Social Contract As A Dominant Political Theory Essay

Social Contract As A Timeless Dominant Political Theory Introduction The concept of social contract was introduced by early thinkers like Socrates and Plato. The social contract is a political theory that involves a tacit agreement between members of society group that allows them to collaborate and promote mutual benefits, as well explains the legitimacy and authority of government. This concept is further explained and defended by 17th and 18th centuries philosophers like Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau, who helped to shape these theories and lay down the foundation for today’s democracy and the role of the government in society. Social contract theories had a profound impact on modern Western society, specifically, America and France. Subsequently, it had a dramatic ideological influence on the development of democracies around the world. However, not everyone agreed with the idea of social contract and there are other political theories which downplay its importance in the role of the government in the community’s life. Theorists, such as Humes, Mandeville, and Smith declare there is no such contract/agreement in existence, but rather maximizing peoples’ utility, market forces, and individual selfishness are the driving forces of a given society. Nevertheless, we need to recognize the importance of social contract because it provides a conceptual basis for the development of a democratic and just society. In addition, social contract, through its constantShow MoreRelatedThe Congress Of The United States Adopted The Declaration Of Independence860 Words   |  4 Pagesinterpretation of these basic ideas of self-evident truths, natural rights and the social contract theory that governments are created by men by authority of consent of the governed to protect the rights to life, liberty and property. Using new scientific theories and a different view of history, the Progressives attempted to better understand politics and use these new views to explain the need for reform. Political theory emerged as a separate science and way of thinking in the last half of the nineteenthRead Moreâ€Å"Modernity Was an Abstract Belief System, Rooted in the Enlightenment. Which Drove Our Traditional Society Towards Technological Development, Industrialisation and Radical Social Change†? Assess the Impact of Modernity675 Words   |  3 Pagesand people be given the freedom to use their own intellect. Hobbesian social control theory was a ideological invention that came about during the pre 1750s. The social control theory is a view that a person’s moral and political obligations are dependent upon a ‘contract’ or an agreement among that to form a society in which they live in. However, social contract theory is rightly associated with modern moral and political theory and is given its first full exposition and defence by Thomas HobbesRead MoreThe Pros And Cons Of Social Contract1004 Words   |  5 PagesSocial contract denotes that a government or sovereign body exists only to serve the will of the people because the people are the source of political power that is enjoyed by the entity. The people can choose to give or withdraw the power. Not all philosophers agree that the social contract creates rights and obligations; on the contrary, some believe that the social contract imposes restrictions that restrict a person’s natural rights. 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Accordingly, the organization of this exploration concentrates on three areas of focus. First, this paper seeks to explain how the modern social contract theorist, John Rawls’, attempts to enhance the classic utilitarian views of John Stuart Mill, as well as the classic social contract theories of Thomas Hobbes and Jean JacquesRead MorePolitical Theory of John Locke Essay1189 Words   |  5 PagesJohn Locke: Account of Political Society What would the American government be like today if it was not for the mind and political theory of John Locke? Some historians and philosophers believe that without John Locke our government would only be a shadow of what it is today. Arguably, one of his most important political and philosophical works was his Two Treatises of Government. There he argues that the function of the state is to protect the natural rights of its citizens, primarily toRead MoreRousseau s Beliefs On The Form Of Governments Essay1746 Words   |  7 Pagessovereign. 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HisRead MoreThomas Hobbes Social Contract Theory Essay895 Words   |  4 PagesThomas Hobbes creates a clear idea of the social contract theory in which the social contract is a collective agreement where everyone in the state of nature comes together and sacrifices all their liberty in return to security. â€Å"In return, the State promises to exercise its absolute power to maintain a state of peace (by punishing deviants, etc.)† So are the power and the ability of the state making people obey to the laws or is there a wider context to this? I am going to look at the differentRead MorePolitics And City Of God : Issues And Medieval Political Thought Essay1717 Words   |  7 PagesGod: Issues in Medieval Political Thought By Okechukwu S. 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In dominate groups or activity groups, there are members who have less

The 54th Regiment of Massachusetts African-American...

