Didions on Morality Essay Example for Free

Didions on Morality Essay What is it that forms and drives our â€Å"moral behaviors†? Are we born with a basic sense of morality or do we develop a set of moral â€Å"social codes† to keep society from falling into chaos and anarchy? In her essay â€Å"On Morality,† Joan Didion dissects what lies beneath the surface of humanity’s morality. By recounting several stories and historical events, she shows that morality at its basic â€Å"most primitive level† is nothing more than â€Å"our loyalties to the ones we love,† everything else is subjective. Didion’s first story points out our loyalty to family. She is in Death Valley writing an article about â€Å"morality,† â€Å"a word [she] distrust more every day. † She relates a story about a young man who was drunk, had a car accident, and died while driving to Death Valley. â€Å"His girl was found alive but bleeding internally, deep in shock,† Didion states. She talked to the nurse who had driven his girl 185 miles to the nearest doctor. The nurse’s husband had stayed with the body until the coroner could get there. The nurse said, â€Å"You just can’t leave a body on the highway, it’s immoral. † According to Didion this â€Å"was one instance in which [she] did not distrust the word, because [the nurse] meant something quite specific. † She argues we don’t desert a body for even a few minutes lest it be desecrated. Didion claims this is more than â€Å"only a sentimental consideration. † She claims that we promise each other to try and retrieve our casualties and not abandon our dead; it is more than a sentimental consideration. She stresses this point by saying that â€Å"if, in the simplest terms, our upbringing is good enough – we stay with the body, or have bad dreams. † Her point is that morality at its most â€Å"primary† level is a sense of â€Å"loyalty† to one another that we learned from our loved ones. She is saying that we stick with our loved ones no matter what, in sickness, in health, in bad times and good times; we don’t abandon our dead because we don’t want someone to abandon us. She is professing that morality is to do what we think is right; whatever is necessary to meet our â€Å"primary loyalties† to care for our loved ones, even if it means sacrificing ourselves. Didion emphatically states she is talking about a â€Å"wagon-train morality,† and â€Å"For better or for worse, we are what we learned as children. † She talks about her childhood and hearing â€Å"graphic litanies about the Donner-Reed party and the Jayhawkers. She maintains they â€Å"failed in their loyalties to each other,† and â€Å"deserted one another. † She says they â€Å"breached their primary loyalties,† or they would not have been in those situations. If we go against our â€Å"primary loyalties† we have failed, we regret it, and thus â€Å"have bad dreams. † Didion insist that â€Å"we have no way of knowing†¦what is ‘right’ and what is ‘wrong,’ what is ‘good and what is ‘evil’. † She sees politics, and public policy falsely assigned â€Å"aspects of morality. † She warns us not to delude ourselves into thinking that because we want or need something â€Å"that it is a moral imperative that we have it, then is when we join the fashionable madmen. † She is saying this will be our demise, and she may well be correct. Hitler’s idea that he had â€Å"a moral imperative† to â€Å"purify the Aryan race† serves as a poignant reminder of such a delusion. In 1939 Hitler’s Nazi army invaded Poland and started World War II. World War II came to an end in large part due to the United States dropping two atomic bombs. If the war had continued and escalated to the point of Hitler’s Nazis and the United States dropping more atomic bombs we could have destroyed most, if not all, of humanity, the ultimate act of â€Å"fashionable madmen. † We may believe our behaviors are just and righteous, but Didion’s essay makes us closely examine our motives and morals. She contends that madmen, murders, war criminals and religious icons throughout history have said â€Å"I followed my own conscience. † â€Å"I did what I thought was right. † â€Å"Maybe we have all said it and maybe we have been wrong. † She shows us that our â€Å"moral codes† are often subjective and fallacious, that we rationalize and justify our actions to suit our ulterior motives, and our only true morality is â€Å"our loyalty to those we love. † It is this â€Å"loyalty to those we love† that forms our families, then our cities, our states, our countries and ultimately our global community. Without these â€Å"moral codes,† social order would break down into chaos and anarchy.

