Stranger Critical Essay free essay sample

This nonfiction story begins with the main character, Meursault, attending his mother’s funeral. As the story proceeds, Meursault befriends a man and becomes involved in something that will cost him his life. Camus portrays the meaninglessness of human life through the attitudes and lifestyle of Meursault. Camus uses a number of different elements of style to convey his message. Three elements of style that show Meursault’s plain indifference to life are contrast, point of view, and characterization. As the elements of the novel are discussed, the theme of Camus will become clear. Camus uses contrast to make evident Meursault’s prospective on life. Camus cleverly contrasts Meursault to other major characters in The Stranger. These characters include Perez, Raymond, and Marie. Thomas Perez is an old man who is teased for being Madam Meursault’s â€Å"fiance. † Perez took Madam Meursault’s death very hard. He struggled in his old age to walk to the burial site and is described to be shedding tears of frustration and exhaustion. We will write a custom essay sample on Stranger Critical Essay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The normal response to death is shown in Perez’ reaction, which is heartache and mourning. Meursault did not cry at his mother’s funeral. He did not even know the age of his own mother. Meursault’s main concern was the heat and sleeping. There is a sharp contrast in the emotional responses of Perez and Meursault in regards to this death. Raymond Sintes is Meursault’s neighbor. Raymond considers Meursault his pal, and they develop a somewhat involved friendship. Raymond’s aggression is a character trait that contrasts Meursault’s indifference. Raymond is angry that his mistress cheated on him, and in one chapter he is confronted by the police for beating her. This one example of Raymond’s aggression is enough to show how different Meursault was from him. Meursault does not seem to show any kind of emotional reaction to most things that happen to him, including anger. Marie Cardona is the women that Meursault is in a â€Å"relationship† with. Marie had plans for their future, while Meursault did not. In one of their conversations, Meursault says, â€Å" she pointed out that marriage was a serious thing. I said, â€Å"No. † She stopped talking for a minute and looked at me without saying anything. † (42). Marie wants to marry Meursault, but from this quote it is obvious that Meursault does not care about marriage. Marie’s feelings for Meursault distinctly contrast his feelings for her. All of these examples of contrast portray Camus’ overall theme that life is meaningless to Meursault. Point of view is another element of style that Camus utilizes to express the meaningless of life. This novel is written in limited first person point of view. Meursault speaks mostly of his own thoughts and prospectives on things. For example, during Meursault’s trial, he lets the reader know that he gets bored very quickly with the prosecutor’s speech. We know Meursault’s thoughts on all the things he encounters in the book. However, Meursault does not try to understand the thoughts or prospective of other characters. In other words, his point of view is subjective. Take for instance, Salamano. At one point in the novel, Salamano loses his dog. He is found waiting outside Meursault’s door, wanting to speak with him. Through their dialogue, Meursault lets the reader know that he does not care how Salamano feels as a result of losing his companion. While sitting in his apartment room with Salamano, Meursault says, â€Å"He was getting on my nerves a little, but I didn’t have anything to do and I didn’t feel sleepy. Just for something to say, I asked him about his dog. † (44). Meursault never shows genuine concern for other characters facing problems in the story. Although he was willing to talk to Salamano, he only offered him shallow empathy, if any. Meursault’s point of view can also be described as detached rather than involved. Meursault does not really care about anything he is involved in, and it is therefore made known through his prospective. We know that Meursault is detached in the relationships he has with other characters, like Marie for example. Marie goes to visit Meursault when he is in prison. Through his narration of what is going on all around him, it is obvious that he is detached from Marie. Therefore, Camus uses point of view to convey a central message of the novel. Camus takes advantage of characterization to portray the theme of the meaninglessness of life. Meursault remains a static character whose actions, personality and motivation all reflect this theme. Meursault’s actions on the day after the funeral come back to condemn him in the days of his trial. The prosecutor uses the facts of his ignorance towards his own mother’s age, the comedy he saw with Marie, swimming and taking Marie home afterwards to depict Meursault as being careless in his actions. His carelessness ties directly in with his emotionless personality. Meursault never shows sadness for the passing of his mother, or remorse for murdering the Arab. His stolid personality is only natural considering his sheer lack of motivation. This is seen in Meursault’s disinterest in the job offer of moving to Paris and in potentially strengthening his relationship with Marie. Meursault never changes throughout the novel. He remains a static character. When he is faced with the realities of death, he does not change his stance on the important of life. At the end of the novel, while still in his cell, Meursault says to himself, â€Å"Well, so I’m going to die. Sooner than other people will obviously. But everyone knows life isn’t worth living. (114). These examples of Meursault’s characterization plainly convey the Camus’ message to the reader. Through the use of various elements of style, such as contrast, point of view, and characterization, Camus strongly communicates his message of the meaningless of life. His purpose in conveying this message is not very worthwhile. Generally, not many people can connect with Meursault and his ways of life. Saying that life is meaningless is not meaningful to anyone. In conclusion, the general truth of this novel is that it does not apply to the majority of people who read it.

Lowering the legal drinking age to 18 essays

Lowering the legal drinking age to 18 essays Lowering the Legal Drinking Age to 18 The legal drinking age in the United States is set at twenty-one years of age. I believe that considering twenty-one as the legal age of maturity is ridiculous. Who is to say that just because an individual is twenty-one means that they are mature enough to consume alcohol in a responsible manner? Changing the legal drinking age to eighteen should be enforced. Eighteen year-old individuals can take on many adult responsibilities, but they do not have the right to consume alcohol. Many feel this is unfair and biased. There is a tremendous controversy over whether to keep the legal drinking age at twenty-one, or to lower it to the legal age of adulthood, 18. Congress passed the National Minimum Purchase Age Act in 1984. This law was passed to encourage each state to change their legal drinking age to twenty-one years of age. The congress believed that if they raised the minimum drinking age that it would save a significant number of lives. They figured that a twenty-one year old person was more mature than the average eighteen year-old. That, in my opinion, was a huge mistake. Just because a person lives to be twenty-one does not determine how mature they are. For example, there are many teenagers in the world that are considerably more mature than the average twenty-one year-old. The determination of legality in drinking should not be age, but rather maturity and ability to handle responsibility. The twenty-one restriction seems out of date in todays society. Many parents of todays teenagers were legally allowed to drink at the age of eighteen. Todays teenagers face more responsibility and are treated much differently from the way their parents were treated. If twenty-one is considered so mature, then why is eighteen considered an adult? At the age of eighteen, an individual can vote, serve on a jury, stay out without a curfew, leave home, drive, smoke ...

