LIBERTY AND PATERNALISM John Stuart Mill and Gerald Dworkin have distinctly opposing views on legal paternalism in that Mill is adamantly against any form of paternalism, whereas Dworkin believes that there do exist circumstances in which paternalism is justified. Both agree that paternalism is justified when the well being of another person is violated or put at risk. Mill takes on a utilitarian argument, explaining that allowing an individual to exercise his freedom of free choice is more beneficial to society than deciding for him what is in his best interests. Dworkin, on the other hand, feels that certain cases require the intervention of either society as a whole or its individual members. He breaks Mill’s argument down into two distinct types, one based on utilitarianism and one based on the absolute value of free choice. After reading both articles, “Paternalism” by Dworkin and “On Liberty” by Mill, I believe that Dworkin is correct in explaining that some intervention is necessary under certain circumstances. I have come to this conclusion based on the fact that there do exist circumstances in which an individual is incapable of making a rational decision considering not only the well being of himself, but also the well being of other members of society. Also, the argument that the protection of the individual committing the action in question is not reason enough to interfere with the action is ludicrous in that one of our governments main reasons for existence is to protect the members of our society. This protection includes protection from ourselves at times when we are unable to rationally decide what is in our best interests. This essay will consist of an examination of this controversy as well as an application of my proposed conclusion. Before addressing any opposing views to my conclusion, I will first explain my reasoning. As Dworkin explains in his essay, there are circumstances when a person is unable to make a rational and logical decision for himself. The inability to make such decisions has long been a justified reason to interfere in the process, such as in cases with young children. When a young child is about to run across a busy street in order to chase his ball, the child’s parent, or any other bystander, is rightfully justified in... ... middle of paper ... ...f such a decision, the government has aright to step in and help the person. This is because at this understanding of the situation, the person is not capable of making a decision that he would likely consent to at after fully understanding the situation. As in the seat belt case, often times, a person does not fully understand that not wearing a seat belt contradicts his true desires and that no possible good or benefit can come from not wearing it. However, when a person is making a rational decision between two things that he values, he is the only person that can decide which is best for him. An important condition to remember in this conclusion is that all of this is assuming that no other individuals are being harmed or put at risk by the actions of these people. Under this condition I have come to the conclusion that there do exist certain circumstances where the government has a right to legal paternalism. These circumstances include times when an individual is unable to make a rational and logical decision for himself either because he does not fully understand the issue or because he is unable to logically assign value to specific possible consequences of a decision.
There are many ethical paradigms through which humans find guidance and justification for their own actions. In the case of contractarianism, citizens of a state are entitled to human rights, considered to be unalienable, and legal rights, which are both protected by the state. As Spinello says, “The problem with most rights-based theories is that they do not provide adequate criteria for resolving practical disputes when rights are in conflict” (14). One case that supports Spinello is the case of Marlise Munoz, a brain-dead pregnant thirty-three year old, who was wrongly kept on life support for nearly two months at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas. Misinterpretation of the Texas Advance Directives Act by John Peter Smith Hospital led to the violation of the contractarian paradigm. Although the hospital was following the directive in order to maintain legal immunity for its hospital staff, the rights of the family were violated along with the medical fundamental principle to “first, do no harm.”
In recent years, sociologists, psychologists, and medical experts have gone to great lengths about the growing problem of body image. This literature review examines the sociological impact of media-induced body image on women, specifically women under the age of 18. Although most individuals make light of the ideal body image most will agree that today’s pop-culture is inherently hurting the youth by representing false images and unhealthy habits. The paper compares the media-induced ideal body image with significant role models of today’s youth and the surrounding historical icons of pop-culture while exploring various sociological perspectives surrounding this issue.
