranged in 2 rows of 4 each. Some spiders have better vision than others. For example, hunting spiders have good eyesight at short distances. Their eyesight enables them to form images of their prey and mate. Web-building spiders (the black widow) have poor eyesight. Their eyes are used for detecting changes in light. A black widow's mouth opening is bellow its eyes. It does not have chewing mouth parts, and they eat only liquids. Various appendages around the mouth opening form a short "straw" through which the spider sucks the body fluid of its victim. The black widow can eat some of the solid tissue of its prey by predigesting it. To do this, the spider sprays digestive juices on the tissue. Chelicerae are a pair of appendages that the spider uses to seize and kill its prey. The chelicerae are above the mouth opening and just below the spider's eyes. Each chelicera ends in a hard, hollow, pointed claw, and these claws are the spider's fangs. An opening in the tip of the fang connects with the poison glands. When the black widow stabs an insect with its chelicerae, poison flows into the wound and paralyzes or kills the victim. The fangs of tarantulas point straight down from the head, and the poison glands are in the chelicerae. In the black widow, the fangs point crosswise, and the poison gla nds extend back into the cephalothorax. They also crush thier prey with their chelicerae. Pedipalpi are a pair of appendages that look like small legs. One pedipalp is attached to each side of the spider's mouth, and they form the sides of the mouth.

Purpose of The Daily News

What is the purpose of the daily news?Many will answer and say that the news is there to inform the public, but is that really their purpose. Most of the news that is shown on television is shown in less than two to three-minute segments; a person cannot become informed on certain topics in that little amount of time. The three-minute segments of news that are displayed on television only give the viewer a watered down version of information from a biased point of view. When a person watches the news one can see that many of images shown are negative towards a certain subject. The viewer may not see it but the shocking or exciting images being displayed constantly on the daily news must have some greater purpose than to inform the viewer. The greater purpose is to provoke public interest and excitement; this provocation of public interest an excitement through the use of exciting or shocking images, stories, and language is called news sensationalism. Many people think they are being informed by the news but what they do not realize is that it is not always enlightening, as it should be, but it is instead very captivating. Through the use of sensationalism the news that is displayed on television everyday impacts and influences a person by showing them negative images, using â€Å"buzz† words, providing one-sided information, and by restricting boundaries of information.What types of images are displayed daily on the news?Tune into the news and the first image that are shown are images on something negative like murder, war, violence, and death. News stations display these types of negative images in order to acquire your attention. Negative images on the news grab people's attention because they rarely happen in a person's life. People are attracted to negative images of violence and death because they find them fascinating. These negative images are fascinating because many people have not experienced them first hand; there exists less violence and death now than in any other time in human history. Humans are creatures who have evolved over time from a civilization of violence and death to one that has become more sophisticated and educated. Therefore, when images of violence and death are displayed on television they show people a part of the human past that was more violent. This shows that humans have some type wickedness inside them because if they did not humans would not sit in front of their television watching news on people's death. Now when horrible events occur in this world people can see it on the news, therefore, one can say that human beings have become desensitized to negative images because they are being shown constantly in a continual loop. Consequently, the negative images of violence and death may be showed on the news in order to remind humans of their violent past and to show that these events do occur in real life. In addition, the negative images help people manage with their current situations by showing them that their lives are not so bad and could be much worse. The continual loop of negative images reflects that society likes the negative because it reminds humans of their fascination for violence and helps people cope with their current situations. The news media use â€Å"buzz† words constantly in their news and headlines to capture a viewer's attention in order to instill fear and make profit. â€Å"Buzz† words, according to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, are type of words or phrases that usually sound important or technical and are used primarily to impress people without knowledge in a particular subject (â€Å"buzzword†). First off when a news station tries to grab the viewers attention they usually use the headline â€Å"We just got breaking news,† this phrase immediately captures a person's attention because one does not know what to expect. After that phrase is said some type of â€Å"buzz† word usually follows it immediately because people will not know about the subject since it is breaking news. For example, when 9/11 occurred it was breaking news and president Bush followed right after the attack with a small speech. In that speech president Bush used the â€Å"buzz† words terrorism, bombing, and extremism because they sounded technical to the situation. President Bush's words captured the people's attention and impressed them so much that they were instilled with fear and eventually lead to the war in Iraq. Moreover, by obtaining people's attention through the use of â€Å"buzz† words news stations draw more views, which in turn allows them to get higher ratings and make profit. News stations make profit by selling airtime to commercials, so a news station with a lot of viewers will make a great quantity of money. Therefore, â€Å"buzz† words are used more now than ever before because using them allows news stations to instill fear and gather more viewers which amounts to more profit. When people watch the news they tend to trust the information they are getting because many people are lazy to go searching for information on their own, as a result the news seems real and authentic but in reality the news merely provides biased information. The news provides one-sided information because it is in the news stations best interest to do so; being biased allows news stations to attract specific types of viewers. By attracting a specific type of viewer it allows news stations to push a distinct viewpoint. For example, Fox news is a conservative media outlet that attracts conservatives, while MSNBC is liberal media outlet that attracts liberals. They each have their different point of view but they cater to people who have the same view as them. Therefore, when people watch the news on one of these networks they shall only be informed on one side of the argument. This also shows something about the viewers; it shows that the viewers only watch specific news networks in order to reinforce their side of the argument. Every human has their own one-sided view when it comes to specific subjects, so in order to prove that their view is right to individuals they have to reinforce their biased view in some way and that way is through the news (Eveland). For example, when a person thinks of a Muslim they usually think of a person who is a terrorist and from the Middle East. Their belief on what a Muslim person is was reinforced by the news coverage on 9/11. This gave many people biased views on what type of people are terrorists; the news coverage gave Americans the false perception that all Muslim people must be terrorists that hail from the Middle East. Therefore, most of the biased views that come from the news can be attributed to the viewer's self-centered ideology that they have to be right because the news intention is only to give viewers what they want to hear. In essence, the daily news that is shown is always biased because different media outlets want to attract and give specific viewers what they want.   News stations have created restricted boundaries so that people don't searching for information outside of them.One must first ask what are those restricted boundaries?These restricted boundaries are the information that is not shown to the public. National governments hold many secrets and if they were to be exposed by the news to the citizens many of them would feel betrayed. If people could not trust their government they would most likely rebel so in order to keep their trust the government works behind the scenes controlling what is shown on the news. Many governments do this by regulating the media through the use of money by either fining the news companies or allowing them to be tax exempt. Therefore the news can be used to keep people under control and manipulate them. For example, the media coverage on the 9/11 terrorist attacks was used to manipulate American citizens to go to war with Iraq even though Iraq had nothing do with it. President Bush's administration manipulated â€Å"evidence† on the news so that he could get Americans citizens to agree with him to invade Iraq (Hutchinson). Everyone in America at that time was so focused on revenge that no one dared question the information that was provided on the news. At that time it was a restricted boundary to question whether the war in Iraq was just; everyone just assumed it was justifiable after what had happened. It was not until many years later that Americans went outside the restricted boundary to uncover the truth about why they had invaded Iraq. The news was and continues to be manipulated so that people never search for information outside of restricted boundaries because what they might find may not be what they were shown. The news original intention was to inform the public and provide accurate information. It has changed drastically through the use of news sensationalism. Negative images are now shown so constantly in a continual loop that humans have become attracted to them, which in turn, has helped people cope with their current living situations. â€Å"Buzz† words have also gone on the rise because they have enticed more viewers, which have helped news stations instill fear into people and make more profit. Information on the news has now become biased in order to cater to certain types of people because viewers now only want to reinforce that they are right and justified in their opinions. Restricted boundaries have also been created by the news so that viewers do not go searching for information outside of them because many people may find out that they have been manipulated in some way by the news that was presented to them. To sum it up, the daily news that is presented now is not what it used to be; it is now a tool used by media outlets to distort the truth.

