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impact of social and cultural factors
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To transition is to change and enter into a state of newness. During the end of the twentieth century, both America and Britain, the North Atlantic sphere, entered into a transitional period of embracing and implementing a free market capitalist system. The free market system focused on, “individualism, hard work, and the importance of family in meeting the daily needs of life” . This was a transition from heavy government involvement and state planning to one that encouraged competition and individual growth. This transition to a new system for both the United States and Britain was heavily influenced by four major factors: economic, social, political, and culture. Although these four factors were different there was a commonality between them that kept them connected. The connecting point of these factors was the desire for dominance.
In history, it seems inarguably true that when a nation advanced in power and wealth, changes will soon followed. These changes affected the political, economic and social system of that nation, and often came as an advantage for wealthy individuals, while detrimental to others less fortunate. An example of this notion can be seen in American History. After the Civil War and the Reconstruction Era, America quickly surpassed Great Britain in industrial production thus became the leading nation in industrialization. However, great things do not come without a cost; the rapid technological expansion in the US would initiate the crisis of the 1890s. The crisis of the 1890s was the shift from the rural and agrarian society to a modern urban and industrial society.
The United States as a hegemonic power was challenged in the 1970s due to a number of changes occurring all over the world. The Western European market was emergin...
“I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people,” was the famous slogan of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. After long periods of continuous downfall, the people of the nation were consumed with negative feelings due to the lack of effort put forth by President Hoover during the Great Depression. Not only were the people agitated with his poor effort, but more with his method to resolve the situation they were in. Hoover believed in the concept of rugged individualism. This was a term he used during his presidency in the stages of the depression. The idea of rugged individualism was created in order so that the government would be less depended on and that the people of the nation should fend for themselves more in times of distress. It would be obvious that during this era, a majority of the United States would not appreciate or accept the concept of rugged individualism. In fact, there was much tension and turmoil that was set out against President Hoover in the later stages of his presidency due to this factor. It was more so that the people were ready for a change. The nation needed the help and support of a dedicated government. It was more of a need that they longed for to be put out of the economic and social depression that they were in. It was certain that Hoover was not the right man to help them get out of it (Kingsbury). Luckily, the nation soon did find that there was someone out there who would be dedicated enough to get it out of its distress. There was no greater man for the job than Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Being a Democratic politician, Roosevelt would not only win the nation over with his social tactics, but more so with his political party. With...
The market revolution was a time of change, liberation, growth, and of course American ingenuity. This new kind of revolution brought about many changes in the lives of Americans everywhere. New technology from the steamboat to the telegraph connected the country in a new way. The emergence of factories (and the factory system) brought the growth of commerce, specialization of products, and many jobs to a rapidly growing nation. The market revolution benefited our country by impacting the social groups of the slaves and the middle class, generating a change in laws of the economy and warranting the redefining of freedom.
The Market Revolution transformed various aspects of American society because of the development of new inventions, ideologies, and lifestyles. From 1790 to 1840, the improvement of national transportation methods, the commercialization of the American market system, and the beginning of industrialization fostered the Market Revolution and affected the country economically, socially, and even religiously. The Industrial Revolution occurred in Western European countries such as France, England and Germany beginning in 1760 and completely altered the European market, workplace, and society by the time the inventions and technological ideas diffused into the United States. In 1791, Alexander Hamilton expressed “the necessity of enlarging the sphere of our domestic commerce”1 and therefore supported and funded American industries. With the help of the government, the Market Revolution initiated the expansion of the marketplace due to the connection of distant communities, such as western cities with seaboard cities, for the first time due to the advances in infrastructure. This would cause the shift away from local and regional markets to national and international markets abroad. The Market Revolution changed aspects of American life such as labor, transportation, commercialization, family life, new values produced by evangelical religion, sentimentalism, and transcendentalism, and the birth of the new middle class from 1790 to 1840.
Consider how the natural development of narrative techniques in George Orwell’s 1984 creates a theme of individualism verses state. What was the point in writing such an obvious theme, since a dystopia is the prime example of an imperfect world? He uses extremely well-developed techniques to demonstrate the dystopian society. Specifically, Orwell uses symbols as well as the setting to thoroughly contribute to the idea of a totalitarian state in his dystopian society; the ideas are in symbolic objects, themes, and characters. Orwell clearly suggests that are flaws in the world that he has created, and, more importantly, Orwell the possibility of the characteristics becoming reality.
Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World portrays a utopian society that has no flaw. Although many new precedents are portrayed, when studied in depth, many similarities between this perfect world and our modern society outweigh the few differences. This utopia of a society is paralleled with our society that is nowhere near perfection. Drug usage, individualism, and relationships will be the basis of comparison in this analysis, and we will see if the society presented in Brave New World will one day become our own.
“Men desire to have some share in the management of public affairs chiefly on account of the importance which it gives them.” This famous quote by Adam Smith proves what people in the Enlightenment period wanted the most – free market economy and public services. Adam Smith was, in fact, a Scottish economist, who tried to influence the government and convince the ruler to fulfil people’s wishes and needs. Such craving for an “adjustable” trade, led to the first major economic establishment in the Enlightenment period, laissez faire, which banned the government from interfering with private trade. Adam Smith, its huge supporter, managed to get this concept to disseminate safely with various rules and restrictions attached; otherwise, this method might allow too much freedom. The economy during the Renaissance period, transforming especially with Adam Smith’s innovative theories during the Enlightenment, focused on the urge to limit the government’s ability to interfere with the market.