How have cultures from the ‘west’ been represented in the ‘east’ Essay Example for Free

How have cultures from the ‘west’ been represented in the ‘east’ Essay Fundamentally the term culture means to cultivate but on other hand this word also contains some other meanings and definitions as well. Number of writers and author worked and surveyed on the actual definition of culture and in year 1952 Alfred Kroeber and Clyde has presented approximately 164 defamations of this word â€Å"culture†. If we focus these definitions and research work by our well-known authors then we can came to know the fact that culture is simply the critical review of concepts and definitions that people have. Along with this the fact has also been revealed that culture can be presented and illustrated with three different approaches like the taste in fine arts and humanities is one of the significant ways of defining one’s culture or perspective. Similarly values, goals and attitudes are also used in illustrating the cultural values. (Bryan 1963) Beside above mentioned points the human knowledge , belief and the attitudes are also used in promoting culture as these things has the power and capacity to define the thoughts and ideas of people. Later after finding numerous definition of culture in twentieth century this word emerges out with new concepts as the focus point of anthropology, which means that culture is a word that is actually composed of all the actions and thoughts that is performed by human anywhere in the world and all these behaviors does not have any sort of relation with the genetics. In West, this word has its own meaning as they have their own approaches and thoughts regarding this term, as according to them culture basically defines two things that include the human experience, imaginations and incidents which occurs with them and later they present those things according to their art and used their power of creativity as well. (Alan Bryan 1963) Similarly they illustrated the meaning of culture by presenting the idea that in this entire world there are number of people who have their own way and manners of living and with their own ideas, experience and conditions they define their own meaning of culture as the way of defining culture varies from place to place and from people to people as well. But later after the World War 2 numerous authors reformed the definition of culture and the style they had presented it was also changed and among those authors albeit played a significnat role as in this era his work and ideas are still followed and apprectiated. Besides these above mentioned definition when we go though numerous research paper and studies of different authors from all over the world we came to know the fact that number of artist were born in west side and presented beautiful and unique work that portrayed their thoughts regarding culture and numerous other things. Among these beautiful and talented artist Hansen is a significant name. This man was born in year 1960 in West area where the natural beauty, purity and environment was so attractive that form the early stage this boy started visioning, drawing and portraying his cultural beauty in a marvelous manner. Hansen completed his educational career and returned to homeland in 1990, but during his early days of schooling this young boy started painting in year 1969, after that he went abroad to study mechanical design as well. Later he came back to America and served this country as a technical drawing specialist. Ms Georgian was the lady who impressed Hansen and he want himself to work and serve the idea of culture through his talent and skills of painting and drawing. He has developed his own unique sense of styling which reflects his philosophical mind as well. As time passes this young boy’s skills in promoting culture were notified by numerous people and his professional career started in which he designed numerous spectacular designs in the boating industry. The concept of portraying culture in such manner was so much appreciated by people that the technique of introducing abstract and cubist was later adopted by the artist of East as well. Beside Hansen’s work numerous other artist work and thought are adopted by the people of East. Christians also played a vital role in promoting cultural values and portraying them in such a manner that it was appreciated by the entire world. And among there marvelous work the oldest and the most symbolic thing is the cross sign which is known as the sign of Christian’s faith. The idea of presenting cross sign has played a significant role in numerous other cultures as well. People from different region especially from east side have adopted it as well and defines their own meaning of this symbol. If we go through to the detail and deep knowledge of this cross then we came to know numerous facts regarding it as it was revealed that through ages and centuries people are using and following this cross sign to protect themselves from illness, to have good fortune, and to show their respect to their religion and numerous other things as well. After the great success of promoting culture is such manner numerous other artists has developed countless version of its, which include X-Shaped St. Andrews cross and the T-shaped teau-cross as well. Beside this, the people of Greek have used this symbol in order to represent the four cardinal directions as well or we can say that they tried to represent the four basic elements which include earth, wind, water and fire. Other than this, the people of India have used this symbol as well in order to show the four main directions of heavens. Similarly, the people of Africa has designed cross roads and there concept of it is that these crossroads are places where the world of living and dead meet. In addition with this, numerous Eastern artists used this shaped to promote their cultural jewelry as well. Along with above mentioned things, Eastern people have also discovered new and interesting things in Japan by following the writings of Shakespeare as they had focused the plays of him and started studying the canonical values of his theater and implement the thoughts and ideas in order to promote the cultural things. Similarly, the people of Japan also have a great history in promoting cultural things through different and unique ideas such as the monster is one of the significant thing that Japanese promotes in their culture which was actually the creation of human imagination which resemble numerous things at different points like people, other animals or well –known objects as well. (Kuncaraningrat 1985) The artist of West promote their cultural values and things by numerous ways and among them music is the major source. With the help of unique and different musical instruments they define their thoughts and ideas regarding their culture. All sort of music either rock, pop or slow all were used to promote culture. In addition with these the artist of West also launched numerous sort of games that have music like Krongcong is one of the famous and well-known musical game that was designed in a manner that the music lovers start playing them and the main focus of promoting culture with the help of music will also go on with such innovative discoveries. Similarly along with music, dance is another thing that is used in order to promote culture of West, as it is the best approach of reflecting and showing the diversification of different ethical groups that compose the entire West portion of the world. This technique of promoting culture was adopted by the artist of East as well, as this gave great opportunity to show the traditional and cultural values of one’s states. The people of West also use the source of