theworksofadreamer

The Process by Which the Market Economy Tends Toward an Improvement in the Standard of Living?

The standard of living is a very important and discussed topic, with some countries with lower standards of living than others. Regardless of whether a country has a lower standard of living than another, the overall standard of living as a whole has improved dramatically in the last one hundred years. But what is the process by which the market economy tends toward an improvement in the standard of living?

The free market encourages the increase of capital goods, which is possible because the free market enables one to invest and save their money. Because this increases capital goods this leaves a greater amount of capital goods for people to consume, for a cheaper price. This leaves people to be able to pursue other interests, to create different consumer goods. This has become much less tedious today because of the technological advances of our time that involve less people to create more things, which increases production, and reduces prices in comparison to wage rates.

What Are Some of the Problems With the Concept of Public Goods

A public good is a service or commodity that is provided to all the members of the society, without gaining profit, it is usually started by the government, but can also be started by a private individual, or organization. When the government decides to create a public good they must obtain the funds somewhere, so they use the money that they obtain from taxes. Once this public good is built the citizens can enjoy and use this public good. Public goods like most things have their issues or flaws; what are some of the problems with the concept of public goods?

The first problem with the concept of public goods is the fact that it leaves an opening for the government to use it as an excuse for higher taxes. Probably one of the biggest issues is the fact that the difference between a private good and a public good is not a very distinct one. For example if one passes by a privately owned house that has a nice exterior design that does not mean you will not enjoy looking at it. Another large and important issue that goes along with the concept of public goods is the fact that it does not exclude anyone from enjoying the public good even though they didn’t necessarily pay for it by taxes. For example children can enjoy a public park even though they didn’t pay for the park whatsoever. It’s impossible to know if one person did not pay or paid for the creation of the public good. The “rules” for a Public Good are rather vague, unlike a private good in which the main rule is that the owner of the private good sets the rules. A public good is public and is considered to not really be owned by anybody.

You most likely enjoy going to public parks, public leisure centers, and you most likely drive on public roads. All of these things are public goods; created and built by the government, but paid by tax money, which is from the taxpayers. These public goods, though convenient and nice, have a set of flaws that do point out how misleading the term “public goods,” is. There are always two sides of the story.

How Important was the Rhetorical Context of Cicero’s Orations: His Listeners’ Fear of Catiline’s Army and Conspiracy?

Cicero’s Orations Against Catiline is a collection of four orations that was directed towards a man named Catiline who had created a conspiracy against Rome. Both of these men had previously been competing for the position of consul. Catiline had used unethical tactics against Cicero, such as bribing which Cicero caught wind of, and used to his own advantage by creating a law which most likely was very specifically targeted towards Catiline. This continued on, with Catiline creating a murder plot against Cicero, which Cicero used as his window to demand to the Senate to do something about Catiline. This actually succeeded and Catiline actually left the city of Rome without a fight. A good question to ask in the context of the whole situation is: how important was the rhetorical context of Cicero’s orations: his listeners’ fear of Catiline’s army and conspiracy?

The design of Cicero’s orations was to persuade Catiline to leave Rome, which was most likely Cicero’s ultimate goal. For example the first oration, Cicero blackened Catiline’s name, to demean and humiliate him to the point that he would leave Rome. Catiline actually left Rome soon after this oration. The second oration was used to insult Catiline’s followers. Which in turn further blackened Catiline’s name. This whole interesting situation was a success on Cicero’s part because he definitely used the tactic of fear. The listeners to his orations were probably scared of Catiline, his army, and what he would do to Rome, because of this being most likely true Cicero used this as an advantage. Cicero is considered to be one of the greatest masters of rhetoric in history so he most definitely could use his listeners’ emotion to his advantage. For example he didn’t actually need to use any physical force to get Catiline to leave Rome.

With this in mind the rhetorical context of Cicero’s orations: his listeners’ fear of Catiline’s army and conspiracy was very important in influencing the outcome of the situation, which was to persuade Catiline to leave Rome. By the end of Cicero’s orations the other individuals who were involved with Catiline’s army were punished for their crimes, and thus weakened Catiline for good. This was only possible by Cicero’s use of the context of his listeners’ fear of Catiline. But regardless of this being the case both men were in the wrong in different ways, and politics is not a clean or tidy business by any means.

