America’s Mergence of Personal and Public Realms in Arendt’s The Human Condition
America is a superpower, irrefutably the most dominant nation in the world. Underlining this supremacy, however, is the fact that America's society is facing several problems. Among these problems is what Hannah Arendt calls the emergence of society through the mergence of both the personal and public realms. This major problem has spawned numerous other problems, so has been chosen as the underlying cause for the tribulations of modern American society. Hannah Arendt, author of The Human Condition, has provided relevant analysis that applies to this major problem facing American society today.
Modern American society intertwines the personal and public realms of its citizens into one, called the social realm. It follows then that, while in public, one's personal life has a serious effect on their position in society. The most prominent measure of one's status is wealth. Many of the influential voices today are of wealthy citizens. It appears that although everyone is entitled to their own opinion,...
Social and economic class is something we as Americans like to push into the back of our minds. Sometimes recognizing our class either socially or economically can almost be crippling. When individuals recognize class, limitations and judgment confront us. Instead, we should know it is important to recognize our class, but not let it define and limit us. In the essay, “Class in America”, Gregory Mantsios, founder and director of the Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education at the School of Professional Studies, brings to light the fact that Americans don’t talk about class and class mobility. He describes the classes in extremes, mainly focusing on the very sharp divide between the extremely wealthy and extremely poor. In contrast, George
Dubbed as “The Greatest Country in the World” by god knows who, America is not as awesome and free as some may see. In doing a close reading of Heather Christle’s “Five Poems for America”, we can see how the author uses metaphors to portray a flawed American, specifically within its political system, religion, obsession with technology and basic human rights. Americans have been living with the oppression of these everyday issues, completely oblivious thus creating the America we infamously know today.
In The Human Condition, by Hannah Arendt, the fundamental qualities of human behavior are described and analyzed. These qualities are first described by discussing the different entities present in the lives of Athenian Greeks. This partition of human life into separate units is supposed to be applied to modern American society as well, however, the structure of today's social order differs from that of ancient Greek. These disparities cause the analysis and ideas projected on the human condition to be contrasting as well.
Is the Cuban Embargo a cruel reminder of the Cold war, or is it an important factor of American Democracy fighting the spread of Communism? The Cuban Embargo was a declaration issued by American President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. The embargo was issued because of the threat that the Communist government of Cuba, led by Fidel Castro in 1959, had on American security, assets and democracy at the height of the Cold War. Some 1.8 billion worth of industrial assets were lost with Cuban communist nationalization. (Mr. D’Angelo personal interview) In support, constant influence of the Soviet Union during the early 1960s, particularly the time between 1961 and 1962, led to the creation of the embargo. In addition, the Soviet Union had planned to build a missile base on the island, which drove the Cold War to its height and made nuclear destruction a real possibility. Consequently, The Embargo called for total economic sanctions for Cuba and the institution of a blockade around the island, as shown by the seven-day stand off that followed the embargo with the USSR. Unfortunately, this blockade completely restricted any trade to foreign countries and even restricted travel to and from the island. The shattering of The USSR, or Soviet Union, should have called for the end of the embargo, but instead the federal government, in 1992, further restricted the embargo with the 1992 Cuba Democracy Act and the 1996 Helms-Burton Act. The Cuban Democracy Act was a bill presented by U.S. Congressman Robert Torricelli and passed in 1992, which prohibited foreign-based subsidiaries of U.S. companies from trading with Cuba, travel to Cuba by U.S citizens, and family remittances to Cuba (Lee). Most importantly, the Helms-Burton Act extended the territoria...
In Hannah Arendt’s work, The Human Condition, Arendt addresses the active life or Vita Activa and how the three major human activities are incorporated into the public and private realms. The private realm, in which finances and basic needs are met, exists within the household. The Public Realm involves politics and interaction between individuals. All interaction within the public realm requires the individual to have attained freedom. As society continues to develop, however, and the Modern Age takes over the rise of the Social Realm disrupts the hierarchy of these three human activities. Arendt writes about how this disruption damages the natural order. Each of the three human activities has it’s own place in society and by disrupting the natural order this shift towards the Social Realm causes issues for mankind.