drama and theaters in order to promote their cultural values, and this technique really works as people form all over the world came to watch such sort of drama that promotes culture and things regarding traditional values. Along with this the people of East represent the culture of West in their region by using the traditional arts things which includes paintings, sculpture and numerous sort of architecture as well. Not only this they also used literature and poetry in order to present the idea and thoughts regarding the culture and traditional values of West. For people who loved food the Eastern group facilitate them by provding and presenting the Western dishes, along with this the more powerful and source that the Eastern people used in order to represent the culture of West in the media, as there is a great number of cinemas within East and these cinemas has played a significant role in spreading every bite of cultural things and cover all the traditional values of the entire West. In previous days, this source did not work as much but at the beginning of year 1980 this platform reaches the peak and concurred the highest level as well. Beside this cinema’s role numerous Eastern artists have played a significant role in order to promote and represent the culture and traditions of West within their country and this medium of representing the culture is very much appreciated by all as in this every age group can find its own interesting things to go for. Other than this, radio network which was formed in year 1945 also played a significant role, especially after 2006 numerous radio channels are launched using Digital Audio Broadcasting and Hybrid system that are also facilitating in promoting the cultural values all over the East. But all these above mentioned approaches had a positive result till political issues do not arise. In early days if we go through the detail representation techniques of promoting and showing culture of West in East we came to know that its result is very much effective as long as it was concerned as the homogenous population things towards mass production. This multiculturalism has worked for a long time in order to show the Western European society. The people of French also liked and welcomed this sort of representation and wrote numerous theories on it and named such things as a class struggle which highlighted the real charm, beauty as well as the weakness, along with this such representation also include ethics, religion and race issues but this thought of promoting culture is no more seen due to numerous political issues. Adams 2006) As now people have the idea that political, cultural, social and economical dialogue projects are addressed but should not be exclusively shown in Muslim countries, beside this according to the political rules the training programs, information of technologies and other things should not be shown and promoted on other side rather than West as this cause great trouble to the citizens of the west. Beside this the global conflict is also one of the major reason of promoting culture and traditional things in such a way, as the people of other country did not have the actual idea or right to promote each other cultural values as by this they often show our cultural things in a wrong manner and this cause big issues. According to a survey and research numerous authors wrote things about politicians idea that they have an idea that assimilation model can’t work longer because he people who are from different state are not like us and they have different skin color, they have other religion whose rules are not applicable on us, as we are not of same group, culture, and we does not have same social and traditional values. Similarly the political rules that are governing West also have the idea that we people are from different type of population and thats why we cant work on same issue with hand in hand as these people are living in a territory which has no political representation and they wants to copy our theories and approaches by promoting our cultural and traditional values. (Adams 2006) In a nut shell, we can conclude our paper that the idea of presenting and promoting culture and traditional values of each other provide us great benefit as by this we can come to know the real concepts and ideas of each other, and this thing also facilitate us in getting new approaches as well but this concept that arises in this era that by doing so we people can face numerous difficulties and political issues is not good for both the citizens of West as well as East so we should cover up such issues and focus on the growth and development of cultural as well as other things which is a great need for all of us.

Differences Between Hindu And Mormon Marriages Religion Essay

Differences Between Hindu And Mormon Marriages Religion Essay Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, also known as LDS or Mormons, have different customs and beliefs regarding marriage, compared to members of the Hinduism faith. Three significant differences of marriage within the Hindu and Mormon faiths include: how the bride and groom meet before marriage, the wedding ceremony, and the eternal perspective of their marriage. Let me review these three significant differences in more detail. Although 90% of Hindus and 83% of Mormons marry within their own faith in the US, there is a significant difference in how they are paired up in general (Haniffa, p. 1). Finding a spouse to marry is the first difference between the Hindu and Mormon faith. In an LDS relationship, the couple usually goes through a courting process. The individual is free to choose their own partner according to their own interests. LDS singles will date and court many different members before settling down with the person whom they will often refer to as their eternal companion. When they agree to be married, they are then considered engaged. In contrast, Hindus believe that there are eight different types of marriage arrangements. These are found under the laws of Manu. The Laws of Manu describe an ideal code of behavior for Hindus. (Matthews 77) The eight types of marriage are: the rite of Brahmana (Brahma), that of the gods (Daiva), that of the Rishis (Arsha), that of Prajapati (Prajapatya), that of the Asuras (Asura), that of the Gandharvas (Gandharva), that of the Rakshasas (Rakshasa), and that of the Pisakas (Paisaka). (Manusmrti (Laws of Manu) Matthews, p. 21) Of these eight types of marriage, not all of them have religious procedures and the last four are condemned, such as the Pisakas (Paisaka). The Pisakas is defined below. When a man by stealth seduces a girl who is sleeping, intoxicated, or disordered in intellect, that is the eighth, the most base and sinful rite of the Pisakas. (From Manusmrti (Laws of Manu) Chapter III #31) Although arranged marriage is on the decline, it is still, by far, the most common form of marriage in the Hindu Religion. One website reported that in India 95% of marriages were arranged (Gibson, p. 1). Arranged marriage generally takes place when the parents of the bride and groom find a match for their son or daughter. Some considerations such as education, wealth, horoscope, and caste help the parents better choose a spouse for their son or daughter. Once the elders and family agree upon likely compatibility of the couple, they are engaged to be married, sometimes without having ever even met. Second, there are differences between the marriage ceremony of a Mormon and the marriage of a Hindu. Although a Mormon can be married legally in a court of law, the most honorable, preferred, and sought after way of marriage is being sealed or married in a LDS Temple. The Holy Temple is a sacred building where sacred and confidential ordinances are performed. Those who enter the temple agree to keep these procedures and ordinances sacred and confidential. When the couple enters the temple, they change into all white clothes and are prepared for the sealing ordinance of marriage. