World Systems Theory: Analysis

World Systems Theory: Analysis The World Systems theory was the brain child of Immanuel Wallerstein in 1974. It saw the division of the world into three parts; the core, the semi-peripehry and the periphery. The core meaning those countries which were economically developed such as countries of the Western Europe, the United States of America and Japan. The semi-periphery was in between and was most of the countries in Asia. The peripheral countries on the other hand were those who were resource rich and highly under developed like the countries of Latin America and Africa. The world systems theory is a more of a Marxian approach of understanding under development especially in Latin America. It is a materialist theory as it sees the political and cultural, socio and religious aspects of a country all determined by the economy and it is a systems analysis because all of this is seen as one organisation. The world systems theory is a critique of capitalism and finds it precursors in the Annales school as well as the dependency theories. The period after World War II marked the age of decolonization in the world. Many former colonies were now independent nations, but, they were still under developed. The strategy offered to them to overcome this underdevelopment was to follow a path of modernization akin to the western model. Development theorist like Rostow advocated his five stages of growth. These were all compulsory stages by which a country has to pass through to become a developed nation starting from the first stage which is that of being a poor nation. So Western Modernization replaced Western Colonialism. But then scholars like the promoters of the dependency theory shunned this approach saying in fact Western modernisation embedded in capitalism was detrimental to the state. We shall now follow the paper through a brief note on capitalism. This will be followed by a glimpse into the precursors of the world systems theory such as the dependency theory. A look on what the world systems analysis is and how it affects governance and finally we shall look at the critiques of the world system analysis. Capitalism Capitalism as understood by most is the maximisation of profit. Capitalism according to thinkers like Weber was successful because of a spirit it embodied this spirit according to Weber was in the Calvinist and Protestant ethic. Weber went further to say that it was in fact a Judaic ethic. This was supported by Sombart who became a sympathizer of the Nazis and like Ford were anti-Semitic. They were of the opinion that international finance was controlled by men of a single and peculiar race. Wallerstein himself says that there are certain epochs of capitalism and divided his analysis of the determining elements of the modern world into four such epochs; the formation of the European world economy from 1450 to 1650; the consolidation of this system from 1640 to 1815; the technological transformation which was the industrial revolution between 1815 to 1917 and the consolidation of this capitalist world economy from 1917 onwards. However in the period of the 1890s to the 1920s a French speaking-critique of work of Sombart and Weber emerged. This was the school of Henri Pirenne. Pirenne developed a materialist theory of social and economic causation. He claims that the Viking raids were a consequence of the displacement of the Mediterranean trade routes to the north by the Muslim conquests. Thus in saying so he challenges Weber and Sombarts claim that capitalism is a spirit and a mentality but in the revival of towns and trade routes in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. The Annales school of thought followed in Pirennes footsteps to develop a materialist bottom-up approach to understand economic and social history. While Weber and Sombart saw capitalism in its industries Pirenne saw its roots since the medieval times though the two parties both agreed on the fact that capitalisms main object was profit. This accumulation of profit as the main objective of capitalism proved to be very detrimental to the former colonies, called the Third World. The third world was characterised by huge labour resources, poverty, huge deposits of natural resources and raw materials as well as food grains. Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Columbia were in the 1950s predicted to become major players on the world economic stage. They all possessed sufficient internal markets to propel growth; a formidable industrial base; abundant reserves of raw materials; powerful stimuli to grow nationally and; satisfactory formations of domestic capital.1 Yet in the end these five countries became trapped in a dependent state on the developed nations. During the days when colonial countries had paramount power the view of development effectuated by Europeans was to exploit and draw profit from the resources of the non European world. This view supposes then that development of the European colonies was not to happen. However, out of the moral and political duty that seemed to bear upon the colonists to develop their resource bases as it represented a material and moral good for the world. There was therefore no harm in exploiting the resources of the colonies as it seemed that the white mans burden to develop these civilizations was an adequate transaction between the two parties. Post 1945 there was a decolonizing process in the world. Countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America were freeing themselves off the colonial yoke. There was a surge of anti-colonial sentiments and assertiveness in these old colonies. Development at this juncture began to be defined by the belief that there was no need for a colonial master to develop them. There was an assertion that the colonies left to themselves could develop by their own endeavours. There was thus in India a call for Swadeshi and the call for the rise of indigenous industries and the growth of indigenous capital. However the assumption was faulty in the line that modernity and development was in actuality defined by the adoption of strategies of the global North and the technology of the North. Latin authors called this new ideology as developmentalism. The Soviet Union called it socialism and the United States called it economic development. This ideology of developmentalism was favoured by many countries of the North and they offered aid to the countries to help them out in their objective. The Economic Commission for Latin America (CEPAL) developed a new language of core-periphery relations used primarily to justify program import-substitution industrialization. The more radical Latin American scholars called this dependency which needed to be fought against so that the dependent countries could develop. Then in the 1970s the oil turmoil in the world took place. The villain it was said was developmentalism. Import-substitution industrialization was perceived as corrupt protectionism. State building was deconstructed as feeding a bloated bureaucracy. Financial aid was seen as money wasted. It was decided that loans to states in distress, to be beneficial, needed to be hed ged by requirements that these states cut out wasteful state expenditures on items like schools and health. State institutions were proclaimed as inefficient and should be privatized so as to be responsive to the market and therefore reach maximum efficiency. The Dependency school which saw capitalism as a system of exchanges. The dependency school of thought see the poverty of the South as a result of low prices for the exports of primary products to the North and as a result of the deteriorating terms of trade the countries of the South failed to industrialise and remain as raw material and food suppliers to the North. For example Argentina in the 1900s was considered to be a very important country and its rise was very anticipated. However, due to lopsided terms of trade and unequal exchange