A T-shirt Epic Essay Example for Free

A T-shirt Epic Essay ? Pietra Rivoli’s delightful narrative, The Travels of A T-Shirt in the Global Economy , goes about a surprising journey around the global village to discover an entangled web of economic and political forces that move this piece of clothing around. The book is split into four parts of a t-shirt’s life.   Part one of the book deals with the cotton industry.   Rivoli’s own surprise at learning that the cotton used for her shirt comes from Texas opens up this chapter on the continuing dominance of the American cotton industry.   The book then continues to explain the reasons for these—aside from government subsidies, the larger part of America’s continuing competitive advantage is its â€Å"virtuous cycle† of governance.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"In the United States, the farms work, the market works, the government works, the science works, and the universities work.† (Rivoli 7). The second part of the book is about the textile industry’s so called â€Å"race to the bottom†.   Industrialization is ushered in by the textile industry, and Rivoli gives examples from 19th century England to the Asian economic powerhouses Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong in the 20th century.   The third part is about the complexity of getting a textile import into the United States, with all the confusing legislation brought about by decades of political control held by textile manufacturers in America.   In the final part of the book, Rivoli examines the global market for used t-shirts, which she concedes is the final place where markets actually determine its origin and destination.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The author is not making an argument for either protectionism or free trade.   Obviously, as a trained economist, Rivoli favors free trade, as do all her colleagues in an almost unanimous voice.   However, the book does not argue for either side, and instead illustrates that both sides of this policy divide unwittingly spur economic development. Free trade policies encourage more â€Å"races to the bottom† as production shifts to low cost countries; however protectionist policies also contribute to another type of race.   In the battle for quota imports to the United States, for example, investment has flowed into areas where there is less restriction on trade with the world’s largest consumer of textiles and apparel.   In the modern-day case with China, the relatively low quota limits that China has for its exports to the US before the expiration of the Multifiber Agreement (MFA) (Rivoli 121) has encouraged investments in other developing countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and even Sub-Saharan Africa.   As the book notes, the exclusion of one creates opportunities for another, and the humble textile industry is the first step towards industrialization for many developing nations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As Rivoli further notes, when the MFA was scheduled to be taken down, a lot of other developing countries were scared of China eating everyone’s share of the textile pie.   It represents one of the few actually plausible pro-protectionist arguments in the book, which are not really argued for but just explained. The role of politics in international trade It’s a given fact that politicians will listen more often that not to their constituents first instead of to common sense.   Unfortunate as it may be, politics more often than not counter the market forces that power the global race to the bottom.   Rivoli puts it as â€Å"While the market forces powering the race to the bottom are strong, the political forces pushing back against the markets are strong as well, particularly in the United States.† (Rivoli 115) This clash between the two has made importation of textiles a very complicated business in the United States, and changes the face of international trade with it.   If an item cannot be imported from China, it is imported from Mexico instead, giving an artificial advantage to some countries that will not be there if market forces were solely in control.   The decisions that politicians like congressmen and senators in Washington make often influence the very futures of some countries in the world. Rivoli characterizes American industries that are aging as trying to escape market forces by clinging on to their political supports.   Instead of a paradise of no intervention and perfect competition, what happens is that more often politics exert a big unpredictable force that tilts the equation over completely.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another example was 18th century England, where to no avail Parliament tried to pass acts that would protect their domestic wool producers.   Instead of having the intended consequences (i.e. eliminating imported cotton), it just pushed international trade to adapt to the circumstances. The â€Å"race to the bottom† phrase used so much in the book is one of the most intriguing ideas of Rivoli. Basically it says that the textile industry, like all industries is governed by market forces.   On the supply side, producers seek more and more productivity for lower costs—a reaction that sparked the original Industrial Revolution.   However, as wages go up along with production costs, producers are keen on reducing costs and preserving low prices with huge markets.   These trends doom an industrial country’s textile production after it becomes less competitive than another aspiring country who is not the leader in the â€Å"bottom† of production costs. The fire of the Industrial Revolution spread to the United States, and then in the last century to Asia, where during the past twenty or so years China has held the spot as top in this ubiquitous â€Å"race to the bottom†. The other side of the argument—those activists who bring about higher minimum wages and better labor standards, hasten the fall of a country from the â€Å"race to the bottom†, but at the same time also hasten industrialization and the development of other more value-added industries.   It also makes another country leader of the race to the bottom, ready to start the cycle all over again. This â€Å"history repeats itself† phenomenon—from Britain to Taiwan leaves the reader enthusiastic of the future, and of how economics will eventually make all the people of the world feel a little bit better. Rivoli, Pietra. The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy . New Jersey :Wiley, 2005. A T-shirt Epic. (2017, Mar 03).

The Giver Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Giver - Essay Example The book and the movie have same ideas that they convey out. In both the book and the film there is pain being experienced by different characters involved. For example, in the film, there was a war that took place and the community went through tough times. After the war, they decided to do away with racial feelings. On the other hand, in the book, there are options on how to make things work for the community especially in decision making by the elders. The book and the film have series of similar events that resulted to the main theme of both the book and the movie. Therefore, in this review, there is no different in the plot or subplot as can be realized when watching and reading the book and the film respectively. In class structure, the movie and the book have a positive impact on students in building the knowledge of literature, hence improvement in academic standard. In addition to this, the book and the movie clearly show some types of leadership that can be copied by the most governments in many nations around the globe. This can be either positive or negative to those who put them into practice. For example, Jonas is nominated to take charge of all memories and provide them when they are needed for use by the community. However, the government has the responsibility to control the use of any written material and films. This is done by different institutions within the government at different levels. Sometimes the contents of some materials may be dangerous to peace or economic stability of the nation. In this case, the content of the book and the film have important information that is helpful to the citizens. Example is showed when the community elders seek the receiver’s advice whenever they needed wisdom to make decisions on various issues within the committee. The occasions that needed wisdom were during population increase and when the pilot always takes

The first day at a new school or college Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The first day at a new school or college - Essay Example Looking back at my life, from since I was a child, I always thought of myself as an easy-to-approach and friendly person. This made me confident about being in new environments, as I imagined people could easily befriend me. Even when I watched movies that showed how people are bullied when they join a new school, I was sure it would never happen to me. In my view, I am easy-going, cool and fun to be around, as evidenced by the fact that I have many friends with whom I play football with over the weekend or after school, if time allows. However, this all changed when my father informed my siblings and I that we would be moving to a different town since he had been offered a better job there. This meant changing schools and worse, leaving the friends that I had grown close to and shared memorable things with. My siblings- two younger sisters- were excited and sad about leaving their friends too, they were scared about joining a new school too, as they felt it would be hard to find peo ple that they could get along with easily. On the other hand, I felt that this would not be a challenge and that I would keep in touch with my old friends via phone and facebook. The fateful day of our moving came and goodbyes were said. Being on a Saturday, I made sure that I had bid farewell to my friends from school the day before and exchanged contacts, including postal address, to ensure we remain in touch. I was particularly keen on keeping in touch with my swimming instructor; he had been such an inspiration and a mentor as I hone and perfect my swimming skills. I discovered my passion for the sport through him and found someone to guide me through my studies, so he was a person I was sure I would miss. Getting to the new town and settling into a new neighborhood worked out fine; this was a larger town, much nearer to the city. I found it exciting and eagerly awaited that day which I would start at the new school and make friends. Sunday was dedicated to unpacking and being a cquainted with the new environs. I realized that there were no kids of my age but consoled myself that I would make some at school the following day and we would visit each other. My sisters were lucky enough to find their age mates in the neighborhood. I was further consoled by the fact that there was a youth hostel nearby, thus I could comfortably continue swimming. I mapped out my route to school and prepared my bag and clothes in anticipation of the first day. I had no problem getting up, as I was energized and slightly nervous; hurriedly, I showered, had my breakfast and left for the new school which was a ten-minute walk. I got to school early enough and checked in at the admissions office to get a copy of the timetable, combination for my locker and a brief orientation. Walking into my first class marked the end of all my hopes of making friends easily and simply fitting into the new environment. The class teacher felt the need to make me stand up at the front and talk a litt le about myself. As I did this, I heard other students giggle and some sneered; it was generally an uncomfortable and disheartening moment. Being an optimist, I told myself this would pass before lunchtime; however, this was not to be, as I painfully discovered through the rest of the day. My next class was Chemistry and everyone had a lab partner except for me. The teacher then paired me up with a student that seemed ‘out casted’ by the rest for some reason. I joined her and quickly introduced myself only to get a cold shoulder from her. Through the class, I realized that she was much smarter than everyone else and this made her arrogant, thus no one liked her. I suffered through trying to keep up and challenged myself to make her a friendly person. My day got worse at lunch time when I walked into the cafeteria and realized that everyone sat in a group which each had certain tables ‘reserved’ for them. I got my food and mustered the courage to sit at a ta ble that had two occupants

