In chapter six of the Dyk textbook, a constitution is defined is the body of fundamental laws, rules and practices that defines the basic structures of government, allocates power among governmental institutions, and regulates the political relationship between citizen and the state. The modern constitution is seen as a good force to limit executive power by demanding that they operate within the rules of the constitution. As the Vancouver Sun reports (http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Algeria+already+knows+where+Arab+Spring+lead/6227633/story.html), there is growing concern in Algeria as it looks like their president Abdelaziz Bouteflik’s (who has ruled since 1999 and ended the civil war in 2002) term is coming to an end. Elections are set for May, and with the new parliament, a new constitution is to be written. This is cause for concern in Algeria as the effects which are still being felt by the civil war are compounded by the Arab spring. Algerians feel as though with the new constitution being written, there will be conflict over whether the nature of it be secular/ republican or Islamist. The Algerians have avoided the Arab spring as the wounds are still fresh from the civil war, but with Islamist intention’s of instituting Shariah ideals in the new constitution, conflict seems imminent.
My Political Compass
My Mother’s Political Compass
As you can see in this example, greater age does not necessarily result in more conservative political views. I had my mother take this political spectrum test and the results showed that on paper, I am more conservative. Do these results conclusively tell us that we do not get more conservative as we age? Absolutely not. This is just one example. To gather more conclusive results, it is important that we survey a much larger portion of our target group. Whether it be a school, a country or a grouping of several nations it is important to capture a much more numerically representative portion of the population than one example can offer. These results do tell us, however, that we can be certain that we do not get more conservative as we age in ALL cases.
Globalization has been good and bad in many ways for our world today. Supporters argue that globalization allows for greater trade and competition between nations which leads to lower prices. Globalization creates many jobs in developing countries which also benefits them by increasing foreign investment, opens them to global export markets and new technologies. Critics of globalization say that it exploits workers in the developing world while contributing to other problems such as pollution, global warming and poverty. It is clear that globalization cannot be labelled simply good or bad; it is rather more a combination of the two. But is globalization leading to the deterioration of nationalism?
I believe that in the context of nationalism that was discussed in class, (The idea that territory, sovereignty, and government institutions should be allocated to a single nation) globalization does cause the deterioration of nationalism. Take the European Union for example; A regional trade agreement that combines 27 countries’ economy’s. Countries in the EU must agree to certain trade laws and legislation regarding their economies that were written by policy makers outside of their own countries. This directly conflicts with the notion of national sovereignty, which suggests that a nation should be able to write their own laws and legislation. Whether this agglomeration of European nations is beneficial to its members or not is up for debate. What is not up for debate, however, is that by definition, nationalism is being uprooted by globalization.
As King News Media reports,
The most concrete example is the impact of European Union membership.Spain as a country member must be willing to share power in setting the legislative body of law and the constitution according to EU standards. In fact, if viewed skupnya, this is Spain’s internal affairs. Moreover, the constitution as the fundamental law of a country.
However, the guidance of political globalization is not the case.Determination of the laws and constitution of each member state should be open so that there is uniformity of policy and not to harm another member state.
As stated in Chapter 2 of Randy Dyck’s “Studying Politics,” the global economy is increasingly dominated by multinational corporations. While we are currently experiencing hard economic times, these multinational corporations continue to grow, further increasing the income gap.
In a recent article in The New York Times, it is suggested that income disparity and chronic fiscal imbalances are two of the major topics that need to be addressed by our business leaders and policy makers in the years to come. The New York Times describes a very bleak global future if these issues are not dealt with.
“Severe income disparity and chronic fiscal imbalances are the top two risks facing business leaders and policy makers this year and over the next decade, the World Economic Forum said in a report Wednesday.
If these problems are not addressed, a result could be a “dystopian future for much of humanity,” according to the report, which was published in preparation for the group’s annual meeting of business leaders, policy makers and academics in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 25 to 29.
Signs of discontent with growing income gaps and economic problems stemming from the global debt crisis were already on the rise in 2011, as evidenced by the Occupy movement that began on Wall Street and quickly spread to other cities in the United States and around the world. Yet that might be only the beginning.
John Drzik, chief executive of the management consulting firm Oliver Wyman, said that deeper problems could be brewing in much of the developed world, where overextended governments face political, economic and demographic pressures to reduce social protections, pensions and other commitments.
“When it becomes clear that promises can’t be met, you could have social unrest increasing widely,” said Mr. Drzik, who contributed to the report. “People aren’t happy when they think they have something and they’re told that it’s not there anymore.”
I think this article is pointing out a clear and present problem that is currently happening and will continue until the issue is dealt with. The growing income disparities in globalized countries is creating social unrest because the average citizen in unhappy with their fiscal situation (especially when compared to the richest in the country).
The Occupy movement that began on Wall Street clearly demonstrates the people’s disc0ntent with their government that allows for this outrageous income gap to take place. The article suggests that The Occupy movement may be just the beginnings of social movement. I believe that if this issue is not properly handled by our policy makers then further movements are inevitable.
Economist Richard Wolff describes in a radio interview the arguments that conservatives make that suggest income disparity is good for the economy while also providing examples to discount these arguments.
In this video, Richard tells us that the conservatives argument is that the richer people are, the more money they have to invest in new companies, therefore creating new jobs and stimulating the economy. Richard then explains that when the income gap is as large as it is, the average citizen will not have enough money to buy the goods and services that these “rich” people would be investing in; therefore discouraging the rich people from investing their money. He says that rich people save their money, taking it out of the economies circulation. On the other hand, if the average citizen has a little more spending money they are likely to spend it on every day items; therefore recirculating it back into the economy.
His other argument discusses the last 35 years in American income. In the 1970′s, Americans had one of the smallest income gaps of all developed nations. Now, 35 years later we see a scenario where the rich have gotten substantially richer and the average citizen has gone no where with their wealth. The United States is now experiencing record high unemployment, record high home foreclosures and people working jobs way below their training level. He says that the results are the exact opposite of the conservative’s argument and that something needs to change.
Sean Taylor was a beast. God bless his soul.
—–Cadillac Don—–