relations with other industrialised economies countries of the global South had become according to Andre Gunder Frank underdeveloped. Unlike Rostows model of development which starts by showing that all the countries are in the beginning poor and then shift through different trajectories of development to become developed countries Frank said that it was only in the exchanges with the north that the economies had lost their balance internally and hence failed to accumulate capital domestically and industrialise on their own. In his essay on the sociology of development and underdevelopment Frank critised the assumption that by following stages of growth poor countries could become developed by replicating the path of the developed nations. This path was marked by the ability to exploit other lesser developed countries. A global structure emerges in which a metropolis or the core imposes itself on satellites in the south through colonialism. They could force the satellite countries to produce cash crops or raw material for the core which was essential for their industries which they resold to the countries of the south. The World System Theory The world systems theory speaks of a polarised world and a polarising world at the economic reality. Wallerstein argues that the people of the South saw that there were people better off than them and they aspired towards this. The North saw this as a tinderbox and wanted to quell the threat by putting in intellectual discussions about development and globalisation that were respectable but in retrospect misguided. They wanted that the rest of the world aspire to reach qualities of life present in countries like Denmark. But at the same time there could be alternatives to this. The gap between the core of history has grown wider not smaller as is evidenced in society, even if some countries have improved their standing in the distribution of wealth. The World Systems theory departs from all here in the notion that capitalism develops as a comprehensive structural constraint at the international level. It combines a core where the social transformations have taken place, with a periphery that is equally a part of the capitalist system. The division of labour was the systemic constraint according to Wallerstein which is bounded in a specific way, internally structured, regulated, centralises and subject to functional mechanisms such as self sustenance trough specialisation. This strategy was firstly one that wanted a political empire where lands were connected into the long distance trading system. The second strategy was of functional specialisation in which each state seeks to adapt its actions to the functional requirements of its place in the system. The strategy of functional specialisation included minimising overhead costs by abandoning territorial imperial ambitions and fiscal policies and to adopt instead mercantilist or protective policies. This resulted in accumulation of capital at the core and consistently reinforces the position of the state in the division of labour. The periphery which also has specialised functions even though they are the production of raw material and food grains however unlike in the core the labour relation is mostly of a bonded nature. The semi periphery assumes the tasks of both the core and the periphery. The basic strength of capitalism has been two fold (Wallerstein,1984); on the one hand it has been able to accumulate capital at all costs and on the other it has put into place political structures to guarantee this accumulation of capital. It happens that workers demand for higher renummeration and the factory gives in because it goes into paying this additional money would not affect it too much. However, when the same workers press for more renummeration the factory relocates or is a runaway factory. The existence of a large pool of rural labour for whom urban waged employment at whatever level of renumeration. So as Wallerstein argues that as wage rates goes up in one part of the world it is followed by another section in the world willing to work at a much lower wage. However, this new urban wage labourer historically then becomes less urbanely disoriented and asks for more benefits, here again the factory shifts to another zone. Wallerstein then argues that there has been a de crease in the number of zones to which the factory can flee to and this is called deruralization of the world. The costs of input is dependent on the percentage what the owner wants to pay as inputs and he does so by avoiding all these input costs and shifting it to others. This is called the externalization of costs. The three principles of externalisation are detoxification, renewal of primary resources and infrastructure. Detoxification is easily understood by taking the example of dumping sites. Garbage is dumped in a new site and the costs of this dumping activity is slow to show itself. E-Waste dumping in China may be taken as an example where the electronic waste from all over the globe is collected and dumped in China. However, sites to dump all this new waste is running out. To remedy this, projects are taken up either by the governments or individuals to clean up the mess. Now there is more knowledge as well about the cost and damages that this dumping is causing on the environment. Who then pays for this cleaning up? One argument is that you internalise the cost and you make the pr oducer of the waste pay for it. The other example is of the carbon market where developed countries are buying the carbon credits of developing and underdeveloped nations so that their industries are free to emit polluting articles into the environment. Atul Kohli says that industrialisation is a major component of development of a country; even then it is not the only factor. He says that industrialization involves a procedure of societal change. Industrialization is therefore possible in a situation of political stability, the availability of experienced entrepreneurs and of a capable urban work force.2 This was found in countries like England and hence capitalism was easier to come out there. Berand argues that trade has developed by leaps and bounds because of better transport and communication facilities. The post-war GATT brought about the end of protectionism, economic warfare and hostility. There was also a spurt of new companies which were multinational in character and had easy capital flows in different countries. Like Wallerstein argued, there was a lack of new spaces for the core countries from whence to get resources from. Berend adds that the new division of labour has led to many of the core countries to transport their raw material extraction activities to the peripheral countries. These activities which are labour intensive and highly polluting are shifted to peripheral countries for the cheaper labour cost and less restrictive environmental regulations. As a consequence of the shift there was a huge amount of deindustrialisation in the advanced countries. However the industries that shifted to the South were those which were not highly advanced and more la bour intensive, the more important sectors like research and development and fine chemical industries. There is persistent exploitation in the periphery by the core and the semi periphery. Therefore, according to Wallerstein the state managers should not blindly continue to increase production in the sectors that define them as part of the periphery. Wallerstein argues that peripheral states should not try to produce any more raw materials but should try to emancipate themselves from their structural peripheral positions by changing their productive contribution to the division of labour. There is an understanding that the concept of state and society exist in the same juridical diameter. According to Wallerstein these two organisations are operated by the same individuals. Thus this fits into the idea of the nation which refers to a society that has a