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints does not give permission to disclose these ordinances. The Church counsels: We do not quote the words of the sealing ordinance outside of the temple, but we may describe the sealing room as being beautiful in its appointment, quiet and serene in spirit, and hallowed by the sacred work that is performed there. (Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple) Not everyone is permitted to enter an LDS temple. Only those who have been found worthy can enter. In some cases, one or both parents may not be allowed to enter the temple as they have not been found worthy. It is recommended that only family and very close friends to the bride and groom are allowed to attend. Wedding groups should be small, comprising only the members of the two families and some few who are very close to the couple. A wedding reception is to provide a time for greeting the friends and the well-wishers. (Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple) Within the Hindu faith, however, the whole family is involved, and it is a celebration that can last for hours or days. A Hindu wedding is officiated under a mandap, by a Hindu Priest. Anyone who the family wants to attend is welcome. The ceremony phases, rituals, and words are not confidential. They have deep meaning and symbolism for all to witness. The main colors of the brides dress are primarily red and gold. The ceremony can vary from region to region depending where one lives. One of the ceremonial rituals for the marriage includes a fire. The Pratigna-Karan is a part of the ceremony where bride and groom circle a fire, bride leading, and make commitments of loyalty, love, and fidelity. Last, the difference between Hindu marriage and Mormon marriage is their eternal perspective to the marriage. Although the temple wedding ordinance is not disclosed by the LDS church, the principle and covenant behind the ordinance is. A covenant is an agreement between mankind and God. The temple covenant includes the couples promise to remain faithful to each other; in return the Lord promises that they will be sealed (married) together for life and all eternity. LDS members believe that through a temple sealing, they can enjoy each others companionship through this life and all eternity. When they pass away, their spirits are still bound by these sacred covenants and their spirits rest together in a spiritual paradise until the resurrection. When the resurrection occurs, their spirits are once again reunited with perfect physical bodies. It is only through marriage in the temple that one is able to dwell with the Lord in the highest degree of his kingdom. Although marriage is held sacred in the second phase of a Hindus life, it does not promise eternal life with their spouse and the Lord. When a Hindu couple joins in the union of marriage, they make commitments to each other, with God as their witness, but do not make a covenant with God. There are seven general vows that are made during a Hindu wedding. The last one is as follows: When the bride and the groom take the seventh and the last vow, they promise that they will be true and loyal to each other and will remain companions and best of friends for their lifetime. (Seven Vows of Marriage) When they die, they are no longer bound to one another and the cycle of Karma and re-incarnation begin again. This cycle of birth, life, death, and re-birth do not agree with the Mormon beliefs of birth, death, judgment and exaltation. In conclusion, Mormons have different customs and beliefs regarding marriage compared to members of the Hinduism faith. While they both believe that marriage is a sacred part of this life, many more differences exist. Many Hindus believe in arranged marriages, while Mormons believe in personally dating and courting several possible spouses before getting engaged. The actual wedding ceremonies of Hindu and Mormon religions have drastic contrast. Hindus are married under outdoor mantraps, openly, and with friends and family present. Their wedding can last for days. In contrast, Mormons are married in temples with only a few worthy family and friends present. Their wedding ceremony only lasts about 20 minutes. Possibly the biggest contrast of Mormon and Hindu marriages is their eternal perspective. Hindus believe that their marriage will dissolve after one partner dies, and then be reincarnated to a different body and life. Mormons, however, believe that their spouse will be their etern al companion. They believe that the only way to enter into the highest degree of heaven is through a temple marriage with a worthy partner. What would you prefer, spending eternity with one partner or returning time and again, each a new experience?

The Gothic Tradition in Stokers Dracula and Wildes Picture of Dorian

The Gothic Tradition in Stoker's Dracula and Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray Gothic Literature was a natural progression from romanticism, which had existed in the 18th Century. Initially, such a ‘unique’ style of literature was met with a somewhat mixed response; although it was greeted with enthusiasm from members of the public, literary critics were much more dubious and sceptical. Gothic writing is a style of literature that relies upon the evocation of moods, feelings and imagery for impact. This style of writing was developed during an age of great scientific discovery – such literature marked a reaction against the prevailing ‘Age of Enlightenment’. Many Gothic authors opposed the new-found faith and enthusiasm placed in these discoveries, believing that they restricted freedom of imagination. Consequently, Gothic writers inhabited areas where no answers are provided – exploiting people’s fears and offering answers that are in stark contrast to the otherwise scientific explanations. Gothic writing is a style that depends upon the evocation of moods, which is reflected mainly in the writing style of a novel. ‘Dracula’ is written in the first person – ‘I must have been asleep’ - with a constant change of narrator within chapters. Wilde, however, wrote in the third person, omniscient, giving us the observer’s point of view whilst still showing us the intelligence and class of his characters through the language that they use – ‘come, Mr Gray, my hansom is outside’. The diary entries or notes used in ‘Dracula’ are fragmented and have an epistolary structure ‘Jonathon Harker’s Journal’. This emphasises each of the character’s feelings of isolation and loneliness, adding to the appeal of the reader. During the entries, Stok... ... die, innocence and good is corrupted and there is a connection to sexuality. Both novels create an aspect of mystery for the reader of the 19th century. Stoker’s portrayal of a creature little known by the English public of the 1890’s would have been of fear inspiring fascination to read about. Though few would have read John Palidori’s vampire novel, more perhaps would have heard the tale of Vlad the Impaler. He was a man who supposedly drank human blood or the blood of his war victims, and was in fact a ‘Dracule’. This basis in reality would add a sadistic interest to the novel. Wilde’s novel, though equally inexplicable, doesn’t create the same feeling of terror, but does raise a number of reservations in its reader. Both novels are seemingly successful texts in upholding the interest of the reader through many of the typical conventions of the Gothic tradition.

