Are Liberty and Equality Compatible?

Are Liberty and Equality Compatible? Reconciling Liberty and Equality There seems to be an endless debate amongst different philosophers in different political traditions on whether or not the concepts of liberty and equality are reconcilable. Some argues that the two go together and therefore are indistinguishable while others conversely maintain that they are incompatible. In modern democratic societies, the two principles need to be reconciled as they both seem to have a common end of developing the capacity of an individual. The concepts of liberty and equality seem to be in conflict due to the fact that they are derived from two opposite ideologies which are liberalism and socialism. However, a common argument is that the preservation of negative liberty requires positive action on the part of the state or society to prevent some individuals from taking away the liberty of others (Berlin, 1958). Political scientist Max Dalton clearly argued that liberty and equality are compatible. In his article titled; â€Å"Are liberty and equality compatible?† he says that when well reconciled, they support a capitalist state with some re-distributive measures (Dalton, 2014). However, inorder to reconcile the two concepts, we need to define the two terms on the outset. What is liberty? Liberty is derived from liberalism which believes in individualism. The term liberty narrowly means freedom, free will or permissive. The doctrine of liberalism stresses that an individual has got the right to live according to his or her wishes provided that such rights do not infringe on the overall good of the community. A liberal believer does not permit the state to constrain the freedom of an individual (Democracy Consolidation Programe, 2004). Liberty is contested concept. Different scholars have defined the term liberty differently. Mill, (1993) defined the term in a negative aspect as the freedom to act and he also defined it in a negative sense as the absence of coercion. Sir Robert Firmer defined liberty as the freedom to do what one likes, to live as one wishes and not to be tied to laws. In general liberty in a negative sense, also known as classical liberalism, means freedom of an individual from outside compulsion or coercion. In this sense, libertaria ns like Nozick, (1974) argues that any form of interference, either by a coercive authority, any other person or by oneself in form of ‘self-mastery’, ‘self-determination’, ‘self-realization’ or ‘self-compulsion’, is an encroachment in an individual’s space of freedom. Liberalism suggests that people need to be left alone to act on free will and to take responsibility for their actions. It further suggests that a man need to be given a realm of freedom without interference. Professor Isaiah Berlin said Liberty in the negative sense involves an answer to the question â€Å"What is the area within which the subject—a person or group of persons—is or should be left to do or be what he is able to do or be, without interference by other persons . In this sense, negative liberty seems to be a form of rejection of any supreme power or authority. On the extreme, the concept may be identified with a state of lawlessnes s. According to Johari, (2004) the negative view of liberty is not appreciated in the present time. Johari said that this is so because the liberty of an individual is relative to that of others because and man’s action need to be viewed as both self-regarding and other people regarding. On the contrary, positive liberty, also known as social liberalism, places emphasis on social structures and is related to egalitarianism. In the positive sense, social liberalism asserts that an individual need to be protected from tyranny and the arbitrary exercise of power. In this facet, social liberalism favors for the establishment of a social structure in a form of a minimal state that will be able to provide the necessary protection of the individual’s rights. T. H. Green as quoted by (Johari, 2004) defined positive liberty as the power to of doing or enjoying something that is worth doing or enjoying in relation with others. Johari (2004) contend that since man is a social creature, his life should be regulated by certain social bonds. This entails that liberty in its negative view favours lack of restraint of an individual while in its positive view, it permits the existence of a social system that exercises reasonable restraint of individual’s actions inorder to ensure that noone is allowed to enfringe on someone’s liberty. Equality is derived from socialism, an ideology which believes in equality of all individuals. It stresses that all people are equal and therefore someone should not necessarily get too much at the expense of others (Democracy Consolidation Programe, 2004). In socialism, mutual interest and common good is the main principle of organizing the economy. Self-interest and too much individual accumulation of wealth result in depriving others which in turn creates inequalities. Redistribution of wealth for the sake of common good is one key element of socialism (Democracy Consolidation Programe, 2004). Equality has narrowly been defined as the fact of being equal or the fact of having the same value. Johari, (2004) explains that equality means â€Å"equal conditions guaranteed to each for making the best of themselves†. In political science, the term usually means the equal treatment of people irrespective of social or cultural difference and it takes myriad forms such as social equ ality, economic equality, formal equality, legal equality, moral equality, international equality etc. These forms have been categorized into two main types which are namely positive equality and negative equality. Equality in the form of social equality is referred to as the absence of class or caste boundaries and the absence of discrimination motivated by an inalienable part of a person’s identity i.e. gender, race, age, sexual orientation, origin, caste or class, income or property, language, religion convictions, opinions, health or disability that may result in unequal treatment. In the egalitarian doctrine, equality is referred to as a condition in which all humans are equal in fundamental worth or social status should be treated equally in politics and economics cycles. It advocates for the removal of all economic inequality among people and this is considered to be the classical concept of socialists. Rawls, (1972) illustrates this notion in his Egalitarian theory of Justice where he notes that cooperation under the state is manifested in the sharing of ‘benefits’ and ‘burdens’. He further argues that if individuals acquire wealth at the expense of others, then they shall suffer the burden of having part of their wealth taken by the worst-off. Equality, may also take another form popularly known as equality before the law or legal egalitarian, which entails that all persons are entitled to equal treatment before the law. In a positive sense, equality means the provision of adequate opportunities for all (Johari, 2004). Johari further describes positive equality as not simply meaning identical treatment for all since men differ in their need and capacities for their self-development. However, scholars have argued that the provision of adequate opportunity, does not mean equal treatment for all. Equality in its negative sense is referred to the non-discrimination on the ground of religion, caste, wealth, creed, domicile, descent, sex and the like (Johari, 2004). But how can the two terms be reconcile in modern society? The fact that the two concepts are different in principle has been clearly eluded to. But however the two concepts shares some form of similarities as they have common foundations due to the fact that they all recognize that all members within the society are free and equal. Scholars have also argued that the two concept provide egalitarian guidance on controversial questions about the distribution of social and economic resources. On the positive sense, social liberty takes the form of egalitarianism as it places emphasis on the establishment of a social structure such as a state that is able to regulate the actions of an individual so that he or she does not hamper other people’s rights and freedoms. In this sense, the two are perceived to be compactible and inseparable. This is so because positive liberties fully appreciate the need of restraining an individual for the sake of public good as they are perceive as both self-regarding and other people regarding. In this aspect, the desire to have equality, just like the desire to enjoy negative liberties cannot be utilized without a positive state or social structure that would restrain the individual from infringing other person’s liberties. Therefore, the notion that liberty implies that man need to be given total freedom may not be true in our modern society. This fact agrees with the real definition of liberty given by Johari (2004) who conten ded that libery is not supposed to be identified with the absence of restraints and limitation. The desire to enjoy equality destroys the possibility of having full liberties while the exercise of full liberty may degenerate into licese and equality without liberty lapses into uniformity. Liberty is superior to equality because equality serves under liberty. According to Prof. Barker Equality in all its forms, must always be subject and instrumental to the free development of capacity; but if it be pressed to the length of uniformity; if uniformity be made to thwart the free development of capacity, the subject becomes the master, and the world is turned topsy-turvy (DasGupta, 2014). The development of a rich society requires a large measure of liberty and outlaws all attempts to enforce a dead level of social and economic equality. Liberty builds a united society but equality assesses the social hierarchy and contributes towards the stability of the community. Therefore liberty would be dull without some measure of equality and equality would be meaningless without liberty. A quick look at most of the democratic constitutions of the world and many international human rights instruments will review that both liberty and equality have been incorporated and this speaks volume to the fact that the two concepts have a common aim- and that is to develop an individual and to make life worth-living. Therefore, liberty without equality results in license – acts beyond one’s rights to abuse the rights of others; and equality without liberty is dull. Bibliography Berlin, I. (1958). Two Concepts of Liberty. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Dalton, M. (2014, May 1). Are liberty and equality compatible? . Retrieved from Oriel Web Site: http://www.oriel.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Max Dalton Lloyd Davies Philosophy prize Liberty.pdf DasGupta, R. (2014, May 21). Retrieved from Preserve Articles Web Site: http://www.preservearticles.com/201104265965/notes-on-the-relationship-between-equality-and-liberty.html Democracy Consolidation Programe. (2004). Building an Informewd Nation. Lilongwe: Montifort Media. Johari, J. (2004). Principles of Modern Political Science. New Dehli: Sterling Publishers. Mill, J. S. (1993). On Liberty and Utilitarianism (2nd ed.). New York: Bantam Books. Nozick, R. (1974). Anarchy, State, and Utopia. New York: Basic Books. Rawls, J. (1972). A Theory of Justice. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Wiktionary. (2014, May 15). Wiktionary The Free on Line Dictionary. Retrieved from equality: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/equality Jean Valjean | Les Misà ©rables | Character Analysis Jean Valjean | Les Misà ©rables | Character Analysis The character I have chosen for study from Bille Augusts film, Les Misà ©rables, is Jean Valjean. As the main protagonist of the story, Valjean starts out as an ex-convict who went to prison for stealing bread, but after an encounter with a kind bishop, he makes important changes in his life. Jean Valjean went through many psychological changes throughout the movie Les Misà ©rables which molded him into a better person because of the mercy that was extended to him by the Bishop of Digne at a time when Valjean was least deserving of it; from that point on, he became a morally upright citizen who showed compassion and mercy on others. Throughout the movie, Les Misà ©rables, Jean Valjean goes through many distinct life-changing phases that permit him to grow from a loathsome of a man to a honorable man. Jean Valjeans first psychological alteration took place during his nineteen years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread. He went in as a wholesome and straightforward man, but came out of jail showing hatred and scorn to society. While in prison, Valjean endured abuse and, in turn, dedicated himself to defeating related mistreatment in society. Because of cruelty shown to him there, Valjean discovered a new level of physical strength and, more-so, a new emotional concentration through his newly found cause of social justice. Whether Valjean knew it or not, he was about to undergo another big psychological transformation that would change his life forever. The Bishop of Digne played a huge role in the psychological change of Jean Valjean, even though he was only in the film for the first couple minutes of the movie. Right off the bat, the humble bishop shows Jean something that he hasnt experienced in a couple decades; the power of love and respect. When the bishop saved him from the authorities after escaping from prison, Valjean came to deeply respect his great kindness and assistanceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦so we thought. While the bishop and his wife are sleeping, Valjean, still stuck in his ruthless ways, starts stealing all of their silver utensils. At this point all I could think was, how could he do this to such a nice family who gave him a place to stay? But it gets crazier. The bishop hears the ruckus going on, so he goes to check it out only to find Jean Valjean stealing from him. Valjean ends up punching the bishop in the face, knocking him on the ground, unable to move as Valjean escapes. The next day, the police force caught Valjea n with all the silver he had stolen, and brought him back to the bishops house; this was the turning point in Valjean. The bishop shows an act of mercy on Valjean by telling the authorities that Jean didnt steal any of that stuff, but he just simply gave it to him. This catches Valjean totally off guard; he doesnt understand why the bishop would do this, so he questions him on why he saved him. The bishop responds by telling him something that would change his future forever: And dont forgetdont ever forget, youve promised to become a new man. You no longer belong to evil. With this silver, Ive bought your soul. Ive ransomed you from fear and hatred. And now I give you back to God. It was then when Valjean finally saw the brute, vile of a man he was, and the honorable, self-giving man he could become if he puts the bishops moral fiber into action. As nine years elapsed, Valjean was compelled towards a life of integrity, and consequently, he became a respected leader and prosperous businessman. After the city of Vigau bankrupted five years prior, Valjean decided to buy and refurbish the citys brick factory. At the time of the purchase, Valjean had been named mayor of the city. Obviously Valjean wanted to make something of himself, and also wanted to help others make something of their own lives by buying, running, and offering jobs at the factory to the people of the town. This is the first, of many, psychological changes we see in Valjean since the promise he made with the bishop. Additional evidence that further supports his transformation comes in the subsequent scene where Javert and Captain Beauvais are walking through Valjeans factory. Javert asks the question, The men and women work separately? Captain Beauvais answers, Yes. Monsieur le maire redesigned the factory in order to keep the sexes apart. He cares about honest working women and wants to protect their virtue. Valjean had a high regard for women workers despite the fact that many men did not value woman as important parts in society. He says, I dont want our ladies to be exposed to corruption. This is another moral transformation that Valjean has gone through. There have been a plethora of characteristics that Valjean has adopted over the years. Another trait he embraces is compassion. Fantine, a worker in his factory who had to turn to prostitution to support her daughter after being fired without Valjeans consent, was treated dissipatedly by men of the city and subsequently unjustly accused by Javert as he sentenced Fantine to six months in prison. When Valjean heard about this, he took time out of his night to make his way down to the police station to take care of the situation and set things straight. Not only does Jean set her free from jail, but he takes her into his home, just as the bishop had done for him, to care for her while she was very sick. He also paid to get Fantines daughter, Cosette, to be sent up to stay with him and Fantine. But before Fantine gets to see her daughter, she passes away from sickness. Valjean shows a further act of compassion by adopting Cosette and caring for her in place of her mother. These were just a few actions which demonstrated Valjeans newfound mannerism of compassion, and yet another psychological alteration in Jean. And yet Jean Valjean was still ready for more change. One day Valjean learned that a man named Jean Valjean had been found guilty of a crime. He knew that this couldnt be true because his name was Jean Valjean. After wrestling with his conscience, he decided to attend the court case where he revealed that he was the real Jean Valjean, thus releasing the indicted. Valjean says to the judge, I am the man you want. I am Jean Valjean. I wish I could keep my mouth shut and let this poor wretch suffer for me, but continue with the investigation monsieur. You will find further proof that I am Valjean. This was a huge decision that he made, since the authorities learn that he is an escape convict; forcing Valjean to, once again, to be an absconder from the law. This means that he would have to relinquish all the things that he had accomplished in his professional life, but by acceding to a standard of psychological integrity, by doing what is right and true, Valjean made one of the most affe cting psychological changes in his life. Sacrifice, what is it? According Websters New Collegiate Dictionary sacrifice is defined as, The surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim. The ultimate sacrifice is shown towards the end of the movie which shows Valjeans true character. After several years of running from Javert and the law, Valjean find himself in an intriguing situation. Valjean has Javert, who has been trying to end his life ever since he was in jail, with his hands tied, a gun to his head, and a chance for him to finally end his life. What does he do? He simply lets him go. Valjean spares Javerts life for some very straightforward, but touching reasons. Valjean is nothing like Javert. He does not embrace the same abhorrence or the desire to win like Javert does. Jeans simply wants to live in peace. This audacious decision by Valjean exemplifies how far Jean has come since the beginning of the film. Just as the bishop s howed mercy on Valjean, he also demonstrated that same act of mercy on Javert; even when he least deserved it. Even today, peoples perspectives on life are changed for the better when theyve been shown acts of love, compassion, and mercy. This is depicted in Les Misà ©rables as Jean Valjean goes through many psychological changes which shape him into, literally, a totally different person for the good. He was extended mercy when he least deserved it, and in-turn, became a morally upright citizen who showed compassion and mercy on others. I hope that through this paper youve been inspired to overcome obstacles and hard times in your own lives and are able to use your difficulties to mold you into a better person.

