Romeo And Juliet Play And Movie Comparison Film Studies Essay

Romeo And Juliet Play And Movie Comparison Film Studies Essay The crown of English literature for plays, embedded with timeless and priceless gems, rests certainly on the head of William Shakespeare. Shakespeare has created masterpieces in every possible genres of play. Romeo and Juliet is an everlasting (or ever grey due to tragic over tones?!) play which draws undivided or unparallel attention of the writers even during this modern era. Apart from enjoying immense popularity when it was enacted as a drama during the early part of the sixteenth century, the beginning of mid twentieth century witnessed this play being converted into movies in 1968, and 1996. Both the movies stayed faithful to the original storyline; however, the 1996 version, Baz Lurhmann adopted the storyline to reflect the revealing trend of dispute among two feuding families. It is an exciting task to make a detailed study of the play, and its comparison in different aspect with the immensely popular 1996 version directed by the Australian, Baz Lurhmann. Romeo and Juliet, though termed as tragedy carries more of Shakespeares comedy elements. Love is obviously the dominating and most vital theme of this play. The whole play is intertwined on the romantic love between Romeo and Juliet at their first sight. In this play, love supersede other characteristics such as loyalty, emotions etc. In this play, the lovers deny the family and the entire world and proceed with their marriage. This is evident from the words of Juliet, Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, I / And Ill no longer be a Capulet (Romeo and Juliet. 2.2. 38-39). Romeo abandons his close friends, Mercutio and Benvolio and even risks his life and returns to Verona for the sake of his lady love even after being sent in exile. Love becomes a riding force for every incident narrated in the play. The lovers are emotionally triggered and take impulsive decisions; by this, they go against the norms of this world. Also, love is described as a religion. This is clear in the lines describing Romeo and Juliets first meeting. The readers can observe that Juliet has no words to explain her love for Romeo and thus refuses to describe it in words. But my true love is grown to such excess / I cannot sum up some of half my wealth (Romeo and Juliet 2.6. 33-34). Thus, it is clear that both the lovers are not able to explain their love and differentiate it with the society, family and religion. Their inability to draw line between their love and other ties can be said as a vital reason for their tragic end. By this, their love takes a back seat and death and violence occupies the front seat. The delicate ingredients of family feud, immature teenage aspirations and above all the raging love between the teenagers provides a great and ideal platform for Shakespeare to come up with an immortal tragedy. It is quite natural that film makers were inevitably attracted and motivated to make an interesting movie from the play. The project of making a movie on Romeo and Juliet certainly has some challenges to be encountered. Firstly, in the narrative, the vivid descriptions of the various scenarios are brought out in a several lines of verse; while the same can be made into a visual presentation involving much lesser times and words. Secondly, certain specific features in the realm of plays such as soliloquy are brought out in a distinctive style but picturization of the same is a different proposition altogether as the technical advancements has facilitated to project the actors expressions and bodily gestures by way of close-up shots and suitable editing in a forthright manner which is not possible in the play. Again, the advanced film making technique with avenues like lightning, wide variety of locales, costumes, advanced make-up facilities, make-up for an effective combination to produce excellent visual effects as compared to the limitations in the enactment of the play. Thus, the avenues are open for effecting the most picture perfect visualization. Baz Luhrmann has been successful in innovating the adaption of the screenplay in a different background scenario drawing a unique visual style, reflecting the politics and trends that existed in a combination of 1940s, 1970s and 1990s. Luhrmann deposits the play in the modern Verona beach; this can also be interpreted as reminding part decaying Miami and part Mexico City as frequent and high crime rate areas (Berardinelli, 1996). Accordingly, fast cars with roaring engines in the movie replace the horses in the play. Guns come in to occupy the place of swords and daggers. This kind of a hybrid with an old play in new setting makes a startling impression on the viewer. While trying to bring out the directors intent, it would be in order to bring out certain important scene of the play, especially pertaining to the love-scene. The way it has been brought out in picturization acquires a special credit. Firstly, the balcony scene is considered by many scholars to be the highlight of the play where the impact of youth love is brought out vibrantly to be stronger than all the forces that work against it. Luhrmann