The American Revolution marked the divorce of the British Empire and its one of the most valued colonies. Behind the independence that America had fought so hard for, there emerged a diverging society that was eager to embrace new doctrines. The ideals in the revolution that motivated the people to fight for freedom continued to influence American society well beyond the colonial period. For example, the ideas borrowed from John Locke about the natural rights of man was extended in an unsuccessful effort to include women and slaves. The creation of state governments and the search for a national government were the first steps that Americans took to experiment with their own system. Expansion, postwar depression as well as the new distribution of land were all evidence that pointed to the gradual maturing of the economic system. Although America was fast on its way to becoming a strong and powerful nation, the underlying issues brought about by the Revolution remained an important part in the social, political and economical developments that in some instances contradicted revolutionary principles in the period from 1775-1800.
During the years between 1920 and 1960, America saw change in many aspects of life. The United States was a part of two major wars and a crash of the banking system that crippled the economy greater than ever seen in this country’s history. Also the country had new insecurities to tackle such as immigration and poor treatment of workers. These events led to the change of America lives socially, economically, and politically. The people of America changed their ideas of what the country’s place in the world should be. The issues challenging America led the country to change from isolation to war, depression to prosperity, and social change. The threats to American way of life, foreign and domestic, were the changing forces to the country in the twenties to the sixties.
The market today has become so important that society takes it as completely natural. From “The Economic Problem” Heilbroner describes three main solutions, with the market being one. Furthermore into the market, Polanyis book “The great Transformation” gives insight on how much society actually allows the market to dominate. To Polanyi a market society is seen as social relations embedded in the economy instead of the economy being embedded in social relations. Examining both of these books gives a great understanding on how life was without the market and how it came to be. Taking note of Rineharts work as well on how the workplace has drastically been changed by the market is key to analyzing the transformation as a whole. As a result of the transformation, not only has human labour been altered, but another author known as Weber states that certain peoples view on the world have also be affected. This essay will establish how “the great transformation” (Polanyi) from a traditional society to one based on a market economy has vastly impacted societal workplaces, and societal beliefs around faith of idealogical conditions.
Individualism is considered to have many meanings, such as individual rights and freedoms, economic freedom and equality, self-interest, and can also be expressed as one’s self. The three sources depict the idea of individuals and the roles they hold in society and how it is being manipulated.
Are we as a society agreeing with putting are individualism at risk for social stability? Aldous Huxley in Brave New World where the idea about personality is set away for world peace, Is this the right thing to do. We have already became intuned with allowing are personal live almost become non existent with social media taking over our personal lives. Mustapha Mond a world Leader believes in sacrificing real feelings and emotional attachments for stability. This means no families, no love, and no real individuals. But, at least there are no wars and everyone is happy, will simulated happiness. The New World’s motto is “Community, Identity, and Stability” (1) which is ironic, due to the fact that there is no community with no relationships, no identity sense everyone is government controlled, even though the New World is very Stable that seems to be broken down when one does not take soma. Is Mustapha Mond concepts acceptable to protect the public?
After the end of the World War I in 1920, the United States entered in a period where great changes were made. During this period known as the New Era of the 1920’s, many innovations were taking place as well as many economic developments, which were stimulating the way through a change in America’s society. However, while for some Americans this was an era of better opportunities for living, some others were suffering the consequences. Later on, with an unequal distribution of wealth and low incomes, America’s economy was in a vulnerable point of a catastrophic collapse. And so it was. By the end of the 1920’s, when the stock market crashed, the prosperity of that period disappeared and the nation was sunk into an economic catastrophe known as the Great Depression. Many factors constituted the reasons for this collapse, for example, the Wall Street crash, the oligopolies domination over American industries, the weaknesses in some industries (textile, coal and agriculture), and also the government policies and international economic difficulties. Then, by the early 1930 with the depression spreading and affecting the entire society, the policies, philosophy and optimism that Herbert Hoover had brought to his presidency was being challenged. As a result, by the time of the elections in 1932, Hoover lost the presidency against the candidate of the Democratic Party, Franklin D. Roosevelt and his campaign of what he called the New Deal. Based on this, FDR pushed towards many solutions for the “crises of a collapsing financial system, crippling unemployment, and agricultural and industrial breakdown” (Goldfield, Page 704). Even thought when various changes were made, it was during the period right after the elections of 1936 that polit...
America is the land of the free. From the moment of its birth to now, Americans have boasted in their country for this reason. However, at some points in history this boast can be contradictory. When national identities began to form in society, they were formed from the ideas of freedom and individuality. Some people formed an identity that supported mainly individualism and freedom, but it did not consider slavery too much to begin with. This identity is the national identity of a free man’s country. The other identity held the same values except it excluded everyone but white males. This is a national identity of a white man’s country. As time grew on, these identities grew stronger. When they finally clashed they brought along