Athens VS Sparta Essay

Athens and Sparta were two of the greatest Greek city states ever. Not only do these two cities have many differences but they also have some things in common too. But only one could be the best, was it Sparta or Athens? Many people think that Sparta and Athens were completely different, but this is not true, they had many similarities. To start off they were both two of the most powerful and important city states in ancient Greece. Sparta with it amazing army and Athens cultural legacy, they both set the stage for the history of ancient Greece. These two cities’ also had very strict social classes, for example in both city’s wealthy land owners were the top class and slaves were the bottom class. Sparta and Athens were both strong in certain militaristic areas. Athens had very powerful Navy, while Sparta had one of the best Army’s in ancient times. Lastly, both belonged to leagues of allies. Sparta belonged to the Peloponnesian league and Athens belonged to the Delian League. Although Athens and Sparta have things in common they were more different than they were alike. For example the lives of the Spartans revolved around war, preparing for war, educating their kids for war and conquering other countries during war. While Athens had other priorities, like culture, art, education and unification. Spartan children were only educated in the art of battle and taught how to fight, while Athenian children were educated in math, music, poetry and sports. Spartan women also had more rights than Athenian women. Women in Athens were not allowed to leave their homes or participate in any events; they were considered property of their husbands and were responsible for the household duties. On the other hand Spartan women were educated in reading and writing, could participate in sports, own their own land and were treated more as equals. Sparta was one of the first places in the world to start women’s rights. The governments in these two city states were also very different. In Athens there was a direct democracy, meaning all the male citizens of Athens could vote on the laws being passed. Athens believed that all citizens should be included in government decisions and tried to unite the people. Sparta though, had an Oligarchy which was ruled by 2 kings who were usually in command of the armies. Lastly, the cultures of Athens and Sparta were very different. Athens was a united beautiful city full of art, architecture, literature, philosophy, science, medicine and they enjoyed a variety of luxurious foods in their diets. Although, Sparta on the other hand was not very unified, extremely military based and the people didn’t enjoy many luxuries for example the Spartan diet mainly consisted of pork, blood, salt and vinegar. Athens and Sparta were both wonderful cities but only one could be the best, and that was Athens. Athens was the better city in pretty much all aspects of life. The people prospered in Athens they enjoyed fine dining and art, unlike those in Sparta. Athens focused on so much more than just war; this is why Athens was the city that had some of the best cultural achievements in ancient society. They made beautiful art, medical advancements and were one of the first democratic governments, paving the way for countries today like the USA. Athens was cleaner, nicer and prettier which would have made it a much more enjoyable place to live. Athens may not have had as good of an army as Sparta but in the end cultural and society advancements are more important than having the best army in the world. All these reasons and more just shows how much better Athens is than Sparta. Two of the most powerful cities’ in the ancient times, Sparta and Athens were alike and different. They were both unique in different ways and each thrived in different areas. But in the end, it is an obvious choice that Athens was clearly the better Greek City State.

Difference Between Quote and Quotation

Often the words quote and quotation are used interchangeably. Quote is a verb and quotation is a noun. As A. A. Milne put it in a humorous note: A quotation is a handy thing to have about, saving one the trouble of thinking for oneself, always a laborious business.According to the  Oxford Dictionary, the word quotation  is defined as, A group of words taken from a text or speech and repeated by someone other than the original author or speaker. The word quote  means to repeat the exact words of another with the acknowledgement of the source. In Ralph Waldo Emersons words,   Every book is a quotation; and every house is a quotation out of all forests, and mines, and stone quarries; and every man is a quotation from all his ancestors.Going Back to Roots:  Origin of the Words Quotation and Quote The origin of the word quote goes back to Medieval English, sometime around 1387. The word quote is a derivation of the Latin word quotare, which means to mark a book with numbers of chapters for reference. According to  Sol Steinmetz, author of the book, Semantic Antics: How and Why Words Change Meaning, 200 years or so later, the meaning of the word quotation  was expanded to include the meaning, to copy out or repeat a passage from a book or author. One of the most frequently quoted American personalities is Abraham Lincoln. His words have proved to be a source of inspiration and wisdom. In one of his many famous writings, he wrote, It is a pleasure to be able to quote lines to fit any occasion.Humorist Steven Wright also had something to say about quotes. He mused, Sometimes I wish my first word was quote, so that on my death bed, my last words could be end quote.The most striking example of use of the word quote in a quote is that of  Robert Benchley. He said, and I quote, The surest way to make a monkey of a man is to quote him.By 1618, the word quotation came about to mean a passage or text copied out or repeated from a book or author. So, the word  quotation  is a phrase or a sentence from a book or a speech that reflects the authors profound thoughts. In 1869, the word quotes was used to refer to the quotation marks () that are a part of English punctuation. Single or Double Quotation Marks to Punctuate the Quotations If these little quotations marks have caused you great anxiety, fret not. These little curvy creatures that adorn your text when you cite a quotation dont have rigid rules. Americans and Canadians are accustomed to using the double quotations marks ( ) to denote cited text. And if you have a quotation within a quotation, you can use single quotation marks ( ) to mark the specific word or phrase that needs to be highlighted. Here is an example of a quotation. This is a text cited from Abraham Lincolns Lyceum Address: The question recurs, how shall we fortify against it? The answer is simple. Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their violation by others. In this quote, you see that double quotation marks were used at the ends of the paraphrase, and single quotation marks were used to highlight certain words of the text. In the case of British English, the rule is reversed. The Brits prefer to have single quotation marks on the outer ends, while they use double quotation marks to denote a quotation within a quotation. Here is an example of the British style of punctuating quotes. And who better than the Queen of England whose quote can be used to explain the Queens English? Heres a quote from Queen Elizabeth I: I know I have but the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart of a king, and of a king of England, too. Quoth: A Word From Old English That Was Lost in the Sands of Time Interestingly, another word that is used for quotation in Old English is the word quoth. This was a popular archaic English used by Edgar Allen Poe in his poem, in which he uses the phrase, Quoth the raven â€Å"Nevermore.Much before Poes time, the word quoth was liberally used in Shakespeares plays. In the play As You Like It, Scene VII, Jaques says, Good morrow, fool,’ quoth I. ‘ No, sir,’ quoth he.The English language saw a tectonic shift over centuries. Old English paved the way for new lexicon. New words were inducted from other dialects, other than Scandinavian, Latin, and French words. Also, the shift in sociopolitical climate in the 18th and 19th centuries contributed to the gradual decline of old English words. So, words like quoth ended up in the dusty corners of old dictionaries, never to see daylight, except in the reproductions of classic English literature. How Quotation Came to Mean the Same as Quote We see that over a period of time, more specifically by the end of 19th century, the word quotation gradually made way for its contracted version. The word quote, being concise, short, and spiffy became the favored word over its elaborate and formal precedent quotation. English scholars and puritans would still prefer to go by the word quotation rather than the word quote, but in the informal setting, the word quote is the preferred choice. Which One Should You Use? Quote or Quotation? If you are in the august presence of distinguished members who mind their Ps and Qs in far greater depth than you would envisage, make sure to use the word quotation ​when you are citing some text. However, you dont have to fret over this one. With the prolific use of quote instead of quotation in many online and offline resources, you are safe to use the words interchangeably. The grammar police will not hound you for being indiscriminate.

