Stalin And Mao Essays - Anti-Revisionists, Marxist Theorists

Stalin And Mao History has shown that strong individuals and revolutionary ideas can have a major impact on a country. Leaders are often driven by what they perceive as a desire to create a more perfect country. Frequently their egos and methods sway them from the realization of the ideals they set out to achieve. Every country has encountered a noteworthy leader at one point or another. Some countries realize this, and take advantage of the fact, while others let him or her pass slip away. A great leader has an impact on a country, an impact that lasts, one that can be looked upon as an example for future generations. Mao Zedong, of China, and Joseph Stalin, of the Soviet Union were great leaders of their time. Mao and Stalin had similar objectives, means, and influences on their country. Both Mao and Stalin had similar ideas at the base of their pyramid of goals. Both leaders believed that Communism was the best system for a their countries. Mao said "If you want to know the taste of a pear, you must change the pear by eating it yourself. . . . If you want to know the theory and methods of revolution, you must take part in revolution. All genuine knowledge originates in direct experience." Mao believed that some ideas may work better in one country, and not at all in another. By taking a bite out of the pear, you are changing the pear itself. By changing how you achieve your goals, you change the final product. Mao had many different plans to help China recover. One of the most widely know plans was the "Great Leap Forward." Mao encouraged people to work longer hours and even do work at home. This new plan called for the formation of large units called communes which incorporated agriculture and industry and were supposed to be self sufficient. This concept changed Mao's original "play" on Marxist Communism. Mao believed that reforms, such as the "Agrarian Reform"; Campaigns such as the "Hundred Flowers Campaign"; and plans such as the "First Five Year Plan" would help Communism rise in China. In 1966 Mao proclaimed a Cultural Revolution with two goals. The first was to strengthen his leadership position, and the second was to strengthen the Communist doctrine and restore the revolutionary spirit. He formed the Red Guards, a group of people dedicated strictly to Mao. Each Red Guard carried a copy of The Quotation of Mao Zedong, known as the little red book. Both Stalin and Mao had the objective to create a communist society for the good of the people These goals were corrupted by using total control, or a Totalitarian government as a means to achieve Communism. Stalin also created plans and campaigns to achieve Communism. Stalin was quoted saying "Comrades! We must abolish the cult of the individual decisively, once and for all." Stalin believed that a person's individuality should be abolished. Similar to the way Mao grouped workers together in communes during the "Great Leap Forward," Stalin also implemented many five year plans. He did this in a successful attempt to industrialize the Soviet Union. After the industrialization of the Soviet Union, Stalin went more towards a Totalitarianism system of government. Under the Totalitarianism government Stalin could carry out his objectives through repression, force and absolute rule. It has been proven time after time, that a person can not reach their goals unless they have the proper means. In many instances both leaders have been quoted saying that pure communism can not be reached without the aid of violence and that once pure communism is reached it is not hard to dominate other countries and defeat the enemy. As an example Chinese leader Mao was quoted saying "Communism is not love. Communism is a hammer which we use to crush the enemy." Mao is saying that in addition to Communism working for the commonwealth of society, Communism is working to defeat the enemy and therefore give more power to the country. Mao came to believe that defeating the enemy has a higher importance than the well being of the citizens. In China, after the KMT split with the CCP, many battles took place, some in which Mao led a small peasant army against the KMT. Similarly Stalin was quoted as saying "To choose one's victims, to prepare one's plan minutely, to slake an implacable vengeance, and then to go to bed . .. there is nothing sweeter in the world." Stalin is saying that one of the greatest

Aleksandr Pushkin essays

Aleksandr Pushkin essays Pushkin was a revolutionary and his liberal vies are depicted in almost all of his poems. The five poems that will be discussed in this research paper clearly present Pushkins views. The prisoner, Just There over the Crowned..., The league of ours is..., Its time my friend..., and Oh Rome- a proud land... These particular five poems by Aleksandr Pushkin, helped me in creating a more clear and perceptive image of the poet, his life, and his ideals. In the first poem the prisoner Pushkin is describing his experience in prison. Pushkin was arrested by Czar Nicholas I, for his liberal views. This poem, can be interpreted as Pushkins experience in prison. However an alternative interpretation of this poem, is that lives of the Russian people were being oppressed and their liberties were confined by their king. Were free proud birds; it is time for the friends to fly. he is inciting his people to get out of this prison Let us fly outside! This poem clearly shows Pushkins liberal and somewhat revolutionary views. His view of the current Russian governmentmonarchy is that of a prison that is denying its citizens the right to be free. In the next poem Just there, over the crowned... pushkin is defining to the monarch his role in society. According to Pushkin, its true that the king has the power to govern his people but this power is not given to him by God, but rather by the law. This law according to Pushkin should be formulated by the people, to represent the people and protect their liberties. Pushkin in this poem, is telling the Russian people that they are above the king. Oh, kings! Your crown and your throne. Not by your birth, by Law are given...where law is steadfastly set with liberty in combination. Its is understandable that Pushkin would h ...

