No. 1 Bi-Weekly Syllabus: Weeks January 3 ~ January 7 & January 10 ~ January 14
1. Governments - Types and Systems (Powerpoint)
This powerpoint was introduced in class. See more on this website.
2. Research on the Governments of Britain, the U.S.A., and Taiwan
Analysis
Q1. Compare the governmental systems of each country.
Answer:
The United States | Great Britain | Taiwan | |
Type of Government | Constitution-based federal republic (representative democracy) | Constitutional monarchy | Democratic republic |
Definition | - a state in which the powers of the central government are restricted - the component parts (such as states, colonies, or provinces) is self-governed - voters choose their governmental representatives. - has a constitution which sets fundamental laws and principles that determines the limitations, functions, and statuses of the government. | - though a system of monarchy, the monarch (king/queen/emperors) has to share responsibilities and power with elected legislatures. - democratic government that limits monarch power. - does not have a single document called the constitution à its constitutional provisions are “dispersed” over various Acts of Parliament (and they can be easily changed, not like US’s constitution) | - simply “Rule by the people” - citizens have the power to vote for the officers and representatives that are responsible for the citizens. |
Election/Vote | - people elect representatives - citizens have the power to vote on issues | - hereditary monarch - people vote legislatures who share power with the so called “monarchs”. | - people elect representatives - citizens have the power to vote on issues - free elections - vote by secret ballot |
Knowledge and Comprehension
Q2. List the pros and cons of each government.
Answer:
The United States | Great Britain | Taiwan | |
Pros | - since local governments are self-governed, they understand local issues better and solve them more efficiently - one level can serve as a “check” over the other because power is divided between the states and national government à “double security” - jobs are distributed, making the federal government to have a workload taken off. - keeps close to the people, giving them more opportunities to speak in both levels. | - Don’t need to elect new person for a new term à reduces expenditure drastically - The king or queen represents a historical authority à represents national identity - Low chances of corruption à Monarchs know they are not for a term period, thus lowering their lust of money | - less government bureaucracy because people make the decisions - Everyone has the same rights and freedom. - Everyone is treated equally in terms of voting. |
Cons | - Creates a contentious nature à disputes might occur between levels of government because jobs are often unclear which level of government is responsible for. - the federal government doesn’t have absolute power | - has a unitary system of governmentà central government always has the final say. - Spent money with no apparent usage just for monarchs and to keep traditions going. | - Excessive freedoms might lead to tyranny - Sometimes the constitution may not protect the rights of minorities and especially under a direct democracy (majority vote rules on all legislation), the minority voice would never have a chance to be heard. |
Evaluation
Q3. Decide whether the current governmental systems/types of the three countries should be altered, modified, or changed. Explain.
Answer:
United States: A federal republic system of government probably fits the United States the best because the nation is one of diverse interests. Each of these interests can dominate a faction, and other interests can seek advantages of other factions. The potential of states being able to govern by themselves enables more democratic values and works more efficiently.
Great Britain: It has accustomed to the system of constitutional monarchy. A balance is created when power is shared between elected legislatures and the monarch. Besides, making transitions will take time for people to adapt the new systems.
Taiwan: Though Kuomintang is currently the party at hold, generally Taiwan still seek to be a true democratic, individual country that’s not controlled by China. Besides, Taiwan has been a democratic republic for years.
Synthesis
Q4. Predict the future governmental systems of the three countries. Will they remain the same, or will they change to different types of governments?
Answer: All three countries have been through great political fluctuations, such as Taiwan struggling from communism to Chiang Kai-shek’s democratic system. They are stabilizing politically and their current governmental systems fit their nations the best despite some disadvantages of the types of governments. Therefore, they will remain the same, though Taiwan might approach China’s control more as Kuomintang keep governing.
Application
Q5. Relate the governments of each country to your life or the lives of citizens in those countries.
Answer: To an American citizen, he has more freedom to speak at different levels of government, not just directly to the federal government. Problems at state-level can be easily and quickly solved since a federal system shares powers within each level of government. On the other hand, British might sometimes be irked by the fact that unreasonable money is spent for the family of monarchs. Looking at Taiwan, people supporting DPP aren’t happy with recent elections. Even so, we still have a lot of freedom regarding speaking in public, voting with equality, and having the same rights…etc. Taking out democracy will cast a great problem among the life in Taiwan.
