To Singapore with Love Essay -- Personal Narrative Essays

To Singapore with Love It was with sleepy eyes that I first got off the airplane and into the city of Singapore. All of a sudden, however, I was jolted awake. Colorful signs and exhibits flashed the words, "Welcome to Singapura!" At that moment, a thrill rushed through me. I had arrived in the City of the Lion, an exotic and mysterious city in the orient, about to start on an exciting journey of learning and adventure. From our first day of arrival, the delegates were treated with kindness and respect. I continued to be amazed by the organization's staff, whose members stayed up in the early hours of the morning to greet us, provide us transport from the airport to the Pasir Ris Resort, and then to check us in. Every day, the event coordinators made sure we were well-informed and cared for, attending to our each and every need. From the very onset we were introduced to our conference groups. Ensuring a diverse mix of students and teachers, I was pleased to find myself exposed to a wide range of cultures and backgrounds. The student and adult group leaders were amazingly friendly and organized. I was very impressed by their leadership abilit... ... that the 2nd APEC Youth Science Festival was a great success. Although there were aspects that could have been improved - like more leisure time, improved accommodations, and better food - the event was extremely well-balanced and beneficial. With a healthy mix of educational research, scientific discussion, cultural interaction, and fun, the overall experience was a success. When I boarded the plane to return to the United States, it was not without a feeling of regret and wistfulness. I knew I would miss beautiful Singapore, but I would also treasure the new memories and friends I had made.

