There is an argument in international relations that state sovereignty is being undermined by globalisation. Scholars argue new global powers are bringing about the end of state sovereignty as states are losing the ability to effectively govern their own societies and economies. (Ohmae 1995, Scholte 2000 in McGrew 2014: 16) This essay however will attempt to reaffirm the importance of the sovereign state despite globalisation, initially through examining some arguments for the proposed idea, and…
The town lay nestled within the hills, quiet and secluded. Trade rarely arrived from the broad river that flowed through the middle of town, and the merchants that came with them were businesslike and quiet. No one had dared to follow the river’s meandering path, nor did anyone desire to do so. And such, when Captain Tory first arrived, curious questions and rumors swirled about him. The voices of children posited simple inquiries and feverishly tangled theories while parents watched and…
Cormac McCarthy’s The Road presents the author’s depiction of what he deems a potential picture of post apocalyptic America, a society unregulated by governmental laws. The hypothetical situation presented, one dominated by murder and cannibalism, indicates McCarthy’s potential view that, without the constraints of society, we would descend into egocentric savagery, suggesting that we need guidance and government in order to maintain peace. For me, this idea that without regulation we would all…
This essay will aim to distinguish whether freedom and equality are derived from natural moral principles or whether modern political institutions created them. To determine this, freedom, equality and natural moral principles must be defined. Freedom should be one’s physical actions, which are free from influence and physically free to do what one wants; equality should be the state of being equal in terms of rights and sharing the same responsibility as members of the modern society; natural…
Love is a powerful bond that has different levels of intensity and strength. It can make the weakest person strong, and the strongest person weak. In a world where humans have categorizing themselves by their skin color, gender, sexual orientation, religion and wealth, love is the only force strong enough to fight off societal oppression. This is apparent in two pieces of literary works by authors who share the common factor of being a part of an oppressed minority. James Baldwin’s is a gay…
In John Locke’s Second Treatise on Civil Government, he argues for his vision of society that has a small and restrained consent-driven government that respects the rights of its inhabitants. Locke might be best known for his unbounding aspirations of productivity and theory of a government being based on the consent of the governed, yet one of his most intriguing theories revolve around when citizens can rise up and dissolve a government. This is an essential theme of the treatise, and Locke…
Liberalism is together with realism and Marxism was one of the three core theories that dominated IR throughout 20th centuries or at least up to 1990s. Liberalism had however a very bumpy entrance into the field. As we’ve seen in the previous lecture, the first debate between realist on the one hand and liberals on the other are basically blablabla liberalism for the former idealism, starting out to studying the world, how we would like it to be rather than how it really was like, etc. And the…
However, in ways both great and small, humanity itself has been incrementally dying for a long time in our stultifying, parochial, myopic society on Earth. Therefore, today, humanity is in critical condition on life support in the intensive care unit. In fact, there is a distinct possibility we may not survive on Earth. If we understood every life matters, then would we have launched the Stinguard viral vector trial in Africa or anywhere else without further scrutiny? If we believed every…
“If the people cannot trust their government to do the job for which it exists - to protect them and to promote their common welfare - all else is lost” (Barack Obama). Many argue how much the government is the problem, the government can’t create jobs, they aren’t improving health care, and they overuse their power. Well, the impact on our political system is narrowing our options and not looking at the true excessive unemployment, debt, and wasted lives. I don’t think the government is perfect…
themselves using reason. This idea was known as rationalism. Since the Church was seemingly more and more corrupt, Enlightenment ideals of personal freedom were welcome. In England, two major political structures were proposed. Thomas Hobbes argued in “Leviathan” that a strong leader was necessary, but 50 years later, John Locke argued that the people needed better representation. The english people sided with Locke, leading to the establishment of a bill of rights. In France, there was a…