A perspective on History- chapter 12 of Ruggiero's Ethical Issues Essay

A perspective on History- chapter 12 of Ruggiero's Ethical Issues Ninth edition - Essay Example The history of Ethics addresses transformations in ethical issues over periods with popular and normal beliefs, trends and presuppositions shaping the model of thought for each period. The ancient Greek ethics is the oldest ethical thinking model fronted by Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Philosophical thinking about ethical codes started with the Greek Sophists in the Western intellectual tradition. The Greek Sophists taught youths about the skills of public speaking in order to become successful in the political struggle of those days (Ruggiero, 2007). Moreover, earliest Sophists like Plato and Protagoras fronted the virtue of moral relativism. They underscored the fact that particular communities make their specific moral and ethical codes, setting them as customs and practices of the given community. The second stage in the history of ethics is the medieval ethics. Church fathers fronted the medieval ethical thinking. This was the trial to comprehend the Judeo-Christian scriptures in the view of the Greek philosophers (Ruggiero, 2007). St. Augustine was the major personality that fronted this ethical thinking era. He gave an ethical account of voluntarism and the will. Ethics in the twentieth century has been mainly analytical. It has been majorly concerning the nature and implication of ethical judgments. Modern ethical thinking has mainly focused on meta-ethics rather than normative ethics (Ruggiero, 2007). Modern ethics in the Western traditions draws its connection to the previous ethical thinking stages, that is, the ancient Greek ethics and the medieval ethical

'At the end of the day, competition is the only thing that motivates Essay

'At the end of the day, competition is the only thing that motivates the theories revisited' - Essay Example t to entice the new customers, build partnerships with stakeholders and remain steadfast in lobbying for the sake of their respective business enterprises. All of this adds up to the smooth working mechanisms which an organization undertakes within the midst of ever-growing and ever-present ‘competition.’ The manner in which this competition is given a new twist is dependent a great deal on the ways adopted by the individual employees – in solitude as well as in the form of groups and teams. At the end of the day, competition is the real instigator for change, and a true motivator. Nothing else can beat the hype created by a competitive environment and the users are, rest assured, quite wary of this very tussle. As a matter of fact, motivation comes about within the thick of things when there is competition to bring about the value which the customers are looking towards at having. This motivation is exponentially increased when the organizations understand the very quotient of change happening within the dynamics of business undertakings and processes. Quite rightly so, competition brings in the metaphor of change – a change which eventually promises to motivate the organizational players into giving in their very best. Whether or not this motivation is enough to reap results, and that too of an effective level, this remains highly dependent on the motivation which is being brought about by the realms of competition and competitive activities. The different theories of motivation thus take into account the element of competition coming into their domains. This means that motivation comes about when there are competitive levels doing their very best and thus bringing about a solid ch ange within the dynamics of processes and norms which are relevant with respect to business regimes. Organizational philosophies have long banked on the premise of motivation and if its instigation is happening from the competitive levels, one can be sure that this is not a

Reservation to Resurgence-Contemporary Context Essay

Reservation to Resurgence-Contemporary Context - Essay Example Upon establishment of the USA, the ruling political class agreed to civilize the Native Americans, voluntarily or through force, to enhance their assimilation as citizens of the USA (Treuer 44). At the beginning of the 20th century, there were an estimated 250,000 Native Americans; this represented 0.3% of the total USA population. They lived in reservations where they experienced minimal level of self government. During the 19th century, they were deprived a huge portion of their land through succession of treaties, which the white authorities mostly ignored, and also through the military actions of the USA as it increased control in the American west. In 1831 John Marshall, who was the Chief Justice, tried to define the status of the Native Americans. He illustrated the Indian Tribes as Domestic Dependant Nations. Marshall recognized the uniqueness of the American Indians because they are both independent nations and part of the USA (Edward 23). As from 1887 to 1933, the federal policy enhances the assimilation of the Native Indians into the mainstream society of the USA. This policy was explained in the Dawes Act of 1887. The act decreed that the Indian Reservation land should be divided into plots, and given to each Native American. This policy was enhance by the Supreme Court decision in 1903 (Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock) that Congress can dispose Indian Land without obtaining consent form the Indians involved (Francis 12). The Citizenships Act in 1924 gave US citizenships to Native Americans; this was seen as a success of the policy on assimilation. The current legal status in the USA recognizes 562 tribal governments. The federally recognized tribal governments have the right of establishing their governments, enforce laws within their jurisdictions, create tax policies, formulate membership criteria, license activities like business, exclude and include persons in their territories