Fundamental Problems of Economic System Essay

Before we further move on we have to know about the sources of economic problems and a brief about the economic system. 1. 2. 1 Scarce Means and Unlimited Wants Want is Want is an effective desire for a thing, which can be satisfied by making an effort for obtaining it. We have unlimited wants and as one want gets satisfied another arises. For instance, one may have the desire to buy a car or a flat. Once the car or the flat is purchased, the person wishes to buy a more spacious and designable car and the list of his wants does not stop here but goes on one after another. As human wants are unlimited, we have to make a choice between the most urgent want and less urgent wants. Thus the problem of choice arises. Means also known as resources are limited. Means are the ways to derive the satisfaction of the various wants. For instance, money is an important means to satisfy many of our wants. As stated, means are scarce and as such these are to be used optimally. In other words scarce or limited means are to be judicially used and economized to get the maximum satisfaction. Another problem which is to be viewed is that resources have alternative uses i. e. the same resource can be used for more than one purpose. For example, money can be used either buying a laptop or a play station, all depends on how you perceive the urge of the desire or want you want to satisfy. 1. 2. 2 An Economic System or Economy The term economic system can be defined as a set of techniques by which a society decides and create balance between resources and unlimited human wants. It therefore clearly signifies that being a part of social system not only natural resources but also man made resources also get included in the economic system. The economic system thus comprises of people and institutions like banks, markets etc. The set of parameters thus used to determine the components of economic system is very dynamic and depends upon various factors like social, political, geographical and climatic etc. This shows that we can distinguish the two economies, no economy in the world will be same. The difference can be judged on the basis of control of the economy For Example: The economic system of the country can also be based on the basis of involvement of society, more involvement of society in the economy and the decision are taken with a view of society and equitable distribution of wealth is characteristic of Socialist Economy. Contrarily if the economy is decentralized and the power lies in the hands of private enterprises then the said economy is capitalist economy. Primarily the difference is done on the basis of the control but other things like growth, production of the economy can also be used to judge the economic scenario of the two economies, the production done in a fiscal year, purchasing power of the people and employment are primarily the factors considered. 1. 2. 3 Economic Agents Economic agents are the key units of the economic system, the whole economy revolves around them. Producers, consumers, institutions and various other bodies come under this category. The agents are considered to be the most critical part of the economy as they guide and drive the economy by their actions. Check your progress A 1. What is an economic system? Ans. Economic system or economy is known a set of principles by which problems of economics are addressed, such as the economic problem of scarcity through allocation of finite productive resources. The economic system thus comprises of people and institutions like banks, markets etc. . 3 FACTORS OF PRODUCTION Production process is an end to end activity which means that there is a relational pedagogy between input and output. Factors of production also known as productive inputs are the resources employed to produce goods and services, thus it constitutes the input part of the production process. Factors of production involve in the production process and improves the working of the process but do not form the ultimate part of the product. Factors of production can be broadly classified as: 1. Land . Labour 3. Capital 4. Entrepreneurship 1. 3. 1 Land In economics, land includes all natural resources which are free gift of nature. Thus, by land economists do not mean only agricultural soil, but also other natural resources such as minerals, water, climate and forests. Payment for use of land per period is called Rent. Land as factor of production implies the ground used to built and start the production moreover it serves as a pool of various minerals and valuable natural resources which facilitates the human mankind. Land is a fixed factor of production and thus it is not possible to increase. Land helps to facilitate the production only if the efficient workforce is used to generate the maximum output out of the limited resource. This means optimum utilisation of resources. 1. 3. 2 Labour Labour represents all physical and mental abilities which people can make available for production of goods and services. Labour is usually measured by the time spent in working during a period. Reward made per period of labour is called Wages. Labour is a non homogeneous factor of production. There are set of people in the underlying category which can be distinguished as skilled and unskilled worker. The workers that are skilled and educated are used in the operations of a more complex job requiring special skills and training and the other category belongs to the lower level working operations. The two factors which highlight the labour are efforts put in and performance which correlates the efficiency. The efforts put in by a labour can be modified with the motivational analysis that can help the person to make the worker work produce more. As land is the natural or passive factor in all production, so labour is the human or active factor. All the production results with the action of labour thus it can be said that labour is producer of all wealth. In economics the labour and capital is said to be the primary factors of production and from their union all of the production comes. 1. 3. 3 Capital Capital, which is not in itself a distinguishable element, but which it must always be kept in mind consists of wealth applied to the aid of labour in further production, is not a primary factor. There can be production without it, and there must have been production without it, or it could not in the first place have appeared. It is a secondary and compound factor, coming after and resulting from the union of labour and land in the production of wealth. Capital refers to man made resources of production. Labour plays an integral role in the capital formation, here too state of labour effects and relates with the capital formation an efficient worker will generate additional capital with additional production. Here the term investment arise which is the amount of capital formation in a year. The capital formation with a viewpoint of economy will include the accumulated part of the production process. The production is a continuous process and hence a halt can hamper the production in a big way, thus there is always some production in progress and some products add to the production of other products appreciating the value of the products will lead to the capital formation. 1. 3. 