Steinbecks of Mice and Men and the Pearl Essay Example for Free

Steinbecks of Mice and Men and the Pearl Essay Although John Steinbeck is recognized for the themes of his novels, including the struggles of the working class and social injustice, he is also known for his excellent use of the literary elements. In two of his novels, Of Mice and Men and The Pearl, Steinbeck uses different types of tone, diction, and syntax to enhance meaning and strengthen the impact of his message. In Of Mice and Men Steinbeck presents an innocent tone through his character, Lennie, to create meaning in the piece. The tone is brought out through Lennie’s close following of George, which the reader sees when, â€Å"he pulled his hat down a little more over his eyes the way George’s hat was,† (page 4 OMM). This gives the reader the idea the Lennie looks up to George as a role model, as a son would to his father. This child-like perception of Lennie is present throughout the whole of the story and pulls out a strong emotional factor that gives the piece meaning at the close. Steinbeck uses a different tone, one of realization, to enforce meaning in The Pearl. When Kino’s, â€Å"brain cleared from its red concentration and he knew the sound the keening, moaning, rising hysterical cry from the little cave in the side of the stone mountain, the cry of death,† (page 114 TP). The shift in his thought process shows the reader that Kino’s actions were in protection of the pearl, and not his family. This is one of many scenes in the book that signify the engulfing of Kino’s mind in greed. The neglecting of his family gives the reader a sense of disapproval toward Kino and deepens the meaning in the value of the moral that greed is evil. Steinbeck uses different diction in each of these stories, but it serves a common purpose of helping the reader understand the different characters’ backgrounds and experiences, which increases the meaning of each story. The characters in Of Mice and Men use the unique vernacular of American migrant workers in the 1930s. George uses words like â€Å"ain’t† and â€Å"y’all† and Lennie speaks often about living, â€Å"offa the fatta the lan’,† (page 57 OMM). These examples of informal diction give the reader the idea that Lennie and George are uneducated and poor. This colloquial diction not only enriches the meaning of the story, but also brings the characters to life. In The Pearl, Steinbeck uses calm and simple diction to better portray the depth of the characters’ feelings and moods. For example, through his words, Kino shows that the pearl has become more than just a solution to his problems; it â€Å"has become [his] soul . . . If [he] give[s] it up, [he] shall lose [his] soul, (page 87 TP) John Steinbeck uses syntax to engage the reader and set the mood of each scene in both books. By doing this, the meaning in each scene is deepened. However, the syntax used in The Pearl is different from that used in Of Mice and Men. In The Pearl, Steinbeck uses listings to portray each scene thoroughly. At one point, he describes the evils of one night, when â€Å"the coyotes cried and laughed in the brush, and the owls screeched and hissed over their heads. And once some large animal lumbered away, crackling the undergrowth as it went,† (page 91 TP). This gives the rest of the scene a sense of depth in its meaning due to the fact that the reader knows all that is happening and feels the tension in the atmosphere. Steinbeck’s description of the Salinas River at the beginning of Of Mice and Men consists of one long sentence that picks up on all aspects of the scene. â€Å"On one side of the river the golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees—willows fresh and green with every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctures the debris of the winter’s flooding; and sycamores with mottled, white, recumbent limbs and branches that arch over the pool,† (page 1 OMM). Through this elongated sentence structure, Steinbeck better portrays the joyfulness and tranquility of the river, which pulls the reader into the scene and creates more meaning in the actions that take place. In both Of Mice and Men and The Pearl, John Steinbeck puts his own twist on tone, diction, and syntax, which gives each novel’s message more importance and meaning. But the meaning itself is always up to the reader to â€Å"take [†¦] from [the novel], and read his own life into it,† (Prologue TP).

Discuss economic arguments for and against imposing substantially :: Economics

Discuss economic arguments for and against imposing substantially higher taxes on sale of alcohol. Governments interfere in markets and their working with the primary purpose of provision of welfare to people and preventing market failure. There are many methods of intervention such as - taxes and subsidies - buffer stocks - applying maximum and minimum prices - provision of public goods and services - provision of education and training - legislation and market reforms Applying taxes has two purposes: to generate revenue for the government and to discourage consumption and output of certain goods, usually demerit goods. Demerit goods are those goods that are usually over consumed by in a market system, and have social costs exceeding social benefit due to high negative externalities. They contrast merit goods which are desirable for the welfare of society, as positive externalities exceed negative externalities. Taxes out on goods such as alcohol are considered indirect taxes. Depending upon the price elasticity of a good, and its demand and market price, government places either - specific taxes that are of a specific number, e.g. 10 dirhams on every bottle of beer - ad valorem taxes that add a percentage of the market price onto taxes e.g. 5% of price of beer A government must analyze the effects of taxing, or increasing taxation on a good, whether or not the taxation satisfies the goals. The Social costs of alcohol involve the cost of production, cost of purchase and negative externalities such as alcohol poisoning and drunken driving deaths and violence. The social benefits are the profit made by producers, the utility gained by consumers and externalities such as prevention of heart diseases. The imposing of substantially higher taxes on the sale of alcohol may be good in two ways: Firstly, alcohol is regarded as a habit forming good. Hence it may be assumed that either it disobeys the law of demand (quantity demanded of a good is inversely proportional to change in price, all other factors remaining constant), or it is price inelastic (a percentage change in price causes a smaller percentage change in quantity demanded). Although imposition of taxes will increase the market price of alcohol, the change in demand would be substantially lower. Therefore the government would gain revenue, which it may use for provision of welfare. Secondly, alcohol is a demerit good. It has private benefits as an industry, and it provides utility and satisfaction to consumers. Its positive externalities include reducing coronary diseases, and providing amusement to others in social events. However, its negative externalities include addiction, drunken driving accidents and fights which result in property damage, and provide a burden to society. Its positive externality of preventing coronary diseases arises only from

