Free trade is a buzzing concept in modern times, with most governments across the world proclaiming to promote it. Indeed, the last thirty years or so of global economic integration is based on free trade principles – also referred to as laissez-faire capitalism. Definitely, there are many advantages to be availed as a result of…
Category: Politics
All the articles that come under politics domain.
George Orwell’s ‘Shooting an Elephant’ vis-a-vis ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ and ‘Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl’
George Orwell was a champion of the underprivileged and the oppressed. Through his essays, novels and journalism he amply illustrated his solidarity with the downtrodden, be it the natives of colonial Burma or the working classes of Britain or the peasantry of Soviet Russia. The protagonists in most of his works of fiction are drawn…
The radicalism of the Haitian Revolution
The Haitian revolution is the years of conflict during 1791 to 1804 between the white settlers and the enslaved black population. The French colony of Saint-Domingue was the center-stage of this revolution, which resulted in the mass murder of thousands of white people and led to the liberation of Haiti from the grips of colonialism….
The pros and cons of using development assistance/foreign aid to promote democratization and good governance
The granting of foreign aid/ development assistance to developing and underdeveloped countries can often is a challenging task. While these countries definitely need assistance from the developed world, charitable intentions doesn’t necessarily translate into desired outcomes. That is why the decision makers in government and other international financial institutions will have to weigh the pros…
Walt Whitman’s Poetry and American Identity
Born on 31st May, 1819, Walt Whitman is an iconic figure in the history of American literature. His lifetime’s work, especially his poetry, has come to define the sentiments, aspirations and experiences of American citizens in the nineteenth century. Although Whitman was not active politically, he expressed his political views through his poetry. Having lived…
Alexander Hamilton’s contribution to the Federalist Papers
Alexander Hamilton, alongside such luminaries as Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and James Madison is rightly considered as a founding father of the United States of America. In the second half of the eighteenth century, when British colonies in America entered a period of fervent political change, intellectuals such as Hamilton played…
The main causes behind the development of democracy in ancient Greece
A key development in Ancient Greece is the establishment of democracy, albeit to a privileged section of the population. Athenian democracy was thus the earliest instance of this noble institution, whose example continues to inspire and encourage contemporary nation states in various parts of the world. Although, it might appear counter-intuitive at first, the fact…
Applying Durkheim’s concept of ‘anomie’ to social security policy in contemporary Australia
Social, political and economic theories are only valuable if they find application in practical government policies. The period spanning the last two centuries has seen the emergence of many competing theoretical explanations for the nature and organization of civil society over the course of recorded history. These theories cover such fields of enquiry as sociology,…
Richard Nixon’s Failures
Richard Nixon is one of the most controversial Presidents in the history of the United States. Having first served as Vice-President to President Dwight Eisenhower during the 1950s, he won the Presidential elections in 1968 and served in this role for the next six years. Affiliated to the Republican Party, his achievements were limited to…
Comparison between Huntington’s (1993) ‘The clash of civilizations’ and Wendell Bell’s (2004) ‘Humanities’ common Values’
Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations hypothesis has attracted both appreciation and criticism. Considered to be a seminal social science work of recent times, Huntington’s theory places international conflicts at the level of civilizations as opposed to smaller identifiers like nation-states, religions, ethnicity, linguistic differences, etc. Huntington reckons that the qualifier of civilization is the broadest…