Commentery Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Commentery - Thesis Example The king was then considered to be the guardian of the country and the rise of the parliament was obstructed for a very long time as a result of this theory of the Divine-Right of the king. The powers of the king and the institution of monarchy in England and other parts of Europe have been extremely pronounced and have maintained a strong hold on the public imagination. The king often worked in conjunction with religious authorities of the day so as to maintain monarchical control over the kingdom and over the minds of the people. Through the ages, the institution of monarchy sought to perpetuate itself through discourses that brought in several ideas such as the divine and the social. There have been occasions on which this dissent has translated itself into great violence. One of the greatest instances of this is the execution of the king in England in the seventeenth century by the Puritan regime. The French revolution can be considered to be the culmination of the bourgeoisie so ciety’s resistance against monarchy (New Tensions in the Western Political Tradition: Absolutism and Parliament 23-4). The French revolution then can be considered to be one of the most important moments in the history of Europe where the ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity were considered. These then influenced to a great extent the rise of democracy and the state as an institution of the modern society. The Divine Right theories that were talked of during the medieval ages were then looked upon as something that prevented the transfer of power into the hands of the common people. As explained earlier, the French Revolution led to the displacement of the ideals of monarchy. The importance of this lies in the fact that the overthrow of monarchy was accompanied by a great many changes in the social structures of that period. The complicity of the church in the control that was exercised

Economics †Frictional and Structural Unemployment Essay Example for Free

Economics – Frictional and Structural Unemployment Essay This assignment mainly compares and contrasts the two broad categories of unemployment which are Structural and Frictional unemployment. The type of unemployment which has a greater impact on economy will also be identified and the reasons for this phenomenon will also be discussed. Frictional Unemployment The short term unemployment in an economy refers to frictional unemployment which is present due to normal market adjustments. The factors contributing to the hindrances of employment in frictional unemployment are business adjustments, imperfections of market information that are imperfect or the individual’s preferences for employment are much higher than available. Those people are frictionally unemployed who do not have jobs in the market with wages of current market level; these jobs are within reasonable reach and are suited to their skills (Gilpatrick, 1966). However, this type of unemployment is not long-term. Frictional unemployment can be removed without any increase in aggregate demand and in a short period of time. There are jobs available for those who are unemployed, under this type of unemployment, but the workers are not aware of other opportunities, they require time to readjust to business changes or they choose to wait for other job opportunities. The assumptions of frictional unemployment are that labor productivity, state of technology and the skills of labor force remain constant in the short term (Gilpatrick, 1966). Structural Unemployment Structural unemployment occurs because of the structural changes in the economy or the business processes of the related businesses. This type of unemployment is encountered in the long run and sometimes could arise without any changes in the demand. The composition of final demand, technological advancements and shifts in the locations of industries are the main structural shifts that affect the labor and skill requirement. If the labor force is capable of adapting to the new environment, there will be no problems. Those who are not able to adapt, they get unemployed because either their skills are no longer required in the industry or their skills are non-transferable to other occupations (Gilpatrick, 1966). The basic changes responsible for structural unemployment are in final demand of product mix and in technology. However, when there is exhaustion of resources locally, the industries can move out to other geographical regions which cause structural unemployment. When there is a change in technology, no increase in skills of the labor will provide employment for those who were displaced. Those who do not have the skills required to get employed are said to be structurally unemployed (Gilpatrick, 1966). Differences between the Two Types of Unemployment The key difference in the two type of unemployment is that in the structural unemployment, the unemployment is caused by the mismatch of specific labor skills supply and demand, whereas in frictional unemployment, there is no such mismatch. Another key difference is that the structural unemployment is long term whereas the frictional unemployment takes only a short period to get eliminated, given other things constant. Impact on Economy Structural unemployment has a higher impact on the economy as this type of unemployment can trigger a higher level of inflation when the demand of the products gets higher. The structural unemployment can get the industries disappear from the economy which are no longer require or if the labor does not have the skills required. This is a long term unemployment which also increases the impact as the unemployed labor does not contribute to the economy. Frictional unemployment on the other hand is a short term phenomenon which is eliminated in a short period of time. This is not as bad for the economy as the skills required in the industry are present with the workers and they will find their desired work shortly. References Gilpatrick, E. (1966). ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF UNEMPLOYMENT: A VIEW OF THE STRUCTURAL-INADEQUATE DEMAND DEBATE. Industrial Labor Relations Review, 19(2), 201-212. Retrieved from Business Source Complete database.

