Marxist Framework of Poverty in the UK

Marxist Framework of Poverty in the UK Poverty is generally understood to mean a condition in which people are deprived in some way, such that they lack the basic requirements for sustaining well-being, and ultimately, life. These basic requirements are understood as such things as food, water, shelter (as may be understood, for example, in a developing country context) or access to education or political power (as might be understood, for example, in the context of a developed nation). Poverty is an absolute within itself, as people are termed to be in poverty, but poverty can also be understood in relative terms, when, for example, poverty of different resources is considered: poverty of education is obviously not as fundamental a level of poverty as poverty of food, for example, as, obviously, without food, a person would die, but a person can manage to live without education, even if this would mean a life of continuing poverty, through lack of opportunity. Poverty can be measured in many different ways, and indeed, there are many indicators of poverty, which are used to assess year-on-year changes in poverty. Obviously, as with definitions of poverty, measurements of poverty are relative, with different measures being used in developed vs. developing nations, for example, or between nations of the developed, or developing, world. In general, one overall measure of poverty which has gained ground in recent years is the income inequality scale, which shows that income inequality has, recently, worldwide, become less of a problem, with the world becoming more equitable in terms of income levels across the world’s nations. This does not belittle the problems of poverty, however, as poverty is still a major issue that the world has yet to deal with in a satisfactory manner. As with the definitions and measurement of poverty, the causes of poverty are many and varied, with environmental and geographical factors creating poverty in many developing countries, and with disease and lack of natural resources also causing poverty in these regions. Indeed, it is difficult to attribute one cause to poverty in any situation, especially poverty in developing countries. In developed nations, however, poverty is perhaps best understood as a product of society’s failure to act to avoid the situation, and, as such, policies are in place to prevent poverty in these situations[1]. It is a moot point, however, amongst politicians, social workers and philanthropists as to how far policies can actually prevent poverty, and, indeed, some people suggest that current policies do not go far enough to act to prevent poverty. The effects of poverty are, again, many and varied, with poverty leading, ultimately, to death, in many developing nations, and with poverty leading to lack of opportunity and social exclusion in developed nations. In developed nations, policies are in place to avoid such poverty, such as subsidised housing, education and health care[2], although these are not always effective, as we have seen, leading to undesirable effects, such as crime (Jones, 2001; Muncie, 2004). It is hypothesised, for example, that in extreme poverty situations, people turn to crime in order to provide basic necessities, and this has been supported by much original research on the subject (see Muncie, 2004). The next section of the paper will look at levels of poverty in the UK, and following this, the paper will then proceed to assess poverty in the UK from a Marxist viewpoint. Poverty in the UK is still at shockingly high levels, with the problem seeming, on the face of it, to be mainly caused by low pay levels; indeed, it is suggested by recent research that in low-income households, both members of the family need to work in order for the family to earn enough to cover basic expenses[3], and that, of these low income families, many are at a disadvantage in terms of receiving health care and the achievement of minimum educational standards. It seems, also, that this trend, rather than decreasing, is actually increasing, with the number of families claiming children’s tax credits increasing year-on-year and the proportion of workers classed as ‘low paid’ increasing year-on-year[4]. It is shocking, therefore, to see that much of the UK, and a large proportion of the children living in the UK, live in poverty. This is despite the fact that policies have been in place for many decades to try to curtail, and avoid altogether, the issue of poverty. As we have seen, however, these policies are often not effective, and can take years to come to fruition, by which time a new generation of infants have grown up in poverty, leading to what is known as ‘the poverty trap’. We have seen, therefore, how successive UK governments have attempted to deal with the issue of poverty: by creating policies to deal with each ‘strand’ of poverty individually, and not attacking the whole problem of poverty as a whole. This leads on to thinking about how Marxists understand poverty, which is essentially in a more holistic, if idealistic, manner. Marxists do not make any distinction between class, poverty and disadvantage; for Marxists, members of any class, they argue, can fall into poverty through unemployment, for example, and that, as such, ‘the poor’ can be best be viewed as part of a continuum from those in society who have a lot of material wealth to those who do not. This definition using the idea of a continuum, however, stands in direct contrast to the situation of class inequality which, obviously, Marxists attempt to fight against by their calls for equality in society, for all. Perhaps the issue of poverty can be best understood in terms of the dependency theory of Marxists: this theory suggest, essentially, that lifting the poor out of poverty is not enough, they need to be given tools to be able to sustain themselves out of poverty. True Marxists would add that this can never be achieved under a capitalist system, as this system is built to achieve successes at the expense of the failure of others; as such, poverty is a consequence of the capitalist system, and something which Marxists fight against, in their search for equality, or, rather, in terms of poverty, in their quest for a situation in which underdevelopment is not an option. Assessing poverty in terms of a purely socio-political approach as we have done, and then within the framework of Marxism as we have also attempted, provides two different frameworks with which to understand the issue of poverty. One framework aims to treat poverty as something that can be solved by implementing policies and by watching those policies take effect, the other attempts to understand poverty as a societal achievement, which can only be solved by changing the very foundations of society. Social workers are some of societies most valuable professionals, who, in concert with families, teachers, and the police can put children, and families, back on track before they reach an irreversible moment in which damage has been done which cannot be corrected. Children are valuable members of society, and it is the responsibility of all society to look after them: perhaps this is what Marx was implying when he talked of societal equality. Children deserve equality of opportunity, in terms of access to basic requirements, and, above these, to health care and education and information provision. Without these basic requirements, without basic care, children live in poverty. It is a travesty that in this day and age there are many children who live in poverty in the UK, but with the approach outlined here applied on a daily basis by social workers, it is hoped that poverty will soon be a thing of the past, at least in the UK. References Best, S. (2005) Understanding Social Divisions, London, Sage Cree, V. E. (2000) Sociology for Social Workers and Probation Officers, London, Routledge. Dominelli, L. (1997) Sociology for Social Work, London, MacMillan Glennerster, H. et al. (2004). One hundred years of poverty and policy. Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Iceland, J. (2003). Poverty in America. A Handbook of the University of California Press. Jones, S. (2001) Criminology, Trowbridge, Cromwell Press Layder, D. (2005) Understanding Social Theory, London, Sage Muncie, J. (2004) Youth and Crime, 2nd edition, London, Sage, Ritzer, G. (2000) Sociological Theory, London, McGraw-Hill 1 Footnotes [1] A recent book by Glennerster et al. (2004) entitled One hundred years of poverty and policy, provides a review of the effects and ramifications of policy on poverty in the UK. [2] Although the nation that sees itself as ‘the most developed’ on Earth, the United States, offers none of these poverty-reducing schemes, and indeed, poverty in the United States is on the increase, and reaches disturbingly high levels. See Iceland (2003) for further details. [3] See the report Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion in the UK, 2006 by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. [4] Again, according to the report Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion in the UK, 2006 by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Netflix competitive analysis Essay -- essays research papers