4 Entrepreneurship Entrepreneur represents a special human resource which provides his entrepreneurial abilities to the enterprise. Entrepreneur plays a crucial role in a free market economy it integrates all the factors of production land, labour and capital to produce the output with a view of anticipating all the losses if the output fails in the free market. Entrepreneur always is in the risky situation as he is the one who bears all d cost of inducing the other factors of production into the production process and the profits are the rewards of the entrepreneur at the end of everything. Nowadays Venture Capitalists and other financer are willing to diversify the risk of the new entrepreneur. The existence of the entrepreneurship as a part of factor of production is still debatable. Check Your Progress B 1. List the major factors of production? Ans. Major Factors of production are as follows: a. Land b. Labour c. Capital d. Entrepreneurship 1. 4 FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS OF AN ECONOMY Every economy has to face some problems as scarcity of resources having alternative uses in relation to demand give rise to the choice problem. The allocation of resources is the fundamental problem of the economy. These Fundamental problems are: 1. What to produce? 2. How to produce? 3. For whom to produce? 4. The choice between current consumption and growth through saving and investment. 1. 4. 1 What to produce? This question arises from the fact of limited resources in the society now apparently society has to decide which goods have to be produced and in which quantities, now it is clear that some of the goods have to be produced and some have to be foregone. This lead us to take an intermediate solution of what we must produce and what we must not as the goods that are foregone also have some wants associated with it which leads some of the customers dissatisfied. Another problem attached with the production is allocation of resources like for example if we have to produce product A and product B, both of them will require the exhaustion of the resources, here the problem of allocation of resources comes into picture as to how much resources we must allocate to which product. This is necessarily not an issue of the developing countries as developed countries can also face the problem of allocation of resources. 1. 4. 2 How to Produce? This is the problem of choosing method or technique of production which means that what combinations of factors a society decides to produce goods. For example if the economy decides to produce product A then how the production will take place and allocation of resources has to be decided. A combination of factors in appropriate amount for the production is known as the technique of production. The things that come into consideration while taking the decision of how to allocate the factors and which factors to be used can be decided with the current economic scenario. For example in developing countries where there is abundance of labour and relatively lesser amount of capital there we can use Labour Intensive Technique for the production and similarly in developed countries where labour is relatively less and capital is more, then Capital Intensive Technique can be adopted for the production purposes. The basic criteria of choosing the different types of technique in the different kind of scenario would be based on 1. Availability of the supplies of resources 2. Prices of the different resources which must lead to most cost effective way of production. The problem here is that the scarcity of resources which requires that the available resources must be used judicially and efficiently, if not economy has to face the inefficiency and thus productivity will hamper. 1. 4. 3 For Whom to Produce? This is the problem related with the issue of the distribution of the national product among the society. Society is a very vast term and includes a lot of components and consumers which include the ultimate consumers of the national produce thus it is very critical to state an effective distribution strategy, society thus itself decides how much is to distributed in what quantities. In a free market economy it is the income of the individual which is the deciding factor that how much he can purchase out of the available resources, Higher the income higher is the power to utilise the resource in his favour. The distribution strategy is also not free to operate in the economy on the basic principles of demand and supply there are certain factors which governs the marketing mechanism like from socialist perspective focus is on the providing basic necessities to all and generate motivation in the people to generate additional income by doing additional work, Similarly there has o be different strategies to be adopted in case of different economic structure. The problem of distribution does not have an easy way out it implies that there is always conflict of ideologies in setting up of the distribution strategy. 1. 4. 4 The Problem of Growth Economic growth suggests that there is an increase in the production of goods and services on a continuous basis. Growth thus i mplies that the economy must move on with increase in the substantial amount of the investment. Capital formation is thus necessary and for the expansion of the stock there has to be a sacrifice in the present level of consumption. If all the stock is used up and nothing is there for the future use, there will be no capital formation and thus no growth. 1. 4. 5 Choice between Public and Private Goods 1. Public Goods: It is those types of goods that can not be restricted and bounded by the use of an individual. The basic characteristic of these types of goods are: a) Consumption of the good by one person does not lead to the reduction in the availability for the consumption of others. b) No body can not get excluded from using the good. Free to air television channels are the examples of these types of goods. These are the goods available to all and anybody can see without getting obstruction in a way these goods comes as a right to a person. These goods satisfy a collective want of the society. 2. Private Goods: These types of goods are the just opposite of what we have just read Public Goods. The main characteristics or the Private Goods are: a) Consumptions by one consumer prevent simultaneous consumption by other consumers. b) It is reasonably possible to prevent a class of  consumers from consuming the good. Private goods are produced and marketed with a perspective of profit and it just satisfies an individual want. Bread can be one of the examples of Private Goods. 1. 4. 6 The Problem of Merit Goods The merit goods are those goods which follow the concept of need, rather than ability and willingness to pay. For example: Health Services it helps the society on the whole and caters the need at individual level, but since it is a costly merit service the same has to be privatised which results in the acquisition of services only by those whom have the power to pay the more money. Thus Merit Goods merit remains effective till it helps the individual as well society on a holistic level. Check Your Progress C 1. What is capital formation? Ans. Capital formation is the term used to coin the additional things added into the economy on account of growth. Capital stock added in the financial year counts on account of capital formation when it comes to real and tangible products and in case of services the additional value generated by rendering services that appreciates the value of Gross National Product. 1. 5 PRODUCTION POSSIBILITY CURVE Production possibility curve is also known as Production Possibility Frontier or Transformation Curve. Production Possibility curve is a curve which depicts Graphical  representation  of the alternative combinations of the amounts of two goods or services that an economy can produce by transferring resources from one good or service to the other. As the total productive resources of the economy are limited, the economy has to choose between different goods. The resources can be put into different types of goods it is therefore necessary to decide which product to be produced more and which has to be less. Assumptions underlying: 1. Given or fixed amount of resources available in the economy. 