Africa before Transatlantic Enslavement

The study 'Africa before Transatlantic Enslavement' by USI (Understanding Slavery Initiative), a UK national learning project which specializes in researches regarding transatlantic slavery and its legacies through museum and heritage collections, reminds that some of the world's great civilizations such as Kush, Axum, Mali, and Great Zimbabwe flourished in the years before 1500.

It was wealth, especially gold in great empires of West Africa such as Ghana, Mali, and Songhay, that induced Europeans to make voyages to Africa during the 13th and 14th centuries. As pointed out in the study, Africa before 1500 had developed sound economic and political systems. Difficult agricultural problems were solved, and Africa was engaged in local, regional, and even international trading networks. There were specialized miners, artists, and other knowledge professionals. Although some form of slavery existed in all forms of early civilizations and Africa is no exception, transatlantic slavery under which Africans were exploited by colonial western rulers did immense harm to the fabric of African continent in an unprecedented way. It is at the heart of many problems that Africans still face today although slavery is banned officially in all respectable societies today. 

Transatlantic slave trade led to forceful immigration of tens and thousands of Africans. As Africa started underperforming, ability of Africans as a race began to have a negative perception. Notions were put forward that Africa had never developed any institution and needed European assistance to make progress. This is despite the fact that some of the early civilizations existed in Africa, including the Nile valley civilization, Egypt over 5000 years ago. Africa is a place where some of the world's great civilizations such as Kush, Axum, Mali, and Great Zimbabwe flourished in the years before 1500. It is ironical that it was a Muslim invasion with their North African conquest of the Iberian peninsula beginning 8th century that led to the re-introduction of much of the knowledge of the ancient world to Europe! 

The study under lens by UK-based USI reminds rich achievements of Egyptians in learning including mathematics, medicine, mechanics, philosophy, and agriculture. As a consequence, negative views by philosophers like David Hume in the 18th century, German Philosopher Hegel in the 19th century, or Hugh-Trevor-Roper in the 20th century regarding Africans cannot stand the scrutiny. 

It hurts when unjustified doubts are raised about Africans. One cannot definitely agree with some of the claims in the study like Pythagoras theorem known to the Africans hundreds of years before Pythagoras' birth. Most of the contents, otherwise, in the study are supported by wider findings by other historians on the issue. For instance, Muslim conquest of the Iberian peninsula in the 7th century is supported by Medieval Sourcebook: Ibn Abd-el-Hakem: The Islamic Conquest of Spain.

College sport in US: Why equal stipend for all participants?

(This article is written from the perspective of United States of America where participating in sport is seen very positively by the society. A close look will be taken at college sport in this article from the standpoint of stipend. A contention will be made why participating in all college sports, not just highly profitable football, should receive stipends (i.e., some form of fixed remuneration in cash instead of just scholarship that helps to fund college education), and why stipends should be distributed equally between all games. Opposing viewpoints like stipend would lead to cheapening of college athletes will be put in perspective. In countries like India and South Korea, learning usually means getting high academic scores. Sport in colleges here has a marginal role when it comes to admission and funding. There is perhaps still a long way to go to change that.)

It is true that purpose of college is learning. Sport too constitutes a part of learning. Success of any sportsperson is not related with just his or her physical strength: it surprisingly involves mental qualities as well. Whether it is physical-centric sports like football and basketball or mental-centric sports like chess, all require a power to endure. Just like ability to read and write opens new windows of opportunity and makes a citizen useful to the society, so is the case with sport. Successful college athletes are, after all, in a better position to handle services that require blend of physical stamina and mental endurance. The nation benefits from grooming of young people who can more easily be assimilated in national services like security forces, state intelligence agencies.

Sport helps in approaching life a more positive way. Current US President Barack Obama is regularly seen taking part in basketball and baseball games. United States of America has made significant wealth through enterprising activities of its people, which is one of the hallmarks of successful athletes. Not surprisingly, state provides a supportive environment for young people to take part in sports. College sport is an excellent way of combining education with athletic endeavor whilst having one’s degree funded through scholarship.

College sport in US in modern times is a big business generating millions of dollars of revenue for individual colleges. It is reported by ESPN that The Longhorns' athletic department made about $45 million from selling tickets to sporting events in 2010. Colleges in Ohio states collectively earned $15.8 million, North Carolina $10.2 million, and Alabama $8.8 million from selling TV, radio, and internet rights. For the University of Central Florida, students are generating almost $15 million of the bill from the athletic department (For more recent data of Sept 2014, click The 20 Colleges that Make the Most Money on Sports). Not surprisingly, such revenues help to make colleges self-sustainable. Colleges can pass this benefit directly to students by reducing their tuition fees, not taking subsidies from state, investing more on educational projects, or paying stipends which is the pertinent topic discussed under this article.