Competitive Analysis Blockbuster Inc. and Movie Gallery are currently the two strongest competitors in the market, and therefore pose the biggest threats to Netflix. Amazon, Intelliflicks, and Cleanfilms are all present in the market, but don’t possess enough force at this time to be considered a threat to Netflix. Blockbuster As of right now, Blockbuster is the biggest competitive threat to Netflix. Blockbuster was incorporated in 1989 in Delaware and is a major renter of home videocassettes, DVDs and video games throughout the Americas, as well as Europe, Asia and Australia. Blockbuster operated about 9,100 stores in the U.S. and 24 other countries, as of Dec. 2004. In the summer of 2004, Blockbuster launched an online rental program that provides a challenging competitive match for Netflix. Blockbuster’s online debut was in development for years. In 2002 Blockbuster purchased FilmCaddy, an online movie rental company that became Blockbusters internet channel. Blockbuster completed consumer research, both qualitative and quantitative, and found that online customers preferred a program that would give them both Internet convenience and in-store benefits. Blockbuster decided to incorporate its extensive network of stores to provide a powerful competitive edge. In addition, the chain has said it wil l invest $170 million this year alone in its online-rental operation. Financially, Blockbuster has revenues of 6.10 billion, with a gross profit of 3.61 billion, and a negative ne...

