Globalization Essays (1677 words) - Cultural Geography, Capitalism

Globalization So here we are. It's 2001. The cold war has ended. There are technological advances every day. The world is connected by the Internet. Previously sheltered countries are now able to see what is going on in the rest of the world. And the rest of the world can see what is going on in those countries. Ideas are bounced around as if in a pin ball machine. People in India, Pakistan, Israel, Germany, etc.? know what movie stars and fashions are popular in America, Great Britain, France, and Japan. However, they get more than just movies and fashions. They hear about issue debates, political struggles, agricultural problems, national budget deficits, and changes of power in government. Almost every aspect of life in almost every country is an open book. People in South Africa and other places where government is challenged have heard of or seen the way democracy works in other countries. Third world countries get aid from super power nations. But they also end up getting a large dose of someone else's nationalism. This trend has been termed globalization and is generally considered a good thing. People can imagine a future without poverty and violence where almost everyone is happy and those who are not can do something about it without starting a war. The world is still far away from this utopian goal, but we are getting there slowly. I believe that one of the manifestations of globalization is the sense of a global society. The idea that the Internet presents a free marketplace of ideas is prevalent and makes a good example for what I wish to explain. Someone (person A) lives in Canada. Person A has a great idea for a business. He emails a friend of his in the United States, person B. Person B likes person A's idea and they become partners. Through the Internet, they are contacted by potential investors in Denmark, Japan, Thailand, and South America. Person A and person B use the Internet to send a business proposal to the potential investors. The potential inverters like the proposal and agree to meet persons A and B in person to draw up a contract for shareholding rights and operations costs. Thus the free market place of ideas represented by the Internet has once again allowed people from around the world to connect and create a partnership. This happens every day on a larger scale in our globalized world. Small countries form alliances with larger ones that are thousands of miles away. For example, after WWII, Japan agreed to let the U.S. take over its naval operations. So now Japan is a technological country and America's navy protects it. Also in this exchange, Americans are exposed to Japanese culture and the Japanese are exposed to American culture. This exposure happens all over the world every day. Some people are concerned that this exposure to a different culture will greatly affect or even alter the culture of another country. Others see globalization as a simple melding of the local and the global aspects of life in every country. In the world today, global society and local society seem to have overlapping boundaries, making the lines between them blurry. Is the blurring of these boundaries a problem? This is the question we must answer in order to grow in our new global society. Those who see globalization as an intrusive process, believe that globalization is a manifestation of cultural imperialism. Dezalay (1990) said that, Globalization is for the most part an Americaization (p.281). People like Dezalay believe that globalization is in fact Europeanization or Americanization, and that it threatens to overwhelm or completely bury the cultural norms and values of other countries. Chuang (Communication and Global Society) said, The Americanization of a global culture via technology and mass media might lead to political hegemony, cultural imperialism, and intellectual colonization, and consequently diminish local identity (p.19). A good example of cultural imperialism is the 18th and 19th century idea of the British regarding their worldwide territories. When the British colonized America and India, they believed they were superior to the native Indians in both places because the Indians did not speak the King's English and had strange habits and

Similarities Between The Two Political Parties †Political Science Essay

Similarities Between The Two Political Parties – Political Science Essay Free Online Research Papers Similarities Between The Two Political Parties Political Science Essay The way our nation mourned the death of Ronald Reagan has not been seen since Kennedy’s untimely death. The number of people which paid their respects was astonishing and unforeseen. When we reflect on Reagan’s time in office, one word comes to mind. That word is â€Å"conviction†. It does not matter to us today if we agreed with Reagan’s policies. What mattered was he was the last president that stood for something. This is what we remember and respect. Since his tenure, we have had a president that wanted Americans to read his lips not his actions. Then he lost to a man which won the election with less than fifty percent of the vote and four years later, the man was re-elected with less than fifty percent. Then there was the 2000 election. Most people saw Florida as a fiasco, but the real fiasco was the candidates themselves. We had a compassionate conservative running against a moderate liberal, and their shared indecisiveness made Florida and the general election a fiasco. The Democrats and the Republicans presented candidates to entice moderates and the outcome was indecisive voting. Americans do not want to admit it, but mos t of us are moderate. People lean to the left on some issues and to the right on other issues. Any excessive opinions are usually rhetoric that is used to get attention. Even though Democrats and Republicans have many differences, they do not act their