The Transformation of Hester in The Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

The Transformation of Hester in The Scarlet Letter The Puritans came from England in the sixteen hundreds to break free from the laws and regulations made by the king of England. In the new world, they were able to practice their own form of religion. The Puritans believed in God and His laws. "A Young Puritan's Code" was "Being sensible, that I am unable to do anything without God's help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these resolutions so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ sake." (Jonathan Edwards) And they had over fourteen resolutions to keep. Although this is Jonathan Edwards interpretation, it was most likely the way the Puritan lived. And they probably obeyed it out of fear for their life. For sinners are in the hands of a angry God. Many years later Nathaniel Hawthorn was greatly interested by the Puritans. This 19th-century American novelist, was born on July 4, in Salem, Massachusetts, and died May 11, 1864. He was the first American writer to apply artistic judgment to Puritan society. He was intrigued by the psychological insight into the complexities of human motivations and actions. In The Scarlet Letter, he expressed one of the central legacies of American Puritanism, using the plight of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale to illustrate the conflict between the desire to confess and the necessity of self-concealment. Hawthorne grew up with his two sisters and their widowed mother, and an uncle saw to his education at Bowdoin College. In 1852, Hawthorne wrote the campaign biography of Franklin Pierce, an old college friend. The best of Hawthorn's early fiction was gathered in Twice-Told Tales, Mosses from an Old Manse, and The Snow-Image. These capture the complexity's of the New England Puritan heritage. Hawthorne's writing had a wide range of influence upon people, such as Melville who dedicated the great classic Moby-Dick to him. One of Hawthorne's most famous novels is The Scarlet Letter. One of his characters (Hester Prynne) is changed throughout the novel. Hester changes three different times, from being a shamed woman to a capable women and then to a healer. Hester Prynne emerges from the prison, proud and beautiful wearing

Procrastination And Sloth The Spice Of Life? :: essays research papers

I’m what most people might call lazy, lethargic, and a procrastinator. How did it start? The first specific instance that I can remember was in 5th grade math class. I didn’t do my math. My mentality was that school consumed more then half of my waking hours and I wasn’t going to let it take anymore then that. So my assignments were partially completed, from the day before, and handed in unfinished. I knew that my parents and teachers would raise hell itself when I did this but my mind wouldn’t waiver on this. Since I had been able to get through all of grade school without homework why should I have any now? Great reasoning for a 5th grader, but this thinking contained a few flaws. To start out, there are 3 types of people in the world. The first kind will generally always try their best and be a competitor in life. They treat life as a marathon that needs a steady vigil pace to complete. The second is the person the will try to complete the absolute bear minimum to survive and occasionally misjudges what is needed done. The third and final is the person that absolutely cannot find any reason to try at all and hope for the best to come to them but never actively seek it. This is the lowest form of life that will suckle away your money, forgiveness, and love never sharing it back with you. To thoroughly understand the three classes of people, a more detailed analysis is needed. The first kind is the ideal person. One, which all parents and communities hope to produce. They are considered the leaders, overachievers, and well standing citizens. The second class is the C student of life. They’re the average person who occasionally does exceptional work but for the most part will be in the shadows of the first class. Procrastination and laziness is most common to occur in this class and becomes extreme when we reach the third class. The 3rd class no longer tries or cares too much about their life to do anything about their state. They are the ones that abuse the welfare system and borrow anything and everything from their friends and strangers alike. The causes for these differences can be attributed to many factors. At one point we are all the in the same class, class number one.

Are Liberty and Equality Compatible?

â€Å"Two Concepts of Liberty† defined the distinction between positive liberty and negative liberty. He defined positive liberty as the ability to fulfill one own potential. This Is typified by the phrase â€Å"l am my own master†. For example, if I really want to become an economist, then I would be positively free if not discouraged. Negative liberty is defined as â€Å"freedom from external constraint†. The Implications of Positive and Negative Liberty A sketch by Eddie Izard entitled â€Å"Cake or death†4 offers to people exactly that. We might think that be fully free but even the most ardent of fitness fanatics would of course pick cake. Alternatively, a feared, violent and ruthless highwayman offering you â€Å"your money or your Life†5 may illustrate the point.Assuming that we know the highwayman not to be bluffing, not even Scrooge himself would keep his money. Whilst the above two examples are possible to envisage, It Is clear that they a re not part of your average society and a more realistic example may be prudent. Many prostitutes can and do hate their jobs, however, they often have no alternative to it, even when not forced to do so. There are several reasons why a prostitute would continue to remain in the trade. A study by London South Bank University identified 9 barriers to exist including drug addiction, lack of education and social stigma.The implications are that we are sometimes faced with decisions where there is only one legalistic possible option. Indeed, a determinist would go as far to argue that we are faced all the time with decisions where there is only one possible outcome and we do not have free will at all and everything is – in principle – predicable. It is clear that we cannot mean free to mean negatively free. However, the argument that freedom Is possible becomes much less tenuous when one considers being positively free.It Is defined as the ability to maximize one's potentia l, given the current state of resources available to people. â€Å"Positive liberty Is the possibility of acting ? or the fact of acting ? in such a way as to take control of one's life and realize one's fundamental teacher, then he would be positively free if he is able to realism his aims. In short, he is able to maximize his