African Civilizations And The Spread Of Islam - 1114 Words

African civilizations and the spread of Islam The lower part of Africa below the Sahara, that area was never really isolated but it was hard and difficult to contact. Between 800 and 1500 C.E the contact with the â€Å"outside world† grew intensely. â€Å"Social, religious and technological changes took place that influenced many of the different people throughout the vast and varied continent.† Meaning that there was a lot of changes that helped transform the continent to what it is today. â€Å"African societies developed diverse forms, from large centralized states to stateless societies organized around kinship or age sets rather than central authority. Within this diversity were many shared aspects of language and beliefs. Universalistic faiths penetrated the continent and served as the basis for important cultural development in Nubia and Ethiopia. Like many other continents in the world Africa has a lot of differences in itself for example there are differences in geography ,language, politics, religion and other things in life due to Africa’s lack of political government over an extended period of time. Many of the societies in Africa were ungoverned but concentrated around kinship or other forms of obligation, but lacked political power and or authority. But information shows that the conversion of stateless societies to state societies was not necessary an evolutionary development. Stateless societies did have forms of government but the power or authority that is usuallyShow MoreRelatedAfrican Civilizations And The Spread Of Islam1745 Words   |  7 PagesCornell Notes Topic/Objective: Chapter 8:African Civilizations and the Spread of Islam Name: Maddy Garza Class/Period: 4B Date: September 18, 2015 African Societies: Diversity and Similarities – Stateless Societies - Common Elements in African Societies The Arrival of Islam in North Africa The Christian Kingdoms: Nubia and Ethiopia Kingdom of the Grasslands Sudanic StatesRead MoreSpread of Islam in West Africa by Professor Abdur-Rahman I Doi649 Words   |  3 Pagesresearching, lecturing and administration in African societal studies. In his article â€Å"Spread of Islam in West Africa†, he traced the path that Islam as a new religion went throw before it spread into sub-Saharan region of West Africa focusing on the Empires of Ghana, Mali and Songhay, the Empires of Kanem-Bornu and Hausa-Fulani Land. He described the influence of Islam on the â€Å"Dyaogo dynasty of the Kingdom of Tekur†, who were the first black people accept Islam in 850C.E. They use to work in trades andRead MoreThe Nation Of Gods And Earths901 Words   |  4 Pagesimpacting African American culture and religious beliefs since its founding in 1964. The Five Percent Nation has empowered African American people through its belief that a black man being his own god and that black people are the mothers and fathers of civilization on Earth. The Nation of Gods and Earths was founded in 1964 by Clarence 13X. Clarence 13X, a former student of Malcolm X, was a prominent figure inside Nation of Islam during the early 1960s. Clarence 13X left the Nation of Islam afterRead MoreThe Greek And Greek Influence Of The Roman Empire1604 Words   |  7 PagesAnother empire would soon take many influences from the Greeks. In Rome, an empire was beginning to rise. Roman civilization had its roots in Hellenistic culture because they idolized them. They borrowed and enhanced upon the Greek intellectual accomplishments. As the empire expanded this would become increasingly important. As the Romans continued to expand their empire and influence, they were also spreading the culture of those who influenced them—the Greeks. The Roman Empire at their peak hadRead Morechanges in Africa from 500 C.E to 1500 C.E783 Words   |  4 Pagesover time in West Africa from the migration of Islam bringing its new faith, rituals, and establishme nt of a greater connection with the outside world through trade and cultural diffusion. However the unique African religion that existed beforehand was still retained; the African culture still believing in animism and polytheism even after the spread of Islam. From 1000-1500 CE the role of religion has seen changes and continuities influenced by the spread of foreign territories, economics, and political/socialRead MoreThe Change to Trade Routes Over Time926 Words   |  4 Pagestrade networks between African and Eurasia remained very important during this time period by means of the trade networks contributions to the Afro-Eurasian world. The ebb and flow of trade between Africa and Eurasia during the period 300 to 1450 C.E really reflects the struggles and fortunes of the three dominant religions in the area; Christianity, Buddhism and an upstart known as Islam. Although Christianity and Buddhism were well established by this time, the growth of Islam was a catalyst to manyRead MoreThe Effects of the Expansion in the Post Classical Period: the Islamic Civilization1702 Words   |  7 PagesPost-Classical Period: The Islamic Civilization The â€Å"Post-Classical Period,† was a time of change, expansion, and vast cultural diffusion. The Islamic civilization is a group that emerged from the Semitic groups of southwestern Asia, and moved to the Arabian peninsula in tribes, known as the Bedouin tribes, due to lack of water and food. The Islamic Civilization encountered the cultures of the Europeans, Asians and Africans, and connected into these civilizations because of the spread of the Muslim religionRead MoreQuestion One. What Affected The ‘Variety Of Africa’S Historical1054 Words   |  5 Pagesput a halt to the continuous drain of scarce labor and paved the way for the expansion of land concentrated forms of agriculture, and engaging smallholders, estates, and communal farms. The establishment of the colonial rule over the African interior reinforced African commodity growth in export. The colonial control facilitated the construction induced significant inflows of European investment, transpo rtation pavements, and profound changes in labor and land markets. Colonial regimes and settlementsRead MoreAncient Islamic Worlds And The Medieval Period1434 Words   |  6 Pages In many of the civilizations that have ever controlled apart of the world, have done some kind of trading in their history. This trading could be man-made, food, spices, or even more idea ridden things like ideology, movements, and idealism s. Although the trading of the man made things are easier than the idealism that are trades, those idealism still can and has effected a lot of civilizations. In Ancient Islamic worlds, the Byzantium Empire, and even during the medieval timer period they allRead MoreMali : The Largest Country1246 Words   |  5 Pageson camel and trade with the others soon they traded more than just gold. They traded spices, silk, luxury, and even peacock feathers. This went on for six years and everyone in Ghana lived happily. 5. Tanzania - Tanzania is located near the great African lakes. It has Congo on its left and Zambia and Malawi on its right. The highest mountains are located in Tanzania and it is the largest mountains throughout the whole West Africa. In 1964 it became the united republic of Tanzania. In 1961 before the

I Chose To Evaluate Macodrum Library’S History Of Sexuality

I chose to evaluate MacOdrum Library’s History of Sexuality research guide for my digital humanities project is. MacOdrum’s primary purpose appears to be to help serve the students of Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada with their research. I have decided to focus my evaluation on â€Å"Finding and Using Primary Sources† tab and the â€Å"Websites† tab, because I find them the most interesting and also the most useful sections for everyday people who might visit. The overall design of the website is fairly simple to use. There are several sections that, when clicked on, show an area with its own segregations within the broader topic. For example, under the Websites tab there is a section titled â€Å"Gay / Lesbian / Bisexual / Transgender /†¦show more content†¦While it could seem limiting, those with access to databases provided by their schools could use this section to check if their university provides access to any of them. Howeve r, for those already out of school this could be a huge disadvantage. Although this could provide a disadvantage in the website’s ability to be utilized in more public areas of discussion, I feel it is pretty clear that the website’s goal was not to break into those areas anyway. The website’s sources are all databases, websites, or books. A plus side of this is a relatively unbiased presentation of facts, while on the flip side it also means that information needs to be searched through again on another platform. Databases in particular are tricky, and Wayne State even provides several classes in which students are taught how to utilize these resources, because they can be difficult to maneuver. Websites are more accessible to everyday people, but because a great deal of the websites have broken links, this could frustrate the average user which would cause them to leave make the website obsolete. Books are another one that, while they are great sources of info rmation, are difficult to find and use. MacOdrum does bring up interlibrary loan for books not in the library, but that’s only helpful to those with access to the library. It is not surprising that the website is formatted in such a way though, because

English Macbeth Essay Free Essays

