Plato, Machiavelli Essay Example for Free

Plato, Machiavelli Essay Machiavelli says the prince only has to seem good, not be good. Plato insists that seeming is bad, being is good. Nicolo Machiavelli is known as being an realist who accepted that fact that humans are brutal, selfish, and fickle while Plato was an idealist who believed people could be ruled by a philosopher king who ruled over the warriors and tradesmen of his ideal republic with rationality. In his view the philosopher-king was in charge of making the state a utopia in that everyone had his/her place and all worked together for the common good of the state. Machiavelli said that this was a foolish idea. Machiavelli philosophy of government was centered on the ruler. He believed the king, or despot, had the right to do whatever was necessary for his own gain, or whatever the monarch considered the good of the state which he called Virtu’. Machiavelli believed the only purpose for a ruler was to make war, and protect its citizens from attacks by other states. He advocated the slaughter of surrendered generals in order to crush hopes of revolution even rationalizing that it was worth the risk of revolution should it anger the people. Machiavelli believed a ruler should be immoral using deception and illusion for power and never allowing the people to know the â€Å"real† him In Machiavellis time, as it is today, the States whole reason for being was to serve the citizens. The ruler, therefore, is justified in doing whatever is necessary to maintain the country or state, even if it is unjust. In Platos time, man served the state. According to the viewed that ethics and politics are the same, or at least co-terminous. There was no distinction between private life and public life, as there is today. Plato argues a ruler can never be unjust. Plato argues against this type of ruler, who rules solely by might. Plato tries to prove that it is always better to be just than unjust , claiming that there is a strong connection between justice , personal happiness and the well being of the state. Machiavelli underlines the fact that moral principles are not necessarily connected with the efficiency of the act of ruling . If the principles of morality and justice need to be broken in for the state to be prosperous , than this is how things should be done. In the end, Plato and Machiavelli lived very different lives, contributing to their differing thoughts on the world. Plato grew up in the upper aristocratic class but was adopted by Socrates. As he followed Socrates, he learned all he would need for his later life as a philosopher when he essentially wandered around Greece without pay. In this way he was untouched by wealths corruption. Machiavelli, on the other hand, grew up in a wealthy Italian home and lived well supplied for by his patrons. The wealth that he was accustomed to was the main cause for his philosophy centered around personal gain.

Lysistrata: A Comedy of Stereotypes Essays -- essays research papers

LYSISTRATA, a comedy of stereotypes   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The playwright Aristophanes wrote about an ancient Greece, Athens in particular, during a time of constant warfare. His play â€Å"Lysistrata† is an attempt to amuse while putting across an anti-war message. In fact even the naming of the play is an anti-war message of sorts. The word â€Å"lysistrata† means, â€Å"disband the army† (Jacobus 162). Aristophanes was a crafty writer; he creates a work of art that causes his audience to think about the current state of affairs in their city. He points out that there is a major threat to Athens when all the good, young fighters are sent off to war. Aristophanes acheives this aim by using stereotypical characterizations of women to show how utterly defenseless Athens is without their young men at home. His message is a bit subliminal in nature but still a heady one. Aristophanes realized that audiences don’t come to plays to be preached at but to be entertained. To this end, he uses comedy an d comical characterizations to delight the spectators/readers. The principal form of comical characterization he depended on was stereotyping. As the main theme of the play, the female stereotype of woman’s only power base being sex was strongly employed. The main character Lysistrata and all the women in Greece band together to essentially take over the city states to end the Peloponnesian war. They do this by exploiting their stereotypical power source, sexuality. This â€Å"power source† would...