8 Stages of Social Development

Social development theory attempts to explain qualitative changes in the structure and framework of society, that help the society to better realize its aims and objectives. Development can be broadly defined in a manner applicable to all societies at all historical periods as an upward ascending movement featuring greater levels of energy, efficiency, quality, productivity, complexity, comprehension, creativity, mastery, enjoyment and accomplishment. Development is a process of social change, not merely a set of policies and programs instituted for some specific results.This process has been going on since the dawn of history. But during the last five centuries it has picked up in speed and intensity, and during the last five decades has witnessed a marked surge in acceleration. [2] The basic mechanism driving social change is increasing awareness leading to better organization. Life evolves by consciousness and consciousness in turn progresses by organization. When society senses n ew and better opportunities for progress it accordingly develops new forms of organization to exploit these new openings successfully.The new forms of organization are better able to harness the available social energies and skills and resources to use the opportunities to get the intended results. Development is governed by many factors that influence the results of developmental efforts. There must be a motive that drives the social change and essential preconditions for that change to occur. The motive must be powerful enough to overcome obstructions that impede that change from occurring. Development also requires resources such as capital, technology, and supporting infrastructure.Development is the result of society's capacity to organize human energies and productive resources to meet challenges and opportunities. Society passes through well-defined stages in the course of its development. They are nomadic hunting and gathering, rural agrarian, urban, commercial, industrial, and post-industrial societies. Pioneers introduce new ideas, practices, and habits that conservative elements initially resist. At a later stage, innovations are accepted, imitated, organized, and used by other members of the community.Organizational improvements introduced to support the innovations can take place simultaneously at four different levels—physical, social, mental, and psychological. Moreover four different types of resources are involved in promoting development. Of these four, physical resources are most visible, but least capable of expansion. Productivity of resources increases enormously as the quality of organization and level of knowledge inputs rise.Erikson's stages of psychosocial developmentErikson's stages of psychosocial development, as articulated by Erik Erikson, explain eight stages through which a healthily developing human should pass from infancy to late adulthood. In each stage, the person confronts, and hopefully masters, new challenges. Eac h stage builds upon the successful completion of earlier stages. The challenges of stages not successfully completed may be expected to reappear as problems in the future. However, mastery of a stage is not required to advance to the next stage.Erikson's stage theory characterizes an individual advancing through the eight life stages as a function of negotiating his or her biological forces and sociocultural forces. Each stage is characterized by a psychosocial crisis of these two conflicting forces (as shown in the table below). If an individual does indeed successfully reconcile these forces (favoring the first mentioned attribute in the crisis), he or she emerges from the stage with the corresponding virtue. For example, if an infant enters into the toddler stage (autonomy vs.  shame & doubt) with more trust than mistrust, he or she carries the virtue of hope into the remaining life stages.Stages of psychosocial developmentStages of Social Development In this post Cold War and postmodern age, we are asking serious questions regarding the preeminence of rigid ideologies, national boundaries, proprietary interests, technological utopias and naive, egalitarian demands in crafting the next global mesh. We hear all of these voices. We register all of the claims. We record all of the â€Å"truths. † We see all of the demonstrations and displays of street theatre.But, we have a sense they all stream from the Tower of Babel. No wonder the realities are so diverse; the thoughts so confusing, the solutions so divisive. It is as if all six billion people have climbed on top of the Tower and are now shouting slogans at us. All seem to want a place in the sun, a position in the niche, and free tickets to Disney World. If one were to do a content analysis of all the books and articles written on the global gaps, or arguments presented in academic or think tank settings, or even the political dialogue in national parliaments or international summits, we would see several clear and distinct patterns.Capitalism is great or greedy. Socialism is humane or harmful. Technology is a blessing or a curse. The rich are that way because they worked hard or simply won life's lottery. The poor are that way because they are undisciplined or oppressed by the rich. Economic redistribution will level the playing field or dumb down global intelligences. Which is it? Most of the discussions center around competing economic models, open political access, mandated equality of opportunity and results, and a host of other external, top-down solutions.Arguments grow in emotional intensity around the size and distribution of budgets. Money becomes the magic elixir that will cure all ills. If we build attractive places for all to live the â€Å"losers† will be transformed into â€Å"winners† by simply changing street addresses. New rules and regulations will transform hearts and minds. Everybody will benefit from the rising tides of prosperity as the f ree market makes global waves. Everybody will benefit from the largess of big government, using taxes to fund social work schemes.And, of course, brilliant technological innovations will bring the Internet into each and every home, with or without electricity. Right. But, why haven't these policies worked in the past? Look at Africa. Look at Haiti. Look at the Balkans. Look at Russia. Look at the Mississippi Delta. Look at Yorkshire's coal mining villages. Look at American Indian reservations. Look at the huddled masses everywhere yearning for a loaf of bread. Look at India's Calcutta kids. Look at border sweat shops and urban cesspools. Look at the number of â€Å"minority† teenagers in American prisons.In spite of all of the money spent, expectations raised, programs imposed, â€Å"good deeds† celebrated and â€Å"good works† performed, our problems persist. Why? The central thesis of this document is that external approaches designed to improve the human cond ition are faulted unless they also include, as parallel and simultaneous tracks, the essential steps and stages in interior social development. In short, economic, political, and technological efforts must correlate with the levels of complexity of thinking within individuals and entire cultures.Unless the external efforts match, in their respective operating codes, the existing capacities within leadership cadres and the general population in specific countries, they will make things worse, not better. Like the deep sea diver who gets the bends by coming up too rapidly, or runs out of air if the ascent is delayed too long, entire societies are vulnerable to this too much: too little dynamic. This discussion will describe 1. the eight stages of social development; 2. the economic and political models appropriate to each stage; and 3.twelve postulates to employ in the search for global cohesion in this age of societal fragmentation.EIGHT STAGES OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT: How Cultures Eme rge A social stage is more like an emerging wave than a rigid step. Each stage is simply a temporary, transitional plateau that forms in individual and collective minds. Some call them â€Å"paradigms† or â€Å"levels of psychological existence. † In other writings I refer to them as valueMEMES or bio/psycho/social/spiritual DNA-type scripts that inculcate their codes throughout a culture, and even migrate around the planet on CNN and in 747s.These are fluid, living systems rather than rigid hierarchical steps. They form into spirals of complexity and exist within people, organizations, and entire societies. The terms â€Å"social stage,† â€Å"cultural wave,† â€Å"value system,† and â€Å"vMEME code† are synonymous. Cultures, as well as countries, are formed by the emergence of value systems (social stages) in the response to life conditions. Such complex adaptive intelligences form the glue that bonds a group together, defines who they ar e as a people, and reflects the place on the planet they inhabit.These cultural waves, much like the Russian dolls (a doll embedded within a doll embedded within a doll) have formed, over time, into unique mixtures and blends of instructional and survival codes, myths of origin, artistic forms, life styles, and senses of community. While they are all legitimate expressions of the human experience, they are not â€Å"equal† in their capacities to deal with complex problems in society. Yet, the detectable social stages within cultures are not Calvinistic scripts that lock us into choices against our will.Nor are they inevitable steps on a predetermined staircase, or magically appearing like crop circle structures in our collective psyche. And, cultures should not be seen as rigid types, having permanent traits. Instead, they are core adaptive intelligences that ebb and flow, progress and regress, with the capacity to lay on new levels of complexity (value systems) when conditio ns warrant. Much like an onion, they form layers on layers on layers. There is no final state, no ultimate destination, no utopian paradise.Each stage is but a prelude to the next, then the next, then the next. Each emerging social stage