3. The Gilded Age
Background Info
a) Industrial and Technological Advances
The Gilded Age was a period of rapid economic growth after the Civil War that laid the groundwork for modern United States economy. By 1890, the US exceeded Britain in manufacturing output. A variety of inventions exploded at this time. Railroads expanded mileage and built stronger tracks that supported heavier locomotives and enabled faster trading. The telephone, phonograph, electric light, and typewriter were invented.
Besides these new transportation and inventions, the nation's industrial infrastructure also benefited United State's economy. An opulence of coal was found in the Appalachian Mountains. Oil was discovered in western Pennsylvania. Iron ore mines opened in the Lake Superior region. Copper and silver mines also opened.
b) Economic Growth
The Gilded Age experienced the greatest economic growth in United States history. From 1869 to 1879, the US economy grew at a rate of 6.8% for real GDP and 4.5% for real GDP per capita. The wealth of United States grew at an annual rate of 3.8% in the 1880s.
Indeed, as the renowned economist Milton Friedman stated: The highest decadal rate [of growth of real reproducible, tangible wealth per head from 1805 to 1950] for periods of about ten years was apparently reached in the eighties with approximately 3.8 percent.
c) Labor Unions
Labor unions grew stronger in the Northeast after 1870.
- Great Railroad Strike of 1877: lasted 45 days, violent attacks on railroad properties, Panic of 1873 à By 1877, 10% wage cuts, distrust of capitalists and poor working conditions led to a series railroad assailments.
Robber Baron vs. Captain of Industry
Robber Baron vs. Captain of Industry
a) Robber Baron
- Modern-day businesspeople who do unethical business activities and questionable stock market transactions to gain their own income.
- Feudal lords who amassed personal fortunes by using illegal and immoral business tactics (The term robber baron derived from medieval Greek lords. They were the ones who illegally charged exorbitant, or unnecessarily excessive, tolls to passing merchant ships so that they can amass personal fortunes.).
- In popular American culture, Robber Barons were usually depicted as men in suits with black top hats and walking sticks (see the icon of board game Monopoly).
b) Captain of Industry
- Originally used in the United Kingdom during the Industrialization that refers to an industrialist who amass personal fortunes through ways that benefit the country positively in some ways, such as providing more job opportunities, increasing productivity, expanding markets, and giving philanthropic acts.
- A contrast term to Robber Barons.
b) Captain of Industry
- Originally used in the United Kingdom during the Industrialization that refers to an industrialist who amass personal fortunes through ways that benefit the country positively in some ways, such as providing more job opportunities, increasing productivity, expanding markets, and giving philanthropic acts.
- A contrast term to Robber Barons.
Super-rich Financiers and Industrialists:
a) Andrew Carnegie
Ø A Scottish-American that built Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Steel Company (later merged with other companies to form the U.S. Steel.
Ø Earned most of his fortune from steel industry:
- He founded the Carnegie Steel Company in 1870 and sold it in 1901 for $480 million to J.P. Morgan (created U.S. Steel)
- Cheap and efficient mass production of steel rails for railroad lines
- In the late 1880s, Carnegie Steel Company was the largest manufacturer of pig iron, steel rails and coke in the world. (2000 tons of pig metal/day)
- By 1899, the U.S. output of steel surpassed UK, and Carnegie owned a big part of it.
Ø A Robber Baron: He didn’t increase his workers’ wages. He paid low wages while being one of the richest industrialists in the 19th century.
Ø A Captain of Industry: donated money to establish libraries, schools, and universities in America, the UK and many other countries (founded Carnegie Corporation of New York, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh)
b) John D. Rockefeller
Ø American oil magnate
Ø Founded the Standard Oil Company in 1870 and retired in 1897 (company based in northwestern Pennsylvania)
Ø Philanthropist: donated over $500 million to various charities (slightly over half his entire net worth)
Ø A Robber Baron: deceptive and conspiratorial businessman à his fortune was built by secret agreements from America’s leading railroad companies.