Vice President and New Executive Vice

Case Analysis ReportFMB&T Bank I. Statement of the Problem The new Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer of FMB&TBank have no clear authority and responsibility. II. Objective There should be a clear authority and responsibility for the new IT Executivein order for her to be effective and efficient. III. Analysis of the Causes a. Relationship between IT Department and other bank business units ismixed up causing considerable confusion, friction and inefficiency. . Work request are vague and not coordinated and consolidated to reflect aclearer picture of the problem making it hard to formulate a quick solutionwhich the bank’s other business units require. c. The presence of the new IT executive was not welcomed by the unitmanagers of other business units of the bank making it harder for her tofacilitate solutions for IT problems. d. IT staff responsibilities are limited only to application works.They are notgiven the freedom to explore and apply new development s in the ITindustry. e. There is considerable influence from other regional executives todecentralize IT operations to regional branches because they feel thatresponse will be faster to meet their requirements. IV. Choices a. Define an explicit authority and responsibility of the new IT executive. Thespan of authority should include all business units involve in the use IT toensure that all will follow IT processes and procedures. . The new IT executive must formulate strict IT policies and procedureswhich have the approval of the CEO and all IT users are required to follow Failure to follow IT policies and procedure should be dealt with inaccordance with company’s existing rewards and punishment policies. c. Involve IT staffs in a more flexible working environment and give them thefreedom to take advantage on new IT innovations and apply it to thecompany’s IT system. d.Re-organize the company’s whole organizational structure to adapt intothe new requirement of IT technology rather than remain as rigid as thecurrent vertical structure. e. Decentralize the whole IT department operations to regional branches inorder that implementation will be faster. V. Selection from the Choices As a CEO, I will reorganize the whole organizational structure of the companyand include IT as a major division in the implementation of companystrategies. If a bank wanted to grow in this generation, it must be willing toadapt to technological innovations.Task the new IT executive to formulate ITpolicies and procedures that will be implemented company wide where all ITusers are required to follow. VI. Implementation IT department should be given blanket authority in terms of implementing ITstrategies of the company and this should be understood by all departmentsand divisions. The new IT executive should create a company wide IT helpdesk where allwork requests are consolidated, analyzed and collated to come up with anintelligent solution to all IT problems.This wi ll also eliminate confusion;friction and inefficiency since all information needed to create a solution arealready consolidated. The only thing that IT will do is to design a frameworksolution to any imaginable IT problems that were presented based on the IThelpdesk consolidated information. With this strategy, IT will have moreefficient control of its resources and channel saved resources in developingnew IT innovations that they can apply for the development of the company. 2 VII. Work place applicationIn our company, the IT department has full control of all IT related issues. ITdepartment has regional helpdesk to cater to all IT related work requests. TheIT helpdesk will in turn consolidate all work requests and assign qualifiedtechnical staffs that can best address the problem. For minor IT problems,the helpdesk will address it immediately by giving direct instructions to theuser. If technical intervention is required, a district IT technical staff will beimmediately dispatched to address the problem

Explain the Influences of Two Predictable and Two Unpredictable Major Life Events on the Development of the Individual. Essays