potential. A misconception of Equality Some of the more pedantic among us could argue that equality is possible. Certainly in areas such as mathematics this is true. A simple example such as 8 +7=1 5 shows that equality can exist.However, it is very clear that this is not what one means by equality in this sense. Many would assume that perhaps equality should be defined then as the equal allocation of resources. However, in the context of animal ethics, Peter Singer argued that it this kind of equality is impossible and should not be defined as such; it seems impractical and perhaps immoral for this to be the case. â€Å"Humans have interests in mountain-cl imbing and skiing, in seeing the world and sampling different cultures. Cows like lush pasture and shelter from harsh weather.Hence to deny humans the right to travel from outside Devon would be to restrict their rights significantly; it would not be a significant restriction for the rights of cows. â€Å"8 However, to avoid complications, we shall not concern ourselves with the epic of equality between animals and humans. Despite this, it can still be applied in the context of between Just humans. For example, it is impractical or pointless to grant women the right to prostate examinations or to equally allocate cricket bats among footballers and cricketers alike. A critique of Singer's claim above could be done by using the following simple example.Imagine two people, Sam and Simon. Sam inherited a large estate, and is very wealthy, despite a lack of talent, determination or ambition. Alternatively, Simon despite being talented and ambitious received a poor quality of education a nd comes from a low income family. Although Singer has debunked the argument that equality means the equal allocation of resources, to many this would still seem unfair. However, Singer offers a counter proposal where the impetus of his argument is equal consideration. This is a broadly abstract term but can be applied to many contemporary and relevant examples.For example, laws regarding maternity and paternity leave or resolving conflict between settlers to an area and to indigenous people. Most significantly, Singer's example could be applied in the context of macroeconomics, in that whilst equality is not honeymoon with social mobility and meritocracy, it can work in close conjunction with the two. State of Nature Before examining the compatibility of the two in a society, it seems prudent to examine whether the two can be compatible without a society, in a State of Nature and synonymous to many as a dyspepsia.A state of nature is a hypothetical thought experiment designed to in vestigate what a pre-societal life would be like for people. In his Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes posited the claim that, â€Å"a free man is he that in those things which by his strength and wit he is able to do is not hindered to do what e hath the will to do†9, alluding to liberty in its negative sense. He argued, that in the state of nature, liberty did not exist, because actions were hindered by fear of death and fear of the power of others. Despite saying that freedom can only truly exist under a sovereign, Hobbes alludes to liberty in the negative sense.Indeed, others have interpreted his works for people However, people are free in that they interpretation of his own work seems desperately counter intuitive. However, Hobbes has only discussed how we are not free in the negative sense. However, this may not be the case for positive freedom. We are free to maximize our potential. There is no State or Government to restrict us in any way possible. Hobbes also comments that me n are by nature equal in their powers, as even â€Å"the weakest has strength enough to kill the strongest, either by secret machination, or by confederacy with others, that are in the same danger as himself. 10 One can therefore conclude that humans are free and equal in a State of Nature, an abstract thought experiment. However, this is neither desirable nor permanent. It is a poor quality of freedom and equality in that the standard. In a State of Nature being free and equal means that we are free and equal to be violent against each other and live the â€Å"solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short life†1 1 that Hobbes so described.Bringing abstract theory into reality We can establish that these two arguments so that liberty and equality are theoretically possible, however, the question is now is whether these arguments have practical implications. However, what does it mean to be human? Humans are naturally social beings with our own societal friendships, families and relationships. As Hummed pointed out, social contract theory is an unhelpful fiction, because social organization is natural for us is natural. Indeed, a very clear example would be that we all grow up, learn values, language and develop knowledge through parenting, and through social interaction and as a result through discipline, leadership and rules. Therefore, a state of nature must be fiction. Furthermore, equality is referred to as equal consideration, however in a State of Nature, there is no government present to â€Å"equally consider†. Therefore, one has to revert to the equal allocation of resources, and Hobbes argues that resources are shared equally, in that people have roughly the same amount of intelligence, muscle and weaponry.However, the equal allocation of resources is something this thesis is trying to revert from. A Utopia? There are three branches of ethics, utilitarianism, deontological and virtue. And in all three of them liberty and equality are highl y desirable. For example, given that Utilitarianism has its definition coined as â€Å"the maximum amount of happiness for the maximum amount of people†13, and one does not need to Justify for the purposes of this essay that liberty and equality are most often highly desirable in society.It would therefore seem prudent to examine a utilitarianism society, and examine whether liberty and equality may be possible. In Aloud Huxley â€Å"Brave New World†, a caste system is depicted with the inhabitants ranked from alpha through to epsilon. 14 Despite height, appearance and Jobs available being dependent on what class one is, each person is conditioned before birth (though that is an inappropriate word to use) and each class is perfectly content to remain in their class and does not aspire to be of any other class.Many would repulsed by this state – and whilst it seems desperately counter-intuitive, both freedom and equality can be obtained. Indeed, some would consid er the caste system to be not far short of slavery, omitting clearly not very equal. However, equality as equal consideration is allowed for, each individual conditioned with their happiness being viewed in the same equal extent that they are positively free and are able to maximize their potential in their designated class. 