Ø A Captain of Industry: a big philanthropist that donated over $500 million to various charities (slightly over half his entire net worth)
Ø A Captain of Industry: a big philanthropist that donated over $500 million to various charities (slightly over half his entire net worth)
c) Cornelius Vanderbilt
- Built his fortune in railroad and shipping.
- Built Grand Central Terminal
- A Robber Baron: "Law? What do I care about law? Hain't I got the power?"
Modern 21st Century Robber Barons and Captains of Industry
Robber Barons
a) Jerry Jasinowski
- President of the Manufacturing Institute at the National Association of Manufacturers
- Warned American workers in 2005, "From airline pilots to auto assembly workers, employees need to help reduce their costs."
b) Peter Morici
- Economist and a Clinton-era trade negotiator
- "Companies cannot provide gold-plated health care benefits and open-ended pension commitments."
Captain of Industry
a) Bill Gates
- sold some of his Microsoft stock to create William H. Gates Foundation; created the charitable Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- By 2007, Bill and Melinda Gates were the second most generous philanthropists in America, having given over $28 billion to charity
b) Carl Icahn
- American financier that began his career on Wall Street in 1961
- Made donation to his alma mater, Princeton University, to fund a genomics laboratory
- Made donation to Mount Sinai Hospital, New York
- received the Starlight Foundation's Founders Award and its 1990 Man of the Year Award.
- named Guardian Angel 2001 Man of the Year. In 2004, he was honored by the Center for Educational Innovation - Public Education Association for his work with charter schools.
Political Machine
- A party organization, headed by a single boss or small autocratic group, that commands enough votes to maintain political and administrative control of a city, county, or state.
Spoils System
- A practice where a political party, after winning an election, gives government jobs to its voters as a reward for working toward victory. Therefore, the voters would work for the political party.
- Derived from the phrase "'to the victor belong the spoils" by New York Senator William L. Marcy (referring to the victory of the Jackson Democrats in the election of 1828.)
Boss Tweed
- William Magear Tweed
- American politician renowned for being the “boss” of Tammany Hall (the Democratic Party that had an important role in the politics of 19th century New York and State)
- Third largest landowner of New York City
- Convicted for stealing an estimated amount of $25 million to $45 million from New York City taxpayers through political corruption. He later died in the Ludlow Street Jail.
4. The French Revolution + Breaking News Report
Daniel Liu and I made this prezi...ENJOY!
We (Daniel Liu, Allen Wang, Alex Lay, Nathan Lee, and Stephen Tija) also created a video for our Breaking News Report. Because the video is over 16 minutes, we are unable to post it on Youtube. Please ask Nathan if you would like to view the video. Sorry for the inconvenience!
5. Summary on French Revolution
The French Revolution in the summer of 1789 aroused the important ideas of liberty, equality, and brotherhood in which great fluctuation happened in the French social structure that later led to immense rebellion towards royal absolutism. There were several factors that led to the outbreak of French Revolution, such as bankruptcy, debts resulted of war, and most importantly, the rigid social structure in French society.
The social structure is divided into three estates. The First Estate, which consisted of the clergy, didn't meet their obligations and responsibilities. They collected high taxes (usually 10%) and didn't distribute relief to the poor. For the Second Estate, which was composted of nobility, were virtually exempt from paying taxes of any kind of purpose. This made the Third Estate, everyone else from the First and Second Estate, extremely indignant. The peasantry lived in utmost poverty, needed to pay taxes to the king, church, and the lord of the manor. Many also demanded a Parliament, but not necessarily end monarchy. With all these factors combined, Louis XIV was executed by the guillotine after the Flight of Vareness, an incident in which Louis XIV understood he could no longer stay in Paris because of the rebellious people. This incident established modern governmental system in France.
No. 2 Bi-Weekly Syllabus: Weeks January 17 ~ January 21 & January 24 ~ 28 (European Geopolitics)
Dreyfus Case Began Century Ago
1. Profile: Alfred Dreyfus
Alfred Dreyfus was a Jewish artillery officer, serving in the French army from 1880 to 1918. He was born in Mulhouse in Alsace and was the youngest of the seven children in his family. The family later moved to Paris when the Franco-Prussian War took place.