2. Given resources are being used fully and with utmost efficiency. 3. Technology does not undergo any change. Production possibility curve can be drawn with the help of a schedule that can be depicted between the two goods which can be produced with the full utilisation and efficient employment of given resources. This can be drawn on the basis of schedule for example we take Cloth and Tanks. Production Possibilities| Cloth| Tanks| A| 0| 15| B| 1| 14| C| 2| 12| D| 3| 9| E| 4| 5| F| 5| 0| This schedule when depicted on a graphical format takes a convex shape and depicts the optimum number of combinations of the two products with the given level of resources in hand. 1. 6. 1 Resource Allocation in a Capitalist Economy Capitalism, broadly speaking, is the economic system in which financial considerations dominate. It is a system in which the quest for financial reward is the driving force shaping what is done, by whom, how, where and when. This concept basically works on two dimensions: freedom of economic choice and freedom of enterprise. Freedom of choice means that in a world of scarce resources the individual is free to make his own decisions. Freedom of enterprise is usually more narrowly defined as the freedom to own and operate a business. Price Mechanism plays an important role in the role of determining the process of buying and selling. Market forces determine the price and quantity to be produced in the economy with the interaction demand and supply. In such economy the goods and services produced in the society with the aim of generating profit and thus the resources are allocated to the goods which provide better results on account of profit. The biggest concern een and faced in this type of economy is of income inequality, due to the price mechanism and profit motive the goods are not supplied to the poor and the philosophy rich is become richer and poor becomes poorer prevails. 1. 6. 2 Resource Allocation in a Socialist Economy Socialist economy is a structure of the economy which aims at providing great er equality and giving the working class greater ownership over the means of production. In a socialist economy or a socialist state believes that socialism is the most equitable and socially serviceable form of an economic arrangement designed to achieve human potentialities. Socialist economies are characterized by the means of production owned by the state or by the workers collectively called socialism. The authorities decide in a planned economy how the resource must allocate in a profitable manner which benefits the society at large, market forces are not allowed to influence the decision at all. It is the government who takes control of all the resources and decides what to produce and in what quantities. They produce with the perspective of the society at large and not with the view of the earning profit. 1. 6. 3 Resource Allocation in a Mixed Economy A Mixed Economy is an economy in which the decisions are taken in the combined manner some is taken by the market forces and some are taken under government regulation. The mixed economy as an economic ideal is supported by social democrats as a compromise between classic socialism. The production process is governed in a semi segregated manner, Critical sectors which are important with respect to the country as a whole is kept in hands of the government and rest consumer goods are kept open in the economy to kept work accordingly to the market mechanism. Check Your Progress D 1. What is production possibility curve? Ans. Production Possibility curve also known as Production Possibility Frontier is a curve which shows the combination of two or more goods or services that can be produced while using all the available factor resources efficiently. For Example: We can allocate the resources in the production of the cloths and tank. 1. 7. LETS SUM UP Knowledge has many branches and economics is an important and useful branch of knowledge because problems of poverty, unemployment, lack of growth, inflation which face all economies are best explained and explored and being solved with the help of Economics. An economic system can be defined as a â€Å"set of methods and standards by which a society decides and organizes the allocation of limited economic resource to satisfy unlimited human wants. The precise nature of economic system varies from society to society. Because , Economic system is the economics category that includes the study of respective systems. Means of production are the inputs used for production. The key term production is likely to be explained as the creation of an item or a production that gives maximum satisfaction to the people. Means of production can be classified into groups of homogenous (products having same features and can be substituted) and heterogeneous (products having different features from one another) units. There are various types of productive resources which are also generally called factors of production. Economists traditionally classify productive resources into four types: (a) Land – Includes all natural resources which are free gift of nature. Payment for use of land per period is called rent. b) Labour – Represents all physical and mental abilities which people can make available for production of goods and services. Reward made per period for labour services is called wages. (c) Capital – Refers to sum total of all man – made resources of production. Its formation in a year is called investment. (d) Entrepreneur – represents special human resource which initiates and organises the production process by combining other resources such as labour, capit al and land. In every economy, scarcity of resources gives rise to four fundamental problems of economy. These are: (i) what to produce – means which goods and in what quantity are to be produced, (ii) how to produce – means which methods of production are to be used for the production of goods and services, whether, labour or capital intensive, (iii) for whom to produce – means how the goods produced are to be distributed among the people, (iv) how much to grow – means how much to be saved and invested for increasing the productive capacity of the economy. The problem of what to produce is generally illustrated with the help of Production Possibility Curve (PPC) which is based on some simple assumptions. It gives an idea to the economy about what to produce and in how much quantity with full utilisation of its resources with given techniques of production and thus simultaneous increase in production cannot take place without reducing any one product. With economic growth only, it is possible to move PPC outwards and make simulataneous increase in production of all goods. Allocation of resources is different in every economic system. In capitalist economy, it takes place through relation between supply, demand and price forces wherein the means of production are owned by private sectors. Accordingly, it is the demand pattern in the economy which finally determines the resource allocation. In a socialist economy, the means of production are owned by government which tries to reduce income and wealth inequalities. Individual economic units are restricted in their decisions on the basis of economic rationality. In a mixed economy, both individual economic units and authorities take part in decision making process where even private sectors sometimes work under the government regulations such as price controls, subsidies and so on.