state to itself, or has the moral right to have a state to itself; the right to self determination. Wallerstein says that in saying this there is a difficulty of defining the boundaries of a nation. Therefore he uses the measure of interdependent productive activities, or the effective social division of labour, or an economy. He says that in modern history the dominant effective boundaries of the capitalist world economy has expanded from its stand in the sixteenth century to encompass the entire world. This new world economy is constituted by cross-cutting network of productive processes so that there are a number of backward or forward linkages on which these processes are dependent on. There is also state pressure that affects the labourer. It governs the relationship as Wallerstein says between the bourgeois and the proletariat. Then it governs the relationship among the bourgeois. Wallerstein says that the states are constantly changing in form, strength and boundaries through the interplay of the interstate system. The commodity chains also become longer and more intertwined in the machinery and therefore there has been a constant pressure by the strong against the weak. The pressure has become more concentrated in the chains that are the easiest to monopolize in a few areas core processes in core areas and more and more of the processes that require less skilled and more extensive manpower that is easiest to keep at a low income level in other areas peripheral areas. Wallerstein says that parallel to the economic polarization there is also the political polarization between the stronger states in the core areas and weaker states in peripheral areas. A strong state is not one that is authoritarian but one which can maximize the conditions for profit making by its enterprises within the world economy. This may mean the creation of quasi monopoly situations or restraining others from doing the same to its disadvantage. The strength of a stronger state according to Wallerstein is measured by its ability to minimize all quasi monopolies or to enforce the doctrine of free trade. There are also the states that sit in between the core and the periphery called semiperipheral states. They are usually attached to a core state for benefits. These states at times of difficulty of capital accumulation take advantage of the situation and become freer of the control of the core states. They are freer to play among their rivals and create new quasi monopolistic constraints. However if they are too weak they return back to the imperialistic fold. Wallerstein says that in an interstate system, state are actors, but, at the same time they are organisations. The world economy, as different from international economy is a complex of language, religion, ideologies. There exists a Weltanschauung of imperium. The major social institutions of the capitalist world economy the states, the classes the peoples are all shaped by the ongoing workings of the world economy. World Systems Theory and Governance According to some interpretations of Wallerstein works, he is more in favour of looking at the macro. He says that the world is more than just a limited to a certain space therefore it is the entire processes in the globe which brings about this relationship between the core and the peripheral areas. According to the dependency theorist it is not so much the state that is now responsible for the shifts in the international affairs but it is the dynamic of economic forces. The achievement of the modern world in technology has made it possible for the flow of surplus from the lower to the upper strata; from periphery to the core by eliminating the political superstructure. The world systems theory sees the correlation between the economic position occupied by owners- producers in the world market economy and the state. The state strengths is determined by five independent measures of political strength. These include the extent to which state policy can compete in the world market economy (mercantilism); the extent to which states can affect the capacity of other states to compete (in military power); the ability of states to mobilize resources to perform these competitive and military tasks at the cost that they do not eat into the profits of their owner-producers; the capacity of states to create administration that permits the swift carrying out of tactical decisions (or an effective bureaucracy); and the degree to which the political rules reflect a balance of interest among owners-producers such that a working hegemonic bloc forms the stable underpinnings of such a state. 3Wallerstein believes that the decline in the state power has actually incre ased the freedom of action of capitalistic enterprises which have now become multinational corporations(MNCs). Wallerstein minimises the role of the state according to Tony Smith, to such an extent that he says that there are no socialist systems nor are there feudal systems because there is only one world system. The state no longer fights the socio-economic battles but it is the classes. These five factors are the political and economic factors of state strength and reciprocally linked because economic efficiency adds to the strength of the state. In the core states where there is more economic efficiency states have less need to intervene in the world market economy. To Wallerstien the state is most active in states with moderate strength. Thus from this argument it follows that in the core the presence of a centralized and powerful state institutional political structure is thus an indication of weakness rather than strength. This is so because the presence of a strong bourgeois ie class would agree to the collective arrangements that require a strong king to impose. In the semi-periphery the weakness of the owner-producers requires direct state involvement in the extraction of surplus strong state institutions as an indication of strength. Those state in the periphery were seen as the weakest as they have very weak institutional power structures. Wallerstein also uses the dominant class structures to explain the movement of states within the capitalist world economy residing outside the core. He takes for example the case of Sweden and Prussia. He says that the institutional political structures present in the states enabled the states to extract economic surplus. In the case of Sweden the autonomy of its peasantry and corresponding weakness of the its landowning aristocracy4 made it possible. While in Prussia the ability to use military force under the inspiration and support of the Junker class which helped it to gather this surplus through wars and territorial expansion. The state too will intervene only up to the point of its effectiveness in consolidating its power in the face of dominant class relation. Therefore state intervention presupposes a specific societal actor in the core and the periphery; the actor in the core is the dominant classs hegemonic bloc and in the semi-periphery is the centralized state. What has e merged in Kohlis argument is the neo-patrimonial state with the inability to distinguish between the public and the private sphere and the administration using its power and influence to gather benefits for its own self aggrandisement. The neopatrimonial state is a state wherein the centralised and cohesive nature actually do not lead to its industrialisation. The neo-patrimonial state which is weak in domestic capital invites other stronger capitalist groups to fill in the vacuum, to take up economic activities directly. Nigeria for example offered its oil in exchange for a ready source of income on demand. However, these commodity booms do not last very long because the political incapacity of the neo-patrimonial state. In Kohlis argument a developmental state has an almost defined public and private sphere. They are opposite to neo-patrimonial states and are characterized by cohesive politics, that is by centralized and