takes Shakespeares use of 190 lines and reduces it to 90 lines. He also switches the venue from the orchard to the swimming pool. However, he manages to retain the main intent of the lovers (Modern Film Adaptations of Shakespeare). Again, the camera work here is quite impressive: in usual cases the camera is moving frantically, however here the camera remains fixed in a tight close-up as Romeos dialogue, But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? (Romeo and Juliet 2.2.2), and the camera stays extremely close to the lovers as they disco ver each other and realize how much they are attracted to each other and how deep in love they are with each other. This scene take place in the pool courtyard of the Capulet mansion and is noticeably more muted than other scenes; the importance of words and feelings gain ascendancy allowing Shakespeares poetry to come through in full bloom (Modern Film Adaptations of Shakespeare). While essaying on the directors perspective, it is worthwhile to discuss about the technical credits of the movie: the camera is always seen roving around; there are many instances in the movie where rapid cuts and screaming soundtrack might make the viewer doubt whether he is watching a rock-video! Also, the camera tricks, the special effects such as a roiling storm and the rebellious splash of colors right through the movie gains priority relegating the romantic theme into the background, in the process, lose certain more intangibles of intricate romance. This is more manifested in the first few scenes of the movie and tends to get corrected as it progresses. In conclusion, any adaptation of a Shakespeare play is determined by two major factors. The first is the competence of the director. The second factor is the ability of the main cast members. Any other innovations and unconventional flourishes applied by the director and technicians will not carry any significance. With these viewpoints, the litterateur can appreciate that the play Romeo and Juliet has fallen in the capable hands of directors and actors such as Luhrmann, DiCaprio and Danes. This 1996 film version of the play, despite being interpreted as a loud and brash version, and despite being unacceptable to the high-level experts as a classic, it has certainly helped widen their perspective to venture into any movie that bears the credit based on play by William Shakespeare.

Changes in Marriage Equality Laws

Changes in Marriage Equality Laws Compare and contrast how your views of a traditional nuclear family, cohabitation and sexuality might differ from those of your parents. The ever changing world as we know it has led to differences in lifestyles and contemporary views towards how families should be run in modern society but the core values of family life still remain the same. Families are still mediums whereby people can enjoy security, companionship and a refuge from an often harsh and uncaring world. Structures of families have changed along with society in general but the traditional nuclear family of mother, father and children still remains an ideal. Many variations of the traditional nuclear family have arisen in the years since world war 2 that have changed the current generations views to that of our parents and grandparents generations. In previous generations the mother was expected to look after the household and not partake in paid employment while the father was considered the bread winner and sole source of income for the family. This perception of the nuclear family has changed vastly due to major changes in social structure, education, the feminist movement etc. These forces have changed how we view the modern family along with the increase in cohabitation, decline in marriage, rise in divorce rates and the prolonged postponement of union formation. Single-sex marriages, single-parent families, cohabitation and single living have increased in regularity. Increases in the rate of divorce has lead to a growth in the popularity of cohabitation whereby more couples live with each other before marriage, somewhat as a testing period, and couples are marrying later in life. Marriage has become less relevant in our generation compared to the golden age of marriage during the 50s and 60s where marriage was an important institution in society. Changes in laws such as those concerning same-sex marriage have led to this attitude. In the last two decades there has been a dramatic increase in cohabitation in the US. Between 1970 and 1994, the number of unmarried couples living together rose from about 500,000 to almost 3.7 million. Between 1965-74 just 11% of marriages were preceded by cohabitation whereas between 1980-84 44% of all marriages involved at least one spouse who had cohabited (1). Cohabitation has been prevalent in previous generations where couples were unable to marry due to the fact that they werent able to afford marriage or were not lawfully able to marry. Couples also believe that it is easier to end a cohabiting relationship than it is to end a marriage. For one tenth of cohabiters, cohabitation is a long term relationship which does not lead to marriage (1). In the space of a couple of decades cohabitation has