In conclusion, the importance of the rhetorical context of Cicero’s Orations in the terms of his listeners’ fear of Catiline and his army was a great one. This enabled Cicero to be able to influence his listeners, and to gain his ultimate goal which was to weaken and persuade Catiline to leave Rome, without using any or little physical force.

When You Find Yourself Gasping for Air is this Due to a Lack of Oxygen or an Excess of Carbon Dioxide?

Say you go on a run, most likely by the end of this run you are panting and gasping for air. But what causes this unique phenomenon to occur? Is it because of a lack of oxygen or an excess of carbon dioxide?

While running or doing any form or exercise your body needs more oxygen, or specifically your blood needs more oxygen. Your blood pressure will rise as more oxygen enters your bloodstream, which thus means that this oxygen will increase the oxygen in your muscles. Because of all this, the oxygen in your lungs begins to decrease, which to conclude is why when you are gasping for air it is because of a lack of oxygen, not an excess of carbon dioxide.

What was the Constitutional Dispute Between the Colonists and the British Government that Led to the American Revolution?

In the history of revolutions the American Revolution probably was the most successful in many ways, and was a revolution that was not carried out for the wrong principles. Like every revolution the American Revolution had its causes, and the reason why it was carried out. Before this revolution America or technically the thirteen colonies was under control of the British; the colonies and Britain got along alright during the beginning but things began to sour. Before the revolution itself there was a constitutional dispute between the colonists and the British government. What was this constitutional dispute between the colonists and the British government that ultimately led to the American Revolution?

The colonists wanted a government that they themselves governed with little involvement from the British. The British government had other ideas, and began to put in place new taxes, which the colonists rejected. In 1767 in the Townshend Acts, the colonists boycotted these new taxes which forced the British to repeal them. They repealed all the new taxes except for the one on tea, which was to show that they still had control over the colonists. This control did not last much longer though.

To conclude, this was the constitutional dispute between the colonists and the British Government that led to the American Revolution.

Does the State Have the Right to Redistribute Wealth?

Redistribution of wealth done by the state is a controversial topic, with many points on one side and many points on another. Some may say that the state has the right to redistribute wealth for the “good,” of the less fortunate, and others completely are against it. Regardless of these views and the large debate surrounding redistribution I might ask, does the state actually have the right to redistribute wealth?

First of all, what does the redistribution of wealth mean? The redistribution of wealth is a concept in which one group(aka the government in this situation), takes from one group and gives to another. This in government situations usually comes in the form of taxes. The statement, “tax the rich, and give to the poor,” pretty much defines what redistribution is, except a lot of the time in today’s society the people who are taxed in the majority are the middle class. The words, “taking from one group,” sounds very similar to the concept of stealing; stealing is taking from one group or an individual. Which is why I believe that redistribution of wealth is technically stealing if one looks at it in that light.

Does the state have the right to redistribute wealth? Like, somebody does not have the right to steal from another, the state also does not have the right to steal also. One could say that, “it’s different from stealing because the state is giving the money to a group,” but the act of obtaining the money to give is the same as the concept of stealing, though it is masked through taxes, etc. But the state technically does not have the right whatsoever to redistribute wealth; just because they are able to in some societies does not mean it is a “right,” or is right to do so.

To conclude, the state does not have the right to redistribute wealth, regardless of that “wealth,” being given to the less fortunate. A “right,” does not involve the taking or stealing from others. Regardless of this truth, redistribution of wealth is still a highly debated topic that will most likely not be resolved any time soon.

“Enlightened Absolutism “

During the Enlightenment period in Europe there were quite a few rulers who actually adopted some of the beliefs, new ideas, and principles in their rule, which was thus “enlightened absolutism.” The majority of these rulers also fell into the category of being an absolutist monarch which was why this new way of rule is known as “enlightened absolutism.”