goal oriented authority that penetrate deep into society. To reach these goals the developmental state attaches itself closely to a more developed state or group and in this political arrangement there is a tight control over labour. South Korea under Park Chung Hee and Brazil under Estado Novo are examples of such state, though they resemble fascists states of interwar Europe and Japan. Then there are states which attempt to pursue several goals simultaneously. Industrialisation, agriculture, redistribution welfare is at times politicised either because of intraelite conflicts or because state authority does not penetrate deep enough in society to touch and control the lower class. India and Brazil in several periods exemplify this type of state. Wallerstein says that the relation between state strength and autonomy is very close as determined by the strength of its dominant class and the role played by its owner-producers in the capitalist economy division of labour. While the British state was less autonomous than the absolute monarchy of France its mercantilist class of Britain, the element of strength made the British mercantilist to take on a tailor made rather than a readymade character. Within this core the dominant class force limits the autonomy of the state and the state strength. Outside the core there is a highly centralized state to provide extra market assistance to increase efficiency. State autonomy is neither presupposed or seen as something that explains state action. As Poulantzas5 presupposes the existence of relative state autonomy and invokes it as a functional explanation of how capitalist social formations come to be in close contact. Wallerstein on the other hand, treats relative state autonomy as som ething that varies with the sources of a states power that are related to the structure of its dominant class and integration into the capitalist economy. State autonomy is related to state strengths in different contexts according to particular world contexts and can be functional or dysfunctional. It serves as a descriptive concept whose content varies across conjunctures. Conclusion Wallersteins theory is at times historically inconsistent. As Tony Smith, however says that Wallerstein is wrong in his discussion of state power. As Theda Skocpol points out, the strong states in the sixteenth century were not at the core; in England and Holland but on the periphery; in Spain and Sweden. Alexander Gerschenkron according to Smith6 has demonstrated that the late industrialisers were successful because of exceptionally strong state structures that were determined to modernise. The peripheral countries like Russia, Japan and Germany could not have developed without the vigorous leadership of the state. The major flaw of Wallersteins Volume I treatment of state formation and structures, according to Skocpol and Brenner are drawn from his insistence that productive hierarchies facilitates the operation of unequal exchange enforced on weak states by the stronger states. However the counter argument is that countries like England and Holland which had the strongest economie s failed to develop absolute states like Sweden or Prussia which were in the periphery and the semi periphery. The world systems theory has often been criticised for its overarching focus on economics. Economic growth is important to the development of the state, but it is not the only underlying factor o development for a country. There are other such measures like sociopolitical development, redistribution of resources and other things. References Berend, Ivan T Globalization and its Impact on Core Periphery Relations, UCLA Center for European and Eurasian Studies Conference Papers, Paper 1, Los Angeles, 2004 Garst, Daniel Wallerstein and His Critics in Theory and Society, Vol 14, No. 4, July 1985 Kohli, A State Directed Development : Politics, Power and Industrialisation in the Global Periphery, Cambridge , CUP, 2004 pp 1 -26 New Dictionary of the History of Ideas Smith, Tony The Underdevelopment of Development Literature: The Case of the Dependency Theory; World Politics, Vol. 31, No. 2. (Jan., 1979), pp. 247-288. Stable URL : http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0043871%28197901%2931%3A2%3C247%3ATUODLT%3E 2.0.CO%3B2-I Wallerstein, Immanuel -The Politics of the World Economy, The States, the Movements and Civilizations; Cambridge, CUP, 1984

Environmental Ethics Essay

Environmental ethics falls under the discipline of environmental philosophy that studies how human beings relate to their natural environment. This is a wide study that involves a variety of other disciplines such as those that study human relationships, economics, the earth’s structure and biology especially ecology. Human beings being the most superior of all the living things on earth have an ethical obligation to the environment concerning the earth, air, water, other organisms and the human population, both the present and the future generation. Environmental ethics brigs up a variety of issues concerning what, when, how and why we should consider this area of study. Aspects arising include the environment’s moral value, how sustainable are the policies on environmental protection, and how do these apply to the developing nations, and what policies should be put in place to ensure that the environment is safe guarded for the future generation, among others. This topic has been studied by many philosophers through the years, but it only came to be recognized as an independent discipline in 1970, due to awareness of effects of increasing human knowledge on the environment. Growing economics and populations, new technologies and development of industries all have had various adverse effects on nature, although aimed at improving life. The works of Rachael Carson, Paul Ehrlich, Aldo Leopold, among others brought about ethical concerns about the environment. Under environmental ethics, human beings have a duty towards the environment, on protection and conservation as well as having a quality life for themselves. In this context, contentious issues arise as to why we should be concerned about the environment. Should it be for us, the living human beings, the future generation, or for the environment itself regardless of our own benefits? Different personalities offer different answers to this question, hence different views have come up on environmental ethics. The issues of environmental ethics is of growing concern to the government and other institution including United Nations which have come up with incentives to people to value and appreciate nature. Earth Day which is held annually (first held in 1970) continues to create awareness and sensitize people on the value of the environment and why it should be protected. The Moral Standing We cannot handle ethics without reference to moral philosophy, which is concerned with individual behaviors and conducts. the moral standing depends on what is considered ‘right’ or ‘good’ and ‘wrong’ or ‘bad’ by an individual or a society. For instance, different societies have different views on areas like land and animal ownership, rights of the future generation, and many more. Personal conduct with respect to environmental ethics defines how people should interact with nature, regarding its exploitation and conservation. The moral standing of the ethical issues on environment are wholly placed on human beings as they are the only living things who can reason and decide on moral issues. Many of the environmental concerns revolve around man and how these affect him, thus the responsibility of environmental ethics should be solely man’s. Responsibility to the environment implies that we are aware of this task, we are able to do it, we are at liberty to do it or not, and carrying out of the task has an effect to others existing in the environment. This means that we know the damage we can cause to the environment, the effects of this damage and the prevention or solutions to these problems. This gives us a moral significance in environmental ethics, and gives us a central role. The moral standing therefore means we have the moral obligation towards nature and the capability to carry out this responsibility. When we consider environmental ethics, then, look at issues such as: †¢ Should we care about nature for itself while it’s people who really â€Å"matter†?  