nearly replaced marriage as the regular choice of a first union. In France, a massive rise in cohabitation occurred between 1965 and 1995 when the proportion of couples starting their union by cohabitation increased from 10% to 90% (2). During the 1990s marriage was still the superior marker for first union entry in the south of Europe whereas in juxtaposition most western and northern European countries and the United States cohabitation had surpassed marriage as the preamble for first partnership. The mean age for which people enter marriage has increased for many reasons. The prolonging of many transitions to adult life(finishing education, leaving the parental household, starting a first job) along with the rise in young adults entering unions without marriage has added to the mean age. Nowadays marriage is no longer seen as the singularly appropriate avenue for childbearing. People who decide to have a child do not feel rushed into marriage and being pregnant is not seen as a determinant for marriage. This attitude can be compared to those of prior generations where pregnancy before marriage was frowned upon and unmarried cohabitation did not last very long due to social pressure. In our parents generations the normal route of marriage followed by childbearing has been steadily replaced by a number of different pathways: in some countries, the sequence of cohabitation followed by marriage and then childbearing has become the most common path, while in other societies, cohabitation first followed by first or second birth and then marriage has become the most popular pattern and an increasing number of couples with children opt to not marry at all (3). In the United States the number of children born to parents who cohabitate nearly doubled between 1984 and 1994, growing from 6% to 11% (4). In recent times marriage instability has increased, this along with less-stable living arrangements have led to an increase in the numbers of single parent families and a high frequency of single motherhood across Europe. In Europe a substantial percentage of children are exposed to living with a single parent before reaching the age of 15. The total exposure ranged from 11-18 percent in Southern Europe (Italy and Spain), Belgium, Poland, and Slovenia; to 39-41 percent in Austria, Germany, and Latvia; and, outside of Europe, to a very high level of 52 percent in the United States (these figures are period life table estimates based on the FFS data). In agreement with the evidence provided by the census data in Table 6 above, the authors argue that, while the pace of family change has varied across countries, the shift of childrearing from married parents to single mothers is universal in Western societies, and has been proceeding faster than the shift to cohabiting parents and stepfa milies (5). In our parents and grandparents generations there was a fundamental belief that marital union should be between a man and a woman. Same sex couples were shunned and granted none of the rights that were enjoyed my heterosexual couples. Throughout the world same sex couples and those in support of equal rights for same sex couples have campaigned for what they feel are basic human rights that should apply to everyone; the right to have their relationship recognised lawfully and the right to marry. Homosexuality has gradually become decriminalised since the 60s in most countries but is still criminal in some countries run by religious laws. Pressure from these groups seeking equality for same sex couples and recognition of their union along with the increase in cohabitation has led to law reforms that allow these couples to achieve a specific legal status when the register their partnerships. Although same sex couples are gaining momentum in their continuous battles to secure recognition there are still pockets of resistance and intolerance. The introduction of civil partnership to the United Kingdom has granted same sex couples more rights including employment, pension and inheritance related rights. This increase in rights is a stark contrast compared to the limited rights allocated to same sex couples in our parents and grandparents times. References Cohabitation: A Snapshot by Hilda Rodriguez, 1998 Cohabitation is here to stay by Touleman, 1997 Children born outside marriage in France and their parents: recognitions and legitimations since 1965 by Munoz-PÃÆ'Â ©rez, F., and F. Prioux, 2000 Larry Bumpass, 2002 Shifting childrearing to single mothers. Results from 17 Western countries by Heuveline, P., J. M. Timberlake, and F. F. Furstenberg, Jr., 2003

Pride And Prejudice - Point Of View Essay -- essays research papers