Compare and Contrast essays

Compare and Contrast essays The Nineteenth Century European Paintings and Sculpture Galleries Van Gogh, Flowering Orchard (56.13), Annenberg Van Gogh Gallery Monet, the Four Trees (29.100.110), Annenberg Monet Gallery Visual perception is a function of our eyes and brain. We see images as a whole rather then in parts. However, images can be broken into their visual elements: line, shape, texture, and color. These elements are to images as grammars are to languages. They, together, allow our eyes to see images and our brain to recognize those objects. In this compare and contrast essay between the Works of Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet. Dutch-born Post-Impressionist painter, Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) and the French, Claude Monet (1840-1926), both painted vibrant and expressive paintings during the nineteenth and early twentieth-century. In this case, the chosen paintings are Van Gogh "Flowering Orchard", 1888 and Monet "The Four Trees", 1891. Both of these compositions are painting. Nothing is of more importance than the Flowering orchard. The orchard in Van Goghs painting is dominated by the rich, red-brown tree growing in the foreground, reaching out and upward with delicate searching branches. All of which give the flowering orchard an emerald expanse of grass carpeting the ground expression. In this painting not a stroke was out of place and every stroke seemed to be thought out and chosen carefully. In Monets case, the four trees were created solely with the use of layered similar colors close to each other. Light is reflected in all of the strokes of the painting, creating a unity within the artwork, water appears in the entire lower half of the painting, reflecting the four trees and the sky. Both of these paintings have relied heavily on depth and linear perception to imply three-dimensional perception from a two-dimensional image. Both of these paintings are created using oil paints on canvas. The most important element th...