That is if not for human beings benefit; why else should we conserve the environment? And if depleting the natural resources is necessary for life improvement, why not exhaust it? †¢ Is the loss of biodiversity, destruction of scenic geographical features for human benefit such as in agriculture so harmful to man? Where is the need to conserve a species while it has no chance of survival in the near future due to changes in earth’s patterns? †¢ Is it right for a person to own land, it being a natural resource among others, or is it morally wrong?  Is it fair that 5% of the human population use 30% of natural resources, while in other less countries the population suffers due to lack of the basic resources such as food and clean water? Do these resources exist for the benefit of a few or should they be left free for use by all? †¢ Is it possible for human beings to improve nature, seeing how man seems to have no control over nature when it comes to events such as natural calamities? †¢ Do recent developments in technology relieve us of our duty of protecting the environment? For instance, does biotechnology with potential to create new species, or bring back an extinct species, relieve us of the duty to conserve the biodiversity? Or alternative sources of fuel give us a right to deplete the natural fuel reserve? †¢ Should we let nature take its course as it always has or try and preserve it without assurance that this is of any benefit, or that this only hinders the course of nature? Is there any way that nature can take care of itself without our hand, like self renewal? The main issue surrounding environmental ethics today is the activist movements on environmental protection that focus people on the wrong issues, that is the moral standing is more emotional than factual or logical. The following are essential in discussing environmental ethics and policies. Western Religion and Culture It has been viewed by some philosophers that the Western religion has adversely affected the environment as it teaches that human beings have dominion over the earth and subdue it. Others view this as a command to take care of nature as we have been left in charge. The command given in the bible to the first man â€Å"be fruitful and fill the earth† (Genesis 1:28, Holy Bible KJV) raises the question of population control, is it ethical for the sake of the environment or is it a direct defiance of God’s command? To address this sensitive topic, religion should be understood in context. At the time of the command there was only one man on earth, so he was required to ‘fill’ it, but now the earth is already ‘filled’. Is it logical to still apply the very same principles now as they did then? The culture of a people defines how they relate to and use the environment. Many of the historic events that shape the western culture have had a huge impact on the environment. Events such as the industrial revolution, technological advances and the modern culture have affected the environment. Culture can easily adapt to changing environments, as well as cause permanent change to different environments. The environment is very wide and continuous, while cultural practices are defined by the environment. Therefore it is ethical to put environment before culture, and change current lifestyles towards more nature friendly practices. The future generation Most of the damage to the environment is more likely to affect the future human population. This therefore calls on the currently living humans to consider the rights of those who are not yet born. We might not know exactly what that generation will require but we are well aware of the basic needs of living beings; food shelter and basic health. Based on these we can have a model of what the environment should offer the future human beings. Therefore it is our moral obligation to them to utilize nature as much as we need to but ensure that we do not deny them the enjoyment of the same. Animals Other animals should be considered when addressing environmental ethics, since they are sentient beings, that is are capable of feeling. Although animals come after humans, they have rights and should be considered according to what they are interested in, such as feeding, living in their natural habitat, and allowed their existence. Controversy about animal rights arises in what animals exactly should we grant rights to. For instance, are insects or other smaller animals in this category? Is it right to use animals for laboratory research for medical and other studies to better our lives? The simple answer to this question is that unless it is extremely necessary, animals should not be put at risk or in adverse conditions. The harm to animals should be justified and be limited to a certain allowable level. Ecofeminism Women are seen to be closer and more in touch with nature; this is claimed by feminists concerned with the environment (Cochrane, 2007). This is because of their ability to give life, and the fact that the earth is considered female (Shiva, 1993). Thus this gives them a better understanding of nature and how to coexist in harmony. Val Plumwood, an ecofeminist believe, that feminism should go hand in hand with environmentalism as both women and the environment are under the same oppression. Another feminist argues that the problem is in trying to justify this kind of oppression thus allowing such subordination. When considering environmental ethics and policies, the domination over women and nature is a critical issue that requires attention. Economics and Ecology Economics and ecology usually appear as counter forces. Economy involves trying to allocate the limited resources while ecology looks out to protect these resources. The ever growing human population has placed great pressure on nature and thus their distribution is highly competitive. Market forces have added more pressure to natural resources and their exploitation. Rapid growth of industries has contributed to environmental deterioration. The cost-benefit considers questions like; if nuclear power makes electricity cheaper, should this field be ventured? What is the cost of preserving a forest compared to the cost of exporting timber? These raise challenges when setting up policies on the environment because of the question of cost versus the benefit of environmental ethics. Technology Technology has had a huge impact on human life as well as on the environment. The effects of technology are both beneficial and adverse. The medical, agricultural, communication and energy industries rely heavily on technology to better human life. Technology has the power to destroy nature as well as replenish it. The technological advances that are most potentially harmful include nuclear technology that is able to annihilate nature and biotechnology which has the potential to alter the natural species boundaries. Since all technologies come with potential risks along with their benefits, ethical consideration must be made with regards to the environment. Conclusion  In studying environmental ethics, the first thing is to ask the question ‘what should be done about the current environmental situation and how should it be done? ’ The other consideration is the importance of individual natural resources and how much effort and cost we should dedicate to protecting such. This should be based on facts and not feelings, like and dislikes. It is important that policies be based on an integrated system that has in mind all the components of nature, as well as involvement of the government, institutions and other countries.