or cultural wave contains a more expansive horizon, a more complex organizing principle, with newly calibrated priorities, mindsets, and specific bottom-lines. All of the previously acquired social stages remain in the composite value system to determine the unique texture of a given culture, country, or society. In Ken Wilber's language, each new social stage â€Å"transcends but includes† all of those which have come before.Societies with the capacity to change, swing between I:Me:Mine and We:Us:Our poles. Tilts in one direction create the need to self-correct, thus causing a shift toward the opposite pole. Me decades become us epochs as we constantly spiral up, or spiral down in response to life conditions. Some social stages stress divers ity generators that reward individual initiatives and value human rights. Other social stages impose conformity regulators and reward cooperative, collective actions. Societies will zigzag between these two poles, thus embracing different models at each tilt.Once a new social stage appears in a culture, it will spread its instructional codes and life priority messages throughout that culture's surface-level expressions: religion, economic and political arrangements, psychological and anthropological theories, and views of human nature, our future destiny, globalization, and even architectural patterns and sports preferences. We all live in flow states; there is always new wine, always old wine skins. We, indeed, find ourselves pursuing a never-ending quest. THE LIVING STRATA IN OUR PSYCHO-CULTURAL ARCHEOLOGY Stage/ Wave Color Code Popular Name ThinkingCultural manifestations and personal displays 8 Turquoise WholeView Holistic collective individualism; cosmic spirituality; earth cha nges 7 yellow FlexFlow Ecological natural systems; self-principle; multiple realities; knowledge 6 Green HumanBond Consensus egalitarian; feelings; authentic; sharing; caring; community 5 Orange StriveDrive Strategic materialistic; consumerism; success; image; status; growth 4 Blue TruthForce Authority meaning; discipline; traditions; morality; rules; lives for later 3 Red PowerGods Egocentric gratification; glitz; conquest; action; impulsive; lives for now 2  Purple KinSpirits Animistic rites; rituals; taboos; super- stitions; tribes; folk ways & lore 1 Beige SurvivalSense Instinctive food; water; procreation; warmth; protection; stays alive.Here's the key idea.Different societies, cultures and subcultures, as well as entire nations are at different levels of psycho-cultural emergence, as displayed within these evolutionary levels of complexity. Yet, and here is a critical concept, the previously awakened levels do not disappear. Rather, they stay active within the value system s tacks, thus impacting the nature of the more complex systems.So, many of the same issues we confront on the West Bank (red to blue) can be found in South Central Los Angeles. One can experience the animistic (purple) worldview on Bourbon Street as well as in Zaire. Matters brought before city council in Minneapolis (orange to green to yellow) are not unlike the debates in front of governing bodies in the Netherlands. So-called Third World societies are dealing, for the most part, with issues within the beige to purple to red to blue zones, thus higher rates of violence and poverty.Staying alive, finding safety, and dealing with feudal age conditions matter most. Second World societies are characterized by authoritarian (blue) one-party states, whether from the right or the left. Makes no difference. So-called First World nations and groupings have achieved high levels of affluence, with lower birth rates, and more expansive use of technology. While centered in the strategic, free-ma rket driven, and individual liberty focused perspective — all traits of the Stage 5 (orange) worldview — new value systems (green, yellow, and turquoise) are emerging in the â€Å"postmodern† age.Yet, we have no language for anything beyond First World, believing that is the final state, the â€Å"end of history. † Further, there is a serious question as to whether the billions of people who are now exiting Second and Third World life styles can anticipate the same level of affluence as they see on First World television screens. And, what will happen to the environment if every Chinese family had a two-car garage? The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the GTO, and most multinational corporations reflect the blue-orange worldview codes of cultural discipline, financial accountability, and individual responsibility.Attacks are launched from three directions: Red zone activists, anarchists, and spoilers who love a good fight, and believe the Big Orange Money Machines are easy targets from which to exact tributes in various forms; Blue zone ideologies who defend the sacred against the secular and resent the intrusive technology and destruction of the holy orders and extol the purity of the faith, noble cause, and divine calling; and Green zone humanists and environmentalists who level charges of exploitation, greed, and selfishness, noting the eradication of indigenous cultures and the poisoning of the â€Å"pristine' environment by Big Mac golden arches.The WTO demonstrations were so confounding to so many because they combined these red, blue and green critiques into single anti-orange crusades. Capitalism and materialism were the twin villains; spirituality, sharing, and social equality, along with sustainability, were the noble virtues. There appeared to be no middle ground; no zone of rapprochement; no win:win alternative. Herein lies the global knot: the seemingly irreconcilable conflict between and among the haves, t he have nots, the have a little but want more, and the have a lot but are never content.There must be a better way. STRATIFIED DEMOCRACY: Managing the Global Mesh Stage/ Wave 1 Stage/ Wave 2 Stage/ Wave 3 Stage/ Wave 4 Stage/ Wave 5 Stage/ Wave 6 Stage/ Wave 7 Stage/ Wave 8 Beige Purple Red Blue Orange Green Yellow Turquoise POLITICAL SYSTEMS AND POWER DISTRIBUTION RATIOS survival clans Haiti tribal orders Somalia feudal empires Taliban authoritarian democracry Singapore multiparty democracy UK & US social democracy Netherlands stratified democracy holonic democracy Confederal unitary Federal unitary IntegralECONOMIC SYSTEMS AND RESOURCE DISTRIBUTION FORMULAS eat when hungry mutual reciprocity & kinship to victors belong the spoils the just earn the rewards each acts on own behalf to prosper all should benefit equally all formulas contribute to spiral health resources focus on all life As you can see, the projected bulge of global thinking is in the purple/red zones, with a somewhat smaller peak in the orange enclaves. Many are locked in the blue authoritarian flatland and are just now waking up to orange, â€Å"good life† possibilities.At the same time, the postmodern mindset is attacking orange materialism, living more lightly on the land, and searching for meaning in Navaho sweat lodges or excursions into variations on the spiritual theme. In his new book entitled The Cultural Creatives (Three Rivers Press; ISBN: 0609808451; October 2001), Paul Ray describes Heartland-Blue, Modernity-Orange, andCultural Creatives-Green. We add Integral-Yellow as the next developmental stage. There are different futures for different folks. The future of the Third World will be Second World â€Å"authority† before either First World autonomy or postmodern sensitivity become options.There are different futures for different folks along the evolutionary trajectory. â€Å"Democracy,† then, comes in many different variations, hues, and levels of complexity. Beware of imposing the form that fits a specific stage or zone on the Spiral onto other strata. This is an invitation to cultural disaster. There are good reasons why humans have created survival clans, ethnic tribes, feudal empires, ancient nations, corporate states, and value communities in our long bio-psycho-social-spiritual ascent. Robert D. Kaplan makes this point clearly in a lengthy essay â€Å"Was Democracy Just A Moment?†(The Atlantic Monthly, December 1997). He notes that authoritarian China (blue) is doing more for its citizens than democratic (orange) Russia, and that enlightened one-party-states and even dictatorial empires (red), can build a middle class more quickly than multiparty models (orange) in Africa. The evolutionary spirals are dancing all over the planet, in a figurative sense. While some hear tribal drum beats, others are doing the tango, the waltz, the Texas two-step, the jitterbug, theCharleston, or even the line dance.In some dances each expresse s self, oblivious to others. In others, we dance in concert, in a multitude of interlocking arrangements and movements. This is the global diversity. New political and economic models are beginning to appear, based on the assumptions and codes within integral commons and holistic meshworks. Welcome to the global dance. THE TWELVE POSTULATES : AN INTEGRAL PERSPECTIVE ON GLOBALIZATION: The Prime Directive A â€Å"postulate† is defined as â€Å"an essential presupposition, condition, or premise of a train of reasoning.