15 It seems then that in this example, liberty and equality are compatible.Whilst this fictitious society leaves a lot to be desired, it may be useful to have a look at how this society was reached and see if this can be paralleled in reality. The logical conclusion of capitalism There may be faults with the feasibility of a utopia as well. Huxley assumes that Brave New World is the logical end of capitalism. All activity is aimed at continued consumption, for example the slogan of â€Å"ending is better than mending†16. All obstacles to consumption are removed. Mass production, God and individualism are institutionalized. In order to maintain this freedo m, the means of production must be controlled.Utopia translates from Greek meaning â€Å"no place†. 17 Essentially, it means that it does not exist. While there are certainly parallels with society, this is not how capitalism will end, and this is for four interlinked reasons. Firstly, the notion of illogical mass production of humans is deeply concerning and a vital premise to the Huxley argument. One can quite reasonably assert the claim that this will never happen. Secondly, there is a lack of relationships, in the book the notion of family and parenthood is treated with shock and disdain, and as a result society is equal for the reasons given above.However, the notion of family and parenthood does exist, and this can have drastic consequences for the logical conclusion of capitalism. With nepotism and the accumulation of capital there is a case that there is a shift to patrimonial capitalism. However, this will be discussed in more detail later. But most importantly, the logical conclusion to capitalism does not take into consideration how human beings are not always rational. Long before the term behavioral economics was coined, Huxley assumed that â€Å"Homo Economics†18 would prevail. However, people do not always make decisions that maximize their welfare.A very simple argument will show this point to be correct; this is known as the Gambler's Fallacy. 19 When at a roulette table, people will often assume that if at a table, the roulette wheel has shown to be the color red the previous six times, then it is more likely to e on the seventh spin. However, a simple math experiment with a roulette wheel or a computer will show this to be incorrect, and statistical theory on independence provides the reasoning behind this. Even it were rational to Join this kind of society, the likelihood of this happening is not secure.A Thought Experiment With the exception of a conclusion, the rest of this thesis, will analyses and evaluate reasons why free dom and equality may not be practical in society today. A fully free state shall be assumed, and the question will be posed asking if equality can be produced as a by- product alongside. Finally, the thesis will question the aforementioned assumption in two different ways. The Assumption of a Fully Free State To many this seems like capitalism. However, capitalism is far too broad and can name suggests implies that the state is involved and does not prohibit freedom.Laissez-fairer capitalism might be more prudent as a result. We shall now assume that a fully free state but be one determined by market forces, determined by supply and demand in order for me to be positively free and maximize citizen's potential. The First Reason – How Liberty Upsets Patterns This heading is not original, it is on page 160 of Robert Nicks book â€Å"Anarchy State ND Utopia†, the heading alludes to an often quoted example of a successful basketball called player Wilt Chamberlain, which is pertinent. In this world, everyone earns exactly the same salary and money is distributed evenly.At each home game, he receives 25 cents from every person playing the game. To the customers, this seems reasonable – he is very good at basketball. If one million watch him play during the season, Chamberlain has $250,000. He has more money than someone else. 20 Let us extend the analogy further so that everyone else earns a sum of $25,000 a year. It seems that although Chamberlain may have more money than everyone else it is not a problem, because this equality can include a meritocracy and equality is defined as equal consideration.This might seem Justified because of marginal productivity theory; some would say that Chamberlain works harder and is more productive so he should receive more money than anyone else. However, there are two issues with this theory. The first is that the facts do not support it. As the recession went on bankers such as Fred Goodwin continued to recei ve bonuses, despite bringing banks to their knees. Even though they were worse than useless, hey were still receiving money despite having a negative marginal productivity theory.Despite The Royal Bank of Scotland (RUBS) going bankrupt, Fred Goodwin receives a IEEE,OHO pension from RUBS. 21 Secondly, despite Wilt Chamberlain earning ten times more than everyone else is it true that he works ten times harder in order to achieve his wealth? The answer is most likely no. In essence there is a sense of disproportion to the extent of the meritocracy. There is a clear opportunity cost; no one was forced to watch him play basketball. They could have spent their money on everything as mundane from tea bags to headphones.This presents some issues, he now has far more money than anyone else does, and this to many seems unequal. In the I-J, the staggering sums of money that footballers earn is a proponent in an argument for inequality- how can It be fair that Wayne Rooney earns more in one wee k than the average person earns in 10 years? But this is unequal. The Second Reason – Rent Seeking Economies It is necessary to delineate between two different types of economy, wealth generating and rent seeking.Wealth generating refers to ways of earning money whilst increasing the output of the economy at the same time. A quintessential example would be innovation such as Tyson vacuum cleaners. Rent seeking is defined as â€Å"when a company, organization or individual uses their resources to obtain an economic gain from others without reciprocating any of the benefits back into society through wealth creation. â€Å"22 Here, a useful example would be through a usefully entitled â€Å"The Locust and the Bee†. 23 Here, the locust is analogous to the rent seeking economy and the bee the wealth generating economy.The economist Joseph Zeitgeist has argued that rent-seeking is a large contributor to income inequality in the United States through lobbying for government policies hat let the wealthy and powerful get income, not as a reward for creating wealth, but by grabbing a larger share of the wealth that would otherwise have been produced without their effort. As Paul Grumman points out, most of the richest 1% in the world are generally not the innovators such as Bill Gates or Mark Suckering, but generally those with a much lower marginal productivity, such as Fred Goodwin or C.Douglas McMillan. Furthermore, despite these low marginal productivities, their income, (in America at least) has increased as seen in the graph below. The Third Reason – The Fall of The American Dream? As Josef Zeitgeist points out, Paul Ryan made a speech saying that despite the US Gin coefficient rising, what is really the most significant is equality of opportunity. 