John Rocker :: essays research papers

"Imagine having to take the (No.) 7 train to (Shea Stadium) looking like you're (in) Beirut next to some kid with purple hair, next to some queer with AIDS, right next to some dude who got out of jail for the fourth time, right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids. It's depressing. "The biggest thing I don't like about New York are the foreigners," the 25-year-old Georgia native said. "You can walk an entire block in Times Square and not hear anybody speaking English. Asians and Koreans and Vietnamese and Indians and Russians and Spanish people and everything up there. How the hell did they get in this country?" These were the words spoken from Atlanta Braves Pitcher John Rocker in a December issue of Sports Illustrated. Those powerful lines are what people are chatting over. "Should we forgive him, or should we throw him in jail"? Those are only a couple opinions that are swirling around on what Major League Baseball should do. I, in no way agree with what Mr. Rocker is saying, however he is being treated is fair. In order to fully understand where Mr. Rocker was coming from, we have to go back to the MLB Playoffs. The Cinderella New York Mets take the Braves into extra innings in the 5th game of the National League Playoffs. In comes John Rocker, bursting with energy to try and shut the Mets down and take the Braves to the World Series. The Mets had other ideas and laced a couple base hits off Rocker, which eventually lead to the homerun that ended the game. Then when the Braves made it to the World Series, Rocker faced more harsh words from the New York Yankee's fans. The yelling and objects cascaded down from the stands whenever Rocker was out there. This threw his game off, and once again the Braves got beat in the series 4 - 0. So What? The fans where not very affectionate to Rocker, that's their job. Rocker should be able to deal with it like a true sportsman. He had to turn around and offend every human that is not like him. Was it wrong? Yes. Did he apologize? Yes, at least a dozen tim es, but to some ethnic groups that have been wronged like this for hundreds of years, this is what they have been dealing with. 	 As the people's outrage became more evident, Bud Selig, the commissioner of MLB, got involved.