†Postulates must all hang together and be seen as both simultaneous and sequential in creating a critical mass shift. These shifts are part and parcel of The Prime Directive, a universal ratchet through layers of complexity that appear to impact human choice-making, as well as that of other life forms. Bacteria, viruses, genes and memes all appear to be shaped by nonlinear, adaptive intelligences as life as we know it continues to evolve on the planet. Rathe r than existing as stand-alone, independent fragments, the postulates materialize â€Å"a train of reasoning† as they work in synergistic concert with each other.It makes no sense to argue as to which one is the most important. They are all interwoven into an evolving Global Meshworks. Note how horizons are broadening from families to clans, to tribes, to empires, to ancient nations, to corporate nation states, and now to global views. Yet, all of these viewing portals continue to exist on the planet earth. We are witnessing new versions of the historic continental drift as our economic, political, technological, and social worlds are, indeed, being pulled closer together.Further, global problems will require global solutions which, of necessity, will require global thinking. The historic past:present: future time lines will need to be understood. Up stream and down stream viewing points must be maintained. Final state paralysis must be replaced by flow state perspectives. Si mplistic car-wash solutions must be replaced by a rich understanding and respect for diversities in people, uniqueness in situations, and inevitable steps and stages in human emergence.Rigid rules, a product of fixed state  ideologies, must be supplanted by fluctuating algorithms that engage a world full of variables, life cycles, wild cards and other complex dynamics that lie at the core of life itself. There are no guarantees; no eternal road maps; no inevitable destinations; no blue print etched in permanent ink. Yet, there are equations, formulas, fractals, consequences, flows, and processes. Each new solution will, over time, create new problems. Human motivations will change as our life conditions get better, or get worse.There are systems within us rather than types of us – stratified decision-making stacks that constantly rearrange themselves in terms of priorities and senses of urgency. Different cultures and subcultures, then, are organic entities that lay on new levels of complexity as changes in life conditions warrant. Finally, the real intent of these postulates, when taken as a group, is to shape both interior and exterior dynamics to expedite the natural principles that appear to drive societal transformation. Such dynamics rely heavily on self organizing principles and processes rather than mechanistic, artificial mandates or commandments.They are messy, chaotic, often violence-prone, and uncertain with false starts, regressions, quantum leaps, advances and retreats, within a whole wilderness of snarling beasts, wild cards, sink-holes, and life-sustaining oasis. Such a systemic and integral initiative is designed to dredge out channels, drain stagnant back waters, unblock tributaries, navigate white water rapids, and maintain the ongoing movement of ideas, energy, and the human spirit through time and space. In this sense we become co-creators with the The Prime Directive in crafting the human story.But first, some personal questions for you to consider: Why do you see globalization issues the way that you do? Who are the â€Å"bad guys; the good girls? † What personal priorities shape your perceptual filters? Why do you have them? Have you changed? What will you personally gain or lose under different global scenarios? What mindsets, viewing-points, or value systems influence your own thinking? Which groups do you represent, causes do you support, and personal or professional commitments do you have which could alter your views?Are you open to new and different perspectives, fresh and expansive horizons? THE TWELVE POSTULATES 1. Reframe globalization issues around value system codes rather than behavioral stereotypes. In place of the racial, ethnic, nationalistic, culture-bound, moralistic, economic, and oppressed/oppressor filters, consider viewing globalization matters through this integral/holistic (yellow & turquoise) frame. By understanding these deeper value system currents or complexity strata, it becomes possible to develop more realistic big picture views and craft practical, appropriate solutions to real problems.Further, by recognizing the core cultural codes, as reflected in individuals and social groupings, one can quickly identify the generating, internal forces that will ultimately shape external behaviors and actions. For example, why is it the HIV infection rate so high in parts of Africa? If you identify the causative category as â€Å"African,† or â€Å"black,† or â€Å"poor† or â€Å"Third World,† you will miss the point entirely. Not all Africans, blacks, poor, or Third Worlders exhibit the identical sexual behaviors associated with AIDS.When women are influenced by the purple/animistic/safety & security vMEME, it is in their interest to breed large families because their children will provide a work force (gather wood and water) and future security. When men are dominated by the red/exploitative/predatory value system, they will imp regnate as many women as they can just to keep score. And, when they believe (purple) that having sex with a virgin will cure their AIDS infection, you can see why the plague spreads so rapidly. So, the pandemic is a purple and red problem; not a â€Å"black† problem.Blacks in the blue, orange, and green zones are less vulnerable to the destructive behaviors. â€Å"It's the vMEMES, stupid! † 1. Create vital signs monitors to track deeper currents and critical indicators. In order to track these underlying currents that flow over all of the continents, it is essential that we develop the capacity to monitor the concentrations and shifts, and be able to make sense out of the more traditional social/economic/health/quality of life indicators that are now available.This use of GIS (geographic information survey) type information displays can be enhanced by overlaying the patterns over the vMEMETIC codes to find deeper meaning in the data. Further, it should be possible to identify the early signs of an emerging â€Å"hot spot† that may explode in social eruptions. Such a scan would have warned the world community of bloody encounters-in-the-making in Africa, the Middle East, the Balkans, and Indonesia. We have Dow Jones indicators of the economic health and well being of various countries. Where are the value scans that can inform us of major changes, or sound the alarm when danger is on the horizon?For example, when the Balkans political leaders were brought to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio to iron out some kind of peaceful settlement to the lingering conflict in the former Yugoslavia, they were exposed to cyber maps showing the actual land forms, mountain ranges, and border lines. What if, in addition to these surface-level profiles, they were shown the vMEMETIC contours of the various population groups, or the stages of social development that were apparent? And, if the UN could have monitor these cultural codes in Sierra Leone, Rwanda, or even East Timor, wouldn't the responses have been significantly different?It is dangerous to be trapped in a paradigm. 2. Focus on the future as more significant than the past in shaping the present. The past can never be replayed or replayed. Time is not a straight arrow that flows on a unbroken line from the past to the future Rather, we go through a number of nonlinear jumps that totally alter the conditions, world views, and operating systems. In one sense author Thomas Wolfe had it right: â€Å"We can't go home again. † This, of course, means crafting a compelling vision of a realistic future state, and then aligning the various efforts and projects to accomplish those objectives.This often happens through the creative use of scenario building processes, a technology well developed by John Petersen at the Arlington Institute in Virginia. (Seewww. arlingtoninstitute. org). Yet, how do we â€Å"let go† of the past without jettisoning or eroding the essential codes that are required in crafting new and more complex social systems? Both raw capitalism and materialist Marxism pore acid on the indigenous cultures, both designed to create the New Man or Homo economicus. The second will foist a high consumer culture on more traditional environments.The first has used the Cambodian â€Å"killing fields† to wipe out every vestige of the older orders. Both do quite serious damage to the cultural strata. Both promote â€Å"final state† paralysis. And, there remains a serious question as to how we move beyond the anger and guilt from past deeds that often keep a society from moving ahead. Both the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa and the â€Å"Sign the Sorry Book† campaign in Australia with regard to the mistreatment of the aborigines are options.There is a growing movement within African American subcultures in the United States to demand reparation payments for the inhumane institution of slaver y and pervasive influence of centuries of segregation and discrimination. Yet there are far better ways to address the resulting asymmetrics that are the product of many different forces. A shift from blame and be blamed, or even live and let live, in the direction of thrive and help thrive, may hold the key. Ultimately, even subcultures must pass through stages of development. 3. Search for the new intelligences that appear around chaos and within crucibles.One of the basic assumptions within Spiral Dynamics is that complex, adaptive intelligences form in response to the stress and strain forged by life conditions. In contrast to IQ (Intelligent Quotient), EQ (Emotional Quotient), AQ (Adversity Quotient) SQ ( Spiritual Quotient) or other expressions of intelligence that have appeared, we are describing a VQ (Values Quotient) capacity. VQ codes emerge whenever the older thinking patterns can no longer handle the new complexity that they have helped create. In short, â€Å"cometh th e time, cometh the value codes.†The intent, here, will be to construct scaffoldings of solutions, arrange them according to the stages of social development, and be willing to scan for new insights and codes that will naturally appear, like diamonds on the veldt. These, like George Bush's â€Å"Thousand Points of Light† and Clinton's â€Å"Faces of Hope,† could be quickly disseminated through the Internet and other avenues for communicating practical solutions to common problems. Why continue to â€Å"invent the wheels† when well-designed vehicles are already up and running elsewhere. 