Marcuses Account of the Features and Significance of True and False N

The soundbite criticisms of capitalism are legion, yet it’s harder to offer alternatives, aside from the vague notion of 'something else'. Despite the carnage of trying to socially engineer equality in the 20th century, nevertheless the myth persists that capitalist wealth creation is superfluous and money is readily available to a small number of elitists called a government under common ownership, who distribute, or simply print more paper. Ironically, the ones shouting the loudest against capitalism are often those dependent on the profits of capitalism to provide the welfare payments needed to keep them alive.

Some people are never satisfied with what they have; they are always on the lookout for more money and more possessions. Man requires food, shelter, clothing and fuel everything else is superfluous. Luxuries lead to things like materialism and greed. People need to realize that everyone is the same on the inside. Our ancestors didn’t have technology or a ton of money and they somehow survived. “For the improvement

By extension, society won’t function well unless the wellness of the individual is a priority. This is clearly shown in Harrison Bergeron. The most gifted members of society are handicapped in order to create a dystopic equality. The population is not happy, and although it is not said what the outcome of the society is, it is easy to predict that it will fall, as all societies do. The USA’s society in Harrison Bergeron is an example of a poor society failing. However, failure isn’t limited to dystopic regimes. For example, one of the most influential societies to live on Earth ( Ancient Rome) became successful after making the individual a priority. Before Rome became the most successful republic in history, it was an oligarchical monarchy known as Etrusca. However, Etrusca fell due lack of representation in government, or by extension, a pro society government causing dissent and malcontent in the population, leading to revolution and eventually developing into what is now known as Rome. This discontent in the Etruscan society can be found throughout every society in the history of the human race. The Republic of Rome became successful due to the importance placed on the individual, making Rome unique to other societies. However, after the wars versus neighboring Carthage, Rome’s government became weak enough to allow Julius Caesar to rise to power, leading to the Roman Empire. Although Rome had made the individual a priority orginally, it still wasn’t enough. It is therefore logistically impossible to create a utopian everlasting society. Due to this guaranteed failure, the welfare of society isn’t as important as the welfare of the

Competition for worldly success still centered the lifestyles of this current generation as it always had in the past. In addition to striving for survival, workers search and long for achievements to gain extra luxury and wealth. Greed replace the innocent hearts of most people, for they can never be satisfied with what they have. It could even become an obsession and supplants a new goal and purpose in their life. As a result of this, they are surrounded and blinded by a wall of selfishness to care nothing about transforming the wretched conditions and sufferings that exist in their society.

Yet without self expression and individuality, art and beauty didn’t develop. In protest to the tyranny, “into the air they sprang” with “an explosion of joy and grace”. Harrison Bergeron demonstrates unmitigated equality’s harmful effects on society, but this is only one of two extremes. Our world is corrupted with economic and social inequalities. Unfortunate lives are born into malnourishment, some not even surviving past their childhood, while the powerful few are devouring the wealth of billions. To combat the “Life’s not fair, why not exploit it?” philosophy, socialist groups have looked to “Cooperation, not Competition.” Looking back to the past and observing the present, either extreme is morally incorrect and destabilizing.

All we have is our humanity-our soul and our individualism. In Grapes of Wrath and “Modern Times”, John Steinbeck and Charlie Chaplin suggest that the stability of those parts of us-our humanity-are taken away by the big corporations of modern times. Humanity is the ability to choose your actions based on your own faculty and morals. When our faculty and morals are compromised, whether it be because family, food, or quality of life are on the line, we are no longer human. In their works, Charlie Chaplin and John Steinbeck reveal that capitalism dehumanizes man by forcing him to become a machine lose his life’s purpose.

I argue that when it comes to developing our capabilities, Roosevelt’s argument that the main purpose for freedom is to benefit the community is the most viable because it helps maintain democratic processes, while also providing a higher quality of life for all. While Sen and Roosevelt are similar because they both believe that a society can only develop if the people are given equal opportunity to develop their capabilities, they differ when it comes to the purpose of fulfilling those capabilities. In this essay, I will outline Sen’s argument as to why development should be viewed in terms of maximizing our freedoms to achieve our desired lives, in contrast to Roosevelt’s argument. Then, I will advance my own argument as to why Roosevelt’s

A characteristic of man that separates him from the majority of the animal world is his organization of social and economic systems. Man, however, retains traits of his evolutionary ancestors in the form of self-preservation and greediness. While many political, economic, and social systems try to eradicate this form of natural selection, capitalism and related economic structures preserve social inequality in many forms. Historically, this preservation of financial inequality has achieved a higher standard of living generally than systems originally formed and employed to achieve just that.