Atomic Bomb1 essays

Atomic Bomb1 essays The use of the atomic bombs on Japan was necessary for the revenge of the Americans. These bombs took years to make due to a problematic equation. The impact of the bombs killed hundreds of thousands of people and the radiation is still killing people today. People today still wonder why the bombs were dropped. If these bombs werent dropped on the Japanese the history of the world would have been changed forever. The Atomic bomb took 6 years to develop (1939-1945) for scientists to work on a equation to make the U-235 into a bomb. The most complicated process in this was trying to produce enough uranium to sustain a chain reaction. The bombs used on the cities cost about $2 billion to develop, this also making the U.S. wanting to use them against Japan. Hiroshima was a major military target and we have spent 2 billion dollars on the greatest scientific gamble in history- and won. (3) The bomb dropped on Hiroshima weighted 4.5 tons and the bomb used on Nagasaki weighted 10 kilotons. On July 16, 1945, the first ever atomic bomb was tested in the Jamez Mountains in Northern New Mexico, code named Gadget. The single weapon ultimately dropped on Hiroshima, nicknamed Little Boy, produced the amount of approximately twenty- thousand tons of TNT, which is roughly seven times greater than all of the bombs dropped by all the allies on all of Germany in 1942. The first Japanese City bomb was Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. An American B-29 bomber, named Enola Gay, flown by the pilot Paul W. Tibbets, dropped the Little Boy uranium atomic bomb. Three days later a second bomb named Fat Boy, made of plutonium was dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. After being released, it took approximately one minute for Little Boy to reach the point of explosion, which was about 2,000 feet. ...

Analyse the Telecom Industry and Analyse also the company 3 mobile Essay

Analyse the Telecom Industry and Analyse also the company 3 mobile - Essay Example Depending on the supply chain and logistics of operation within the telecommunication industry, the analysis gives possible factors that have led to the flourishing of the industry in one way or another. The macro-economic factors are essential and each company ought to consider them in its strategies (Mithas, Tafti & Mitchell 2013, p 511). Beginning with the Political factors, it is worth noting that the telecommunication industry faces a number of government interventions, depending on the telecommunication laws of each country. Some of the areas where government policies play a primary role include the media, mobile telephony, and internet services. A country’s political system can determine the macro-environment under which the telecommunication companies will operate (Peng & Nunes 2007, p 230). Any fluctuation in the Economic factors can significantly affect the industry. For instance, change in interest rates, economic growth of countries, and inflation can either spell doom for some telecommunication companies or even signify abnormal profits. It all depends on a company’s strategy within the telecommunication industry, considering that economic factors are unpredictable are bound to change according to other factors beyond control by any company or country. In this regard, global recessions may lead to increase in the prices of telecommunication products by some companies. Other companies will attempt to gain competitive edge by limiting their distribution of the latest mobile devices to some countries only, just as Apple Inc. has done (Peng & Nunes 2007, p 231). Social factors are fundamental macro-environmental factors within the telecommunication industry, considering the diverse attitudes and preferences within the industry. Safety while operating or working with telecommunication equipment and network is

Organizational Behavior, Integrative Paper Essay

Organizational Behavior, Integrative Paper - Essay Example ions, interpersonal conflict management strategies, how groups become teams, leadership different from management, and types of organizational structures. Strategic decisions differ form operational decisions in that strategic decisions deal with long term issues, while operational decisions cover the immediate or short term. Some examples of strategic decisions are decisions to purchase new equipment to implement upgrades, profitability decisions, capital investment decisions, and decisions on how to improve the market share of an enterprise. The executive management team of a company is responsible for the strategic decisions of a company. A few years ago I encountered at my job the difficulties associated with strategic and operational decisions. The crew of employees I was working with made a request for new equipment to be used immediately in the company. The use of the $30,000 machinery would reduce the completion time of the project by 50%. The overall project cost was going to be lower due to the labor savings. The team was very frustrated when the petition was denied. The justification for denying the request was that money w as being reserve to purchase new equipment in the summer of 2013. Our team was not able to produce like they could because the company preferred to save money for the long term strategic decisions than to invest money to improve the current operations of the firm. Strategic decisions are also important. For instance companies such as Microsoft when they release a new product they already have a plan ready on how to substitute the product once it reaches the declining stage of its product life cycle. Conflict in the workplace is an undesirable outcome that occurs due to the inevitable differences among human beings. Conflict occurs when two or more parties disagree over a substantial issue. One of the causes of conflict is people not being able to control their emotions. The four stages of conflict are antecedent conditions, felt