Napoleon :: European Europe History

Napoleon Nationalism is the devotion of people to the interests of its nation or the love of one's country to stay independent. Nationalism played a major role in the downfall of Napoleon in that he wanted an empire and his opponent's wanted independence. As Napoleon was conquering lands and creating a vast empire his troops stressed in the far lands that they conquered life, liberty and equality. Although Napoleon did not realize, it triggered nationalistic feelings among the conquered nations. Spain, who was an ally of France, disobeyed Napoleon's decree. Then in 1808 Napoleon overthrew the Spanish royal family and made his brother Joseph king of Spain. However, everything that Napoleon did such as put in a foreign ruler, take away noble privileges offended Spanish pride and created nationalistic feelings. The people of Spain revolted in 1808. The French troops stopped the riots, but the nationalistic spirit was not lost. For the next five years, there was warfare in Spain. British troops came to aid Spain. This led to the defeat of Joseph, death of thousands of French troops and it inspired patriots and nationalists of other lands to resist Napoleon. This war between 1808 and 1813 is called The Peninsular War. In Germany, anti-French feelings broke out. However, the French invasions carried German nationalism beyond the small ranks of writers. In 1807, writers attacked French occupation of Germany. This nationalistic feeling spread to the Prussians. In 1806, the Prussians were defeated by the French troops. To drive the French out of Prussia there would have to be a spirit of cooperation and loyalty. To accomplish this there would have to be social and political reforms. A reformer said that if social abuses were eliminated the Prussians could fight with national honor. Military reforms improved the Prussian army. In the War of Liberation (1813), the soldiers showed great feelings of patriotism and nationalism. Afterwards, the French were driven out of Prussia. Russia, who was an ally of France, went against the word of Napoleon, So Napoleon decided to invade Russia. Napoleon's Grand Army had 700,000 people in it. Most of soldiers were not French and did not care for the war. In 1812 when Napoleon began the invasion, Russia retreated. As they were retreating, they burned all crops, which were valuable. When Napoleon reached Moscow, the Russians burned the city. Even worse, the winter was in a few months. The Russians also destroyed the food supply of Napoleon.

Influence of the Enlightenment

The â€Å"Century of Light,† otherwise known as the Enlightenment brought forth a strong emphasis on Reason and Knowledge. One product of the Enlightenment is the ideas and thoughts of Condorcet. Condorcet's Sketch for a Historical Picture of The Progress of the Human Mind is brought on by his strong belief in the Perfectibility of Humanity. In rational order there are certain principals and laws that the cosmos works under, in rational order there is no change. But Condorcet says that change is progress, and through progress, Humanity can be improved. According to Condorcet, the perfection of Mankind is attainable and for that reason he is impelled to reach it. According to Condorcet and the beliefs of the Enlightenment, Reason, is innate in everyone. It is just a matter of using Education to bring it out to consciousness. Condorcet firmly believes that with proper education, a man can â€Å"judge his own and other men's actions according to his own lights†. (The Tenth Stage, Pg. 182) With reason, a man will also be able to recognize his rights and the power he has with them. He wants that a man will â€Å"not be in a state of blind dependence† (The Tenth Stage, Pg. 182). But one must keep in mind that it is not the goal of education to create a smart-aleck so to speak, but a human being that is capable of Autonomy. And even then, not Autonomy of thought but rather Autonomy of Judgment: â€Å"How one should act†. When a man reaches this state, he is enlightened. He is then a responsible and respectable citizen of society and thus, perfect. To Condorcet, it is simply a matter of proper education that is necessary for such outcomes. Equality is another ideal that Condorcet mentions. Believing in the improvement of society, he questions the beginning of prejudices and divisions within the society, â€Å"are these part of civilization itself, or are they due to the present imperfections of the social art?† (The Tenth Stage, Pg. 174) Condorcet believes that we can progress beyond these imperfections and not only have equality among men, but extend this equality with, â€Å"the complete annihilation†¦between the sexes† (The Tenth Stage, Pg. 193). According to Condorcet, we must reach for equality until mankind is able â€Å"to understand his rights and to exercise them in accordance with his conscience and his creed† (The Tenth Stage, Pg. 174). With this equality Condorcet foresees a society in which pain and misery will not be the norm, but rather the exception to humanity. But to be enlightened is not the sole goal of Europe, for how can a perfect society be reached if so many others are still struggling to find the â€Å"light†? This is why Condorcet tells us in his publication, that it is the job of those that are enlightened to shed light to the others. Foreign countries are referred to as â€Å"obstacles [impeding] this revolution† (the Tenth Stage, Pg. 175). Therefore, the final step in reaching perfection would be to colonize and educate the ‘savages' so that Perfection of Mankind may be finally reached. Colonization is imperative in the eyes of Condorcet, but not for any personal or financial gain. Because the Europeans have ‘found the light' it seems irrelevant for the other countries of the world to go through trial and error to reach this same level of enlightenment. Instead, colonization should take place and the ‘savages' should be transformed from the ‘conquered' into those in ‘tutelage'. In this way, the perfection of Humanity is speeded forward towards completion.