On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves in the rebelling territories of the confederacy and authorizing Black enlistment in the Union Army. Since the beginning of the Civil War, free Black people in general, , were ready to fight on behalf of the Union, yet they were prevented from doing so. Popular racial stereotypes and discrimination against Blacks in the military contributed to the prevailing myth that Black men did not have the intelligence and bravery necessary to serve their country. By the fall of 1862, however, the lack of White Union enlistment and confederate victories at Antietem forced the U.S. government to reconsider its racist policy. As Congress met in†¦show more content†¦By the time training began at Camp Meigs, Shaw and his officers began work with the soldiers whose bravery would forever change public perception of Black military skills. Within six weeks after the opening of Camp Meigs for training, a little over 100 volunteers had been enlisted in the fifty-fourth, 47 of them from Boston. Because the Black population of Massachusetts was so small (approximately 4500 in 1860), Governor Andrew asked George L. Stearns to support the enlistment of Black troops throughout the northern states. Abolitionists across the north contributed over $5000 to Stearns committee to pay for advertising and publicity, while Stearns solicited the help of Black community leaders across the country. (Glathaar 1990). These leaders, all of whom served as recruiting agents for the Union army, included: Frederick Douglass, Lewis Hayden, John Coburn, Charles Lenox Remond, and William Wells Brown. As a result, over 1000 volunteers enlisted in the 54th Regiment, a response so overwhelming that Massachusetts organized a second Black regiment, the fifty-fifth. Men of the fifty-fourth represented twenty-four states, the District of Columbia, the We st Indies, and Africa. Approximately 25% of them had been slaves, over 50% were literate, and, even though as civilians they had worked in forty-six different occupations, the overwhelming majority (55%) were laborers. Regardless of origin, occupation, or social class, the men of the 54th Regiment both inspiredShow MoreRelatedThe Battle Of Fort Wagner1294 Words   |  6 PagesThe most famous and well known regiment that fought for the Union in the Battle of Fort Wagner, in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina was the 54th regiment from Massachusetts. The regiment is famous because it was one of the first African-American regiments to fight in the Civil War. In the North, where the abolition of slavery was heavily supported, the 54th regiment was considered very controversial. 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African Americans had an important impact on the Civil War. There was individual African Americans who made an important impact in the civil war. For example Frederick Douglass he was known for being a escape slave and a good public speaker for his effortsRead MoreEssay on Glory, by Edward Zwick 1248 Words   |  5 Pagesaward nominations, including several Academy Award nominations and wins. The film recounts the story of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, one of the first officially sanctioned African American units of the Union Army during the Civil War. It tells this story through the eyes of the regiment’s commander, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, as well as other members of the 54th. It begins with the unit’s inception and follows them up through their participation in the battle at Fort WagnerRead MoreCivil War Movies: Glory1142 Words   |  5 PagesEssay on Glory The movie Glory is about Colonel Robert Shaw coming back from the fighting in the war and leads the first African American regiment in the Civil War, the 54th Massachusetts. The movie focuses on Captain turned Colonel Robert Shaw coming back from battle and training an African American regiment along with his friend Captain Cabot Forbes. The movie focuses on four African Americans, Sargent Rawlins, Thomas Searles, Jupiter Sharts, and Tripp, following their journey into a united divisionRead MoreRobert Gould Shaw And The Civil War1646 Words   |  7 Pagesin the Civil War. He had received an education from Harvard prior to entering the family business and when the secession of the south began his sense of duty required him to join the Union. Shaw was a natural leader and quickly was promoted from Lieutenant to Colonel. As a man who proved his worth as a military leader and his family open support for the integration of freed black slaves into the military, it is only fitting that h e obtained a command leading the first all-black unit the 54th MassachusettsRead MoreAfrican Americans in the Civil War Essay1161 Words   |  5 PagesAfrican Americans in the Civil War About 180,000 African American people comprised 163 units that served in the Union Army, during the time of the Civil War, and many more African American people had served in the Union Navy. Both the free African-Americans and the runaway slaves had joined the fight. On the date of July 17, in the year of 1862, the U. S. Congress had passed two very important acts that would allow the enlistment of many African Americans, but the official enrollment hadRead MoreThe Film Glory By Edward Zwick1200 Words   |  5 PagesNeiel Edmonds Professor Jackson 1 Dec 2014 African American History Glory Essay The film Glory by Edward Zwick is one of the most well-known films of all time. The film itself is solely based upon the first formal unit of the Union Army during the American Civil War which consist of all African American men. They were essentially the very first unit of United States Colored Troops. They were formally known for their courageous attempts to and actions at Fort Wagner in 1863. The film is set inRead MoreGlory Movie Analysis559 Words   |  2 PagesThe movie, Glory, tells a story of the 54th regiment of Massachusetts journey in the Civil War. The 54th regiment was the first group of freed African Americans who volunteered to fight in the Union army. The film describes the journey of these brave men as they face prejudice to fight in the Union army and how they sacrificed their lives to fight for the cause of freedom. The film captures the heroic acts of the 54th regiment of black soldiers and their leader Colonel Robert Shaw. This movie didRead MoreThe Battle Of Fort Wagner1421 Words   |  6 Pagesrole Massachusetts 54th Volunteer regiment (the first all African-American unit in the Civil War) Note: The Battle of Fort Wagner - exemplifies the greatest contributions of Black soldiers during the Civil War o Displayed extreme heroism in assault on Fort Wagner on Morris Island, South Carolina, in July 1863 †¢ â€Å". . . In the face of heavy odds, black troops had proved once again their courage, determination, and willingness to die for the freedom of their race† McPherson, â€Å"The Negro’s Civil War†