In 1880, Dreyfus graduated as a sub-lieutenant from the elite Ecole polytechnique military school in Paris, He received military training and studied science there. From 1880 to 1882, he attended the artillery school at Fontainebleau to study more specialized training as an artillery officer. He later received a notice that he had been admitted to the Ecole Superieure de Guerre or War College. After graduation, he was immediately designated as a trainee in the French Army's General Staff headquarters. In fact, he was the only Jewish officer in the headquarter!
When Dreyfus was taking the War College examination in 1892, he was expected to do well on the exam. However, one of the members of the panel, General Bonnefond, felt that "Jews were not desired" on the staff and later marked bad scores on his exam. General Bonnefond also did the same to another Jewish candidate, Lieutenant Picard. Though the two Jewish officers protested against this discrimination and injustice, the director of the school, General Lebelin de Dionne, claimed that he didn't have any power to take any steps in the matter.
2. Dreyfus Case/ Dreyfus Affair
On Oct. 15, 1894, Alfred Dreyfus was arrested on a charge of treason for having delivered military secrets to Germany. Clearly innocent to this charge, Dreyfus protested vehemented against the arrest, but to no avail. He was immediately confined in a military prison.
The only evidence against him was the infamous bordereau, a handwritten memorandum that was stolen from the German embassy in Paris. The French intelligence agent stole it a few weeks before the arrest of Dreyfus. The bordereau contained military secrets that German armies shouldn't know about, and Dreyfus wasn't convicted of writing that bordereau, thus being held in charge of treason.
Although his handwriting was completely different from that on the bordereau, some "handwriting experts" still testified that Dreyfus was the one who wrote the bordereau. In addition, the intelligence section of the French army connived with the army General Staff, furtively sent a packet of dossier that intended to incriminate Dreyfus to the trail judges. The documents are all consisted of false information, though, and the judges didn't know anything about that. After perusing the spurious dossier, Dreyfus was convicted of treason and was sentenced to imprisonment for life.
He was later sent to Devil's Island in which he arrived in April 1895. He was weakened by diseases, inadequate nutrition, primitive living conditions, and insects. Still, two prominent Dreyfusards (defenders of Dreyfus) protested against the conviction. One of them was Lt.-Col. Georges Picquart who soon discovered that the bordereau had been written by an infantry officer, Commandant Esterhazy, rather than Dreyfus. However, he was reproofed when he brought this information back, charged with crime, imprisoned, and expelled from the army. Emile Zola, on the other hand, was convicted of criminal libel because of publishing a newspaper that supported Dreyfus.
Fortunately, Dreyfus's 1894 conviction was set aside by a civilian court in June 1899. He was later brought back to France after the conviction was set aside. However, Dreyfus was once again convicted of treason by a military tribunal when perjury and spurious evidence was proffered againn. On account of global anger and demonstrations regarding this affair, Dreyfus was pardoned by the president of France and released. He was then officially exonerated after seven years.
3. Later Life
After being framed and convicted of false treason, Dreyfus spent most of his later life in prison, notably at Devil's Island. It had been extremely harsh and difficult on his health, thus being granted early retirement in October 1907. As a reserve officer, he rejoined the army as a Major of Artillery.
Dreyfus died in Paris at the age of 75, on 12 July 1935 which was exactly 29 years after his official exoneration. Today, a copied version of the statue of Dreyfus holding his broken sword (His sword was broken into half on Jan. 5 1895 because he was convicted of treason. That was a sign of being expelled from the army.) stands at the entrance of the Museum of Jewish Art and History in Paris.
Otto von Bismarck, the Iron Chancellor
Profile: Otto von Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck (Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck), was a German-Prussian chancellor on the late 19th century. He was best known for unifying Germany and transforming the Germany society into an industrialized one. He was also famous for implementing realpolitik, a system of politics that is based on practical values, not necessarily morality or other considerations.
Bismarck was born in Schoenhausen in a Prussian aristocratic family. He was extremely educated, being able to speak and write English, French, and Russian fluently. He, of course, studied law at the University of Gottingen and established his politic potential. He became a substitute member of the Prussain parliament.