CanGo Essay

Issue 1: No clear strategy for expansion CanGo has had its success, and now they are looking into the future. Their question is, â€Å"What’s going to help them grow?† and as Liz said, â€Å"Turn them into a mighty oak.† CanGo recognizes that branching out and delving into new territory will be profitable and its popular with investors since they’re thinking of going for an IPO. The possibilities of adding e-books, streaming audio and video is hip but they also recognize that the online gaming industry is on the cutting edge for growth. With all of the brainstorming ideas CanGo has they do recognize there’s a scarcity of resources such as capital and people. Recommendation: The management team at CanGo is full of ideas related to expanding its product line. Liz has mentioned the possibility of E-books, music and video, and Andrew suggests online gaming. Expansion is just one topic, as the company is considering offering IPO (initial public offering). The brass is contemplating major decisions without professional guidance. The employees will soon be asked to juggle more responsibilities, without the appropriate resources. CanGo should seek additional consultation specific to the objectives it wants to achieve. In addition, the company must consider the risk and where to allocate resources to be maximize profit. Furthermore, there will have to be some degree of advertising and marketing to generate interests. CanGo feels that the best way to handle new ventures is to use in-house employees. Pulling employees from jobs they are already doing will no doubt take away from quality. We recommend that Warren and Liz take into consideration the opportunity cost of expanding at this time. Will the benefits outweigh the cost of expanding. Issue 2: No capital for expansion CanGo must consider how to combine its limited resources to produce the best mix of goods and services. A cost-benefit analysis will help them measure the cost and the benefits correctly. They will need to think about two types of analysis (1) Marginal Analysis and (2) Cost-Benefit Analysis. Recommendation: Performing a marginal analysis will examine how the costs and benefits change in response to their incremental changes in actions. Any additional action that CanGo does will bring about additional cost so, type of analysis will determine if the expected benefits of their actions exceed the added cost. It was mentioned casually that the only source of capital as an IPO. This point was expounded upon by the poor sandwiches being provided. I don’t think Warren made the comment to be rude, but to illustrate the point that financial capitol is limited – especially in terms of expansion. CanGo is generating interest in its industry and community. The time is ripe to offer an initial public offering. CanGo needs professional guidance in analyzing what is value and assess the possibilities of an IPO. It may consider taking advantage of its success in Japan. CanGo’s IPO does not have to be confined to its locality; it has to start thinking international in scope. Its popularity in Japan alone may generate the capitol necessary to expand in product, personnel, and infrastructure.