In this essay, I’m going to be comparing the presentation of Lady Macbeth in Act 1 Scene 5 with the filmed stage performance of the same scene by the Royal Shakespearean production, directed by Sir Trevor Nunn and with Dame Judi Dench in the role of Lady Macbeth. In the Shakespearean play, Shakespeare gives little indication to the characters how to play the character when and where to move and how to say their lines. The readers have to make their own interpretation. We will write a custom essay sample on English Macbeth Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now There background was just black so was the costumes it was really plain and and economically cheap. However from the film we expected fancy costumes we imagined Lady Macbeth wearing an old fashioned dress we pictured her hair to be brown and we thought she would be much younger. In the film we expected her to be in her bedroom, as well as on some main lines such as ‘Hie thee hither ‘and ‘come you spirits’ we thought there might be powerful sound effects. In the letter scene we expected LM to be very different. In the play she starts reading the letter half way. However in the film, she starts with ‘Hail king that shalt be,’ this shows us that she has read the letter before and she knows what the letter says. Hail King that shalt be’ was repeated twice in the film this allows the audience to think she is obsessive about Macbeth becoming king and already she has ideas about killing the king. She reads the letter at a fast pace but, when she comes across the supernatural in the letter she stops and looks around this shows that she is very i nterested about the supernatural. In the play we expected her to be happy while reading ‘my dearest partner of greatness’ the word ‘partner sounds very businesslike as well as it emphasises her love and affection towards Macbeth. However in the actual film she read it really casually it did not affect her. In the play we expected her to read the letter while she is in her bedroom however in the film she was pacing up and down as well as the background was plain black and she was wearing a black dress the colour black may represent the supernatural and the evil side of her. This enhances Nunn’s interpretation of her as a fourth witch. In the first soliloquy after the letter Lady Macbeth says ‘ Shalt be what thou art promised’ this quote shows that she is determined and really wants Macbeth to become the king. As well as in the play she says ‘too full o’th’ milk of human kindnesses’ this gives the reader an impression that she knows her husband really well and she uses the word ‘milk’ for his pureness and kindness. ’ Further on in the soliloquy Lady Macbeth uses the line ‘Hie Thee Hither! ’ I expected her to shout that out because there is an exclamation mark at the end of the quote this indicated me that she was shouting. As well as the exclamation mark represents her excitement for the supernatural. I imagined the lights being off and maybe have the sound of a storm, I also thought she might be on her knees begging and talking through the window I expected her to have a voice similar to a witch. From the play it seemed like she is calling the evil spirits that quote proves that she is really evil and she wants the murder to happen. However in the film she had really effective eye contact, the camera zoomed in on her face to allow the audience to see that she is thinking really deeply. Her eyes were moving around (searching) she had an evil brief smile. When she said ‘Hie Thee Hither’ in the film she seemed very calm and took in a deep breath she seemed relieved and relaxed. In her second soliloquy, Lady Macbeth begins to reveal her true self. It seems that she will go through anything to persuade Macbeth to kill the king. Many critics argue that she appears to be the fourth witch. In the play Lady Macbeth talks directly to the spirits. In the quote ‘come you spirits. Murdering ministers ‘this leaves the readers thinking that she is praying to the evil spirits. By saying ‘come’ she uses verbs to call upon the supernatural. The quote ‘under my battlements’ tells us that Lady Macbeth intends to bear the knife herself this is the first time she openly talks about murdering Duncan. In the play Lady Macbeth asks the evil spirits to ‘unsex her’ she wants to get rid of her feminine identity, compassion and her humanity. She also says ‘direst cruelty’ it’s a male characteristics this shows that she wants her femininity to be take away from her due to the fact that she wants to commit the murder however a male should take on that role in this case her husband Macbeth. By asking the evil spirits to take her ‘milk for gall’ she is sacrificing her womanhood and identity for her husband Macbeth. The word ‘milk’ is used as an extended metaphor for womanhood. At the end of her second soliloquy she says ‘that my keen knife see not the wound it makes’ suggests that she has to be the one that commits the murder. In the film when Lady Macbeth talks about the raven on half of her face there is light on the other half is dark. The light represents the good in her and the dark represents the evil and the ‘Raven’ is Duncan. In the film her eyes are darkened this may indicate that the evil spirits are near her. In the film she actually casts a spell. Before she starts calling the spirits there is a dramatic pause this shows that Lady Macbeth is composing herself she does a 360 turn that indicates a warning to the audience. Lady Macbeth bows down when she starts calling the spirits she looks very fearful. She whispers everything that she says and her hand starts trembling this may be a sign showing us that the evil spirit is trying to get into her. She says ‘cruelty’ in a very high pitched voice. Lady Macbeth runs into the darkness this allows the audience to think that she is possessed and she can’t take the pain or she seen something fearful. The darkness may show her soul transfer. The darkness in her represents the witch side of her. From the darkness she comes back slowly as the fourth witch with a new identity. In the film when she says ‘murdering ministers’ you can see a possession in her. At the end of her second soliloquy when she says ‘Hold! Hold! ’ someone else is controlling her arms she seems physically accessible. When Macbeth enters, Lady Macbeth demonstrates rhetoric, linguistic abilities. Lady Macbeth uses her femininity to persuade Macbeth. In the play Lady Macbeth greets her husband by saying ‘Great Glamis! Worthy Cawdor! ’ she is certainly determined for him. In the play we expect them to be very close to each other because they haven’t seen each other for a while. Lady Macbeth says ‘shall sun that morrow see! ’ The ‘sun’ represents light in this case it is Duncan. 6 syllables dramatic pause, shocked moment both of them think about the murder. We expected Lady Macbeth to use her sexuality while trying to help him overcome his weaknesses. There is paradox between the serpent and the flower. When she says ‘serpent under’t’ we expect her to be harsh and forceful towards him. Lady Macbeth takes control and for the first time she mentions the murder to him ‘This night’s great business into my dispatch. ’ She is trying to tell him that she is capable of committing the murder, she also might of said that because she wants him to become like her evil. In the phrase ‘Which shall to all our nights and days to come’ she is trying to say that she is doing all this for both of them however we know she is doing it for herself (selfish. ) ‘We will speak no more’ ellipsis represents her interruption. At the end she says ‘Leave all the rest to me’ this allows the readers to think that she has hardly been listening to him and treats him like a child she is not really interested in what he says because she knows what he is going to say and she knows she is going to get it her way. In the film when Macbeth enters she is on her knees paying him respect. When Macbeth enters there is light the light represents goodness (Macbeth), paradox of light and dark. She runs to him hugs and kisses him passionately. This shows that they are in love and it emphasises their closeness. They continue to kiss through out, Lady Macbeth uses her femininity and sexuality to persuade Macbeth to kill Duncan. When she says ‘shall sun that morrow see’ she removes herself from him and looks deeply into his eyes. She emphasises on the words ‘serpent’ and ‘my dispatch’ When she says ‘my dispatch’ she looks into his eyes trying to tell him that she is doing it for him. In the film she is very sexual towards him. Macbeth is almost hypnotised by her sexual passion and desire he’s almost forgot about everything because he is blinded by her love. She interrupts him and she speaks quickly to avoid him speaking further. Lady Macbeth smiles briefly this shows she was successful. In the film when she says ‘leave all the rest to me’ there’s darkness on her face, telling the audience she is up to something. How to cite English Macbeth Essay, Essay examples

Control As Enterprise Reflections On Privatizatio Essay Example For Students

Control As Enterprise: Reflections On Privatizatio Essay n And Criminal JusticeThank you very much for the welcome, and for giving my talk. When the Fraser Institute called me last year, they rang up and said they were having a conference and we would like to invite you, and I thought I think you have the wrong person. Basically, everybody else there, except myself and one person from Nova Scotia, were in favour of privatization and very strongly in favour of it, especially with respect to prisons. It was actually very educational and interesting to engage in that debate. First of all I would like to thank you very much for the invitation and to wish you all the best with your new programme. I am glad that you have asked me to speak about privatization and criminal justice because I am sure that nobody here needs me to remind you that privatization is one of the issues of our time. We see this in Canada in the context of budget cuts and trying to reduce the deficit, where privatization is often posed as a solution to problems we are faced with fiscally. We also see it in the West generally. You only look at the labour party in Britain, the new government, to see that they are far more open now to at least some aspects of privatization then would have been the case twenty years ago. I think if we look around the globe in general we see that privatization is an issue in many other places also, and I am thinking here in particular of Russia and other Central and Eastern European countries where there has been massive privatization in the 1990s. I spent 199394 in Lithuania and saw what was going on there, and the scale was phenomenal. I think that made me sensitive to just how big the changes are that can take place, and also sensitized me to how once privatization is set in motion, it can take on an impotice of its own, one that might surprise even the very people that initiated it. That is one reason why even with private prisons, that right now are very minuscule proportionately