He was probably best known for his Blood and Iron Speech:
Prussia must concentrate and maintain its power for the favorable moment which has already slipped by several times. Prussia's boundaries according to the Vienna treaties are not favorable to a healthy state life. The great questions of the time will not be resolved by speeches and majority decisions—that was the great mistake of 1848 and 1849—but by iron and blood.
He declared that the public has misconstrue his meanings, and that his words were taken out of context. Even so, "blood and iron" became a popular nickname for his policies.
In 1864, Bismarck engineered a scenario in which Prussia would provoke a war between Denmark and itself with Austria enlisted to help. This led to the Austro-Prussian War in which Prussia won. Prussia's victory enabled it to annex more land, while Bismarck's own power increased.
From 1871 to 1890, Bismarck ruled a unified Germany and dedicated in transforming the government into an industrialized society. However, the Catholic Church opposed this movement, thus galvanizing Bismarck to use his kulturkampf campaign against the Bismarck. (Kulturkampf: german policies that are related to the separation of states by religion and the opposition of the Roman Catholic Church.)
When Kaiser Wilhelm (the Prussian king) died in early 1888, Bismarck remained a chancellor when the emperor's son, Wilhelm II, ascended to the throne. Wilhelm II didn't favor the 73-year-old Bismarck much. Bismarck later lived on retirement, writing and critiquing on international affairs and died in 1898.
Bismarck's legacy was controversial. While he unified Germany, he didn't create any political institutions that can sustain itself when Bismarck himself was dead. Yet the Nazis have attempted many times to portray themselves as his heirs.
Unification of Italy
1. Profile: Giuseppe Mazzini
Giuseppe Mazzini was an Italian partiot, politician, and renowned philosopher born on June 22, 1805. He was commonly referred to the "Soul of Italy" because he was one of the founding fathers of a unified nation, Italy, who helped bring modern Italian states together instead of having seperate states.
Mazzini was born in Genoa which was under the rule of French Empire. He showed precocious interests towards politics and literature, and was even admitted to the University at the age of 14! In 1830, Mazzini travelled to Tuscany, where he became the soul and spirit of Carbonari, a secret association that consists of people with a passion for the unification of Italy.
Mazzini was not only wanted a united Italy, but an Italy with a republican form of government. He created Young Italy in 1831, which was a group to spread the ideas of unification of Italy. He later created a republic called the Roman Republic with Garibaldi. However, French troops travelled to Rome and destroyed the short-lived Roman Republic.
In 1856 he returned to Genoa to organize a series of uprisings with the Carlo Pisacane in Calabria the most famous. However, this attempt again met an end, and Mazzini was able to escape from the police. Even so, he was condemned to death by default after this incident. He died in Pisa in 1872 with his funeral held in Genoa.
2. Profile: Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian military and political figure born on July 4, 1807 in Nice. The influential day in his life was in April 1833, in Taganrog, in which he took an oath dedicating his life to liberate his homeland from Austrian control.
Garibaldi and Mazzini were the major figures that contributed to the unification process of Italy. Though Mazzini was considered as the "soul" of the unification process, Garibaldi was also regarded as the hero of this movement. In early 1860, he began to congregate volunteering soldiers in Genoa for an expedition to Sicily. Thus, thousands of soldiers from Romagna, Lombardy, and Venetia embarked for Sicily in May 1860.
This huge movement was called the Expedition of Soldiers. The Kingdom of Two Sicillies had been a corrupted government for a long time. Therefore, Garibaldi's army (Garibaldi Red Shirts) was able to occupy Sicily despite of his ill-skilled and less skilled army. After conquering Sicily, he decided to proceed to mainland Italy. However, after he declared that he was going to advance into Rome, Camillo di Cavour, the prime minister of the Piedmont, became worried and perturbed. If Rome was attacked, Austria and France would definitely help the Pope of Rome to retaliate the advancing soldiers, thus discrediting and destroying the unification agenda.
Being a competent and manipulative prime minister, Cavour encouraged insurrections in the Papal States, thereby giving the Pietmontese armies a legitimate reason to come under the alibi of maintaining order. Almost two thirds of the Papal States joined Piedmont, leaving Rome unguarded. As the Piedmontese army continue to advance into the South and passing Rome, Garibaldi gave up his command of his army and shook hands with Victor Emanuel II, resembling the ultimate unification of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.