Worked, Wrought and Overwrought

Worked, Wrought and Overwrought Worked, Wrought and Overwrought Worked, Wrought and Overwrought By Maeve Maddox Judging by comments and emails I receive whenever I write about the verb wreak, some English speakers believe that the past tense of wreak is wrought. That’s not the case. Wrought is an archaic past tense form of the verb work. Work and wreak derive from different Old English verbs: wyrcan (do, make) and wrecan (to avenge). Both work and wreak belong to a class of irregular verbs that have acquired regular -ed endings in modern English. If wreak had remained irregular, its forms would probably look like these: â€Å"wreak, wroke, (have) wroken.† The verb work has a modern -ed ending, but the old past tense wrought survives in a few contexts and idioms. Writing in the early 20th century, H. W. Fowler (Modern English Usage) commented on the fact that the past form of work was in a state of transition: The decline of the form wrought is so manifest, yet so far from complete, that it is impossible to say from year to year where idiom still requires it and where it is already archaic. In the 1965 edition, Gowers, changed â€Å"disappearance† to â€Å"decline,† perhaps because the old form continued to be used in the sense of done, made, fashioned, or brought about: The stage show is tight and well-wrought.- 1997 book about Jazz. The metaphorical movement of coming into that understanding is beautifully wrought with the use of a large black drapery that the congregation passes beneath as four of the dancers hold the corners.- 2013 opera review To see the changes Edward Snowden wrought, just look at your smartphone- 2014 headline. The reason that many speakers associate wrought with wreak may have to do with the fact that we have two idioms with the word havoc. A storm or other disaster â€Å"wreaks havoc,† but people and institutions can â€Å"work havoc.† The â€Å"works havoc† idiom is not as common as it was, but it is still found in recent use: Disability is damaging to one’s self-esteem. It works havoc with one’s relationships and can do irrevocable harm to an entire family’s life.- 1991 Congressional Record. In actual fact, the volume of such movements is fairly modest, but their public echo is deafening and works havoc in politics and the labour movement. 2006, Library of Economics and Liberty. It is as the past tense of work that wrought appears in an obituary of Margaret Thatcher: Saying it would take years to cure Britain of the havoc wrought by socialism, Mrs. Thatcher warned, â€Å"Things will get worse before they get better.† The adjective overwrought, on the other hand, does not mean the same thing as the adjective overworked. An â€Å"overworked employee† is one who does an excessive amount of work. Overworked can also be applied to nonhuman things to mean that they are being used to excess: †Unique† is one of the most overworked words in advertising. The phrase people are our most important resource has become a tired,  overworked cliche.   Gently massage overworked muscles, prompting nutrient-rich blood to flow through, replenishing them. The adjective overwrought can convey a sense of exhaustion from overwork, but overwrought describes the emotional agitation, impatience, and shortness of temper associated with exhaustion: According to a government survey, US workers feel overwrought and unproductive. The [employee] may be subject to verbal abuse by juveniles and will be required to remain calm in stressful situations involving agitated, irate or overwrought juveniles and family members. When AU administrator James Mooney polled professors about grade complaints, he was appalled to learn that some overwrought parents call professors directly to complain.   Applied to nonhuman entities, overwrought means â€Å"excessively elaborate or exaggerated.† Here are some examples of this use: [The instructor’s] supervisors at first supposed his overwrought language denoted a mental affliction. Overwrought descriptions  like these sap the power from the scene. The film  suffers  from an  overwrought narrative, with one melodramatic event after another. After a thousand years, wrought continues to enrich the language. It is not, however, the past tense of wreak. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Addressing A Letter to Two PeopleThe Many Forms of the Verb TO BEEpidemic vs. Pandemic vs. Endemic