Human Trafficking in Cambodia

Name: Chou David Class: Public Speaking Teacher: Kate Westbrook Assignment: Final Exam Human Trafficking Human trafficking is an illegal action that people kidnapped people to be their slavery of doing anything for money or their own good. It`s the possession or trading of humans for the purpose of engaging them in slavery and prostitution through the means of force. It’s the action that everyone is bewared of and scared of. It`s not just effect the victims but also their family, society, county and the world. Every single year the amounts of victims are increasing more and more.It`s a millions of dollars criminal which is the reason why there`re human trafficking. Human are victims every year and people who have heart do know that it`s one of the saddest things on Earth. So, have you had any relative who is the victim? Do you think that this action will ever stop? There`re many types of human trafficking. This means that they are all different. First, Women trafficking is a k ind of trafficking that people sale women as the costumer`s sex partner for money. They`re are not going to work at the same country that they used to lived because they`re going abroad to work in the sex industry.They`re not just the harm in sexual violence and rape but they were threat like the slavery. Normally, those slavery will work as waitress, refugee or prostitute for 20h/day. What cause this to be happening? Yes, because of the need of the traffickers who doesn’t really have money to manage their living situation. Also the parents whose sell their own daughter for the money to survive. But some of them might think that if their daughter still live with them, the baby or daughter will not survive and make them of selling the daughter out of the family`s bad economic issue.The lack of sex knowledge, awareness, and the percentage of illiteracy made this issue happens. This issue leads to the risk of LIFE. It leads the HIV wide-spread more and more. And also will be a b ig threat for the increasing amount of suicides. Second, Men trafficking for labor forces. This kind of trafficking is a serious problem that the international effort is underway to acknowledge and combat this situation. The majority of those victims are adult from 18-44 which has the full strength for labor forces. They were used in the purposes of criminal activities and begging.They were used to work for commonly 12 hours and more. They were threat like slavery and they were feed only one time per day. This makes the kill rate of men increase faster and faster. Since it`s a low-risk business for trafficker because they are not dealing with merchandise. It`s lower risk than drugs or weapons. Those men told themselves to fight but they can’t because they must be killing if they riot. The victim or slavery was threat like animal that they called it nightmare. The rate was increase 6% every year. The third and last type is children trafficking.How crazy they were that treat ch ildren like this? They use them to be the foreign attracter by selling normal things with unusual prize or by being beggars, children in arm force, or can be in the drug trades. Do those kids deserve better? Yes, they do. They deserve to be one of us that can stand here and study for knowledge. If there`re children trafficking, this results the end of a future. This one is an unsolvable issue that no one could think of since it starts. It results as permanent injury or death. So, what do you think about the tears of family?But some of the family sale their own kid to the trafficker to earn money to survive too. The kids will be cut off their legs or arms to look more pity that they can beg more money. If they don’t do the same thing that the trafficker said, they`ll be dead. It effects the whole life, community and the nation. What cause all of these to be happen? The biggest factor is the economic factor that I mention that it is a lower-risk high profit business. The Lack o f access to education and information. A lack of public awareness of the dangers of trafficking.The high profit potential for those engaged in the criminal activity. Gender discrimination. A lack of effective anti-trafficking legislation. These are the main causes or reasons that there`re human trafficking still exist nowadays. But how does it effect to our life? Human rights issue, Health Concerns, Equality did exist but the problem is unsolvable. So, the effects are growing more and more. The illness will widespread like HIV does. Not only HIV but others will be growing like never before. The effect to the family is a shame problem.Some family will just accept the welcome back of victims who can escape but some still think that daughter or girl who is particularly sexual exploitation will bring shame to family. So, some children who are able to escape may return home only to find that they`re rejected from the family. On another hand, the community will also taken effects of human trafficking. Children trafficking are shown to be the major effect on communities. If children are trafficked, it`ll be result that the community is corrupted or failed to protect the members.As a result, children who can escape will be lack of education that they`re less able to secure a job. Also the girls who can escape will be a difficult thing for a marriage because they bring the shame of being prostitute before. The next one is the effect to the whole nation. It results in the lost of potentially future workers. Why? Yeah, because of the injuries, illness and lack of education. And they were doing criminal activity which associate with the drugs and violent that harm the whole nation. So, it`s now known as a significant indicator of national and global security threats.Anyway, there`re ways to stop it if and only if , we join forces together in one to make sure that this will never ever happen again. One question is how? The answer is the plan that governments around the wor ld use. First, the prevention. Bringing up more of the law and educated lessons about human trafficking. Teach people not to be meant or being idiot to trafficked either children or adults. To prevent this we also need to enforcement the law by giving more punishment to trafficker and make them scared of law. Fortunately, the law enforcement of anti-trafficker is working on by the UNICEF.The project of victim assistant which begins first with the victim`s identification. It`s a project that will make sure that the children that escape the cage of nightmare will return home or other appropriate settings which means that they`re taking good care of and will never be re-trafficked again. Child or woman who is illegally trafficked and illegally work as a prostitute will be treating like a victim not the criminal. Finally, the things that I mentioned were about the cause, effects, types of human trafficking and the way to end it.U~N, UNICEF, US Department and more organizations are worki ng on this issue and will find a perfect prevention to this issue. So, I would like all of you to widespread the information to places. If you find out something unusual, you can contact to government, organizations, or the police. If you could think of a solution then you can help with that idea. Especially your idea could work for communities and nations. BEING VICTIM OF TRAFFICKING IS SLAVERY and SLAVERY WILL END SOONER OR LATER!!! Human Trafficking in Cambodia | | |Human Trafficking in Cambodia | | | | | | | | |Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1. 