In spite of being elected again to the Italian parliament, Garibaldi spent much of his older years in Caprera. He founded the "League of Democracy" in 1879 in which he advocated universal suffrage, emancipation of women, and the abolition of ecclesiastical property. Do not be surprised, he married Francesca Armosino in 1880. He already had three children with her though. He died on June 2, 1882, and asked that his deathbed should be located where he could gaze at the emerald and sapphire sea.
No. 3 Bi-Weekly Syllabus : Weeks Feb. 7 and Feb. 14 (Economics)
1. What is Economics?
Economics is the study of how people manage limited resources, goods, and services through production, consumption, and distribution. It’s also the study of how the society distributes scarce resources and goods. One means that the society use to allocate these scarce resources is the market system, a place where goods and traded. Here we decide what things we need and want. To be an intelligent consumer, one should consider the necessity of a certain object that he/she wants. If something is unnecessary, a wise and frugal consumer wouldn’t buy it but save the money for other necessary commodity.
2. Dan Pink: The Science of Motivation (TED Talk)
Regarding the inspiring TED talk by Dan Pink on the surprising science of motivation, he pointed out a general misconception in which most people believe incentives can sharpen thinking and accelerate creativity. By exemplifying the candle problem in which one group of people was incentivized with 5 dollars if you’re in the top 25 percent fastest times, he proves that incentives can block creativity and dull thinking as that group of people took an average of more than three and a half minutes to solve the candle problem. He also declared that while these contingent motivators work in some circumstances, however, in many tasks they either don’t work, or they do harm. Rewards often narrow our focus and help us concentrate the mind. At last, he stated that a new operating system for business should include the following three elements: autonomy (the urge to direct our own lives), mastery (the desire to get better and better at something worthwhile and meaningful), and purpose (the longing to do what we do in the service of something that’s larger than ourselves).
3. Beyond the 19th Century in Economics
As for the article “Beyond the 19th Century in Economics”, author Bill Collier explained that the terms “capitalism” and “free enterprise” are two different entities with distinctive meanings. It is urgent to create a new ownership model that takes us beyond capitalism and allows free enterprises to meet the demands of the markets while leading to maximum and optimum wealth creation. One could either have a form of capitalism without free enterprise or a form of free enterprise without capitalism. Unlike capitalism, free enterprise deals not with how the products are produced, the division of labor, but rather dealing with how the products are sold. Besides the clarification of these two terms, he also mentioned that wealth is unlimited, just like wind and sunlight. There is no human limit to wealth that can be created. All in all, information and human participation in various forms are the most important elements needed to meet the needs of the market and creating wealth.
4. Profile: Key People
a) Karl Marx
"The worker becomes all the poorer the more wealth he produces, the more his production increases in power and range. The worker becomes an ever cheaper commodity the more commodities he creates. With the increasing value of the world of things proceeds in direct proportion to the devaluation of the world of men. Labour produces not only commodities; it produces itself and the worker as a commodity -- and does so in the proportion in which it produces commodities generally."
Marx, Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts (1844)
A philosopher, social scientist, and historian, Karl Heinrich Marx, born on May 5, 1818, was indeed the most influential socialist that sculpted the socialist movement after his death in 1883. He was born into a comfortable middle-class home in Trier on the river Moselle in Germany on May 5, 1818.
At the age of seventeen, Karl Marx enrolled in the Faculty of Law at the University of Bonn. Later on, Marx became a member of the Young Hegelian movement, which included a lot of renowned theologians that produced a radical critique of Christianity and Prussian autocracy.
Emigrated to Paris, France, Marx became a communist and began to write Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts. In this book, Marx outlined a humanist conception of communism. He later joined the Communist League and wrote The Communist Manifesto.
Marx's major work on political economy made slow progress. He had produced a humongous 800 page manuscript on capital, landed property, the state, foreign trade, world market, and wage labor. Afterwards, Marx elaborated on his conception of surplus value and exploitation which would ultimately lead to a falling rate of profile in the collapse of industrial capitalism.