General Strain Theory was reinvented by Robert Agnew in 1992 and contributed a new perception to the present strain theory that was popularized a couple eras ago (Agnew, 1992). Classic strain theory is connected; first with Merton’s (1938), Cohen’s (1955) and Cloward and Ohlin’s (1960). Founded on Durkheim’s theory of anomie (1893), Merton industrialized his theory of deviancy inside a societal fundamental context. Merton’s interpretation on the topic is that goal-expectation inconsistencies, composed with social stratification generates strain between underprivileged societies in turn leading them to use any means necessary, such as criminal, in order to accomplish socially defined goals (Merton, 1938). Merton specified that deviance was a creation of inconsistency amongst social goals and the genuine means to attain these goals (Smith & Bohm, 2008). Merton shaped a typology of deviance contingent on how diverse human beings adjust to ethnically persuaded strain. Conferring to Merton, crime can be elucidated by the predictable socially acknowledged goals and the conceivable genuine means of accomplishing them.
John Stuart Mills is wrong when it comes to his rejection of paternalism. Mills is taking a position that is in line with that of classical liberalism which in many ways is in opposition to paternalism. This ideology only acknowledges the individual and does not take in account the larger society. Many do not like to be told what is right when it deals with something that does not affect anyone but themselves. The issue with this is that individuals are part of something. They are part of a family, community, city and nation. The impact of those choices might be seen as insignificant and not have relevance outside of their own lives but it is a small picture view and forgets about the big picture. Mills is right that paternalism is taking away liberties but those liberties affect others in ways that a person might see. Society should act as a parent to its individuals because they could cause weakness or issues that go beyond the realm of one’s own household.
In conclusion, both strain/anomie and social disorganization theories are both very important theories in explaining the causation of crime and deviance. Many theorists today often rely heavily on these theories. As crime and society continue to change, these theories will continue to provide a solid foundation for future theories created.
This is mostly when a woman goes out at night or darkness finds her far and she is not in company of a man. When this one happens, violent criminals may harm them. They need to always stay safe and away from any violent stranger. “An individual woman may be terrorized by her spouse, but women are not sufficiently terrorized that we avoid marriage. Yet many women I know, including myself, try to avoid going outside of their homes alone after dark. Big deal, you say; well, yes, it is a big deal since most lectures, performances, and films are presented at night; so are dinners and other social events. Women out alone at night who are assaulted by strangers are put on trial by public opinion: Any woman out alone after dark is asking for trouble. Presently, for millions of women of all socioeconomic backgrounds, sundown is lockdown. We are prisoners of violent strangers” (Silko
Banning guns is not the answer. One year in Australia gun owners were forced to surrender personal firearm. Australian government collected and destroyed 640,381 firearms in all. A process costing the over 500 million dollars. (Taking Away Our Freedom1). The results of this drastic change, were drastic themselves, but not in the ways expected.
Every year cigarette smoking is responsible for 500,000 premature deaths (Nugel), you do not want to be just another statistic, do you? America’s first cash crop was tobacco. That means that tobacco has been around for a really long time. It was not until 1865, though, that cigarettes were sold commercially. They were sold to soldiers at the end of the Civil War (Dowshen). From then, cigarettes spread like wildfire, and it was not until 1964 that anyone made a stand about the negative effects of tobacco and cigarettes. People start smoking for all different reasons, some to fit in and some to “escape”. Regardless, it is a horrible habit. 3900 children will try their first cigarette today. Amongst adults who currently smoke, 68% of them began at age 18 or younger, and 85% at 21 or younger (American Lung Association). And of all those people, 70% say if they were given another chance they would never have picked up that first cigarette (Tobacco Free Maine). Smoking is responsible for 1 and 5 deaths in the united states, and is the number one preventable cause of death (NLH). Smoking burns and there is no doubt about that, but before one picks up that cigarette, understand the negative effects on not only oneself, but others affected by ones poor choices, like second-hand smoke. Because of smoking cigarettes, many types of cancer, decrease of life quality, and negative health effects have become all too common in the world today.