4. Identify the superordinate goals that transcend other priorities and agendas.A superordinate goal is a goal or value that everybody wants and needs to realize, but no individual or group can achieve it in an unilateral fashion. These overarching umbrellas can take a number of forms. Some spring from a â€Å"woe is us† syndrome in that we are all in this horrible sit uation together. In other cases, a â€Å"common enemy† will appear on the scene, one that threatens the well-being of each and all. The best superordinate goal umbrella is a genuine and constructive outcome that everybody values, but one that requires the longer term integration of the conflicting groups.There are plenty of candidates for healthy superordinate goals: the threat of HIV-type viruses, the dangers inherent in global warming or other forms of environmental poison; the fear of nuclear explosions triggered by demagogues or militant â€Å"true believers† who have no fear of death; the growing gaps between rich and poor that sow seeds of class envy, and other wild cards such as water depletion, population growth, and biomedical monster gone amuck. All problems, challenges, and threats cut across national boundaries, ethnic enclaves, and gated communities. 5. Facilitate and honor the inevitable steps, stages and waves in human emergence.This is the critical path way that lies at the â€Å"DNA† core of The Prime Directive. The focus, here, should be on the process dynamic itself, not on any specific system, level, stage, or whorl that have been activated in forming the complex, adaptive intelligences. Each of the emerging value system waves not only addresses the unique problems in the milieu that gave it birth, but also adds texture and quality to the more complex vMEME codes in the future. (Note the colorful spiral on the wrap around to this document. See how each of the colors bleeds up into the more complex zones.)By keeping each stage/wave healthy, positive, and congruent, the avenues are open for movement to occur, if and when it has been â€Å"awakened† by life conditions. Instead of imposing the one-size-fits-all economic or political package on the entire developmental spectrum, one should craft the unique form that fits the different circumstances. Entire societies (and subcultures) move along the value system traject ory and should be assisted in meeting their needs and challenges at each of the stages, with the economic and political structures and models that are both tailored and appropriate to those conditions.It is both futile and counter productive to attempt to skip stages, or leap into a more complex world view before its time. Lawrence E. Harrison provides the clearest rationale for this process in his work on value systems and prosperity codes. (See Who Prospers? How Cultural Values Shape Economic and Political Success (1992) and Culture Matters: How Values Shape Human Progress (2000), written with Samuel P. Huntington).Harrison has demonstrated, in both his books and in his developmental work in several different cultural settings, that â€Å"traditional explanations like imperialism, dependency and racism are no longer adequate† in explaining why some countries and ethnic groups are better off than others. He stresses the critical importance of â€Å"cultural values that powe rfully shape political, economic and social performance. † In Spiral Dynamics terms these are the 4th Level (blue) and 5th Level (orange) vMEME – the blend of â€Å"good authority† with â€Å"practical enterprise. † 6. Mobilize all available resources (quadrants/levels) and focus them like laser beams.Ken Wilber has pioneered the concept of â€Å"all levels, all quadrants† as an essential framework for accelerating the development of people and cultures. Fragmented, isolated, ad hoc, piecemeal, and single quadrant solutions will fail to make a significant difference. Both interior (within the hearts and minds of individuals and cultures) and exterior (the exterior arrangements, economic perks, political structures, and social rules and regulations) must be meshed, coordinated, and aligned to the relevant level (stages of social development) to get maximum impact.See Wilber's new book, A Theory of Everything, for a thorough analysis. Further, the eff orts of families, schools, religion, law enforcement, business, professional societies, and political entitiesshould be integrated, aligned, and synergized to get them all on the same page. Their resources and efforts should befocused like laser beams on the essential steps and stages of emergence. These I call MeshWORK solutions. 7. Contain destructive conflicts while respecting the essential cycles of change. Life is full of dynamic tension, disruptions, conflicts, discord, and even violence.The problems may be within a stage (i. e. Lord of the Flies conflicts and holy wars) or between emerging stages (i. e. Lexus and the Olive Tree, Jihad vs. McWorld, or human rights vs. authoritarian values). Symptoms can be seen in societal blockages, cul-de-sacs, sink holes, minority vs. majority bloodshed, battles over scarce resources, inept and corrupt leadership, terrorism, and perpetual wars for national liberation or economic domination. Major conflicts should be â€Å"depressed† much like raging forest fires, from all angles and as quickly as possible.Minor scrimmages should be prevented if possible or allowed to play themselves out if relatively harmless. As the core vMEME flows are understood and accommodated, there will be fewer such conflicts as the human energy passes more freely the development dams and locks in an ongoing, positive fashion. 8. Promote power differentiation through appropriate, stratified stages and layers. No single political arrangement fits every situation. Each stratum within the human/social archeology will possess different operating philosophies in terms of how power is distributed.These are natural life forms, indigenous to the unique circumstances within each layer and level. Each will have its own unique organizing code, and can only respond to the models and processes which resonate with those â€Å"DNA† scripts. Not every person has the capacity to recognize these vertical stages of development. Many will attempt to impose the codes from single operating levels onto the entire strata of emergence. Some require a Tribal Order that is safety-driven, while others will thrive in an Exploitative Empire that is power-driven.You can also see why an Authority Structures (order-driven) is appropriate in some settings, while the codes within a Strategic Enterprise (success-driven) is congruent elsewhere. When a strong middle class is constructed, and a modicum of affluence is shared, then the Social Network (people-driven) structures make a lot of sense. Today we are moving in the direction of the Systemic Flow (process-oriented) and Holonic Meshwork (synthesis-oriented) global models are relevant. 9. Resolve major paradoxes by implementing creative win:win:win solutions.Many political leaders and groupings are now searching for alternatives to the traditional bipolar models of decision-making – whether expressed in the English Westminster formula, the American checks and balances procedures, or the historic Left vs. Right orientations from the French tradition. Even the win:win negotiation model carries with it the limited codes of the 5th Level (ORANGE) vMEME. These new models are now forming in complex thinking cells in this country and elsewhere. They focus first on the ultimate â€Å"win,† i. e. the integrity of the overall system, the well-being of all people, the  long-term ethical principles, or the inherent wisdom within The Prime Directive.This is the universal touchstone that can be using in resolving deep conflicts. A vMEMETIC understanding, tracked by a Global Vital Signs Monitor, could enhance the quest for peace in the Middle East as well as in Africa. It should be part and parcel of the insights offered at Camp David, in Geneva, or at UN headquarters. 10. Integrate the body, mind, soul and spirit in enriching the human experience. Many of our dysfunctional actions and social breakdowns stem from our own personal fragmentation.While the Age of Enligh tenment brought us many benefits of a material nature, we are now aware that such â€Å"progress† came with a price. We found ourselves separated from our spiritual sense, from the deeper values that resonate in our individual and cultural cores. Yet, it does no good to reject totally any of our senses of self. The key to health and well-being, within both a short term context and the longer flow, is to search for ways to mesh all of these attributes in an integral whole. There are plenty of opportunities to access some of these intangible but powerful practices.They should be developed in our youth while they are open to the inner life and welcome experiences designed to expand conceptual horizons. And adults, who are growing weary of the fast-track, technology-rich and digitized world around them, often search for ways to express a spiritual sense, or bond themselves with a transcendent cause, or renew their souls by reconnecting with nature's wonder. 11. Nourish and replen ish the natural habitat so that all life forms may flourish. Perhaps this postulate should come first because it may well be the one that should concern us the most.What is at stake here is preservation of life itself. We are now discovering the genetic codes that shapes our biological DNA scripts. This knowledge is both wonderful and frightening at the same time. The issue itself, and perhaps our permanent residency on the planet, will be determined by which of the vMEME codes controls the knowledge. At one time we believed, for example, that the very best way to protect the elephant species is to focus specifically on the elephant — the mating habits, the food requirements, and ways to keep individual elephants alive and reproducing.Today, the focus is on the environment – the total milieu that will naturally support elephant life. The elephant sprang from that milieu and flourished for centuries within it. As long as it provides what elephants need to survive and fl ourish, they will. No more prizes for forecasting the rain; only prizes for building the ark. The late Professor Clare W. Graves, Union College, New York said it best: Clare W. Graves.