1 What is Human Traffiking ? 1. 2 Objective of studying ? 2. What cause Human Trafficking? 2. 1 The linkage between Migration and Human Trafficking ? 2. 2 Push factor and Pull factors 2. 3 Education 3. Propose solutions Human Trafficking 3. 1 Strenghen the Law 3. 2 Job Skill Traning For Shleter Victims 3. 3Provide Well Educated to People 4 Conclusion. 5. ReferenceIntroduction 1 What is human trafficking? Before delving into the paper, it is necessary to first understand the concept of human trafficking. â€Å"Human trafficking† is mainly defined as the illegal trade of human beings for the purpose of commercial sexual exploration or reproductive slavery. Human trafficking is considered as modern day slavery and it has increased dramatically over the year and it almost occurs at everywhere.It kind of recruitment, transportation, harboring, or taking of persons by means of threat, force, coe rcion, or deception for the purpose of exploiting them, or other form of sexual exploitation, or practice similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs. Today there are many forms of human trafficking;  victims are forced to work in homes, factories, fishing boats, or in agriculture fields, for employers that keep them virtually imprisoned. Some are forced into sexual servitude, while others must beg on the streets for asking some money from walker along the street.Many victims [1]‘’are tricked, thinking they are receiving a legitimate job opportunity, only to find themselves trapped and unable to leave an exploitive situation. Others are simply bought and sold like property. They are children, women, and men – of all ages. Most of them have no way to ask for help to back home. (Naro, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, 2009)’’ 1. Objective of the studying This study seeks to examine whether existing efforts made by the govern- ment and NGOs are sufficient in helping the victims, by examining the following questions: †¢ what are the particular needs of the victims? Has the reintegration process been successful? †¢ what more can the Cambodia government, NGOs and private sector can do to help the victims? What Causes Human Trafficking? 1 The linkage between Migration and Human Trafficking [2]According to Marshall (2001), trafficking is linked to irregular migration, Sometime it happens in destination counties where an increasing number of women in particular become victims to various kinds of abusive, exploitative, and irregular forms of migration associated with trafficking. It is also known as â€Å"blind migration† and the flow of migration from such created the risk of trafficking.The relationship between human trafficking and migration has been the trend of migration that link victims vulnerability to human trafficking when they are isolated from their homes and families. 2 Push Factor and Pull Factor Poverty is an importance factor which has increase women and children’s vulnerability to human traffickers- particularly the poor and the unemployed due to their willingness to join or their low level of awareness on the dangers associated with human trafficking. The Chen Chen Lee reported in 2007 showed that the interviewees cited poverty as one of the main drivers behind their decision to migrated overseas for work. ccording to researcher claims that, the low level of education, family debt, agricultural failure, lack of land and off season work were pushing people to the big cities or to other countries as the men go to instruction, women into service and prostitution. In addition to poverty, the lack of education and unemployment there also significant social and cultural variables that contributes to human trafficking. For instance, cultural norms that perpetuate a lack of respect for women increase the likelihood of them being exploited.Poverty, broken families, landlessness, disasters, uneven economic development, relaxation of border controls, economic inequality between the rural and urban areas are also significant contributing factors to human trafficking. According to the International Organization for migration, based in Phnom Penh, in 2004 the pull factor connected to the push factor whereby people became disillusioned with their community due to extreme poverty. The pull factor is the expectation that destination countries are places better than their impoverished communities and there migrants can earn more money for remittances back home.Thus, it seen that the root causes are push and pull factors through which people who wish to seek jobs for a better living on became victim of human trafficking as well. 3 Education Low education levels contributed to higher poverty levels. Most of the trafficked victims were illiterate for families and communities, One crucial way to increase economic growth would be to emphasize the importance of education as a significant human resource development ( in term of specific skills), thereby aid in alleviating poverty.The education levels of trafficked victims also reflected the national distribution. This therefore illuminates the significant role that the Cambodian Ministry of Education should play for the betterment of the whole country. According to the Ministry of planning, a child can be safe from illiteracy if he or she has completed at least till the fourth or fifth grade if their studies. Nevertheless, a higher education level is needed to ensure a better employment prospects in the future.As stipulated in the Cambodia government’s National strategy plan, Education is the main human resource development factor in helping to alleviated poverty and increase economic growth potential Proposed Solutions Human