Explain the Influences of Two Predictable and Two Unpredictable Major Life Events on the Development of the Individual. Essays Explain the Influences of Two Predictable and Two Unpredictable Major Life Events on the Development of the Individual. Essay Explain the Influences of Two Predictable and Two Unpredictable Major Life Events on the Development of the Individual. Essay Explain the Influences of two predictable and two unpredictable major life events on the development of the individual. Predictable Life Event Leaving Home This is a predictable life event. However, it can have an influence on an individual’s development. Firstly, the physical development will have an impact as an individual will have an change in their diet due to lack of cooking experience. In addition, it will also cause a lack of nutrition and an individual would need to change their diet. An individual could go out more and choose the wrong decisions such as drinking or smoking and gain/lose weight. Secondly, would be intellectual development as the individual would need to set up gas and water, learn about mortgages. Thirdly, would be emotional development as the individual would become more independent and have emotions to feel such as feeling lonely, scared or happy. Lastly, would be social development as an individual would be on their own and therefore, have no social to be around with. In addition, an individual could go out more and be around with more social class people. Starting School This is a predictable life event. However, it can have an influence on an individual’s development. Firstly, the physical development will have an impact as an individual would be that they would start doing a subject of P. E which would give them an boost in psychical development and some individuals who do not get enough run around would be able to do their physical development at school. In addition, some individuals who do no get enough nutrition or meals at home could have school dinners and therefore, increase their psychical development. Secondly, would be intellectual development as the individual would need to know which classes they are meant to be at or to remember a teacher’s name. Thirdly, would be emotional development as the individual would become more independent and have emotions to feel such as feeling lonely, scared or happy. Lastly, would be social development as an individual would be making new friends and therefore, meeting new social classes.

Review of Arthur Millers Play The Crucible

Review of Arthur Miller's Play The Crucible Of all Arthur Millers classic dramas, The Crucible remains his most difficult play to convincingly produce. One wrong choice from a director, one wrong gesture from a performer, and the play will elicit laughter instead of gasps of pathos. From a literary standpoint, the story and characters are easy to comprehend. Set in Salem, Massachusetts the plot moves at a brisk pace and the audience quickly learns that the protagonist, John Proctor, is the object of young, wicked Abigail Williams desire. She will stop at nothing to recapture the heart of this married man, even if it means accusing others of witchcraft and igniting the deadly flames of hysteria, a paranoia that will ultimately lead many to the gallows. Summary John Proctor carries a dark weight in his soul. A respected farmer and husband, he has committed adultery with a seventeen-year-old girl (Abigail). Yet, although he hides this fact from the rest of the community, he still values truth. He knows that the allegations of witchcraft are vengeful lies. John struggles throughout the play. Should he accuse his former lover of lying and attempted murder? Even at the cost of being publicly branded an adulterer? The conflict intensifies during the plays final act. He is given a chance to save his own life, but to do that he must confess that he had worshiped the devil. His ultimate choice provides a powerful scene that every leading actor should strive to play. Other complex characters within the play are a boon for actresses. The character of Elizabeth Proctor calls for a restrained performance, with occasional bursts of passion and grief. Perhaps the juiciest role of the play, though she doesnt get as much stage time, is that of ​Abigail Williams. This character can be interpreted in many ways. Some actresses have played her as a childish brat, while others have portrayed her as a sinister harlot. The actress who takes on this role should decide, how does Abigail truly feel about John Proctor? Was her innocence stolen from her? Is she a victim? Or a sociopath? Does she love him in some twisted way? Or has she been using him all along? Producing The Crucible Now, if the plot and characters are amazingly coherent, then why should this play be a challenge to successfully produce? The scenes of pretend witchcraft can evoke a comic effect if performed the wrong way. For example, many high school productions have gone over the top during the possession scenes. The script calls for young women of Salem to gyrate as if in a demonic fit, to envision birds flying around them, and to repeat words as though they are hypnotized. If done correctly, these scenes of mock-witchcraft can create a chilling effect. The audience will be able to understand how judges and reverends could be fooled into making a deadly decision. However, if the performers become too silly, the audience might chuckle and chortle, and then it might be hard to make them feel the profound tragedy of the plays end. In short, the magic of this play will come from the supporting cast. If actors can realistically recreate what life was like back in 1692, the audience will have a vicarious experience. They will come to understand the fears, desires, and disputes of this small Puritan town, and may come to relate to the people of Salem not as characters in a play, but as real people who lived and died, often in the face of cruelty and injustice. Then, the audience will be able to experience the full weight of Millers exquisite American tragedy.