Many advantages and drawbacks have been debated concerning gun control. Over the years, the federal government has made various laws restricting gun possession and use (O’Neil 56). Congress has reinforced the 1938 gun-control law that now denies a gun dealer from selling handguns to buyers under the age of twenty-one (O’Neil 56). Gun control laws also prohibits a gun dealer to sell a firearm to the mentally ill, convicted felons, and selling a rifle to buyers under eighteen (O’Neil 13). Gun control eliminates some factors relating to firearm violence and illegal possession which is the top priority for this law (O’Neil 60). Recent laws have become stricter regarding firearms this can be viewed as a good idea but, to any law there is a disadvantage (O’Neil 61). In the near future if firearms become heavily restricted, the only users will be the users who flaunt the law which are the very people who should not possess a firearm (Bernards 23). Even if it was possible to ban guns there are several hundred million firearms in private hands right now (O’Neil 84.) People have discussed this decision thoroughly it may or may not reduce gun violence in America (O’Neil 67). One such example that banning guns could work is Great Britain who, after a severe massacre that occurred in 1996 decided to ban firearms (O’Neil 64). Great Britain banned all semiautomatic and handguns also encouraged their citizens to hand their weapons to the British government (O’Neil 65). Gun control is viewed as positive and a negative on how the government will ands controlling guns around the United
Furthermore, Merton presented a Strain theory, which was a micro-level approach that addressed the strain experienced by individuals who are in Anomie and their response in dealing with the disjunction between goals of success and the means available to attain them (Merton, 1964). As noted in the lecture, when individuals undergo the Strains of society and their interplay between scarce institutionalized means, they adapt in several ways (Conformity, Innovation, Ritualism, Retreatism, Rebellion). Not all adaptations involve crime, however, some adaptations include criminal behavior (Lecture, 2016).
There is a great concern in the school system right now in reference to student’s disruptive and violent behavior. This behavior has started to increase and the immediate response among teachers and staff is to stop this behavior by implementing school resource officers (SROs) into the school. This would be a tremendous mistake among the students because starting a SRO program would increase arrests among students, increase behavior problems, start using police officers for behavioral problems which should be handled by teachers and staff, and even target children of race and disabilities disproportionately compared to other children.
Women and girls seem to be more affected by the mass media than do men and boys. Females frequently compare themselves to others, finding the negative rather than looking at the positive aspects of their own body. The media’s portrayal of the ideal body type impacts the female population far more than males, however, it is not only the mass media that affects women, but also influence of male population has on the female silhouette too.
One of the many ways to measure an organization's success in meeting or achieving its strategic objectives is to evaluate the performance of its employees. This evaluation, if it is to be effective or of substantial value to the organization, it needs to be systematic and purposeful. In order to explain the impact that a performance management system can have on other areas of human resource management, it is necessary to define the relationship between a performance management system and human resource management. First, a performance management system is one area of human resource management. It is now becoming a strategic issue for organizations, in their pursuit of addressing deficiencies in the performance of employees in a timely manner; channeling employees in the appropriate direction towards performance of specific objectives that are consistent with the work or overall strategies of the organization; and providing employees with appropriate and specific feedback to assist with their career development. Secondly, a performance management system needs to be well conceived so that there is full concurrence on the system and that it is not viewed as a subjective tool to highlight employee weaknesses. Human resource management involves "the development of a consistent, aligned collection of practices, programmes, and policies to facilitate the achievement of the organization's strategic objectives" (Mello 2002 p. 298). Given the fact that there is no single best way to manage people in any one organization, human resource management practices will invariably differ in organizations. The fundamental aspect of human resource management is the implementation of a successful people-management system that is supportive of the orga...
Performance management is used for the basis of promotion, reduction in force purposes (talent management), gives transparency of what an organization is looking for, merit increases, and lastly it provides protection against lawsuits for unlawful termination by keeping written documentation. Performance evaluations are advantageous to both the organization and the employee. A leading advantage of performance evaluations is it gives the employee an opportunity to create and achieve smart goals. Although performance evaluations primary function is to measure whether an employee is a good fit or a bad fit for the organization, its function is so much a broader. Performance management is tool purposely used to motivate employees to examine themselves and determine if they have selected the profession that is best for them; consequently the feedback an employee receives from their superior supports them with increase their knowledge and
Performance Management is a critical component to organizational success. However, creating, developing, and maintaining a system that captures all the characteristics of an ideal performance management system should involve an ongoing collaboration between leadership and employees to achieve a successful outcome. After all, the performance and success of the organization is dependent upon the employees. Therefore, performance management should incorporate organizational goals, employee goals, and continuous feedback that reflect individual’s contribution (NorthCoast 99, 2012).