Marry For Love The point of view of a novel usually decides which characters we sympathize with. In the novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Elizabeth Bennett is the focal character, which causes the reader to feel closest to her. The reader can relate more easily to her feelings and actions, and given that all of Elizabeth’s opinions on large issues are known and understood, the reader tends to side with her. By making the story from the point of view of Elizabeth, Austen is able to take advantage of the closeness between reader and character to make a political statement about the institution of marriage, and thus shows her own feeling that it is a mistake to marry for any other reason besides love. One way that she shows her feelings on matrimony is by using Elizabeth’s voice as her own to approve of some characters decisions about marriage. Elizabeth’s approval of certain characters shows Austen’s approval, and in this case, Elizabeth approves of the marriage between Jane and Bingley. Jane and Bingley show throughout the novel their genuine affection for one another, and Elizabeth observes about Bingley’s affection for Jane, "I never saw a more promising inclination. He was growing quite inattentive to other people, and wholly engrossed by her†¦ Is not general incivility the very essence of love?" (106). Mrs. Bennett approves of the match mostly on a monetary basis, and exclaims, "Why, he has four or five thousand a year, and very likely more. Oh my dear Jane, I am so happy!" (260). Elizabeth, however, looks down on her mother for this, and approves of the marriage because she can tell that the two are truly in love with one another. Austen also makes those in love the happiest of all the characters. Jane and Bingley are truly in love, consequently, they are two of the happiest characters in the novel. Jane announces that, "’Tis too much! By far too much. I do not deserve it. Oh! why is not everybody as happy?" (259) and, "I am certainly the most fortunate creature that ever existed!" (262). Jane and Bingley’s happiness shows the author’s approval of their marriage. Austen uses Elizabeth’s voice as her own to make the statement that love is the only acceptable reason to marry. Another way that Austen uses Elizabeth to show her feelings on the issue of matrimony is b... ...iven to Wickham by Darcy, they are the ones in the worst financial situation. "They were always moving from place to place in quest of a cheap situation, and always spending more than they ought" (290-291). By using Elizabeth as the character from whose point of view we see the other characters, we are shown by Austen how to feel about each specific situation. In the case of Lydia and Wickham, we are to agree with Elizabeth (and thus Austen) that they have gotten what they deserve for jumping into marriage for the wrong reasons. Therefore, Austen’s voice comes through Elizabeth to make the statement that it is foolish to marry for any reason besides love. Jane Austen uses Elizabeth as the focal character in the novel Pride and Prejudice to relay a message to the reader. Her own voice comes through Elizabeth to make the political statement that it is unwise to marry for any reason other than love. Elizabeth (and thus Austen) feels that true happiness cannot be achieved in a marriage unless there is a great deal of love between the partners, and so explains her pursuit for true love, and her disapproval of marriage between those she knows are not in love.

President Bill Clintons Impeachment :: William Jefferson Clinton Essays

Clinton's Impeachment A fake. A liar. A cheat. Is this what should be said about the President? He has committed perjury, obstructed justice, and continues to lie to America about his actions. Bill Clinton is an embarrassment to America and should be impeached. How can his actions be explained to the children? Can parents tell their children that the leader of the free world is a liar, a cheat, and a pervert? Impeachment out of office or resignation would be the best for the country. The President has been dodging everything that has been thrown at him, it is about time he is pinned with something and this affair is the best opportunity. Taking him out of office is necessary and this can not be a better time for the impeachment to take place. Through the history of America there have been many impeachments but never a full impeachment for a president. The closest ever was Andrew Jackson who was impeached by the house but not by the senate (O,Brien 973). Clinton went through the same that he did being impeached by the house but not the senate. Andrew Jackson was impeached for high crimes against the United States. Clinton has committed several high crimes yet he is not going to be impeached. He has been given to many chances and forgiven too many times. A person can only be given so many chances before a stop has to be put on it. This is the best time to stop the lying and cheating going on in the White House. The point that he is the President of the United States should not give the President any leeway whatsoever. The President has engaged in conduct that is against his constitutional duty to execute the laws (Starr). The President committed the crimes and just like any other common criminal he should have to pay for what he has done. If a doctor or a teacher participated in sexual activities with a patient or student would he or she not be forced to resign or be fired? How is the President's case different from this except for the fact that he is the President and he has also committed other crimes besides having sexual relations with Ms. Lewinsky? All men are created equal isn't that what the constitution says, why is the Presidents case so different.