William F. Baxter sets forth four goals that he says “frame the solutions to problems of human organizations.” “1. The spheres of freedom, 2. Waste is a bad thing, 3. Every human being should be regarded as end rather than as a means to be used for the betterment of another, and 4. Both the incentive and the opportunity to improve his share of satisfactions should be preserved to every individual” (pgs. 355-356). He states that the starting point of any analysis is with people individually their own separate “unit”. He says that most decisions about what is going to be done should be thought of to the benefit of human beings, and how the action taken is going to affect us.

The author of the source talks about the principles that should be adopted in order to achieve a prosperous society. The source states that society can achieve its finest expression when an individual has freedom and is able to pursue their self-interest. This supports Adam Smith’s views on the society, and of laissez-faire economics in which he believed that self-interest is the driver to economic prosperity. He advocated for individuals to be free in their decision making and he also strongly believed that if every individual works in their own self-interest, the entire society will see the benefits. The source agrees with these principles when it says, “society achieves its finest expression” through these values. The author of the source

According to Western Culture Global the American economic system is “Characterized by saving and capital accumulation, exchange, profit motive, freedoms of economic competition and economic inequality, economic progress and material self-interests of all the individuals who participate in it” (Western Culture Global). These characteristics of capitalism are vital for a successful development and maintenance of businesses in the Western Hemisphere. With that being said, capitalism encourages a higher standard of living of the overall quality of life in the US, through successful accomplishments of many businesses, corporations, and banks that are the heartbeat of the American capitalism (Ellis). In addition, there are other contributions made to improve the welfare and quality of life in society and that is in the form of charities, grants, scholarships, and other indirect ways by wealthy business owners, banks, and corporations which in turn boosted the development of society and advancing the general population of the US.

This passage is very important to comprehending this novel because Marcus is in a consistent fight with the DHS and when he states “freedom is something you have to take for yourself.” this shows the fight in Marcus to get what is his because the DHS is trying to take his freedom away from him and make him say and do what they want him too. Another theme is standing up for your rights and not allowing what should be handed to you be taken away from you. For example, the passage states, “ I can’t...waiting for freedom to be handed.” at this point of the novel the DHS was not giving Marcus the rights that he is deserving of and what Marcus does is he argues to gain the rights he deserves and takes them back. The DHS is a government based job showing how hard and committed to taking your freedom back one must be, because they are arguably the most powerful organizations. Finally, Marcus uses his strong mind and willingness to be free and gains all his human rights

Polanyi’s describes Adam Smith’s idea of the “economic man”, as a notion of human nature in which we are meant to exchange (Polanyi, 1957). Since we are living in a market society, people must adopt a capitalistic mindset that seeks individual advantage that puts individual needs over social needs. This mindset supports the capitalist mode of production, as we concern ourselves with making money so we can buy things, which is essentially capitalisms goal. With this mindset, workers strive to work longer hours on clock time, to earn a wage in order to buy things for their own satisfaction.

The argument from the right for why capitalism is overall positive for a nation’s cultural growth is because in such a system the market is regulated less, allowing a person to maximize their potential as an individual without hindrance. However, the words of Francine Prose in her essay “I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read” outline that just the opposite is true. The economics of the western world, in fact, discourage critical thought and self-expression in order to create a docile work force that fit into the mold that has been inadvertently forged by the society around them.

The industrialist society forces people to become self-absorbed in their own interests because no one else will help them overcome poverty. People abandon their moral ideals to become “slaves” to the banks “as their masters” because that is the only way they can provide for their families (32). Just like the little tramp, the bankers sacrifice their humanity to better their own living conditions. The bank employees cannot think about others when they struggle to feed themselves. Industrialization creates a society in which the wealthy feed upon the desperation of the poor while simultaneously turning moral people into obedient robots. For example, the son of Joe Davis robotically destroys the land of the poor farmers because the monster that controls him “goggled his perception” and “muzzled his protest” (35). The driver of the tractor has to prioritize his family’s needs over the needs of others. As a result, he does not protest when the bank tells him to uproot another person’s life because his “three dollars a day” prevents him from “creeping for [his] dinner” (37). The driver cannot think about the plight of others because industrialization forces him to trade his compassion for survival. An industrialist society strips people of the opportunity to care for others because they have to make a profit to provide for their own needs first, even if it results in the destruction of another person’s