Literary Analysis of The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

Although several themes exist in the Lottery, only a few remain significant. Mrs. Hutchinson, who apparently arrived just moments after 10 A. M. , ended up as the not so lucky person that received the black dot on her ticket. â€Å"Clean forgot what day it was†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. and then I looked out the window and the kids was gone, and then I remembered it was the twenty-seventh and came a-running† (Jackson 3). She simply forgot the special event that took place that day and did nothing wrong. Never in the story did Shirley Jackson hint that Mrs. Hutchinson reeked of evil; however, she was punished brutally for no just picking a slip of paper out of some old, black box. Anyone in this small town, even the children, have the same chance of becoming the one murder victim. â€Å"Nancy was twelve, and her school friends breathed heavily as she went forward switching her skirt, and took a slip daintily from the box† (5). This goes for America’s society where any random person can be jailed or accused of something they were wrongly accused for. Society punishes innocent citizens based on faulty accusations or just because they resemble an estranged serial killer. As soon as the news goes public, friends and even family members disown the â€Å"criminal† just like in the lottery where all of Mrs. Hutchinson’s friends turned on her. Mr. Summers, who interacted with Mrs. Hutchinson earlier, in a friendly manner, â€Å"†¦. and Mr. Summers, who had been waiting, said cheerfully. ‘Thought we were going to have to get on without you, Tessie† (2) completely turned on Mrs. Hutchinson by the end of the story â€Å"All right, folks. Let’s finish quickly. † Even Mrs. Hutchinson’s own family turned on her. â€Å"The children had stones already. And someone gave little Davy Hutchinson few pebbles† (6). To the whole population of the village, the lottery was a ritual that had became a huge aspect of the villagers lives and thought nothing of it. Just like American’s accept football as the countries favorite sport and Spainards accept bullfighting as a ritual, the villagers accepted the lottery. The author describes the black box, in which the slips rest in. The black box grew shabbier each year by now it was no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or stained† (1). However, the villagers refused to accept change and kept the same black box because it was a ritual for as long as they recall. The line from the story â€Å"The people had done it so many times that they only have listened to the direc tions† (3), illustrates how the lottery really filled out the word â€Å"ritual†. The villagers claim the black box was made from pieces of an older black box from many years ago. Using stones and making family lists has been around for so long that they are part of a tradition, and no one ever wants to break a tradition. The actual lottery symbolizes irony. A lottery usually happens when a ticket is selected at random and whoever has the ticket receives a nice or in some cases, an extremely wonderful sum of money. In the Lottery, however, everyone dooms the day when they â€Å"win† this lottery because their own people murder them. Although not so obvious, foreshadowing is used in the Lottery by Shirley Jackson. At the beginning of the story, the seemingly innocent children play with stones â€Å"Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothes and roundest stones†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (1). Shirley Jackson presented the stones early in the story, but stones acted like a method of play until the end of the story where Mrs. Hutchinson was attacked by stones â€Å" ‘It isn’t fair’ she said. A stone hit her on the side of the head† (6). Shirley Jackson keeps the audience intrigued by dragging out the results of the lottery until the very end where the real use of the stones are mentioned.

The Collective Action Problem of National Health Care essays

The Collective Action Problem of National Health Care essays When societies come together to form governing organizations the goal is to provide a means to deal with public goods. The most basic of these being stability and security for its masses, but as a nation grows its governing bodys obligation does as well. As the nations responsibilities grow the problem of collective action a rises. In this paper health care will be the public good in focus, and how the United States, Canada, and Germany each deal with the disbursement of this public good. A critique of each will be done with three approaches to the collective action problem as the guide. These three outlooks are Thomas Hobbes Leviathan, the anarchistic solution, and the entrepreneurial solution. These will help us review each of the three chosen nations' methods of distributing health care to its citizens and which one works the best. The first country that we will look at is Germany. Germany has a strong tradition of state funded health care for its citizens. The health care system of Germany was established 115 years ago on the heels of the industrial revolution of the 19th century. Having the oldest state run health care program, the German system has changed through out the years, yet has been able to adapt to the times. The German system covers 90% of the population, with the other 10% choosing private forms of health care (Tutuncu p.1). This system covers unlimited ambulatory physician care including home visits, unlimited hospital care with minor copayments, maternity care, prescription of drugs with unlimited copayments, medical supplies and devices, preventive care, family planning, rehabilitative services, and periodic rest cures at certified health spas. The German plan also includes dental care including routine preventive care, restorative care, periodontal services, dentures and other prostheses and orthodontia, optical services (including glasses), and ambulance tra...

Efficient Market Hypothesis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Efficient Market Hypothesis - Essay Example While academics point to a large body of evidence in support of EMH, an equal amount of disagreement also exists. For example, investors such as Warren Buffett have consistently beaten the market over long periods of time, which by definition is impossibility according to the EMH. Critics of the EMH also point to events such as the 1987 stock market crash (when the DJIA fell by over 20% in a single day) as evidence that stock prices can seriously deviate from their fair values. (Investopedia, 2006, para.2) Wikipedia defines the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) similar way. An assertion exists that financial markets are "efficient", or that prices on traded assets, e.g. stocks, bonds, or property, already reflect all known information and therefore are accurate in the sense that they reflect the collective beliefs of all investors about future prospects. The Efficient Market Hypothesis implies that it is not possible to consistently outperform the market - appropriately adjusted for risk - by using any information that the market already knows, except through luck or obtaining and trading on inside information. It further suggests that the future flow of news (that which will determine future stock prices) is random and unknowable in the present. The EMH is the central part of Efficient Market Theory (EMT). (Wikipedia: Efficient market hypothesis, 2006, para.1)Efficient Market Theory is a field of economics, which seeks to explain the workings of capital markets such as the stock market.... The EMH is the central part of Efficient Market Theory (EMT). (Wikipedia: Efficient market hypothesis, 2006, para.1) Efficient Market Theory is a field of economics, which seeks to explain the workings of capital markets such as the stock market. According to University of Chicago economist Eugene Fama, the price of a stock reflects a balanced rational assessment of its true underlying value (i.e., rational expectations); its price will have fully and accurately discounted (taken account of) all available information or news. The theory assumes several things including perfect information, instantaneous receipt of news, and a marketplace with many small participants (rather than one or more large ones with the power to influence prices). The theory also assumes that news arises randomly in the future (otherwise the non-randomness would be analyzed, forecast and incorporated within prices already). The theory predicts that the movements of stock prices will approximate stochastic processes, and that technical analysis and statistical forecasting will most likely be fruitless. (Wikipedia: Efficient market theory, 2006, para.1-2) It is a common misconception that EMH requires that investors behave rationally. This is not in fact the case. EMH allows that when faced with new information, some investors may overreact and some may under react. All that is required by the EMH is that investors' reactions be random enough that the net effect on market prices cannot be reliably exploited to make an abnormal profit. Under EMH, the market may, in fact, behave irrationally for a long period of time. Crashes, bubbles and depressions are all consistent with efficient market

Price Elasticity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Price Elasticity - Essay Example In this case, if goods A and B are complementary, they have to be purchased together for a consumer to reap their utility. Complementary goods have a negative cross elasticity of demand; this implies that the demand of good A increases when the price of good B is decreased, where goods A and B are complementary goods. Conversely, the demand for A is decreased when the price of B is increased. This basically means that when higher quantity of A is demanded due to price decline, the demand of B will equally increase since A cannot be used without B. substitute goods exhibit positive cross-price elasticity of demand. Suppose X and Y are substitute goods. When price of Y goes up, consumers will go for X at a cheaper price but with similar utility as Y The income elasticity of demand measures the degree of change in demand of a commodity in response to changes in consumer’s income level. Inferior goods are those goods that a person may consider using when they do not have enough money, for example a cheap car. With little income, the demand for cheap cars will go up. Once the income increases, people tend to prefer more expensive cars and hence the demand of cheap cars goes down. Normal goods have a normal demand curve. In this case, the demand of a normal god will increase as the level of income increases. Conversely, the demand of a normal commodity will decrease with the level of income (Tobin, 1987). Various aspects including the availability of substitute products or goods, necessity degree and the greater the elasticity of good demand mostly influence the price elasticity of goods demands. Generally, demand tends to be elastic when there is availability of substitute goods in the market (Landsburg, 2011). In this case, the greater the substitute products in the market would result to demand elasticity. The best example is the Coca-Cola and Pepsi situation where the market is always flooded with availability of substitute products thus making the demand