to prisons in general, that we should t ake this issue very seriously because it can accelerate and develop in the future. I am also glad that you have invited me to speak about privatization here because although we are surrounded by privatization, including in criminal justice, this phenomenon is relatively little researched. The one exception here might be private police, there has been a fair bit written on private police. But beyond that there is many aspects of privatization in criminal justice that have not received adequate attention. So on the one hand we are surrounded by the phenomenon and on the other hand we dont know as much about it as we should. Even my own work, I might add, privatization is more or less a tangent for me as I do other areas of research. I think it is indication that very few people in Canada, criminologists, are systematically focussing on this but I keep getting roped back into this. I just wish I had three lives at once so that I could pursue it the way I really want to. Privatization i s an area that really needs attention, and lets hope that students here at St. Thomas are going to take this up. Let me just mention one or two topics that need attention. Many people talk about privatization in criminal justice, including myself, mention that it is likely that private companies will try and influence criminal justice policy in various places. Yet when you look for the empirical support for this there is very little factual information there. Or we talk a bit about the decline of the military in industrial conflicts, the end of the Cold War, and new markets opening up for these companies internationally and we see some of the companies moving from the United States into Britain, Australia and now also Canada, and we hear things about them moving into Latin American countries and East European countries, but again this international dimension is one that there has been very little systematic research on. So the whole area is just begging for attention. In discussing privatization there are numerous approaches that I could take. For example we could talk about the history of privatization and how what is happening now is similar or different to what has gone before. Or we could talk about what I think of as positive forms of privatization. Here I am thinking, as any of you who study criminology knows, there are many kinds of troubles that people experience but never comes to the attention of the criminal justice system. People find their own other/alternative ways of dealing with them, and sometimes these are very constructive and positive ways. For example, if somebody you know well steals from you, are you going to call the police? It is likely that you wont and that you have some other way of dealing with that. So that is one positive form of privatization. Not all forms of privatization that are of the private sector are negative. Another positive form of privatization is the involvement of non-profit community groups in criminal justice, an d I am thinking here of groups such as the Elizabeth Fry Society and the John Howard Society. I think that much of their work is very positive but they are also part of the private sector. I do think though that their role right now needs a lot of attention in the context of more recent for-profit forms of privatization and the challenges that is posing to these traditional non-profit groups. Again another area in need of attention and unfortunately I dont have time to address that particular topic tonight. So this topic of privatization in criminal justice is potentially very broad. Tonight my focus is very specific. I want to talk about corporate and commercial forms of privatization. That is the for-profit sector in criminal justice. More specifically, as Dr. MacDonald allude to, my focus is on the entrepreneurial aspect of privatization and this is reflected in my title Control as Enterprise. As mentioned earlier, my sensitivity to this particular issue has been raised by Niels Christies book Crime Control As Industry: Towards Goulags Western Style, and as some of you may have noticed that in the first addition of this book that is followed by a question mark, and in the second edition, he dropped the question mark. My sensitivity to the issue has also been sharpened by my experience with the government of Ontario in the early 90s when I served as a Policy Advisor and Executive Assistant to the Minister of Correctional Services and the Solicitor General of Ontario. There I had an opportunity to observe some of the politics of privatization and some of the action that were taken by corporate companies in this area. I think that two basic questions underlie my thoughts in this area. First is, given that privatization of control systems implies profit from control systems, we must ask who profits and at whose expense? And while there cannot be a definitive answer to this question it does seem to me that recent trends in privatization primarily benefit those w ho are already powerful and especially people in the upper echelons of these companies. It seems that the people who are primarily benefiting are those that are already powerful in these companies and mean while it is the traditionally less powerful, and specifically many poorer people and members of some visible minority groups, who have long been the focus of policing and criminal justice surveillance who start to lose the most through privatization. The second question that underlies my thoughts is, given the profit-making impotice of the private sector, is it likely to try and generate or create demands for various services and also for products which go beyond any demonstrated need? So is it likely that these companies are going to try and generate or create a demand for what they offer, a demand that goes beyond any real demonstrated need. Here I think the answer is yes, and I should I should be trying to give you a few examples. In my presentation I should first briefly ident ify some recent trends in privatization. I will then discuss some related developments in Ontario and following the paper that I am going to leave here, I will be talking about electronic monitoring in corrections in Ontario. After that I will identify some other new trends involving the sale of products to individuals. Then I shall draw some general conclusions about context and consequences of privatization, and finally if I have the time I would like to make some remarks on the specific issue of privatization of prisons. Recent trends in Privatization I dont need to dwell on them as I am sure they are familiar to you. First of all, we have seen a huge growth of private police and security to the point that this is more numerous now than public police. We have also seen an increase in the sale of products to the police in prisons including weapons, bullet proof vests, furniture, and many technological products including phone systems, computer systems, identification and monitori ng devices, and drug testing kits. In addition, we see the provision of food, laundry and other services to prisons. We also see prison construction and we see the marketing of many technological products in society more generally, products relevant to crime prevention including burglar alarms, library cards, bank cards, security labelling for clothing, cameras in banks, and so on. And perhaps lastly we see the private sector moving into the actual running of prisons. Overall the scale of this activity is enormous. As Niels Christie describes it, it is the crime control industry. Just to give one or two examples. By the early 90s in the USA, prison construction already amounted to six billion dollars a year, that is quite a lot. And just for prison food was over one billion a year and roughly growing. Let me raise the question again why should this expansion of commercialization be of concern? No doubt some people, like the Fraser Institute for example, feel that this involvement o f the corporate sector in criminal justice should give little cause for concern. After all it can be argued that crime is really a problem and resources must be devoted to dealing with it. Whether the public or private sector deals with it is not an issue as long as it starts with wealth, so why not let the private sector do it especially when the private sector argues that they can do it more cheaply, more efficiently than the public sector. Well I agree that crime is a problem and that resources are needed to respond to it, and to generally help people feel and be safe, I think it is highly questionable as to whether the increased provision of police, prisons and security devices are desirable responses. However here it is not specifically my aim, nor do I have the time to elaborate on more positive responses, but to rather focus on the commercial responses and identify concerns. To raise a concern again, we have to ask, given the primary motivation of profit-making in the corpora te sector as opposed to any humanitarian concern, are they likely to try and supply resources which go beyond any demonstrated need or demand. And as I alluded to earlier, I think the answer is yes, that they may be trying to create demands. This applies throughout the criminal justice system. Let me give you a couple of specific examples. First, about the marketing of electronic monitoring in corrections. I know I am going to ruffle a few feathers here, and I am sorry about that. In the early 90s I took a few leaves from the university to work in government. I was on the ministers political staff, just so nobody thinks I was in the civil service. I worked with two successive Ministers of Corrections and Solicitor Generals of Ontario, so I was really able to operate at a senior level of the ministry, and this was a great opportunity for me having done research on that very ministry to be able to be there in the Ministers office and to communicate with civil servants to get the view from the inside. When this new government came into power, and the new government of course was the NDP in Ontario, they realized that when they got into power they did have policies in many areas but there were other areas where their policies were not so clear, including I think criminal justice. One of the first things that happened after they got