Politics In India Essay

Democracy is defined as ‘The Government of the people, for the people, and by the people’, but there are many challenges facing democracy in many countries  across the world. India is a perfect example of a nation that is ‘fully democratic’ even as it develops and faces several challenges. This paper is divided into two different parts showing the problems facing Indian Democracy. The first part briefly talks about the Inequality among peoples in India. Inequality is also divided into three main categories such as Geographic, Social and Demographic. The second part is an approach to identify the problem of corruption among political leaders and discussing the development of criminalization of politics. One of the major issues facing Indian democracy today is Inequality among the citizens of India, weather it is Geographic Inequality, Social Inequality, or Demographic Inequality. First of all, Geographic inequality occurs when a government and citizens of different regions have unequal parliament representation. Geographic inequality is a big issue India is facing today because of its uneven density of representatives per population (D.Joshi, 2012,402). Geographic inequality also occurs when the party they are  choosing does not represent voters in a district. In statistics it showed that, in 2009, India’s 543 LS constituencies averaged 14.9 candidates, but only one representative was elected by each district (D.Joshi, 2012, 402). The statistics showed that it was only half of the voters in every constituency with no representation at district level. Another big issue Indian democracy is facing is Demographic Inequality, this type of inequality occurs when the government of the nation fails to reflect the class, gender, age, ethnic, religious and ethnic makeup of its population. One of the things that D.Joshi points out (2012) is that elderly people in India are over – represented and young people are twice as under- represented in India. However, the greatest inequality a country could have is less female representatives. Increasing female representatives in India could help them reduce gender inequality. India is a nation where discrimination against women is widely spread across the country, whereas men are considered a source of income and prosperity. With lack of women education and power, the nation is facing a devastating challenge’s towards its democracy. In some areas of India, women are not allowed to participate in any voting elections. Moreover, the third type of Inequality that Indian democracy is facing is social inequality. Although, every person or citizen in a democratic society has the right to vote or fight elections, but in some nation’s like India, only rich upper class citizens have the chance to win the elections. Also, upper class people are usually elected as representatives who make the law and frame policies that only favor’s them. Furthermore, another challenge Indian Democracy facing today is the caste system among the people. In India, upper class Hindus make promises using voters as a tool to gain power in an election. However, low caste majority are usually forced to participate in an electoral process. Unfortunately, the ‘social class system in India is based on the notion of purity and pollution in which upper class does not interact with [equal rights] with the low castes’ (Anwar, 2012). It neglects the rights of citizens for having freedom of expression, right to elect their own representatives, freedom of religious practices and other rights in a democratic state. Moreover, because Indian population is so large and it is a diversely mixed society, people in India have wide identity available to them. Manor (1996) stated that, ‘there are [various] types of caste identities, religious identities and identification with clans and linages’ (463). As a result of having various types of identities, tensions among these groups become strikingly high and could tear a democratic institution apart. An example will illustrate how this could have an impact in Democracy. In an election in India in 1971, conflict and anger widely spread, after the state government made an unjust treatment. A party representing swept winning ten seats in the parliament but political leaders started to bargaining the movement and after few years, people shifted their concerns to other member’s identities such as caste and class. Keeping in mind their identities, the congress party won every seat in the parliament Despite the wide identity available to the citizens, there is also another issue that follows this problem’s; this includes the discrimination on minorities, undermining order and development. Discrimination against minority groups can trigger the demand for justice. However, evidence in recent studies has showed that there is a declining influence on caste system in Indian politics. Political corruption and inefficiency is another severe problem Indian democracy is facing today. In a study that showed, 20- 33 percent of middle class citizens had to pay ‘ a bribe for getting a service or getting out of problem with a government agency’ (Jefferlot, C., 2002, 77). Former Indian prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi has admitted that only 15 percent of isolated area reached their potential beneficiaries. India’s political leaders are responsible of the corruption that is on going for a long time in Indian Democracy. In fact, the congress party in India conducted corrupt practices when they formed ministries in 1937. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India, was known as the ‘cleanest political leader of India’ but for instance, some political leaders today say that it was because of him that Indian political corruption has turned into an epidemic. One of the reasons why Nehru is known for spreading the corruption among political leaders is because he kept protecting his congress leaders who were indulged in corrupt practices. There have been events that took place during his ruling party. Krishna Menno, the Indian high commissioner in London, 1948 was asked to buy 4,000 jeeps for Indian army who were fighting the Pakistanis at that time, only 155 jeeps reached in India (Jefferlot, C., 2002, 79). Nehru’s government rejected the incident that took place and declared that case was closed. This is a good example of a politician in Indian democracy; who are dishonest and can get away with it because of their other political colleagues. Corruption among political leaders has affected Indian democracy in two different ways. One, for supplying and making black money from businessmen’s, especially after foreign companies started emerging into Indian market. Secondly, Politicians made money, which they were suppose to spend on their campaigns, which Indian businessmen’s and foreign investors have raised. As Jefferlot (2002) stated that ‘ Indian political leaders took bribe from arm dealers who were important foreign players in the political and economic game’ which then increasingly took advantage of multinationals entering India (89). Another example of corrupt politician is, Prabhakar Rao, who was involved in scandals of importing sugar and urea. He took bribe from foreigner manufacturer, to obtain import of newsprints and paper pulp. Democracy can become negated when it assumes such proportions of corruption. Another issue in Indian politics is development of criminalization of politics, which is severely alarming in recent years. The link between crime industry and politicians in Indian are long standing. Gangs need protection from politicians for their activities, these activities involve trafficking of drugs, arms and other illegal trade business. Politicians protect gang members in various situations such as from police investigation. An example of politician involved with gang member was The Chief Minister, who not only granted to builders land reserved for civic purposes but also protected gangsters in the building businesses (Jefferlot, C., 2002, 92). Politicians also seek for protection from gang members. For example, a losing candidate may for instance, ask the gangsters for the most common fraud known as  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœbooth capturing’. This activity involves gangs to seize the ballot boxes during an election. Many other election- related Incident’s have taken place in India. Most common type of Incidents involves clashes between political parties. Violence can also take place during elections, when a politician fears losing vote against his opponent candidates. Politicians also use gangs during riots. This often involves conflict between social groups such as Hindus and Muslims. While politicians protect crime industry, there has been growing numbers of criminals entering politics in India. Jefferlot (2002) stated that ‘ convicted criminals who are not systematically disqualified can stand for elections, even if they are accused for important crime’ (95). Corruption and criminalization of politics is a direct threat to Indian democratic society. Corruption in Indian democracy arose from socioeconomic and political conditions. India is facing corruption in its politics, the criminalization of state has become a serious chronic disease over the decades (Jefferlot, C., 2002, 113). Former Prime Ministers of India are considered to have prepared the foundation of corruption during their time period. As a result of this, citizens of India do no take interest in elections and have no faith in government officials. Media also has significant impact on exposing corruption in the Indian establishment. Another worrying factor here is the problem for bribing journalists for covering election campaigns. The change in Indian democracy may be possible but the pressure against corruption needs to come from collective groups rather than individual enterprises. To summarize, Indian democracy is facing severe problems to its democratic society over the years. Some of the problems include inequality among social groups. However, Indian government faces three major kinds of Inequality. First, it deals with unequal parliament representation, whereas, the demographic inequality deals with negligence of class, gender, age, ethnic and religious ethnicities that makeup the population. Finally, the third major Inequality is social inequality, even as today, minority groups or poor people in India do not get to vote in elections. Whereas, upper class  citizens make the laws and policies which only favor’s them. Lastly, corruption is significantly a major issue India is facing today in its democratic government. Corruption in a democratic government can scare divert resources from poor and disadvantage the citizens. However, corruption continues unchecked because people in India turn away from involvement on how the country is being governed and put little interest in elections, because of their trust in politicians is damaged. Along with corruption, criminalization of politics has major concerns over the years. Politics in India has become lucrative and beneficial business, criminals can invest money and power to win elections with the support of other politicians and can enjoy unfettered power and respect among the society. Thus, criminalization of politics cannot be prevented as long as criminals are present in politics in India and, it has become a direct threat to India democracy. Bibliography Manor, James. 1996. â€Å"`Ethnicity’ and politics in India.† _International Affairs_ 72, no. 3: 459. _Academic Search Complete_, EBSCO_host_ (Accessed March 1, 2014) Joshi, Devin. â€Å"Who gets unequal parliamentary representation? A comparison of India and Sri Lanka.† _Contemporary South Asia_ 20, no. 3 (September 2012): 401-406. _Academic Search Complete_, EBSCO_host_ (Accessed February 11, 2014). Jaffrelot, Christophe. 2002. â€Å"Indian Democracy: The Rule of Law on Trial.† _India Review_ 1, no. 1: 77. _Academic Search Complete_, EBSCO_host_ (Accessed February 16, 2014). M, Anwar. 2012. ‘Indian Democracy and Caste System’ http://www.ngoworldpk.com/articles/indian-democracy-and-caste-system.htm (Accessed February 20, 2014)