differences for fear of alienating voters resulting in indistinguishable candidates and a low voter turnout. There are vast differences between Democrats and Republicans in ideology, but they both lack confidence to act. In the article, â€Å"Public Participation and the Erosion of Democracy† Ralph Nader writes, â€Å" In eight years under Clinton/Gore, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration didn’t issue one chemical toxin control standard†¦.They gave a free ride to the nuclear industry, including not proposing any fuel efficiency standards improvements in eight years† (Public). The lack of toxin control, a free ride to the nuclear industry, and no fuel standards are what a Republican would do. The Democratic platform is pro-environment and pro-labor, but Clinton did not have the fortitude to enforce his party’s platform. The possibility of alienating a section of the voting public fueled his reluctance. In an interview with Steve Kopp, a reporter for The Plain Dealer’s Washington Bureau, he talks about tort reform and how Republicans in th e House got a bill on tort reform passed. Unfortunately, the Senate Republicans will not push this bill instead they have their own bill that has a lot of extras tacked on giving it no chance of passing. They do not want to upset any of their colleagues in the private sector which might be able to sue McDonalds when people spill coffee on their lap. Tort reform laws have been a major issue for the Republican Party; in addition, labor and the environment issues has been the same for Democrats, but their lack of action is a self-preserving tactic for re-election. In an attempt to expand their electorate, candidates modify their positions. Merill J. Adams writes, â€Å"As the Democratic candidate moves in the positive direction (to the right), he draws support away from the Republican candidate in the region near the midpoint between the two candidates† (Journal).This approach is used on both sides to centralize a candidate. According to Martin P. Wattenberg’s findings in his book The Decline of American Political Parties, from 1952- 1980, â€Å"The proportion of voters reporting that hey have voted for different parties in presidential elections has risen from 29 to 57 percent† (20). This strategy works, but the title of his book hints at the result. Wattenberg writes, â€Å"The growth in proportion of the ‘no preference’ response can be most plausibly interpreted as another indication of the declining salience of political parties in the American political process†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Decline 49). When a candidat e centralizes his or her views, he or she loses distinction. Consequentially, voters are left with candidates with no conviction towards any issue, and voters have less enthusiasm for voting. Because candidates are indecisive in their political idealism, the outcome is a lower voter turnout. In his book, Where Have All the Voters Gone? Wattenberg writes, â€Å"The psychological approach has further identified the problem to be primarily one of a lack of motivation to vote, particularly stemming from party decline† (67). When political incumbents and challengers centralize their message, potential voters see this as voting for the lesser of two evils. Our recent presidential elections show that the candidates’ indecisiveness was reflected on the election results. When Bob Dole spoke at the 1996 Republican convention, he only mentioned his party twice, he did not mention the Democrats, and he made only a slight reference to his career as a Republican Senator. When Bill Clinton spoke at the Democrat’s convention, he used a similar strategy (Decline 221). Dole and Clinton down-played their party affiliations to further their centralized message, and as a result, a low turnout and minority vote won the election for Clinton. The first two presidential elections in 1960 had a turnout percentage of 62.4 percent; conversely, the two most recent elections had a turnout of 50.1 percent (Where 28). Wattenberg gathered the voter turnout data from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, and it illustrates the percentage of people that actually want to vote has declined. There is evidence to support that a low voter turnout can be linked to how hard it is to vote. Wattenberg writes, â€Å"It is reasonable, I believe, to infer that if voting is difficult for some of those who manage to vote that others must be discouraged from casting a ballot due to the complexity of the task† (Where 142). Regardless of the candidate’s message there is still stanch partisanship, and it is the driving force behind our democratic process. To deny it would be futile. From an article in the New York Times, John Tierney writes, â€Å"As moderates have become an endangered species in Congress and in state legislatures, the parties’ ideological divisions have deepened, and voters have realigned in response† (4.11) Those of us from working class families remember our parents view on political parties, and they were always distinctive. During the 1970’s, the general consensus was that Republicans were for the rich, and Democrats were for eve rybody else. This view has not changed a great deal, and party leaders are wise to these ideals. The tendency to be indecisive has taken a turn recently, and partisan attitudes have increased. It is an election year, so members of Congress need to strengthen their allegiance to their parties in order to maintain their campaign support. Steve Kopp says, â€Å"Most members of congress are moderates [but] there is no bipartisanship today†. Although he believes the majority in Congress is moderate, he acknowledges they have drawn proverbial lines in the sand to insure their position. John Tierney explains Congressional strategy he writes, â€Å"The only threat to incumbents comes from within the party, forcing them to appeal to partisan voters who dominate