into power at the Correctional Ministry was that approaches were made to sell electronic monitoring to the Ministry. Now as people know, electronic monitoring involves attaching a bracelet to offenders and tracking their movements. Companies argued that electronic monitoring provided a cheaper, effective and humane alternative to prison. The image was that rather than keeping offenders in prison they could now be at home or at work and be constructive and productive in the community. The logic of this argument is difficult to resist, it seems that the offender can still be confined, albeit in an inexpensive way and one which enables him or her to maintain their family and other community corrections. So it seems at first glance that electronic monitoring can provide an effective alternative to prison. However, when one looks at the criminological literature on this, this is very debatable. What is the problem? Well specifically and similarly to many other community corrections programs in Western jurisdictions, the clientele for electronic monitoring appear to be primarily low-risk offenders. These are people that would have been released into the community anyway through probation or parole. Now because of this, electronic monitoring is not cheaper because the ministries concerned get the gains expense of purchasing this equipment. Nor is it more humanitarian arguably because rather than moving people from prisons it adds another control onto people who would have been in the community anyway. It is also questionable as to whether electronic monitoring is more effective than other approaches in the reducing recid ivism. There is little evidence that those released into the community under highly intensive forms of surveillance are less likely to re-offend than those with lesser forms of surveillance. I am thinking in particular, as can happen today, that people are released on probation with so many conditions that it is almost impossible for them all to be fulfilled. The basic point is that the more conditions that are imposed on people, the more difficult it is for them to keep them and not violate them. In short, while I think that electronic monitoring is beneficial for the companies that profit from its sales, this appears to be at the cost of low risk offenders being subject to additional control measures, and there is no evidence that a contribution has been made to public safety. Meanwhile, none of this addresses fundamental ethical issues about electronic monitoring and attaching such devises to individuals. Some researchers on privatization, myself included, feel rather uncomfortab le with advocating such potentially intrusive forms of surveillance. One could ask, where will this end? It was not reassuring for me to read in one journal concerned with electronic monitoring that in some eyes a true electronic incarceration would involve active restraints such as a remotely applied zap of electricity for better control over an offenders behaviour. Like a lot of other things in privatization, there is a continuum that goes from soft and seems ok to look at where it might lead us and one begins to get a bit worried. As it happens, the minister I was working with and the government in Ontario decided that they were opposed in principle to electronic monitoring, so nothing happened at that moment. But when a new government came in the mid 90s, a Progressive Conservative government, they were quick to respond to approaches made to them and to commit themselves to electronic monitoring. Moreover I think it is important to note that their perspective on this is not prim arily humanitarian, rather it is a fiscal and a punitive perspective. The minister that welcomed this approach has also referred to halfway houses as a form of subsidized housing which he has no intention of providing to offenders. So on the one hand the government is increasing its commitment to electronic monitoring and on the other decreasing it to halfway houses. The closure of some halfway houses in Ontario and the implementation of electronic monitoring marks an important transition. First, marks the governments move away from doing business with non-profit community groups that ran many of the halfway houses and towards corporate, commercial, and for-profit groups. Second, I think this decision signals a move away from humane or at least human forms of supervision in favour of a move toward technological forms of supervision, a move from human to technological control. Let me know talk a little bit about capsicum. A more difficult scenario arose when the Ministry of the Solic itor General was approached by the private sector to try and market capsicum for use by police officers. Capsicum is a form of pepper which when packaged in a can and sprayed has the effect of totally immobilising its human target. Now given that capsicum is based on a natural product rather than a chemical product, and given that its use leaves no trace on the person after a little while, one might facetiously describe it as an environmentally friendly form of mace. In Ontario efforts to market capsicum were made at a politically, volatile moment. In the late 80s and early 90s there had been a series of police shootings, people had been injured and killed and the startling pattern that seemed to be emerging that many of the victims were young, back males and who were unarmed or at least not armed with a firearms. So it was a time of very strong tensions between police and minority groups. The argument was made that if the police were to use capsicum it would be a non-lethal weapon which would reduce their use of guns, so the argument was made at a very opportune moment. Not surprisingly, many people were in favour of this. Meanwhile, one of the barriers to reform, which was cost, was removed as an offer was made to the government to supply capsicum for free during the trail period. While the arguments in favour of police using capsicum are compelling, I have some concerns about it and had at the time. In the first place, there is a long history of claims that problems of crime fighting and control over police can be solved by one or another technology. I am thinking here of the history given in Rubbensteins book City Police. I also thought that it was problematic that the product was being sold on the argument that it would reduce the police use of firearms because there was no evidence given that this would be the case. So although capsicum had been used for a while in the United States, we were not presented with any hard evidence of any specific place wher e the use of capsicum was associated with a reduced use of firearms. Now some people might argue that the advantages of capsicum are so obvious that one does not need any research to demonstrate this. But if you think for example in the case of Rodney King capsicum was used on him. So it is difficult to claim definitively that the use of capsicum is going to preclude other problems in police behaviour. Overall I think one can draw a parallel between the use of capsicum and electronic monitoring. Where electronic monitoring can become an add on to community programs, capsicum can become an add on to the non-lethal weapons already used by police. I think I was the only person in Ontario who thought all of this. Everybody was in favour of it, and it was adopted. Subsequent to this police in Ontario carried capsicum and overall I think the 1990s have been a period where the non-lethal weaponry of the police has greatly extended. But meanwhile the problems with injuries and fatalities c ontinue to occur. And again, research is needed in this area. For example, in Ottawa in early 1995 a man drowned after he had been sprayed with capsicum and ran away from the police. Just recently I read a claim that in California at least 26 people have died since 1993 following the use of capsicum. However, let me immediately say that from the point of view of politicians and civil servants, I can very well understand that when confronted with an issue like this or when approached by companies, its very understandable that they will be open to accepting such a product. This is one of the difficulties in this area. It very often seems easier to argue in favour of the product then it is to argue against it. So I think one could sound like a killjoy when these companies come in and say if police shootings is a problem, give them capsicum, you can sound like a real pessimist or negative person, which I dont like to think I am at heart, when you say that maybe there is a few problems o r potential problems here that we should be looking at. So as I say, this is one of the difficulties in this area, that some how it seems much easier to argue in favour of electronic monitoring or argue in favour of capsicum then it is to argue against it. Another trend or area that these companies are working in is in relation to individuals. Perhaps the most obvious example of this, that is long with us, is the selling of alarms, which are now a taken for granted feature of life at least in a city. Meanwhile whether you go into apartment buildings in Toronto or go in to visit people who live in buildings with courtyards in Paris or where ever it might be, there can be a bewildering array of security checks or codes and so on that one has to get through in order to just go and visit somebody you know. In North America you are now seeing whole neighbourhoods being surrounded and permeated with these security devices, some people refer to these as gated communities. As these burglar alarms and security devices are becoming more taken for granted features, I think that the private companies are looking continuously for new markets and doing quite well. They are looking at various groups of individuals and one case in point here, which again needs research, is that of women. Women are being targeted by a range of products, I will just give you one or two examples. The first one is again capsicum. We see ads in womens magazines which urge women to buy a capsicum gun, the image being that if somebody attacks you, you are going to pull this out and spray them and that is the end of your problem. What these ads dont mention, obviously, is that if a woman can carry one of these things and acquire it, then so can her potential