Positive Organizational Scholarship Essay

Positive organizational scholarship is an emerging discipline in organizational behavior and is about positivity in organization. The need for it emerged to bridge the gap between moral and rational objectives. It is not a new science, it is the new way of looking at things, it’s like you have just changed your glasses. In today’s world, society is facing extremely tough challenges in the form of global warming, natural disasters, economic recession, unprecedented homelessness, terrorism and the draining continuation of war. So at this moment of extreme negative happenings and uncertainty, what is needed to be emphasized and brought up is positive. With all this sadness and horror, where in the world does a science based on testing happiness, wellbeing, personal growth and ‘the good life’ ? t into the modern-day agenda? So, Positive psychology; is the study of topics such as happiness, optimism, personal growth and subjective well being. It promotes the factors that allow the groups and communities to thrive or flourish. At the current stage in this world of negativity, positive psychology focuses on positive experiences at three time points a) past centering contentment; b) present focusing current happiness c) future including optimism and hope. We should know that what a good life is ? Aristotle and Plato used to believe that when people carried out a virtuous life they would become authentically happy. The happiness are of two types in positive psychology according to Seligman, one is hedonic happiness which is high level of positive affect and low levels of negative effect, in addition to high subjective life satisfaction. See more: how to start a scholarship essay Other is eudemonic wellbeing which focuses more on creation of meaning and purpose in life. (Hefferon & Boniwell, 2011) A science of positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions promises to improve quality of life and prevent the pathologies that arise when life is barren and meaningless. The model of Seligman of Positive psychology is divided into three parts: The pleasurable life, the good life, and the meaningful life. The â€Å"pleasurable life† is about things like shopping, eating, drugging, meaningless sex, etc. The research is finding that having more pleasures does not increase life satisfaction. The â€Å"good life† as defined by Seligman is about understanding and using one’s core strengths/virtues in work and love and play. He, in conjunction with Chris Peterson, developed a VIA Signature Strengths Survey found that Having a life of high absorption does correlate to life satisfaction measures according to Seligman. Lastly, the â€Å"meaningful life† is when a person uses his/her strengths for the purpose of something larger than him/herself. Choosing to live a life of faith, purpose, meaning, correlates to life satisfaction measures. Marty also sees this aspect of his model directly related to Positive Institutions—those organizations that promote positive character development and/or meaning. He’s mostly focused on non-profits and religious organizations but others are applying it to for-profit organizations. (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000) An approach that is positive to selection, development, and management of human resources in organizations has been emphasized by both scholars and professionals over the years. A wide variety of positively oriented high-performance work practices in placement, compensation, and motivation and their underlying strategies, structures, and cultures have also been extensively studied and supported for their contributions to organizational performance and competitiveness. Research and consulting by the Gallup Organization also supports the importance of positive, strength-based organizational cultures and human resource practices . (Buckingham & Clifton, 2001). For example, factors such as effective selection and placement practices that capitalize on employees’ talents, clear and aligned goals and expectations, social support and recognition, and opportunities for growth, development, and self actualization have been found to significantly contribute to employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and ultimately organizational profitability and growth(Harter, Schmidt, & Keynes, 2003) On the academic side, the positive organizational scholarship or POS movement has been instrumental in providing macro-level scholars with a conceptual framework for organizing and integrating their research on positive organizations (Cameron et al. , 2003). Positive refers to the elevating processes and outcomes in organizations. Organizational refers to the interpersonal and structural dynamics activated in and through organizations, specifically taking into account the context in which positive phenomena occur. Scholarship refers to the scientific, theoretically derived, and rigorous investigation of that which is positive in organizational setting. (KIM S. CAMERON & CAZA, 2004). Positive organizational scholarship (POS) is considered an alternative approach to studying organizations; it is argued that POS plays a critical theory role in contemporary organizational scholarship. By using essays on critical theory in organizational science to consider POS research, and drawing from the principles of Gestalt psychology, it is argued that the important distinctions between POS and traditional organizational scholarship lie in POS’s emphasis on positive processes, on value transparency, and on extending the range of what constitutes a positive organizational outcome. In doing so, it is concluded that the primary contribution of POS is that it offers an alternative to the deficit model that shapes the design and conduct of organizational research. (Caza. & Caza. , 2008) There are several reasons that exist for the neglect of positive phenomena in organizational science. They include a) Lack of valid and reliable measuring devices b) the association of positivity with uncritical science c) the fact that negative events have greater impact on people than positive events(Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Finkenauer, & Vohs, 2001) The first reason for the neglect towards POS concerning measurement and instrumentation, most positively focused at work up to now has been at the psychological level. For example only surveys had been used up till now for finding out anything related to it. Most scholarly work in POS has been conceptual and definitional rather than empirical. Little empirical work has been published. (Cameron, Dutton, & Quinn, 2003). The article by Losada and Heaphy uses a model to estimate team effectiveness. Communication patterns in 60 top management teams were observed and coded in day long strategic planning sessions. The ratio of positive to negative communication was ranging among high, medium and low performing teams. Positive teams performed significantly better Similarly Cameron, Bright and Caza’s study in which they surveyed organizations across a number of industry types, and eventually they found out that the organizations scoring higher on virtuousness had a better performance than the other ones. The second reason to the neglect towards POS is that the topics related to it have sometimes been associated with non scholarly prescriptions. Hope and optimism for example have been interpreted as wishful thinking. POS uses the word scholarship to identify its scientific and theoretical foundations. It is committed to documenting, measuring, and explaining usually positive human experiences in organizations. The third reason for the dearth of POS illustrated by Baumeisteret et al’s concluded that the events that are negative for example losing money or receiving criticism will always have a greater impact on the individual than the positive events such as winning money or receiving praise. Many good events can overcome the psychological effects of a single bad one. In case the numbers of good and bad events are equal then the psychological effects of bad ones always outweigh the good ones. This tells us that the neglect of problems and challenges might threaten the survival of individual. And the neglect of positive might only result into regret or disappointment. (KIM S.  CAMERON & CAZA, 2004) Identifying the factors that lead to joy and happiness, hope and faith, and â€Å"what makes life worth living† represents a shift from reparative psychology to a psychology of positive experience. Similarly, Positive organizational scholarship examines the positive side of organizational performance. It investigates positive deviance, or the ways in which organizations and their members flourish and prosper in especially humane and extraordinary ways. It investigates virtuous elements in organizations such as compassion, forgiveness, dignity, respectful encounters, optimism and positive effect, integrity, and wisdom. This emphasis parallels a new movement in psychology that is shifting from the traditional focus on illness and pathology (e. g.  , deviancy, abnormality, and therapy) toward a positive psychology that focuses on human strengths and virtues. (Dinnah Pladott, 2003) Pos is concerned with understanding the integration of positive and negative conditions. Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS) and Positive Psychology are focused on understanding the conditions and processes that explain flourishing. What differentiates POS is an explicit interest in understanding and explaining flourishing in organizational contexts (including individuals, groups, units and whole organizations). Flourishing refers to being in an optimal range of human functioning and is indicated at the individual level by goodness, generatively, growth and resilience. At  the collective level of groups and organizations, flourishing may be indicated by creativity, innovation, growth, resilience, thriving virtuousness or other markers that a collective is healthy and is performing in an â€Å"above normal† or positively deviant range. POS also focuses on the development of individual, group and collective strengths that represent forms of individual and collective excellence. POS unites existing domains of organizational inquiry focused on flourishing. This includes work on flourishing indicators such as creativity, engagement, flow, growth, health and well-being, as well as contributors to flourishing that consider features of the organization, group and job contexts.