Roger Maris :: essays research papers

Roger Maris is probably one of baseball’s most misunderstood baseball heroes. Still now after almost 40 years Maris has still not achieved his rightful place in baseball history, the Baseball Hall of Fame. Roger Maris has had a picture-perfect life starting in Hibbing, Minnesota to where he grew up in Fargo, North Dakota. His young life was marked with athleticism. He excelled at many sports not just baseball. Roger was affluent in football and track among others. His baseball career began with the Cleveland Indians in 1957 and he was traded to the Kansas City Athletics in 1958. In 1966, he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. Maris retired from baseball following the 1968 season. Roger Maris was born in the small town of Hibbing, Minnesota. He only lived there for a few years until he moved to Grand Forks, North Dakota, where he stayed until he was ten. Maris began to realize his talent for athletics during those years. His father remembered that Roger could always play sports better than all of the other kids. More specifically he recalls that no other kid in the neighborhood could begin to match the distance in which Roger could hit the baseball. He was one of the fastest members of the track team. He was also prominent on the basketball and football teams. He was a local champion of stickball, being the only one who could hit the ball nearly 200 yards. Rogers’ family then moved to Fargo, North Dakota. His athletic skills were never used to their potential by the school so he changed high schools to Shanley high school where he was more appreciated. His football, track and basketball talents were used to the maximum potential and Roger gained a local fame.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Like many other baseball stars, Roger Maris began his career in American Legion baseball. He played outfield and he also pitched. In this league he was named the Most Valuable Player on the North Dakota championship team in 1950. After graduation Roger had to choose between football and baseball. It was a hard choice for him and he could go far in either sport. Thank goodness for baseball he chose it. He briefly considered college but he turned down the University of Oklahoma and numerous other colleges that made him offers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A scout report that was made by Frank Fahey in 1950 resurfaced in 1961 and as a result of this the Cleveland Indians asked him to a tryout camp.

Plato †Philosophy Essay

The Republic is one of Plato’s longer works (more than 450 pages in length). It is written in dialogue form (as are most of Plato’s books), & it addresses major issues in almost all of the branches of philosophy. The central theme in the book seems to be the nature of justice, a topic in political philosophy, but Plato also has his characters explore issues in ? philosophical cosmology, ? philosophical theology, ? philosophical anthropology, ? ethics, ? aesthetics, and ? epistemology. The parts of the Republic that are contained in our text (pp. 107-123) focus on Plato’s idea (ideal?) of the Philosopher Ruler. According to Plato, ? the best possible political system (state) ? will be ruled (governed) ? by PHILOSOPHERS! (Is he kidding? ) Our reading selection contains the following themes/sections: ? ? Introduction on the unifying of philosophy & politics (107) Why â€Å"true philosophers† would make the best rulers (108-12) †¢ What is â€Å"true philosophy†? (108-11) †¢ Love of wisdom (108) †¢ Knowledge of true reality (108-9) †¢ The distinctions between knowledge, ignorance and opinion (109-11) †¢ How is a â€Å"true philosopher† different from a â€Å"lover of opinion†? (111-12) †¢ Who is best suited to rule the state – lovers of opinion or â€Å"true philosophers†? (112) ? ? Political leadership and knowledge of the Good (112-13) The ascent of the mind to knowledge of the Good (113-123) †¢ The analogy between the Good and the sun (113-15) †¢ The image of the divided line (115-18) †¢ The allegory of the cave (118-123) The selection in the text begins at a point in the Republic after Socrates, Glaucon, & other characters have been discussing the nature of justice and the marks of a just political system for some time. So we are coming into the middle of the conversation where Glaucon is pressing Socrates to state whether it is possible for a really just political system to come into existence. Before answering Glaucon’s question, Socrates wonders whether it is worthwhile to What does he say construct a theoretical model of a good political system even if such a system could about this? Do you agree? Why not actually exist. or why not? Back to Glaucon’s original question: Can a really just (or at least approximately just) political system exist? What would make it possible? (It is the separation of philosophy & political power. ) And this leads to . . . . unless political power & philosophy are brought together & those who now pursue either the one or the other exclusively are prevented from doing so -neither our political problems nor our human troubles in general can be ended . . . . † (Text, pp. 108-111) True Philosophy & True Philosophers What are the characteristics of a person who is naturally suited to practice philosophy? According to Socrates (Plato), a true philosopher ? loves the whole of wisdom and is satisfied with nothing less; ? recognizes the difference between particular things and the essences (or forms) of which particular things are likenesses (e.g. , beautiful things vs. Beauty itself); and ? knows the differences between knowledge, ignorance, and opinion. Plato argues that someone who really loves something must love that thing as a whole and not just some aspects of it. On that basis, he concludes that a true philosopher (lover of