The Immpressionists at Argenteuil essays

The Immpressionists at Argenteuil essays Argenteuil is a suburban town on the outskirts of Paris. The riverside town lies on the banks of the beloved Seine River, immortalized in many works by Claude Monet and Eugene Boudin. They are just two of the many Impressionist artists inspired by the scenery of Argenteuil. The short seven-mile train trip from Paris also contributed in getting artists to the location. Argenteuil is not different than that of other smaller French cities, yet the contribution Argenteuil made to the evolution of modern French painting sets it apart from neighboring villages. Monet and Boudin both painted very similar scenes of the small river town. Monet in particular painted a less classical piece than Boudin. Many critics have labeled Monets Boat Basin at Argeteuil markedly modern because of evidence of industry and progress, steamers, and the likes of a floating bathhouse, which by the way is visible in Boudins painting too. As if intuitively beginning where Boudin left off, Monet is drawn to a similar turn in the river where all the delights of the suburban setting are set out under a brilliantly rendered sky. On the account that Monet inherited a lot of style from Boudin through his teachings its not a surprise that they both were drawn to Argenteuil. Monets work is displayed beautifully with oil on canvas. The work was completed in the year 1872. A critique of the piece was undoubtedly done with much forethought and care. Emanuel Zola, a critic wrote with much consideration for the artists intent. Zola states that Monet had and affection for nature that man makes modern. Also that very often he would use a brush heavily laden with paint to give his works a different appearance. Boat Basin at Argeteuil is subtly divided along two diagonals intersecting at the center of the piece. One diagonal is the tree line from the left and the other is the waters edge rising from the lower right. The cen...

When A Man Loves A Woman

Alcoholism is a serious disease often overlooked by those whom love us the most. In the movie When A Man Loves A Woman, Meg Ryan and Andy Garcia show us how a wonderful love story can be corrupted by an overwhelming addiction. The movie begins with this wonderful couple who soak themselves in their love. You immediately notice the habits of Meg Ryan, from the very first scene. Although it appears that they are just having a good time, the issues begin to become more than Andy Garicia (meg's husband) can handle. Her problem becomes out-of-hand when it effects her work, family and friends. She forgets things, acts irresponsible, abuses her children and then has a hash bought of abusing her self. She in turn decides to go through rehab. Ryan has as supportive of a family as possible. Hoping and praying that everything would return to normal, this family will not require a lot of adjusting. Although she is no longer drinking she now has to find a different life style than the one she had been used to. No longer does Ryan view things with the same eyes. She struggles with all the issues that come along with her new sobriety. Finding a new common ground for this family so almost impossible. Once Ryan finds closure in herself and learns to deal with her changed lifestyle she now has the strength to regain what she had been losing. It is so emotional watching this happy family become ripped apart and then to here even more tragic stories of things we did not see. The family was not really happy. The person in which they loved was falling apart on the inside. When A Man Loves A Woman, is the type of movie that can hit home with someone at many different points. You can feel for the side or the alcoholic or for those who suffer around them. This was a brilliantly made movie. It depicts the feeling of everyone in the situation so well. It is an excellent movie that tells a difficult story.

