The Impossible Quest For The Ideal Society

This highly regarded and scholarly book examines the fundamental paradox of freedom and the establishment of slavery in American history. The central question posed by Morgan is “how a people could have developed the dedication to human liberty and dignity exhibited by the leaders of the American Revolution and at the same time have developed and maintained a system of labor that denied human liberty and dignity every hour of the day” (Morgan 1975, 4-5). The location in Morgan’s research is colonial Virginia, once the largest slave state and home of proponents of liberty. Morgan’s detailed discussion of: the rise of race slavery over indentured servants and poor Englishmen as the solution to workforce growth, a ruling class bound to the English tradition of superiority, and acceptance of lifelong denial of human equality in the face of the fight for liberty demonstrates the paradox for the reader.

Roman slavery must be approached as a social institution in which the economic aspect, though important, was subsidiary, in order to appreciate the vast degree of significance which Romans themselves attributed to the presence of slavery among them, as well as its distinct cultural impact (Bradley 1998, p.18). The large presence of slaves and renewable population of skilled freedmen allowed the Roman Empire to achieve the economic and infrastructural achievements for which they are remembered, the degree of their contributions rendering Roman Italy, a ‘slave society.’ It has been estimated that, during the reign of Augustus, the servile population of Italy could have been as high as thirty-five percent (1998, pp.12-13). This high reliance on and large population of slaves was reflected throughout the empire, rendering society one in which the status of individuals - free, freedman or slave, was exceedingly salient and consequential. The strict societal hierarchy of the Roman Empire was built upon and directly contributed to the deep social divides between classes which defined social experience in the Roman Empire. Manumission, increased presence of freedmen and substantial base of slave population factored strongly into the increased significance levied upon social status, division between social groups and definition of position in society.

In Aristotle's "Justifying Slavery" and Seneca's "On Master and Slave," the two authors express their opposing sentiments on the principles of slavery. While Aristotle describes slavery as predestined inferiority, evidenced greatly by physical attributes, Seneca emphasizes the importance of "philosophical" freedom as opposed to physical freedom. (p. 58). The authors' contrasting views are disclosed in their judgments on the morality of slavery, the degree of freedom all people possess at birth, and the balance of equality between a slave and his master.

The free labor ideology of the nineteenth century was grounded in the beliefs that Northern free labor was superior to Southern slave labor. The key factor that made this system unique was “the opportunity it offers wage earners to rise to property-owning independence.” [1] It was this free labor ideology and not the republicanism of the Revolutionary War era that caused slavery to be problematic by the time of the Civil War. This ideology was comprehensive—it had economic, social, moral, and political aspects. All facets of the theory need to be explored in order to fully understand how and why slavery became such an important issue.

Often times in liberal societies the wealthy take all of the money, leaving the middle class and the poor with nothing. The text chosen for source one emphasizes the fact that the wealthy and corporate elite need to take care of the poor, that it is their responsibility to ensure the common good is being met. It explains how higher classes have a collective obligation to help those who are in need. This idea corresponds with having a collective responsibility; a strong principle of collectivism. The ideas given in the text are collectivist ideas, describing how it is a responsibility of the rich to work for the common good, not just their own good. This mimics another principle of collectivism: collective interest. The author of the source does not explain the ridding of the social classes, but they outline the ideas of the upper class making sure that classes lower than them are being taken care of. The source does not describe government involvement, which is why the source mirrors the ideas of Robert Owen and Utopian Socialism. Owen believed that it was the factory owners job to take sure that their workers were treated with proper care and consideration. This puts an emphasis on a great responsibility of the rich working towards the collective good, just as the source described above. In contrast, many capitalists would likely disagree with the notion, because it puts restraints on the economic freedoms they hold so dearly. Capitalists believe in pursuing your self

Eugene D. Genovese’s book, The Political Economy of Slavery: Studies in the Economy and Society of the Slave South, challenges the accustomed belief which concluded the immorality of Slavery was the underlying main factor of conflict between the North and the South, partnered with materialistic interests. Instead, he presents the idea which observes the social system and civilization as a whole, identifying its distinct structure and their reasoning behind their disagreeing actions. Drawing upon information from four categories which highlight the main arguments, Genovese is able to convey that the power Slavery gave to holders, dissimilated the appeal of a North bourgeois and industrialist structure and Slavery itself overall, being ineffective