Who killed JFK essays

Who killed JFK essays On November 22, 1963, the distant sound of rifle shots could be heard. President John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jackie were in Dallas, Texas, trying to win campaign support for the upcoming presidential election. On his way to a luncheon the Kennedys sat in an open convertible at the head of a motorcade along with Texas Governor John B. Connally and his wife. Vice-President, Lyndon Johnson was two cars behind the president. A large crowd of Kennedy supporters lined the streets waving flags and cheering. As the motorcade approached an underpass, near the Texas School Book Depository three quick shots were fired, fatally wounding the president. The government reported that one bullet passed through JFKs neck and struck Governor Connally in the back. The second bullet struck JFKs head; and a third one reportedly missed the motorcade. Kennedy was rushed to the nearest hospital, Parkland. He never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at 1:00 pm. Later that day, aboard the pr esidential plane, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States. The investigators believed that the bullets that killed Kennedy were fired from a sixth-story window of a nearby warehouse. After widespread interviewing and intense questioning was completed in Dallas, Lee Harvey Oswald, who was employed in the warehouse, was arrested and charged with murder. When Oswald was being transferred from one jail to another several days later he was shot by a Dallas nightclub owner named Jack Ruby. Oswald later died leaving a lot of questions unanswered. During my research I have discovered there seems to be an unending number of theories. Some authors think Oswald acted alone, some think there were 5-6 people/shooters, one author even went so far as to suggest that Kennedy shot himself. I however believe that Oswald was involved in the assassination of Kennedy. In the following paragraphs I will ...