Catholic Church and Ultima’s mystical folklore Essay

The novel â€Å"Bless Me, Ultima† by Rudolfo Anaya is pastoral, apocalyptic and, at the same time, tragic story revealing the complex nature of human relations and ambiguity of the world. The novel teaches readers not to interfere with the destiny of any person not to change the cosmic order. However, Ultima dares to influence the destiny and her death at the end of the novel is symbolical representation that every person should be responsible for his own actions. The author describes relations between an old healer Ultima and a young boy Antonio who is seeking for truth. The novel can be defined as apocalyptic as the author illustrates that biculturalism leads to inevitable conflict between cultures and religions. I think that the novel belongs to Chicano literature being rather popular in 1965-1975s. However, it can be seen as cultural novel which tends to explore self-development, personality and ethnic identity in the world filled with race and ethnic discrimination. The novel is rich narrative weaving many themes and sub-themes together allowing readers for different interpretations. Therefore, the objectives of the paper are to analyze author’s writing style, relations between Antonio and Ultima, to identify main themes and symbols, and to discuss the question of autobiography. â€Å"Bless Me, Ultima†: Analysis I think that the novel â€Å"Bless Me, Ultima† can be analyzed from different perspectives and from many angles. The novel is a rich literary work dealing with social changes, cognitive and psychological development of main heroes, religious issues, etc. Moreover, the novel weaves cultural conflicts and formation of ethnic identity into believable and coherent story illustrating the smoothes and roughs of Antonio’s life – the main hero. On the one hand, the novel can be seen as romance novel as it discusses societal period through myth creation. On the other hand, the novel can be seen as cultural novel as it describes historical conflict between villages and opposes race discrimination in the United States. Furthermore, the novel can be defined as Chicano literature as it promotes apocalyptic ideas and moods. The novel presents fertile background for analysis as the author uses rich themes and symbols to show the life pass of a young extraordinary boy. Writing Style The author incorporates powerful and vivid images to present the multiplicity and ambiguity of responses. In other words, Anaya uses prophetic dreams, episodes of horseplay among children, idyllic scenes presenting harmony and natural balance, mystical dynamism, scenes of violence and death as imagery to create strong impression and to make people think whether the world we see is real one and what the destiny of the person is. However, the novel tends to reveal whether it is permissible to change human destiny. Anaya uses strong imagery to show that characters and nature are strongly tied together creating so-called natural continuum. Anaya refers to technique of oppression when writing the novel in order to create multi-level conflict. For example, Antonio’s parents have opposing backgrounds, views and aspirations. Further, religious are opposed in their beliefs, values and demands on the individual. Cosmic forced are apposed as they symbolize eternal struggle between the good and the evil. Finally, the author juxtaposes forms of nature saying they can choose whether to make soil dry or fertile. The novel is based on conflicts – social, psychological, physical and cultural. Antonio’s life is also a conflict. The novel is also based on tripartites. It means that all evens and things are occurring in so-called ‘threes’. For example, there are three cultures in the novel, three Trementina sisters, three brothers, three Comanche spirits, three prophetic dreams, three Ultima’s efforts to identify her ethnicity, and three Ultima’s interference in the life of other people. Numerology is central in structure of the plot. Issue of Autobiography I think that â€Å"bless Me, Ultima† can be defined as quasi-autobiographical novel as the narrator refers to ‘I’ style showing that the novel is generated from personal experience or experience of the younger ‘I’. The novel is told by mature Antonio who shares experiences of being a young boy. Moreover, the experiences are transmitted in childish manner and it may seem that the story is told by a six-year-old boy. One more interesting fact is that the author says that he had to refer to his personal experiences and experiences of other children to construct the story. Despite the fact that the novel is quasi-biographical, the readers aren’t allowed to distinguish the real and imagined events as the author represents everything as fiction. I think that the author does base the story on rich expository of personal experiences, but he skillfully hides this fact. Relations between Antonio and Ultima Antonio is the main hero in the novel who decided to reconcile his conflicting religious and cultural identity. Antonio is only six years old, but he is extraordinary child with questioning mind, appreciation of life, and moral curiosity. Antonio is more serious than other children of his age, he is more sensitive to ambiguity of the world and conflicting cultural traditions. Anaya shows that Antonio is troubled about his uncertain destiny and he is willing to understand the world. After the death of one of the town’s residents Antonio seems to plunge into crisis of the faith and for the first time he doubts validity of the Catholic faith. Therefore, desire to reveal the truth can be defined as one of the strongest components of his character as his desire leads to interest in sin, death, innocence, and the nature of God. Antonio is developing to maturity throughout the novel progression and it is Ultima who teaches how to remain morally independent, to receive knowledge from all available traditions and to refrain from prejudices and limitations. Ultima leads Antonio to his physical and psychological maturity. Ultima helps him to resolve many conflicts and to determine his future. Old healer Ultima