attacker. So now we have a situation where the potential attackers have them, and the women have them, the police have them, and everybody have them, and who is safer at the end of the day? I think far from easing crime and the fear of crime, thi s growing availability of capsicum may exacerbate both. In recent years the private sector has even managed to use fear of crime as a way of selling cellular phones to women. So women are told, buy a cellular phone and you need never be alone. You have got an image of yourself alone driving along the highway and something happens, and you whip out the phone. I am not going to say that that can never ever happen, but just pointing this out as a strategy for marketing a product that at first glance has nothing to do with crime. I really do think that this marketing of goods to women deserves more research because it represents par excellence the length to which the private sector will go and capitalize on and profit from peoples fear of crime. A recent article has succinctly expressed that the private sector what one might call a vested interest in fear, and I think that this is something that we should think about and that is really what I am trying to get out in my presentation. Som e words on the general context and consequence of privatization. As these examples illustrate the corporate and commercial sector is greatly expanding its involvement in criminal justice. Economically it is able to capitalize on profit from public fears of crime and desires for security. In the enterprise culture of justice the phenomenon of crime appears to be a never ending resource for which corporations can profit in material ways. Let me quote Niels Christie here: Compared to most other industries, the crime control industry is in a most privileged position. There is no lack of raw material, crime seems to be an endless supply. But while the corporate and commercial sector is benefiting from privatization, its benefits for the public are far less clear. I think that many peoples fears of crime can be disproportionately increased by relentless emphasis on the risks and dangers they face. Meanwhile marginalised individuals and groups including the poor, homeless, and those subjec t to the criminal justice system experience more insidious control and more extensive control. Both those who are supposedly threatened and those who represent a threat suffer through privatization. At a more theoretical level, at which I wont get into at great detail due to time, I think that we can see privatization as a core component of what can be described as the risk society. As Richard Erickson for example has noted one logic of the risk society is a negative one. Threats and dangers and fears about them are dealt with by the construction of suitable enemies. There is a tended labelling, denial, avoidance and exclusion solidarity is based on the commonality of fear. I think we have to look at the rise of privatization as going hand in hand with the rise of risk society. Perhaps I will mention that Richard Erickson and Kevin Haggertys book has just come out Policing the Risk Society and this is the most extensive empirical documentation of it so far. Just a little tangent as well, if I had more time I would talk about it, I also see these trends as going hand in hand what George Ritzer in the United States has calls the McDonaldization of society. So we have the risk society and privatization going hand in hand, and as Jean-Paul Bras Dor at the University of Montreal has pointed out that within this technological forms of risk management which are becoming prominent, electronic monitoring is just one form of that and capsicum is another, and we ought to see other technological forms of surveillance including bank cards, library cards, tags for clothing, food, and so on, and by extension as we are seen talking about now tagging people and using their finger prints to check them in and out of work or to potentially protect against welfare fraud. So I think that we are in a situation where it is not only risks themselves but also the means to control these risks which are both omnipresent and intangible. Let me move on with some final words about private prisons. What about private prisons, how should one view them? Debates about privatization and criminal justice often focus on the specific issue of private prisons, but as I hope my presentation has made clear the issue should be seen in a much broader way and it is in fact these broader issues which get too little attention. However, seen as private prisons are a flash point and seen as it is particularly relevant in New Brunswick, I would like to make a few reflections on this particular phenomenon. Overall I think that concerns over private prisons fall into two major types or two sets of issues. The first set of issues we might describe as practical issues, and here we are talking about legal issues can private prisons be legal; cost issues how much will private prisons cost compared to public ones; and similarly quality issues, management issues and effectiveness issues. That whole set of issues are very practical or policy issues. The second set of issues are moral, politic al and social issues, and especially questions about whether the profit oriented private sector can and will provide services which are humanitarian, just and supportive of prisoners and the publics good. So we are asking in the sphere of prisons, can the private sector support public good? It is my position that the second set of issues the moral, political and social issues should take precedence over the first or more practical set of issues. One reason for this is that it is highly questionable as to whether private prisons are cheaper, more effective, more efficient, ect. than public prisons. I think this fact has been very well documented in a recent book entitled Punishment for Profit: Private Prisons, Public Concerns. This book provides good evidence that one can not definitively argue that private prisons are all the things that they are claimed to be. But even more importantly than that I think, moral, political and social issues should precedence because prisons are dis tinctively different to other social institutions. Arguably, political and governmental responsibility with respect to prisons is not just an administrative responsibility, its not just an economic responsibility. Rather it is a moral and ethical responsibility and because of this the privatization of prisons can not be discussed for example in the same way as the privatization of phones, bus companies and so on. One might ask how are prisons different to these other institutions? Firstly, I think the prisons are different because they are literally hidden from public view, and this means that prisoners and people that work in prisons are vulnerable in a variety of ways. Secondly, prisons are different to other institutions in that their purpose is punishment, the infliction of meta-physical pain and the deprivation of liberty. Prisoners are a captive human population, prisoners are powerless in many ways, they are not customers or clients in the usual sense of those words. So it is that the hidden nature of prisons and the relatively powerless nature of prisoners that makes privatization in this area even more problematic than in other ones. It is also difficult to see how the profit and expansionist orientation of the crime control industry is compatible with humanitarian ideas of limiting use of imprisonment and expanding rehabilitation programs, or with the development of meaningful alternatives to prison. When you think about it, it is in the interest of the private profit sector that the prison system and profit-making should grow. I think the private sector has a number of interest here and I want to list them off to you. Firstly as I say, that profit-making should grow and thereby through the growth of the imprisonment sector itself. It is in the interest of the private sector that sentencing be more punitive and parole diminished. It is in the interest of the private sector that correctional employees be de-unionized and that salary, benefits and prom otional opportunities be cut to a minimum. It is in the interest of the private, for-profit sector that accountability to the government and the public should be kept to a minimum. And finally, should savings result from privatization of prisons, it is in the interest of the private sector that as much as possible of these savings should become their profit rather than be returned to government and save the government money. So if there is any savings to be made, obviously it is in the interest of the private sector to keep as much as possible of that for themselves rather than handing it back to government. Overall, while private prisons may be desirable from the point of view of the private sector, their consequences for prisoners, for correctional employees, for tax payers and for government may well be negative. Let me make a few concluding statements. Private prisons must be seen in the broader context of privatization of criminal justice and control. As I have tried to describ e the profit impotice and the expansion of control can go hand in hand. Put bluntly, increases in the fear of crime and related demands for security even beyond any demonstrated need serve the interest of the private sector. As Niels Christie puts it: only rarely will those working in or for any industry say now, just now, the size is about right. Now we are big enough, we are well established, we do not want any further growth. An urge for expansion is built into industrial thinking. The crime control industry is no exception. I think that in face of the ideology and practices of privatization basic questions about values, human rights and justice get left behind. Privatization deflects attention from and distorts perceptions of real social problems. Perhaps the greatest challenge facing not only researchers and policy makers but also entrepreneurs themselves is to maintain a humanitarian focus on the consequences of privatization and despite its own rational, utilitarian and manag erial discourses. I wish colleagues and students at St. Thomas University good luck as they continue to meet this challenge. Thank you. Legal Issues Untitled Essay