The key features of an “enlightened absolutist,” ruler include: interaction and discussion with well known enlightenment philosophers, religious toleration, judicial reform, etc. These rulers did not necessarily give more freedom to their “people,” but they were not as harsh as before the enlightenment. This new form of rule was especially seen in the countries of Prussia and Austria. To conclude, this is “enlightened absolutism.”

If I Had Been Catiline What Would I Have Said to Undermine Cicero’s Case?

Cicero was a very important ancient Roman figure who was a famous orator, or speaker. One of Cicero’s well known written works was his Orations Against Catiline, which was a group of speeches directed at a man named Catiline. Cicero and Catiline were competing with each other for the position of consulship in Rome. This was a large debate that was eventually won out by who was the better public speaker. Catiline, spoiler alert, lost this debate, which makes me wonder, if I had been Catiline, what would I have said to undermine Cicero’s case?

The whole story of this debate between Cicero and Catiline went something in this form. Catiline had created a conspiracy against Cicero; at the start of his campaign for consulship he began using bribes, which Cicero learned about. Cicero on that note published a law that dealt with the issue of bribing, this obviously left Catiline feeling that this new law was targeted towards him which was why he began to think of a plot to murder Cicero. Like the situation with the bribes Cicero again discovers Catiline’s plot, which in turn Cicero uses as an advantage. Cicero begins to accuse Catiline of these terrible crimes to the Senate. He never brought these up against Catiline in a court of law but instead tried to persuade the senate to punish Catiline, which in my opinion was a fear tactic. Cicero’s main goal was to drive Catiline out of the city, which ultimately worked because Catiline did leave Rome.

If I was Catiline what would I have said to undermine Cicero’s case? Well first of all I would have not used bribes but if that was the case I would stand up for myself. I would ask Cicero for his evidence against me, I would stand for my case and hopefully prevent Cicero from going to the Senate. I personally believe that both men were to blame for the messy situation; Catiline should not have used bribes, Cicero infuriated Catiline with the new law, and Catiline most definitely should have not been plotting to murder Cicero. Catiline more or less was more in the wrong since he was the main reason for the whole situation occurring. Regardless of all this I still believe that Cicero would have won the case because he seemed to be a better public speaker, and was much more persuasive with his arguments.

Cicero is considered to be one of the greatest orators in history, though some of his written works on rhetoric have some questionable advice. In history he is also known for his political scandal between Catiline, who was a conspirator against Rome. Cicero, with his skill in rhetoric, was able to influence Catiline leaving Rome.

The Difference Between Positive and Negative Rights

Human rights is a widely discussed and debated concept, with a wide variety of views on both sides. Each country has its own concept of human rights regardless of whether it goes against the concept or not. With the western view of human rights there are two sides: negative and positive rights. What is the difference between the two?

Negative human rights are the rights that have to do with not infringing on others. For example: the right to have your things not stolen from you. These rights are the basic rights that the majority of people agree upon, you have a right not to be murdered after all. Positive rights on the other hand become a slightly less straightforward topic. Positive rights are not exactly human rights since they involve plunder and infringing on the negative rights. Positive rights place an obligation on others to bestow certain benefits to you; an example of this is, the right to a home.

To conclude, the difference between positive and negative rights is that negative rights involve not infringing on others, for example the right to not be murdered. Positive rights infringe on these negative rights, place an obligation on others to bestow certain benefits to you.

Discuss the Causes and Consequences of the War of Austrian Succession

The War of Austrian Succession(1740-1748), involved the Prussian king Frederick II, and the Austrian ruler, Maria Theresa. Both contending parties had different reasons to wage this war. But what were the overall causes and consequences of the war of Austrian Succession?

The causes of this war included the truth that Maria Theresa was overlooked as a ruler until she became a pretty dominant power. This led to her being bribed and pressured by other rulers including Frederick II, who wanted a piece of land called Silesia, which was part of Theresa’s territory. She rejected those bribes which thus brought forth the War of Austrian Succession. The war itself had victories on both sides, but ultimately in the end Frederick was ultimately victorious, and thus winning the land of Silesia. In short, those were the causes and consequences of the War of Austrian Succession.