Rise and Fall: Capriciousness of Economy
Rough Draft
Like floating clouds in the sky, economy, the study of the production, consumption, and distribution of goods and services, face great fluctuations throughout the history. The world in the 19th century experienced great economic boost after the industrial revolutions took place in various countries, elevating their economy and promoting their overall strength. Advancing into the 20th 21st century, the globe encountered the Great Depression and the greatest financial crisis that affected global economy severely. Foreseeing the future, what will the economy be like in the future? Is the global economy going to be a long boom? And how will the future economy be affected by previous economic history?
Speaking of the 19th century, the industrial revolution around the world was both a milestone and turning point that broke through numerous blockades and molded the appearance of modern world. However, the economies before industrial revolution were still at their “incipient” stages. For instance, many forms of communications didn’t exist prior the industrial revolution, causing goods to be distributed largely within the locality in which they were produced. Agriculture could provide only for a few large commercial towns. Clothing was made locally, mainly using animal hides and furs since nylon wasn't an option, and cotton wasn't imported in large quantities until developments after industrialization enabled mass production of goods. Trading frequencies were low, and because of a lack of transportation, products are transported inefficiently and ineffectively, thus leading to bad economies.
On the other hand, many countries experienced a boost in economy after the industrial revolution. Several industrial sectors, such as textiles and iron-making industries, adopted revolutionary new technologies of production which raised productivity and lowered price. This encouraged people to buy more manufactured goods. Also, people were able to buy more because of the expansion of wage earning in the economy. New products and designs emerged in the era, making manufactured goods more appealing to costumers. This trend increased the demand for goods, and the supply of more varied and cheaper products interacted to create a drastic economic expansion.
Take Great Britain for example. Great Britain, a nation greatly affected by the industrial revolution, became one of the greatest export markets carriers as technological innovations, rising productivity and innovations in design and quality made British manufactures cheaper and more attractive. British exports to Europe and the Americas rose drastically and helped Britain to be able to pay for imports of food and raw materials that were essential to sustaining the industrial economy.
The prosperous economy didn’t stay long after the second industrial revolution. The Great Depression, a severe worldwide economic depression started in 1929, originated in the United States when stock prices became to fall. The incident later became worldwide news with the stock market crash of October 29, 1929, spreading to almost every country in the world. Unemployment increased by 607%, industrial production decreased by 46%, and foreign trade reduced by 70% in the US from 1929 to 1932. What resulted were not only a drastically declined global economy, but also unemployed workers, worse living conditions, and a long time to get recovered.
75 years later, the financial crisis from 2007 to present was triggered, and most economists considered it as the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. It has resulted in the bailout of banks by national governments, the collapse of large financial institutions, and declining statistics in stock markets around the world. In many areas, the housing market has also suffered. To be worse, a lot of key businesses failed with a decline in consumer wealth estimated in the trillions of U.S. dollars.
Judging in different perspectives, different countries will face unlike economy in the future. To me, China is rising as the next super power that’ll soon dominate the world with its immense and rising economy. On the other hand, the United States is still recovering from the financial crisis of 2007, stepping out from failing housing markets and failing businesses. I am not an expert in finance or economics and can’t foretell the future of global economy. But I am sure about one thing – economy itself is capricious, inconstant, and variable. It’ll never stay the same.
From pre-industrialization to post-industrialization and from the Great Depression to the financial crisis in 2007, the economy has presented itself as a variable, an inconstant “entity” that can never remain prosperous at one point or fail at other time (maybe in the future?). Economy is frequently fluctuated, and that is why it rises and falls capriciously
What will the economy be like in the future? Is the global economy going to be a long boom? And how will the future economy be affected by previous economic history? Like floating clouds in the sky, economy, the study of the production, consumption, and distribution of goods and services, fluctuated greatly throughout the history. The world in the 19th century experienced great economic boost after the industrial revolutions took place in various countries, elevating their economy and promoting their overall strength. Advancing into the 20th 21st century, the globe encountered the Great Depression and the greatest financial crisis that affected global economy severely. No matter how global economy has altered in different time periods, it is for sure that global economy will never remain at a high peak nor sink into ultimate abyss.