Common human attributes are normal to acquire, yet Americans seem to pick and choose how they want to acquire these traits, whether it’s excessively or minimally. In both readings, “Facing the Village” by Lenore Look and “A Fist in the Eye of God” by Barbara Kingsolver, the authors present many human attributes and the pros and cons of how Americans act. In “Facing the Village,” Lenore Look starts out being the typical, ignorant, greedy, arrogant, and unstable judge of how to trust someone American. After visiting China, where her parents’ home village is, she realizes how Americans, like herself, really are and how unsatisfied they really are in life. In “A Fist in the Eye of God,” Kingsolver also discusses how Americans want to change things and don’t appreciate the natural world the way it is. Human beings’ attitudes towards life and the people around them is the reason people are left feeling unsatisfied about their lives in contemporary America.
Arendt, Hannah. “What Is Freedom?” Eight Exercises in Political Thought. New York: Penguin Group, 2012. 142-69. Print.
Society today is split in many different ways: the smart and the dumb, the pretty and the ugly, the popular and the awkward, and of course the rich and the poor. This key difference has led to many areas of conflict among the population. The rich and the poor often have different views on issues, and have different problems within their lives. Moral decay and materialism are two issues prevalent among the wealthy, while things such as socio-economic class conflict and the American dream may be more important to those without money. Ethics and responsibilities are an area of thought for both classes, with noblesse oblige leaning more towards the wealthy.
Paul Fussell wrote; Class a Guide through the American Status System in 1983. Fussell introduces interesting points that suggests how we, as Americans are viewed through social class. This book will have you contemplate about where you fall in line in terms of the social hierarchy system. As I read, the book I analyzed how our social status is revealed not only in terms of money, but other significant characteristics that define our habitas. As humans we are social beings, and we all make assumptions about the people around us or label them. Fussell argues that social class and social status can be defined in many ways. In fact, he enlists the nine American class structures that according to his opinion American society are comprised. He investigates
Many social and political philosophers extensively study and attempt to identify the ways by which people make judgments. Prior to interpreting and further analyzing conclusions of judgment as noted by any significant philosopher, one must first obtain an understanding of the background and culture said philosopher was surrounded by. Our minds are malleable; opinions and values are most often shaped by societal norms, political structures, and retrospective assessment of past experiences. This paper will examine judgment as studied by Hannah Arendt while delving into the political afflictions that likely shaped her conclusions.
Nash, G. B., Jeffery, J., Howe, J., Winkler, A., Davis, A., Mires, C., et al. (2010). The American people: creating a nation and a society. (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Education
For years, America has always been perceived as one of the top world powers due to its ability of achieving so much technological, economical, and social progress within a mere couple decades. Despite their great accomplishments, America is actually regressing psychologically, preventing the country from reaching its true potential as an “opportunity rich” country. In Anthony Burgess’ Is America Falling Apart? , the author unveils the circumstances in which America’s restricting society and selfish ideology cause the nation to develop into the type of society it tried to avoid becoming when it separated from the British Empire.
The American upper class controls our governing bodies, our social institutions, our policy-making process, and everything else in between. Ask yourself: when has a poor black woman from inner-city Houston ever navigated the detours and roadblocks that pervade the journey up the American class system? Contrarily, what proportion of American legislators, lobbyists, and lawyers come from upper-middle and upper class families? One element absent from Domhoff’s book was a discussion on social capital. I believe that an acknowledgement of how networking amongst members of the upper class increases the social capital of American elites, and how such a consequence can prove critical in maintaining class parameters and ensuring they remain in place for generations to come. Cutting off communication opportunities between classes is quite possibly the greatest cause of classism in America. It is not that Domhoff neglected a discussion on social capital as his ideas more or less all consummate the idea; I just wish he would have incorporated a discussion of the term directly in his
Some view video games as simply that, games nothing more nothing less. Highly respected game designer, famed director, and creator of the Metal Gear Solid series Hideo Kojima has been quoted as saying “ If 100 people walk by and a single person is captivated by whatever a piece radiates it is art, however videogames are not trying to capture one person. A videogame should make sure that all 100 people that play the game should enjoy the service provided by the game. It’s something of a service. It is not art however.” Art has been described as many things, the literal definition of it is “the expression or application of human creative skill or imagination”. A lot of people have put their souls into their work and have expressed their very lives into what they are presenting. However movies have been considered works of art and they have been used to make money and attract the masses. Earlier this year in March software developer Square-Enix held an art exhibit at Gallery Nucleus in Los Angeles, California. To answer the question of whether or not a video game can be considered art, you must look at videogames as a whole and decide for yourself what you consider
Social standing is a significant component of one’s identity, with society being split into several classifications to which people belong; those in the upper class hold the largest fortune within society, the middle class are the second wealthiest and the lower class is formed of those from the poorest and most disadvantaged backgrounds (BBC, 2013).