Trafficking 1 Strengthen the Law Government should play a greater role in encouraging the private sector to work together with NGOs. Insurance cos ts and payment to trainees are currently covered by NGOs. At the end of training period the company is required to accepted the victims as employees. Most importantly, the government, NGOs and private sector must collaborate with one other.Presently NGOs have provided shelters to conduct skill training. The government can thus propose to the private sector to engage in corporate social responsibility by providing support to the victims in term of financial and job vacancies. The benefits for employers would be better skilled workers and their contribution to corporate social responsibility. The Government should put a serious law and fine them in a big amount of money to the trafficker who commits this crime in order to make them scare to commit it again in the future.Not only ordinary people who accepted this law it also apply for the authority power as well. When the law in one society is strong it can reduce the crime of human trade step by step. And it’s not really hard f or government to control it as well. 2 Job skill training for sheltered Victims: NGOs have been conducting rehabilitation programs to provide skills training and employment to ensure that victims can access various options for income generation after reintegration within their families, communities or workplaces. Table:1 Vocational |Female |Male |Job |Female |Male | |Training | | |Expectation | | | |Sewing |75% |29% |Garment |38% |21% | | | | |worker | | | |Electronics |0% |7% |Electronics |0% |7% | | | | |repairer | | | |Beauty salon |25% |0% |Beauty |25% |0% | | | |salon shop | | | |Hair cutting |0% |21% |Baber shop |0% |21% | |Car repairer |0% |7% |Car Repairer |0% |7% | |Motor repairer |0% |36% |Motor repairer |0% |36% | |English literature |25% |29% |Tailor shop |38% |7% | |Khmer literature |88% |29% |Total: |16 |14 | |Total: |16 |14 | | | |The reintegration programs provide victims with the ability to deal with stigmatization, acquire job skills and employment, health care, ed ucational support, as well as food and accommodation. The skills training plays a very importance role and it is through the crucial concept of reintegration that victims can access potential employment for better living and income conditions, It’s also a vital part helping them before being placed back in their workplaces or halfway house for victims who wish to be self-employed as well as family communities. 2. Provide well Educated to people As mentioned earlier, most of the victims possess low of education.Educations is the main human resource development component needed to improve Cambodia’s potential for economic growth. Education should be presented to the young generation in such a way that low educated is linked to issued related to poverty and other negative consequences to life and household income in the future. According to the National Economic Development (NED) policy document 2001-2005, the root cause of poverty was the result of poverty. Education sho uld also include job orientations that apply in parallel with the present job market needs, especially for those living in rural areas. The governments also play an important role in improving job opportunity. The currently rate of job creation does not support the increasing labor supply. 50,000 to 175,000 people join the labor force annually and this is expected to increase to over 200,000 by 2010 (United Nation Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-region UNIAP ,2008). [3]However, according to Dr. Chap Sothearith Director of the Cambodia Institute for Cooperation and Peace, the demand for local construction labor demand is increasing in recent years. Rural Cambodia have unfortunately not realize this opportunity due to lack of information. Given this, it is therefore imperative for the government to work with the private sector, NGOS and local communities to disseminate information to the people via television, radio, council communities and villager s in order to reach out the rural and vulnerable job seekers and it also like to encourage them to start new life and dismiss what the past is. ConclusionFor my opinion it’s not easy to stop or eliminated human trafficking in one society but we can do it step by step. Government should provide good education to them to get know how to secure their life from the middle person in community. The human trafficking issues is a humanities issue which usually occurs in backward countries where it involves the poor exploited by those who initially promised income if they been accepted for work place and in accordance with the sector and where they live and narrowness needed. The poor usually have complex financial problems, and this makes them willing to place themselves in anywhere without investigating the background and basic information that what will be their job.Furthermore, they are also lack of knowledge because ignorance about their rights and the importance of understanding how to defend themselves from deceived cause they are unable to get out when hit by this problem. At the same time also, they are lack of exposure, and they are more easily cheated. Thus, measures the best solution is comprehensive, especially the involvement of government in formulating and drafting laws that can protect people from falling prey to problems. Moreover, the involvement of NGOs’ in helping the government solve this problem is appropriate and timely because the NGO’s can carry out the duties that can’t be carried out by Government.This issue will only be done if all the emphasis and direct assistance whether in terms of moral and financial, and suggestions with combating this commercial crimes. References http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Human_trafficking http://biusvspa. blogspot. com/2011/03/conclusion. html. http://cambodia. usembassy. gov/011912_pr. html http://www. rsis. edu. sg/publications/WorkingPapers/WP181. pdf ———â₠¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€œ [1] Neth Naro 29 June 2009 ( S Rajatnam School of International Studies) www. rsis. edu. sg/publications/WorkingPapers/WP181. pdf [2] Marshall, P ( Globallization, Migration and Trafficking in women and children in the Mekong Sub-region ) 8-10 May 2001 Kuala Lumpur [3] UNIAP (2008) SIREN Human Trafficking : (strategic Information Response Network, phase III. March 2008 (v. 1. 0) Cambodia.

What Are the Causes and Consequences of Bmw’s Quality...

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