primaries† (4.11). They need to show their loyalty to insure campaign support in primary elections. The major issues of the day like the Iraq war have polarized the nation and its leaders. As a result, this upcoming elec tion will be a decision on decisive ideals and issues more than the recent past, but what will the winner of this election actually do? The two major parties in American politics have distinct differences, yet they do not decisively employ their diversity for significant change. They would rather use a self-preserving approach, or try to appeal to the broadest range of the electorate. The effect is they become impossible to differentiate, which has a negative consequence. The decline of voter turnout in recent times is the result of similar candidates representing each party. People have been voting for the lesser of two evils until this election year, and the promise of diversity between the candidates is a positive step. It is about time we have something we can truly stand behind or completely oppose. Those of us that promote voting and see it as a civic duty finally have solid issues that they can use to entice the voting public. All we need now is a leader that will follow up on the ideals that wins the election. Someone that stands up for his or her beliefs, bravely conveys those beliefs, and calls out adversity. Imagine going to vote without it feeling like a burden of some kind, but a chance to really feel like you are making a difference instead of an agonizing status quo. Work Cited Adams, J. Merill. â€Å"Voter Turnout and Candidate Strategies in American Elections.† Journal of Politics 65.1 (2003) Kopp, Steve. Telephone interview. 7 July 2004 Nader, Ralph. â€Å"Public Participation and the Erosion of Democracy.† Humanist 64.1 (2004) 20-25 Tierney, John. â€Å"A Nation Divided? Who Says?† New York Times 13 June 2004, late ed.:4.11 Wattenberg, Martin P. The Decline of American Political Parties, 1952-1996. Cambridge: Harvard United Press, 1999 Where Have All The Voters Gone. Cambridge: Harvard United Press, 2002 Research Papers on Similarities Between The Two Political Parties - Political Science EssayQuebec and CanadaMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New Employees19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraPETSTEL analysis of IndiaNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceCapital PunishmentTwilight of the UAWAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2Bringing Democracy to AfricaThe Effects of Illegal Immigration

Economic growth of Japan after 1945 Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Economic growth of Japan after 1945 - Term Paper Example The net national savings (NNS) of an economy is calculated from the difference between its gross national savings (GNS) and the rate of depreciation of the capital stock of the economy (Depr). NNS= GNS – Depr. Figure 2: Falling Savings in Japan over Time (Source: â€Å"World Bank†) In the above line diagram, the pink line clearly shows the fall in the net national savings rate in Japan over time. The real interest rate is the rate of interest which is experienced by an investor in the market after compensating for the loss from inflation. The real interest rate (R) is calculated on the basis of the Fischer’s Equation. This equation explains that real interest rate is the simple difference between the nominal interest rate (N) and the inflation rate in an economy (I). R= N – I. The inflation rate for an economy is again calculated from the consumer price index (CPI) of a country. CPI is the simple average of a particular basket of goods and services produce d in nation. I = [CPI(this year) – CPI(last year)] / CPI(last year) (Baumol and Blinder 77). Figure 3: Real Interest Rates of Japan over Time (Source: â€Å"World Bank†) The above graph explains the real interest rate in Japan over the years. The entire quantitative data for the purpose of the research in this paper is taken on annual basis. The data table for the above line graph is given in Table 1 in the Appendix. Solow Model Analysis The Solow Model of growth is based on the concept of long run economic progress within the framework of neo-classical growth model. The neo-classical concept of growth states that a country can grow rapidly over time with the help of capital accumulation, population growth, technological progress and productivity. Figure 4: The Solow Model... According to the view of the neoclassical economists, the technological progress seen in the economy of Japan should have facilitated the growth of its national product. Moreover, the technological progress in the country should have reduced the use of labor in its economy. However, this is not the real scenario in Japans economy. The service sector income of the country contributes to the majority of its national income. In the last few years, Japan also had to face a severe decline in its national income, net domestic savings and real interest rates. This is because, in the real world, the idealistic view of endogenous growth does not exist. The crises of credit and fluid capital in the market have reduced the level of national income in the economy of Japan (Paul 47). The fall in the level of production capabilities has forced to reduce the national income of most of the countries (like Japan) in the world after the global recession. The decline in the national income has, therefo re, resulted in a fall of the per capita income level of the country. The fall in the income level is in turn responsible for the decline in the net domestic savings in Japan (Mankiw and Taylor 132). As the gross amount of savings in Japan has fallen over time, the number of investment opportunities in the country has also declined. After the emergence of globalization and liberalization in the world economy, the prices of most of the goods and services in the market are determined by the free market forces of demand and supply.