wisdom) must desire wisdom as a whole and not be content with having just some wisdom. Do you agree with this? Do wine-lovers really love all wines? A true philosopher recognizes the difference between particular things and the essences (or forms) of which particular things are likenesses (e. g. , beautiful things vs.Beauty itself). One of Plato’s major metaphysical theories is known as the â€Å"Theory of Forms. † According to that theory, ultimate reality is a realm of forms (essences) not accessible to the senses but only to the mind (intellect). He calls that level of reality the â€Å"intelligible realm† (because it is accessible only to the intellect). The perceptible world (i. e. , the world we perceive through our senses) is a reflection or copy of that higher intelligible world. (The Greek word for â€Å"form† or â€Å"essence† is eidos. ) Do you think it is possible for one thing to be really more beautiful than another thing? Well, how is that possible if Absolute Beauty does not exist? How can â€Å"A† be more beautiful than â€Å"B†? Doesn’t â€Å"A† have to be closer to Absolute Beauty than â€Å"B† is? But how can â€Å"A† be closer to (or â€Å"B† be further away from) Absolute Beauty if Absolute Beauty does not exist? A true philosopher knows the differences between ? Knowledge, ? ignorance, & ? opinion. Plato’s view of knowledge, ignorance, and opinion (Text, pp. 109-111) State of Mind Knowledge Opinion Ignorance Object What is (Being, Reality) What is & is not (Becoming) What is not (Nothingness, Unreality) Access Intellect Perception ? (Do you agree with this setup/theory?) Is Plato right about knowledge, ignorance, and opinion? Here’s a different view†¦. What about knowledge? The three basic questions in epistemology ? ? What is knowledge? How does it differ from opinion? How do we acquire knowledge? What are its sources? Rationalism vs. Empiricism. (What about Intuitionism and Revelationism? ) ? What are the extent and limits of knowledge? What can be known, and what cannot be known? A (fairly) standard definition of knowledge (and opinion) ? Knowledge is â€Å"justified (i. e. , verified) true belief. â€Å" †¢ To know is to believe. †¢ The belief must, in fact, be true. †¢ The belief must be â€Å"justified† (i.e. , verified, proved) by some standard and generally recognized means. ? Opinion is belief that may be true or may be false but that has not been or cannot be â€Å"justified† (i. e. , verified, proved) by any standard and generally recognized means. Of course, some opinions that are rationally defensible in the weak sense are â€Å"justified† in a limited way. And what about ignorance? Isn’t ignorance basically an absence of knowledge? Of course, opinion is also an absence of knowledge. So perhaps ignorance is a certain or special kind of opinion that is in some sense groundless (in a way based on nothing, as Plato says). ? There seem to be various types of ignorance, including unintelligent ignorance, as when someone asserts dogmatically that a false proposition is true or that a true proposition is false. There is also intelligent ignorance, as when someone does not know X and acknowledges forthrightly that he does not know it, etc. More thought is needed on this matter†¦. ? However, Plato’s view of ignorance as having non-being (nothingness) as its object does not seem correct (or at least not completely correct). ? ? ? Lovers of wisdom (philosophers) — they recognize the existence of absolute, transcendental essences such as Beauty & Justice in themselves, and they seek knowledge of such absolutes. ? Lovers of opinion -they recognize only particular perceptible things & do not believe in the existence of absolute essences such as Beauty itself. So what is the nature of the Absolute Good? (Text, p. 112-113) In approaching the problem of defining the nature of the Absolute Good, Socrates (Plato) sets forth three very famous illustrations of his overall perspective on knowledge & reality. These are I The Good & the Sun The Good is to the mind as the sun is to the eye, i.e. , just as the sun’s light enables the eye to see in the perceptible realm, so the Good illuminates the mind and enables it to â€Å"see† in the intelligible realm. (See text, pp. 113-115) 2 The divided line (Text, pp. 115-118) States of Consciousness Philosophical Wisdom E Objects of Consciousness The Good & Other Forms Knowledge D Intelligible Realm Scientific Knowledge Informed Opinion Delusion C B Mathematical & Scientific Objects Opinion Perceptible Objects Images Perceptible Realm A (Text, pp. 118-123) Can you link the images on the following slide to Plato’s depiction of the cave world on pp. 118-121 in the text? Now that the prisoner has â€Å"seen the light,† ? What might happen to him if he were to go back down into the cave-world? (pp. 119-121) ? How does he feel when he looks back down into the cave-world? (pp. 119) ? How does the allegory of the cave illustrate Plato’s overall view of knowledge and reality? (p. 121) More questions: ? What’s the philosophical difference between coming into the darkness from the light & coming into the light from the darkness? (p. 121) ? What, according to Plato, does the allegory of the cave tell us about what the process of education should be? (pp. 121-122) there are the big questions: Why should we want philosophers to rule? How are we going to get them to rule? Since we are asking them to come back down into the cave-world, won’t we be doing them harm by making their lives worse rather than better? (Text, pp. 122-123) What do you think of the following statements by Plato (Socrates)? â€Å"The best rulers of the state are those who know the Good, who don’t look to politics for their happiness, & who live a higher life than the political life. † â€Å"Political power should be held by those who do not want it. † The End (for now).