Speaking of the 19th century, the industrial revolution around the world was both a milestone and turning point that broke through numerous blockades and molded the appearance of modern world. However, the economies before industrial revolution were still at their “incipient” stages. For instance, many forms of communications didn’t exist prior the industrial revolution, causing goods to be distributed largely within the locality in which they were produced. Agriculture could provide only for a few large commercial towns. Clothing was made locally, mainly using animal hides and furs since nylon wasn't an option, and cotton wasn't imported in large quantities until developments after industrialization enabled mass production of goods. Trading frequencies were low, and because of a lack of transportation, products are transported inefficiently and ineffectively, thus leading to bad economies.
On the other hand, many countries experienced a boost in economy after the industrial revolution. Take Great Britain for example. Great Britain, a nation greatly affected by the industrial revolution, became one of the greatest export markets carriers as technological innovations, rising productivity and innovations in design and quality made British manufactures cheaper and more attractive. British exports to Europe and the Americas rose drastically and helped Britain to be able to pay for imports of food and raw materials that were essential to sustaining the industrial economy. Also, several industrial sectors, such as textiles and iron-making industries, adopted revolutionary new technologies of production which raised productivity and lowered price. This encouraged people to buy more manufactured goods. Also, people were able to buy more because of the expansion of wage earning in the economy. New products and designs emerged in the era, making manufactured goods more appealing to costumers. This trend increased the demand for goods, and the supply of more varied and cheaper products interacted to create a drastic economic expansion.
The prosperous economy didn’t stay long after the second industrial revolution. The Great Depression, a severe worldwide economic depression started in 1929, originated in the United States when stock prices became to fall. The incident later became worldwide news with the stock market crash of October 29, 1929, spreading to almost every country in the world. Unemployment increased by 607%, industrial production decreased by 46%, and foreign trade reduced by 70% in the US from 1929 to 1932. What resulted were not only a drastically declined global economy, but also unemployed workers, worse living conditions, and a long time to get recovered.
75 years later, the financial crisis from 2007 to present was triggered, and most economists considered it as the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. It has resulted in the bailout of banks by national governments, the collapse of large financial institutions, and declining statistics in stock markets around the world. In many areas, the housing market has also suffered. To be worse, a lot of key businesses failed with a decline in consumer wealth estimated in the trillions of U.S. dollars, causing severe economic downgrade and worse living conditions.
Judging in different perspectives, different countries will face unlike economy in the future. To me, China is rising as the next super power that will soon dominate the world with its immense and rising economy. On the other hand, the United States is still recovering from the financial crisis of 2007, stepping out from failing housing markets and failing businesses. I am not an expert in finance or economics and can’t foretell the future of global economy. But I am sure about one thing – economy itself is capricious, inconstant, and variable. It’ll never stay the same.
From pre-industrialization to post-industrialization and from the Great Depression to the financial crisis in 2007, the economy has presented itself as a variable, an inconstant entity that can never remain prosperous at one point or fail at other time. Economy, an essential factor in impacting the society and life, can be affected by government decisions, advancements of technologies, and various global trends. But no matter how it has evolved over time, the fact that economy is frequently fluctuated is undeniable. Ultimately, the “capricious behaviors” of economy will lead us to an unknown future, a future in which economy molds itself into an unfathomable set of mysteries and challenges.
I liked the fact that you took examples from different time periods, and supported your statements with data. I could not see how the economy was varying greatly before the industrial revolution though. It might have been better if the concluding phrase was connected to the introduction or the main topic in some ways.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very ambitious essay, you tried to cover economics changes from pre-industrial revolution to today. I would like to point out that there was a Great Depression in the 19th century which you did not mention in your essay. The Great Depression in the 20th century was the first global economic crisis.
ReplyDeleteI would suggest you to move the questions, at the bottom of the first paragraph, to the beginning of the essay. This way the questions can grab the reader's attention.
ReplyDeleteI would suggest making your essay into a five paragraph type, because I believe it would be a lot more organize. In my personal opinion, if you tell the readers what will be in the essay within the first paragraph, then the reader will have a better view. I would suggest making the the third and fourth paragraph as one. Then i would make the fifth and sixth as one. Finally, I will make the sixth and the seventh as one.
Overall I really like it
I liked your introduction where you compared economy to floating clouds. Catches the readers attention. Plus, to support your comparison, you used real life examples as the Great Depression and the Industrial Revolution.
ReplyDelete