Women on men (and vice versa) Essay Example For Students

Women on men (and vice versa) Essay Women on men (and vicversa) Toward the end of Arnold Weskers new play Three Women Talking, a slightly tipsy character named Claire Dawn Hope delivers a long speech at an all-female dinner party. Introduced mock-portentously as the Puzaltski story, the speech is a vulgar joke about a wife who fills in for her football-player husband on his last game with the team. Injured heroically on the field, shes hauled off to the locker room, where the trainer, incapable of believing a woman could have performed so superbly, pushes down on her breasts and assures her that as soon as I getcha balls back into place your prick will come out of hiding, trust me! Though the rest of its conversation generally takes place on a more elevated level, Three Women Talking never strays from the topics embodied in the Puzaltski story. The two-act comedy-drama currently receiving its premiere, not in Weskers home base of England but at Northlight Theatre in the Chicgo suburb of Evanstonis permeated by themes of competition and violence (primarily psychological). It explores thhe experience of being an outsider (Wesker says his Jewishness makes him an alien voice in the British theatre), womens painful efforts to assert themselves on the male-dominated playing field of society, and mens tendency to ignore womens distinctive sexual and emotional characteristicsand their power. The Puzaltski story, with its topic of cross-gender impersonation, also leads to the question of a male playwrights ability to put himself in womens positions. Wesker says his intention was to write a play about the way women talk about men. I know what youre going to ask: |How do you presume to say you know how women talk? I never know what to say to that. There were strong women in my life. My mother, my sister, four aunts, some special cousinsI prefer women. Nearly all my plays have women as central characters. Theyre more courageous, intense. The characters in Three Women Talking, male and female, are certainly intense. The play might more accurately be called Three Couples Talking, though the couples are estranged. The men speak first, in a series of short monologues: Leo, a 44-year-old financial analyst, is in anguish because his wife Mischa has left him; Montcrieff, a 55-year-old writer, rambles on to an imagined mistress about his ex-wife Minerva, whom he left five years earlier; Vincent, a rising Labor Party politician, rehearses for an upcoming television interview. It is to watch Vincents interview that the three women have gathered over dinner at Mischas apartment. The hostess (Carmen Roman), 42, is an academic of Eastern European Jewish ancestry; Mineva (Mary Ann Thebus) is a 50-year-old businesswoman and disillusioned ex-feminist; and Claire (Margo Buchanan), a 39-year-old political researcher, is the recently discarded mistress of Vincent, who dumped her to preserve the family-man image necessary to his political career. An embittered anti-idealist, Claire seems the most proper and least earthy of the three women; but, like the Mrs. Puzaltski of her joke, she reveals an unsuspected capacity for getting down and dirty when the game gets rough. Nevertheless, Three Women Talking is very much a play of ideas. Wesker, who came to prominence in the late 1950s and early 60s with such plays as Roots, The Kitchen and Chips with Everything, thinks internationally, yet feels domestically, the late British critic Kenneth Tynan once wrote. Despite its homey settings including the mock-living room set of the TV talkshow Vincent appears on Three Women Talking addresses far-reaching issues: possible war between Islamic theocracies and Western societies that lack a unifying religious ideology; the Holocaust; and the scientific theory of chaos. Weskers characters toss about educated references to high and low culture ranging from the Bible to John Ruskin, from Singin in the Rain to Shakespeare. Mostly, though, the characters talk about sexual relationships from the raw realities of physical intercourse to the most perverse ambiguities of love, hate, faith and betrayal. The first words out of a womans mouth are commonplace hyperbole: Men! Theyre all the same! Intechangeable! sneers the disenchanted Minerva. The play then proceeds to disprove ber by laying bare the myriad inconsistencies of all its characters. Minervas put-down of men as interchangeable also functions as a theatrical joke: While the women are played by three different actresses, the men are portrayed by a single actor, David Downs. At the plays climax, Downs performs a trio with himself, as Montcrieff holds the stage in a long speech about wishing he could give birth to give meaning to this hopeless, helpless, weird and wonderful life while Leo is heard on tape and Vincent is seen and heard on videotape. This device was conceived last summer when Northlights artistic director, Russell Vandenbroucke, traveled to Weskers home in Wales for woodshedding sessions. (The relationship between Wesker and Northlight was established in 1988, when the theatre presented Weskers 1976 Love Letters on Blue Paper.) I like the idea as a theatrical coup, says Wesker. It also means the actor as a substantial role. But what does Wesker really think about ideas like Claires assertion, Men are for manipulating. Why else were we given tears? I think women often say things like that, he shrugs. And at a certain level its true. There are unpleasant characteristics which men hold in common. And there are unpleasant characteristics which women hold in common. I didnt |research this play   but I hearr women talking about men. Its sort of an accumulation of observations over the years. Some of it is imagined, of course. I projected myself into these personalities. I really dont think characters live on the stage unless they have substance, so I endow my characters with ideas, Wesker adds. Sometimes the ideas these characters express are confused with the ideas of the playwright. They shouldnt be. Still, its hard not to hear the writers own self-examination echoed in the words of his character Montcrieff, who longs to experience the uniquely female process of birth and says hes cursed with this infantile obsession to produce. That leads to a riff on the subject of literature. What is it Scavenging! A writer is a vulture that picks at the dead and the partly living.And when Ive got it all down in a book I go into a marketplace and I take it out of my pocket like a vendor of dirty little postcards, slightly ashamed. You wanna look-see? You buy? Cheap and lovely literature! 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