International Business in Emerging Markets Essay

The global exchange of capital, goods and services also referred to as national trade is the pre-dominant part of all economies. Advancement in time of transportation, transnational corporations, globalization and outsourcing practices have led to the growth and importance of international trade (Anderson et al, 1993). This importance accrues from the amount of revenue this trade generates. The importance of this trade is apparent in the amount of money, time, human and other resources that go into the planning of global trade affairs (Bhagwati, 1992). Entire ministries and budgets are dedicated to prepare transnational trade efforts. Memberships to regional trade bodies such as the European Union receive higher priority than political alliances while negotiation of trade treaties takes more of the leadership’s time (Dixit et al, 1980). In addition to political envoys, governments have trade consuls in other nations (Mattli, 1999). It is thus alarming for a country to realize that her international trade position is not attaining the targets that would indicate prosperity. The UK is one of such whereby her deficit in goods and services has risen from 2. 2 to 3. 5 billion pounds between august and September 2009. The deficit with European Union countries widened in the same period. while that with non European countries replicated the downward trend. It is also reported that except for Oil and erratic commodities, the volume of exports in September was 0. 2 percent lower than the previous months with imports being higher by 4. 1 percent (ONS, 2009). This indicates an alarming trend which the concerned departments need to look into. Perhaps the downturn is due to external factors that might be within reach or not. However trade policy needs to be reviewed to check this spiral. This is especially to deal with identification of new global markets that can be used to add to the export tally thereby reducing the deficit. A look at theories of trade can assist in identifying new markets and potential angles that can be exploited to correct the adverse situation. International Trade Theories There are two broad themes in theories of international trade. The qualitative theories explain a country’s trade patterns, that is which products are traded and why. Instances are absolute advantage and comparative advantage. There are also quantitative theories that explain the terms of trade for instance relative prices of exports and imports in the trading activities. Changes in data such as factor supplies, technology, trade policy and global trends also come in as quantitative themes. More importantly in these quantitative analyses, there is consistent use of the general equilibrium (Dixit et al, 1980). The Mercantilist Theory. This is a qualitative theme in international trade. It postulates that while exporting is good for a country, importing is to be avoided. This rationale is based on the assumption of fact that revenue from exports is in gold standard currency. Thus accumulation of sufficient gold reserves can only be achieved through high rates of export. Mercantilism argued for close government regulation for two reasons: to maintain a favourable balance of trade thereby advancing aggressive export with restrictive import policies; and to promote the processing of raw materials at home instead of importing manufactured goods, which would distort production and employment at home. This is a classical theory that ignores not only the benefits of importing but also the reality that no country is self sufficient thus a need to import is inherent. An example of application is the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs where Canadian traders have been informed that the Embassy’s mandate is to help exporters and non-disclosure of import relevant information. Absolute Advantage. Smith’s Theory of Absolute Advantage stated that countries should concentrate on producing what they are best at; that is products that they have absolute advantage in, Incentive to trade among countries is therefore created since each specializes in one product. Also as a classical theory, it is applicability is scant. In summary Smith’s theory stated that unilateral trade liberalisation would be an advantageous policy for a country to follow, irrespective of the trade policies pursued by other countries. A drawback in Smith’s postulation is if a nation has no absolute advantage over any of her potential trading partners with respect to any goods or services, then it means international trade is of no relevance to her (Dixit et al, 1980). Comparative Advantage Comparative advantage as developed by David Ricardo in his book, ‘The Principles of Political Economy’, is an improvement of the Absolute advantage theory. It declares that countries can trade without absolute advantage. They need comparative advantage where the relative cost of producing and exporting a product varies between trade partners. There are still benefits even if one trading partner is absolutely better in production. Comparative advantage has been the prevailing applied concept. It indicates that if two countries engage in trade, each will have the incentive to increase production, and decrease consumption, of goods in which it has the