What is Utilitarianism What are two objections to this view Essay

What is Utilitarianism What are two objections to this view - Essay Example The man behind the Utilitarian concept is Jeremy Bentham and he weighed pleasure and pain as the consequence of one’s own action. More precisely, Utilitarianism refers to a concept where in the proportion of pleasure and pain is related to the course of action performed by a human being. According to this concept, only pleasure is good and pain is bad. The Utilitarianism concept can be considered as one kind of consequentialism, where the happiness is considered as the measuring tool to gauge the morality of an action. According to Bentham, only an action can be morally right if it brings utmost happiness to a person. If it is not bringing pleasure then the action is regarded to be wrong. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory which focuses on right and wrong based on an outcome of an action or a policy. This theory is not restricted around the interest of oneself but consider the goodness of other too. One of the principles of utilitarianism is that it gives high importance to t he role of pleasure and pain in our life. Secondly, it considers an action good or bad based on its consequences. Thirdly, this theory equates goodness with pleasure and bad with pain. Thirdly, it acknowledges pleasure and pain as a quantifiable emotion. Bentham has also attached some criteria to measure pain and pleasure like intensity, certainty, nearness and duration. Moreover, the criterion of â€Å"extent† is used to quantify the actions which affect many numbers of people. Objections to Utilitarianism Objection One: The one objection to Utilitarianism is that, life is not all about physical pleasure but the aspects like virtue, knowledge matters too. Is life a phenomenon, where action can be gauged with pleasure and pain seeking emotional element? Is it not core valuable principle of ethics and morality the corner stone of life? It is satirical to think that one achieves physical pleasure by conducting ethical and moral principles in life. Physical pleasure cannot be re garded as an end to the mission of life. Moreover, virtue is accountable only if one performs selfless service which in turn is not a pleasure giving affect. Additionally, knowledge is acquired through pleasure but by hard work and by undergoing painful experiences. Here utilitarian concept cannot be applied as the objection proves that gains from pain taking experience are far more valuable than actions which give only momentary physical pleasure. Response: The response to the first objection is that, life should not be only concentrated and focused on physical pleasures. The aspect like virtue and knowledge matters a lot when it comes to the issue of psychological pleasures of a human being. If a person has knowledge and good character he can gain self confidence and self realization which is far more superior to physical pleasure. . A man’s life should very well reflect morality, modesty and sacrifice. These elements might not give pleasure to a person, but they indeed pro ve his character to be valuable and divine. Moreover, acquiring knowledge requires hard work and the benefit of being knowledgeable is that one acquires wisdom. To acquire wisdom, one must go through various experiences in life and these actions are mostly less pleasure giving. For example, Socrates was a great Greek philosopher, who led an extremely simple life. He Life was not at all luxurious but his knowledge and virtue was par excellence. He never committed any action to achieve happiness but followed justice and morality. He experienced real mental happiness in practicing virtue and ethics but did not opt for physical pleasure as he defined senses as illusionary. Objection Two: Another objection is that,

What Is Meant By Smart Power And How Does Its Application By The Obama Essay

What Is Meant By Smart Power And How Does Its Application By The Obama Administration Differ From The Use Of Hard Power By The Bush Administration - Essay Example These terms are descriptions of the way that American governments deal with other states, especially those states which do not agree with American views. Hard power is the use of forceful tactics such as military actions or economic sanctions. It shows how strong America is, and imposes American views on other people. If the other countries involved are weak, then this can be very effective and President Bush used this kind of approach at the beginning of his first term of office. The invasion of Iraq is a classic example of hard power at work. This tough line was also an important part of President Bush’s election campaign in 2004: â€Å"the Bush administration achieved a greater advantage over Democrats in general and Senator John Kerry in particular on this issue than on any other in the 2004 presidential race.† (Campbell and O’Hanlon: 2006, p. 119) After the 9/11 attack on New York, it was possible to present hard power as a defence tool, not necessarily an a ct of aggression. This made it more acceptable to the American public. Sometimes, however, the opposite of hard power, i.e. soft power is a better approach. People know that America is strong, but they might be more impressed by gentle approaches like aid and support, with diplomatic summits and exchanges of views. America’s culture and image are also aspects of soft power.