Slavery lives on all era in world history till lately, but its life has not constantly had the similar economic trait. Two questions ought to be answered to properly examine any definite cause of slavery: (1) what further systems of labor live in the civilization also to slavery? And (2) what system of labor is leading? In this manner we can make a difference among ancient slavery (e.g., in Greece and Egypt where free farmers live together with slaves, but slavery was leading) and antebellum slavery in the United States (which live together with free farmers, but was conquered by the industrially-based capitalism of the urban North). The past dominance of capitalism in the United States made antebellum slavery the most uncivilized system of slave work. Not

In Episode #10, Aristotle addresses the issue of individual rights and the freedom to choose. Aristotle believed that in order to allocate rights, one must first have to figure out the purpose or end of the social practice at question (Sandel, 2009). For example, people can debate and resolve the question at hand. After, one must look at justice as its matter of fit, by fitting persons with their virtues to their appropriate roles. Aristotle gives the example of slavery (Sandel, 2009). In order for slavery to be just, it must have two conditions: 1) slavery must be necessary for the community to function and 2) there has to be people were they are fit by nature to the role of slavery. For the first condition, Aristotle’s explanation is that if people are to be a part of the assembly, to debate the happenings of the community, there needs to be others to take care of the basic needs of the community, that are controlled by the people of the assembly. His explanation to the second condition is that there are some people that are not fit for slavery, and there are some people that are fit for slavery; in other words, it is ones nature to be a slave or not to be a slave.

“The fact is, that civilization requires slaves. The Greeks were quite right there. Unless there are slaves to do the ugly, horrible, uninteresting work, culture and contemplation become almost impossible.” - OSCAR WILDE, The Soul of Man Under Socialism

Freedom is a human right, but Matched portrays an illusion of a perfect utopian life. In the book, Matched by Ally Condie there is no freedom. It begins with a girl named Cassia who lives in a society, which has a match ceremony to decide who one will love and live with for the rest of their life. Cassia is matched with Xander but later sees Ky on her port. This puts her in a difficult position where she has two matches and she struggles to make a decision between Ky and Xander.

Aristotle and Locke have differing views on labor. Aristotle looks down upon labor and feels that labor is for those who are beneath him and is for the slaves. Locke, on the other hand, believes that labor is a great thing and that labor that it is the source of nearly all value. These two ideas are completely opposite of each other, but the question becomes which position on labor is closer to our truth. In order to evaluate, one must gauge their ideas of a city, the state of nature, slavery, and how both Aristotle and Locke came to their stance on labor. It turns out Locke has the truer position on labor because his stance transcends time and can be used today.

Slaves, in Aristotle’s mind, possessed fundamentally different bodies and souls from freemen. He states, “From the hour of their birth, some are marked out for subjection, others for rule.” (pg. 259) Nature has resolved that some men will not be fit to lead anyone or anything, and instead are better suited to follow. For these ‘inferior’ peoples, being in the control of their master enables them to be a productive member of society under the watchful eye of a capable free man. Women were also created to submit to the superior male gender, according to Aristotle. He claims these distinctions are made so there is no conflict between the ruled and the rulers, no argument as to who is best suited to lead. Another distinction is revealed between the slave and the woman as she “makes each thing for a single use, and every instrument is best made when

An ideal society is considered to be a utopian society, defined as a society where everything is as good as it possibly can be for everyone living in that society. However this type of society has never existed before and continues to be a dream that remains locked up in our minds. Three philosophers who seem to propose an ideal just society are John Rawls, Karl Marx and Milton Friedman. I will be explaining what my vision of an ideal society is and what are the basis and fundamental principles that Rawls, Marx and Friedman use in order to obtain a just society.

I'm not saying that I hate Aristotle for going with slavery but thats not what I would want humans to do. Everyone at least gets a chance at being free, no one should have to do labor because its the law, to me it's wrong. Especially because I don't want to be a slave myself so why should I see others like that.

felt as though it was necessary for there to be a natural ruling order, whereas,