24 The question, is can there be equality of opportunity. It is true that the â€Å"Rags to Riches† story as examples well documented across the world with everyone from Will. . Am to Opera Winfred, but as Zeitgeist asserts, the reason they are so well documented is because they are so rare. Given that, the question is do we always have to have an inequality of opportunity, and the answer to that is yes. The first premise that all else rests on is that equality of opportunity must rest on not only a good but equal education. Given that equal opportunity largely manifests itself in a meritocracy. The second premise of the argument is that having an equal education is unattainable.Even if private schools were completely abolished, if money was spent on students exactly proportional to their needs and the best teachers were distributed around the country exactly proportional to where they should be then equality of opportunity may not work for one key reason – chaos theory. The tiniest of changes in an education can lead to drastic consequences, for example, a certain book could be pivotal in attending a place at a prestigious university. Moreover, despite a stand ardized education, differences in education at home are beyond the state's control.The First Critique Of The Assumption However, Zeitgeist says, â€Å"Markets don't exist in a vacuum†25. Indeed, they must be shaped, mainly through the laws of that country. In the USA in the government gave holders of derivatives priority over bankruptcy. This was seen in its bail out of insurer Alga to the tune of $1 ban. This creates a â€Å"heads I win, tails you lose† situation. The first reason why laissez-fairer capitalism does not work is because the way that the market exists is though legislature which undermines what laissez-fairer capitalism sets out to achieve.The Second Critique of the Assumption- The Growth of Capital in the 21st Century The idea that inherited wealth will always grow faster than earned wealth is the main impetus of Thomas Picket's book â€Å"Capital in the 21st Century'. Pickett argues that as captures in the expression r > g, where r is the rate of retu rn to wealth and g is the economic growth rate. Other things being equal, faster economic growth will monish the importance of wealth in a society, whereas slower growth will increase it. However, there are no natural forces pushing against the steady concentration of wealth.Only a burst of rapid growth (from technological progress or rising population) or government intervention can be counted on to keep economies from returning to the â€Å"patrimonial capitalism†. Furthermore, demographics can influence this point. Writes Pickett, â€Å"Consider a world in which each couple has ten children, it is better as a general rule to not count on too much on inherited wealth, because the Emily wealth will divide by ten with each new generation. In such a society the people will have wealth diminished by 10 each generation. 26 Therefore, given that fertility rates are falling all over the world, this means that wealth will be more concentrated in the future. Regardless of the graph below, some people having more money than others can still be equal, and feel that Pickett makes a generalization as a result. However, he argues that people having more money often leads to a fall in social mobility and as a result, increased inequality of opportunity. There is now a event to patrimonial capitalism which is known more informally as crony capitalism.Given how equality is defined as equal consideration and social mobility is key, he argues that not only do some people have more money than others but social mobility is at an all time low. 27 Conclusion It seems that practically, in some form of Utopia akin to â€Å"A Brave New World† or in a State of Nature, the two may both be possible. However, in feasible ideologies, there are impossible. This is because how in a free society, issues. However, the link between equality being defined as equal consideration and equality as the equal allocation of resources is tenuous.The argument of chaos theory may be weak, as people may still be free in that they can maximize their positive liberty in that they can still maximize their potential. Chaos theory only affects the extent to which potential can be reached – not the other way around. In order for this thesis to be stronger, the link between the two warrants further exploration. Perhaps an exploration of Aristotle opinion on equality might be useful to unpick what equality means, as it depends how we look at equality. â€Å"Justice is equality, but only for equals, ND Justice is inequality, but only for those who are unequal†28.This needs further exploration. It seems that practically, in some form of Utopia akin to â€Å"A Brave New World† or in a State of Nature, the two may both be possible. However, in feasible ideologies, these are unlikely. This is because how in a free society, issues. However, the arguments mainly take the form of an inductive argument as shown below. 1. This example (from Nonionic) shows that und er a certain societal ideology the two are incompatible, 2. This example (from Pickett) shows the same 3. Therefore, the two are incompatible This is akin to â€Å"Black Swan Theory', identified by Massif Tale.If one sees a series of the case. Critically, its implications are that no one argument, shows the two to be inversely proportional to each other – for example, as you have more freedom, you get less equality. Whilst the arguments themselves do not prove that as the two are incompatible, they very much support the arguments. Perhaps further discourse is needed to prove – through a deductive argument – that the two are incompatible. Although the simple fact that social mobility is falling, especially as countries become ore and more privatized, implies that the two cannot work together.However, there is a dim ray of hope, as many of the arguments offer suggestions to solutions to solve these problems. Pickett himself proposes a progressive income tax of up to 80% and a global wealth tax of 2%. Furthermore, a 100% inheritance tax is something that others have suggested. 29 On the other hand, these suggestions are highly controversial and are unlikely to be enforced. Whilst, the two are compatible theoretically, on the current trajectory of society, it seems hugely unlikely that liberty will occur in society in the future.