represents the moral system which Anaya supports. Relationships between Antonio and Ultima are the most important bond in the novel. Ultima is Antonio’s mentor helping him to overcome difficulties and to cope with anxieties and uncertainties. Relations between main characters can be defined even as spiritual. Ultima presents herself as the keeper of Antonio’s destiny and starts playing central role in his life and psyche. She uses her power of influencing to make Antonio think of himself and create his own sense of morality. Ultima incorporates knowledge of both Catholic and indigenous traditions. She thinks that spirituality and life are tied. Nevertheless, we see that Catholic Church rejects her mystical power, and Ultima respects its wisdom attending mass regularly. Ultima teaches to appreciate equally multiple faith and perspectives as each person is entailed with rights to make independent moral decisions. Ultima instills tolerance, open-mindedness and independence in Antonio’s faith. Ultima treats Antonio with respect and understanding, despite he is a small child. At the end of the novel Antonio is treated as spiritual partner and Ultima asks to bury the owl which symbolizes her own death. Ultima dies, but her spirit continues to guide Antonio throughout his life. Main Themes Firstly, the author stresses the importance of moral independence as no one has the rights to interfere with the destiny of others. Anaya emphasizes rights to think independently and to make up moral decisions. In the novel Antonio’s progress is the sign of maturity and self-development. Antonio constantly struggles to make his own decisions and he realizes that complex experience of religion has forced to change his minds. Antonio is really frustrated when he realizes that the church has failed and pressing questions about human morality emerge in his head. We see that Ultima becomes his guide and teaches about morality and independence. Moreover, Ultima explains ambiguity of life stressing that life can be viewed simply in terms of culture and religion. Cultural and religious traditions are important, but they constrain human abilities to be morally independent. Antonio realizes that he should find answers about evil, good, soul, forgiveness and truth himself. Once Antonio has committed fatal mistake, when he believed that the Communion ritual was able to answer all questions. Instead, Ultima teaches Antonio to make decisions and choices himself. Secondly, the author identifies the influence of culture on identity. In the novel Anaya explores the conflict between cultural traditions which fail to co-exist as one culture tends to dominate others and vice verse. However, in the end we see that the author offers new solution – he argues that several cultural traditions are able to create more adaptable identity. For example, Antonio manages to find answers as his life has been influenced by several constantly conflicting cultures. The first conflict was with his parents as Antonio’s mother wanted him to become a priest, whereas his fathers wanted Antonio to ride the llano. The problem was that parents had different cultural convictions. The next conflict is observed within Antonio’s native town where Spanish culture is struggling with other culture. The conflict is presented in tensions between the Catholic Church and Ultima’s mystical folklore. I think that through such conflicts the author explores the influence of culture on identity formation. Anaya shows that many characters in the story are limited by cultural prejudices and they have failed to look beyond their horizon. For example, when people define Narciso as drunkard they didn’t consider his traumatic experiences in the war, although it is known that war may serious distort human psyche. Ultima teaches Antonio to become free from cultural and religious limitations. Instead, she tends to encourage Antonio to think of all cultural influences as it is the only way to become a descent person. Symbolism â€Å"Bless Me, Ultima† is highly symbolical novel. The author uses different colors, figures, numbers and objects to represent abstract ideas and concepts. In the novel the golden carp, Ultima’s owl and the virgin of Guadalupe are provided with symbolic meanings. As for mea, the golden carp is symbolical representation of magical religious order which is hardly associated with Catholicism. The legend about golden carp offers main characters and readers moral guidance, brand of wisdom and comfort. Golden carp supports author’s idea that cultural traditions are different, but they are equally valid. Antonio firstly rejects the golden carp as he thinks that in such a way he abandons God. However, later he realizes that golden carp can help to weave cultural and religious sources together in creating his won identity. Then, Ultima’s Owl represents religious mysticism and life force. One night the owl sings outside Antonio’s windows symbolizing Ultima’s presence in boy’s life. Moreover, owl is the symbol of protective power of magic. In the end of the novel killing of the bird symbolically represents that Ultima’s life force is destroyed and she will die soon. When Antonio buries the bird, he buries Ultima. Finally, the Virgin of Guadalupe represents symbolically understanding, forgiveness and solution of cultural conflict. The story of the Virgin is definitely reconciliation of Antonio’s indigenous culture and European Catholic Church. When Antonio is frustrated, he often turns to Virgin to find a forgiving god. Conclusion â€Å"Bless Me, Ultima† reveals the ambiguous nature of the world and human relations. The author shows that every person has to make independent choices and to appreciate different religious and cultural traditions as it is the only way to become a better person. Ultima teaches Antonio to create his own sense of morality and to remain independent person. Moreover, she teaches him to avoid prejudices and limitation. But the author shows that no one is allowed to interfere with the destiny of other people. Works Cited Anaya, Rudolfo. Bless Me, Ultima. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1994.