Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Compare and contrast David Landes and Andre Gunder Frank’s explanations of economic development and underdevelopment Essay Example for Free

Compare and contrast David Landes and Andre Gunder Frank’s explanations of economic development and underdevelopment Essay Prompt: Compare and contrast David Landes and Andre Gunder Frank’s explanations of economic development and underdevelopment. How do these authors explain the development of Japan in the 19th century? This paper will analyze the arguments on development and underdevelopment from the point of view of David Landes and Andre Gunder Frank. At the very beginning of Frank’s essay, he clarifies three characteristics of countries, developed, underdeveloped and undeveloped. Meaning of developed country is obvious but Frank states that there are misconceptions about the other two terms. Undeveloped basically refers to countries that is not yet start developing or did not manage to develop whereas underdeveloped means not completely developed but still developing. Some of underdeveloped countries are dealing with the issue of disparities in income and cultural differences among the society. This situation leads to existence of social classes and this is called ‘dual society’. Main reason of this problem is while the capitalists are growing economically, the other part remains isolated thus they are less developed. According to Frank, Japan grew rapidly after the Meiji Restoration. Industrialization period was very successful in Japan even though they do not have adequate resource. Reason of this growth is Japan is not satellized during the Tokugawa and Meiji period. As a result development of Japan was greater than other satellized countries such as Russia and South American countries. On the other hand David Landes suggested some ideas that caused Japanese development. Landes thinks that society plays an important role on development. They were highly motivated to work for their country and they believed that their country would develop such as European countries. Thus they inspired by their success and carried themselves country to the same level.

Monday, January 20, 2020

How Mercantilism Helped to Shape the American Nation :: American America History

How Mercantilism Helped to Shape the American Nation In the Middle Ages, the definition of wealth was based on the amount of productive land. According to this definition, France was the wealthiest and therefore the most powerful of the European nations. During the sixteenth century the definition of wealth began to change. As the ability to conduct profitable foreign trade increased, so did the amount of cash. Thus, the new definition of wealth came to mean the gain of cash or specie. Specie included gold, silver, or bullion. The wealthiest nation became the one with the most cash, and therefore, the most powerful nation. As the redefining of wealth took hold, there was an increased desire and ability to conduct foreign trade on a larger scale as cash became the new medium of exchange in contrast to bartering. Mercantilism began to take hold of the countries of Europe. Mercantilism was characterized by the governmental regulation of industries, trade, and commerce. This was especially true with foreign trade, and was determined more b y national aims rather than individual or local interests. This new quest for trade began the Age of Expansion in the early fourteen hundreds. This era ushered in a search for new sources of revenues, and focus turned toward the colonization of the New World. The Portuguese, Spanish, and English directed many efforts of colonization and development toward this new land in an attempt to establish themselves as the economic leaders of the world. As mercantilism began to change, so did the power flux of the European countries. Thus began the shaping of North America as we know it. The Age of Expansion brought many changes to medieval Europe. During this period, the countries of Europe began to look beyond their borders. In Europe, there was nowhere to grow. This being the case, the only place to turn was west. Portugal came into existence in the early 1400's. It is a small country bordered on one side by the sea, and by Spain on the other. Out of necessity the Portuguese became the masters of the sea. They began to acquire a great knowledge of the sea and advanced in navigation, sailing, and map-making. They also founded an academy of navigation in Lisbon. In the early 1400's, the Portuguese began exploratory voyages. The Portuguese wanted to establish themselves in large-scale international trade. The four things most desired by the people of Europe were spices, sugar, precious metals, and silk.

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Subculture

Cortland Bolling Branham SOCI 1301 In the article â€Å"Authenticity in the Skateboarding World†, subculture is described as a completely separate culture with its own set of values and norms outside those of the world’s society. Skaters can be described as one of these subcultures because of their unique values, norms, and sanctions that differ from most sports. Unlike sports such as basketball the norm for skaters is their lack of interest in competition and trying to out due each other.According to Beal and Weidman the skateboarding community follows two central values, participant control and the devaluing of competition; many skaters explain that they chose to skate, and that they choose individually what’s acceptable. After interviewing more skaters the authors discover that like other cultures they also have their own sanctions. One example is that many of the skaters that are in it to look cool, or to be better than everyone else are looked down upon as n ot being â€Å"real skaters†, but instead conformist.While sports are a common spot for subcultures, they are not the only place they can be found and in fact most people belong to one. For example I am a member of a Baptist church. While it is true that Baptist are Christians just like Methodist and Catholics, we have our own sub subculture or set of values, norms, and sanctions that somewhat differ from the other Christian churches. In a Baptist church praise and worship is often very loud and up beat while at a Lutheran church they remain quiet unless spoken too and sing old hymns, so being loud would be considered rude and vulgar.

Saturday, January 4, 2020

Being a Hero in The Histories of Herodotus Essay - 1662 Words

Many people consider him the father of history; others prefer to call him the father of lies. Whatever may be your perception of Herodotus’ work, the truth is that Herodotus began a new manner of writing history in which human psychology takes a fundamental place. He was the first historian who really considered the reasons why things happen and did not limit his narrative to just facts. His book The Histories evidences all the distinctive features that he employs through his description of facts as well as the intrinsic analysis that he includes to his storyline about controversial topics like the definition of what heroes really are. Indeed, The Histories’ book 7 reveals Herodotus’ astonishing and unique view of heroism. During his†¦show more content†¦On the other hand, Leonidas showed a great affiliation to his nation’s traditions and customs during his life. He never gave up in his defense for freedom because he knew it was his responsibility to stay and fight bravely for his nation. As Demaratus told Xerxes, â€Å"there is no way they will ever accept any terms of slavery† (Herodotus 176) and Leonidas never did. Demaratus also said that Spartans would oppose Xerxes â€Å"in battle even if all the other Greeks come around to your way of thinking† (Herodotus 176) and, although this was not the case, Leonidas always acted as a man of values who would never give up. In fact, he never thought about the possibility of giving up. Leonidas was a fighter, a man who would fight until his last drop of blood was spilled, a Spartan. We see, therefore, a big difference between Xerxes and Leonidas. While Xerxes is a powerful king who does not care about his culture’s trait, Leonidas was a brave king who always follows his culture’s traditions. Consequently, according to Herodotus’ point of view, Leonidas’ is the truly heroic king because he follows his culture’s traits under any circum stances. Herodotus does not think of a hero as just a passionate fighter, but also as a humble person. This is another characteristic that is contrary to Xerxes’ personality. He was a very arrogant person with great power, which made him think he may do whatever heShow MoreRelatedHerodotus: The Battle of Thermopylae in The 300 Spartans1127 Words   |  4 Pagesthroughout Herodotus’ The Histories. Herodotus highlights the alliance of the Greek city-states during the Persian Wars, also discussing the disunity and betrayal amongst the Greeks. Additionally, Herodotus embellishes on the heroism and leadership of characters that fought relentlessly to preserve Greece while demonstrating their superior expertise. Herodotus continually exaggerates the importance of the gods and their influence on the decisions of the Greeks. 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