lower relative marginal cost prior to trade than the others. For instance if Britain has competitive equilibrium prices of 300 pounds per TV set and 4 pounds per bottle of whisky, while Japan has corresponding prices of 100000 and 2000 yen respectively, then ceteris peribus, if Britain produces one TV less then she would be able to utilise the freed resources to produce another 75 bottles of whisky. Japan on the other hand is able to produce one more TV set by freeing redeploying resources used to produce 50 bottles of whisky. It is to their mutual interest to do so since the pre-trade, relative price of a TV set is 50 bottles of whisky in Japan and 75 similar bottles in Britain. This is an inducement to Japan to expand TV production for export to Britain and import whisky from her. Presumably the relative price after commencement of trade will settle at between 50 and 75. The Ricardian Model assumes technology variations between nations. The assumptions in summary are: labor is the sole primary factor of production; Labor has constant returns; there is limited labor in respective economies; Mobility of labor across industries rather than countries; perfect competition situation. This theory has in modern times been reviewed to include intermediate goods, that is, capital goods for instance machinery thereby adjusting the labor only notion. These intermediate goods are tradable across countries in the current global situation (Dixit et al, 1980). Factors Endowment. Ricardo’s Comparative advantage theory was modified by Heckscher-Ohlin Theorem, also the Factor Proportions Hypothesis. Here a country should export products that are produced using factors that it is relatively well bestowed with. This is a separate theory but it also gives an explanation on the underlying factors as to comparative advantage. In each country, the factor that is relatively abundant is relatively cheaper. Also the good that is relatively intensive in using this factor this is relatively cheaper. Thus a country is expected to have comparative advantage in products that are intensive in the use of factors that are relatively abundant in supply. The H-O model assumed: inter sector factor mobility; distinction between labour and capital intensive; Factor variation between countries; free trade; and trans-country technology homogeneity. It however does not incorporate trade in intermediate goods. It was later challenged by the work of Wasilly Leontief who discovered that The US exported less capital intensive than it imported labour intensive products, also the Leontief’s paradox (Trebilcock et al, 2005). Contemporary Theories These include: the specific factors theory where in the short run mobility between industries in labor is possible and not possible in capital. It resembles a short run H-O model. If there is an increase in the price of a product then the owners of the factor specific to that product will profit in real terms; the new trade theory seeks to cater for the fact deficiencies of the two main approaches. That a lot of trade occurs between countries with identical factor of production endowment and the high level of multinational production, or foreign investment; the Gravity model that proffers an empirical analysis of international trade trends rather than the theoretical approaches detailed. It projects trade patterns on the basis of the distance between the nations and their economic size interaction. It imitates the law of gravity that factors distance and size. It considers factors such as levels of income, diplomatic ties and respective trade policy (Trebilcock et al, 2005). Emerging markets are nations described to be undergoing rapid growth and industrialisation in social and business activity. The concerned nations are usually said to be in a transition to fully developed status. Data on these countries has been compiled and a list of the top economics proffered. Examples of the dominant emerging economies are Brazil, Russia, India and China. They have been given the acronym, BRIC. Included are: Latin American countries such as Argentina; Asian countries such as South Korea; Russia in Eastern Europe; some in the Middle East; and parts of Africa for Instance South Africa. Lately though there have been shifts for instance Mexico has edged into the top four in terms of investment and development pushing ahead of Brazil. However China and India still dominate the list as the emerging markets with the best opportunities. As a factor of their GDP, population size, growth potential and level of imports (World Bank, 2000). These markets are characterised by robust economic growth, resulting in a rise in GDP and disposable income. Political and social stability is also an important indicator and condition for this categorisation. This implies that the population is able to purchase previously un-affordable goods and services . However quite a part of these countries’ population remain poor. International companies are presented with a large untapped market, providing them with an opportunity for market and financial growth. Luxury products such as high-end automobiles, designer clothing, and other Veblen goods benefit from such; but it is every day luxuries such as cell phones and brand name food products that reap the most from these markets.