4 Steps of Cardiac Conduction

4 Steps of Cardiac Conduction Have you ever wondered what causes your heart to beat? Your heart beats as a result of the generation and conduction of electrical impulses. Cardiac conduction is the rate at which the heart conducts electrical impulses. These impulses cause the heart to contract and then relax. The constant cycle of heart muscle contraction followed by relaxation causes blood to be pumped throughout the body. Cardiac conduction can be influenced by various factors including exercise, temperature, and endocrine system hormones. Step 1: Pacemaker Impulse Generation The first step of cardiac conduction is impulse generation. The sinoatrial (SA) node (also referred to as the pacemaker of the heart) contracts, generating nerve impulses that travel throughout the heart wall. This causes both atria to contract. The SA node is located in the upper wall of the right atrium. It is composed of nodal tissue that has characteristics of both muscle and nervous tissue. Step 2: AV Node Impulse Conduction The atrioventricular (AV) node lies on the right side of the partition that divides the atria, near the bottom of the right atrium. When the impulses from the SA node reach the AV node, they are delayed for about a tenth of a second. This delay allows atria to contract and empty their contents into the ventricles prior to ventricle contraction. Step 3: AV Bundle Impulse Conduction The impulses are then sent down the atrioventricular bundle. This bundle of fibers branches off into two bundles and the impulses are carried down the center of the heart to the left and right ventricles. Step 4: Purkinje Fibers Impulse Conduction At the base of the heart, the atrioventricular bundles start to divide further into Purkinje fibers. When the impulses reach these fibers they trigger the muscle fibers in the ventricles to contract. The right ventricle sends blood to the lungs via the pulmonary artery. The left ventricle pumps blood to the aorta. Cardiac Conduction and the Cardiac Cycle Cardiac conduction is the driving force behind the cardiac cycle. This cycle is the sequence of events that occur when the heart beats. During the diastole phase of the cardiac cycle, the atria and ventricles are relaxed and blood flows into the atria and ventricles. In the systole phase, the ventricles contract sending blood to the rest of the body. Cardiac Conduction System Disorders Disorders of the hearts conduction system can cause problems with the hearts ability to function effectively. These problems are typically the result of a blockage that diminishes the rate of speed at which impulses are conducted. Should this blockage occur in one of the two atrioventricular bundle branches that lead to the ventricles, one ventricle may contract more slowly than the other. Individuals with bundle branch block typically dont experience any symptoms, but this issue can be detected with an electrocardiogram (ECG). A more serious condition, known as heart block, involves the impairment or blockage of electrical signal transmissions between the hearts atria and ventricles. Heart block electrical disorders range from first to third degree and are accompanied by symptoms ranging from light-headedness and dizziness to palpitations and irregular heartbeats.

The Age of Reagan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Age of Reagan - Assignment Example hilosophy, ones experiences, ones exposure to the raw edges of human existence, ones religious training, ones attitudes toward life and family and their values, and the moral standards one establishes and seeks to observe, are all likely to influence and to colour ones thinking and conclusions about abortion†. Reagan was a president who worked against the communist agendas. As per (Vlib)â€Å"Under the Reagan Doctrine, one by one, it was the Communist dominos that began to fall†. Reagan has been a lash on the violent history of communist activities and he had won cold war and even changed the face of American in many ways. By ending communism he proved to be a man who put a hold on the violent centuries of communism. As per (History Place, 1982) â€Å"The President eloquently explains the reasons behind his staunch opposition to Communism while encouraging the British to aid in the worldwide struggle for freedom, recalling the success of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the fight against Nazi tyranny†. Reagan has been successful in combating communism and this was a revolutionary phase in American politics. Ameircan Rhetoric, . (2001). Address to the Republican National Convention. In http://www.america nrhetoric.com. Retrieved May 18, 2014, from http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/part