Atheism and Communism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Atheism and Communism - Essay Example Similarly, communism is a socioeconomic and political term, which also seeks unity and cohesion among the members of society by denouncing any possibility of class discrimination culture. The paper also explores the differences between the two notions under investigation by declaring that a large majority of the communists follows one faith or the other, and hence does not disassociate it with spiritual belief system altogether. However, it is fact that the Christians, Muslims and Hindus are also the followers of communist politico-economic system. Consequently, atheism and communism serve as pole-apart concepts, which share one major commonality i.e. to free the humans from getting divided, alienated and weak subsequently. The Paper The notions atheism and communism have been in vogue for the last many decades, which seek their roots in political science, history, sociology and theology. Theorists are at daggers drawn in respect of exploring similarities and dissimilarities between the two notions. One school of thought declares both the terms as quite different from one another, which should not be taken the lights of the same source. On the other hand, some of the political scientists observe close proximity between atheism and communism, as both the two, according to them; negate exploitation of one or more strata at the hands of the other in the name of religion, race, region, ethnicity, gender or socioeconomic status. Since religious faiths, class discrimination and financial positions, they insist, invite differences and gulf among the individuals, belonging to divergent groups and communities, non-adherence to the belief systems pave the way towards the creation of a homogenous society, they assert. Somehow, association between both the two can be viewed due to the very reality that both these doctrines share several commonalities in their nature and scope, and portray the picture of an undivided as well as a classless society. While atheism denies the existence of any deity, communism concentrates upon the establishment of a homogenous society without being divided into classes, communities and religious beliefs. However, they cannot be stated as the aspects of one and the same coin; on the contrary, they are quite different from each other in nature and scope. Before embarking upon the topic under analysis, it would be advisable to define both the terms under analysis: Atheism: It has aptly been observed that an overwhelming majority of the populations, belonging to every society, culture, nation, country, race, region and ethnicity of the globe, seek support from some supernatural powers at the hour when they find themselves quite helpless in the face of hardships. Such belief subsequently ripens into strong faith, and develops some specific rituals, prayers and performances, which are imitated by the entire community by taking it as the source of their spiritual uplift and relief. The statistics reveal that thousands of religi ous beliefs are followed by the millions of the people all over the globe. However, still there exists a community that has not developed faith in the Supernatural powers, and consequently declares it as atheist or without religious belief. The members of this community take life and death as the outcome of the alterations taking place in their physical and social environment, which give way to the chemical and physical changes in the environment, including the conversion of matter from one form to the other. Hence,

Common law and equity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Common law and equity - Essay Example Equity was developed in order to overcome the inadequacies of common law. Equitable remedies are available in a number of areas where common law is either incapable of providing justice or is not faultless in providing justice to the individuals. The main purpose of equity jurisdiction is to support the existing laws. Equity was developed to propose principles that are either ignored by common law or not formally accepted in that set of law. Moreover, equity proposes certain remedies that are unavailable in common law. In certain circumstance, common law decisions or remedies are insufficient to provide justice to the innocent (Hudson, 2009). For instance, in the matters involving mortgages, where the lenders are to a piece of land as a security of the loan granted, the principles in equity and common law greatly distinguish from each other. Let’s assume that Angelina grants a loan of $5,000 to Joseph, after considering a piece of land as a security that worth $8,000. Accordin g to the contract, the land in question would be legally transferred on the name of the lender (Angelina), on the terms that she would retransfer the land on Josephs name if he repays the loan in the specified time. If Joseph fails to repay the loan in the specified time, common law gives no entitlement to Joseph for the land that was conveyed and the duty to repay the loan still exists. However, equity practices such situations in a different and more reasonable manner. According to the rules of equity, Joseph would be given another chance to repay the loan in a new specified time. If Joseph still fails to repay, the land which was let for security will be sold and the loan will be repaid. The additional amount would be given to Joseph as it belongs to him. It is not just the matters of mortgages where equity provides a more reasonable and just decision but it also works better in many other areas. Equity and common law are not only different in terms of laws and