It is to be noted that US state policies do not allow college athletes to be paid stipends. Otherwise, college students would essentially turn out to be employees, changing legal dynamics by making them eligible for workers' compensation and other benefits. According to one commentator, a proposal of $150-per-month stipend for athletic scholarship recipients in football and basketball is sham on the premise of ‘amateurism,’ a cornerstone of college sport.

According to Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley, players deserve a share in the huge money generated by commercialization of college sport. Head Ball Coach Steve Spurrier says fifty years ago, there was not any kind of money, and the players got full scholarships. Spurrier, who reportedly earned $2.8 billion in 2011, said that now it truly bothers that he has gotten rich while remuneration of his players has not changed.

Earlier, Spurrier had proposed $300-a-game stipend for college football players. This is interesting. But what about those athletes who do not participate in more profitable games like football and baseball? Understandably, state laws prohibit special concession for a single game. If football is making surplus money, some part of it can be transferred for athletes of other genre. This will lead to balanced growth of all sporting activities. After all, each sport is important in the sense it represents one unique kind of skill development. While more popular games like USC football and Duke basketball will help their players be a part of the huge business they generate in terms of TV shows etc., less popular ones like lacrosse at Johns Hopkins would not be left behind.

If it is feared that rewarding stipends would lead to indiscipline among athletes who are also young college learners, then a system that rewards them after a time lag may be thought of. For instance, athletes can be paid stipends once they leave their colleges or after two or five years from the college exit. This would address problem of cheapening qualities of college athletes. 

It appears unfair for athletes who help to generate millions of dollars for colleges and coaches to just remain contended with scholarships. For sports like gymnastics, there is a young age barrier. Those participating in college sport, who are the pillars behind generating huge revenue, should receive a fair share of their efforts. It would be unfair if coaches and other stakeholders benefit disproportionately. At the same time, equal stipend for all athletes would help development of multiple sporting skills in an impartial way.

New Arab Revolt: What Happened, What It Means, and What Comes Next

(BOOK REVIEW)

The compendium New Arab Revolt: What Happened, What It Means, and What Comes Next (publication date: May 1, 2011 by Council on Foreign Relations, US) covers key past events that defined today’s Arab world with an eye on future. With articles written by 49 authors in addition to three interviews and a documents section, this can be a useful reference book for anyone interested in the Middle East politics and society.

The treatise can be useful to understand how confiscation of an unlicensed vegetable cart of a 26-year-old street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi in a small Tunisian town led to nightmares for dictators Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, President of Tunisia and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

The compendium starts with providing readers with a regional map and an introduction by Foreign Affairs Editor Gideon Rose (Gideon Rose predicts that other dictatorial regimes in the region are quite likely to face serious upheaval as well. True, Libyan dictator Moummar Gaddafi who ruled Libya from 1969 to 2011 with iron fist is now ousted through popular civil uprising aided by a NATO intervention.)

Then it deals with the past with five chapters written by Fouad Ajami (The Sorrows of Egypt, Foreign Affairs, September/October 1995), Martin Indyk (Back to the Bazaar, Foreign Affairs, January/February 2002), Bernard Lewis (Freedom and Justice in the Modern Middle East, Foreign Affairs, May/June 2005), and Steven A. Cook (Adrift on the Nile: The Limits of the Opposition in Egypt, Foreign Affairs, March/April 2009 and Is El Baradei Egypt’s Hero? Mohamad El Baradei and the Chance for Reform, ForeignAffairs.com, March 26, 2010).

The treatise next explores future for the Arab world with five thought-provoking articles including Demystifying the Arab Spring: Parsing the Differences Between Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya by Lisa Anderson and Terrorism after the Revolutions: How Secular Uprisings Could Help (or Hurt) Jihadists by Daniel Byman, both first published in Foreign Affairs in May/June 2011.

What makes the compendium more relevant is inclusion of a complete section on Libya: Intervention in Libya that includes 13 articles analyzing present-day Libya from vivid angles including the role of US in toppling Gaddafi’s regime. We do not know the answer of question raised by Meghan L. O’Sullivan in the article “Will Libya Become Obama’s Iraq?” There are allegations of winning ugly in Libya by Michael O’ Hanlon in the article echoed by part of mainstream media.

The compendium has 15 articles in the section titled “The Cracks Spread”. This covers almost all Arab players in the region including Jordan (Why Jordan is not a Regional Domino by Robert Danin, first published in CFR.org on February 1, 2011), Iran (Iran’s Protests and Economic Realities, an interview with Suzanne Maloney, published in CFR.org on February 22, 2011), Palestine (The Arab Turmoil and Palestinians – Interview with Rashid I. Khalidi, published in CFR.org on February 25, 2011), Bahrain (Bahrain’s Shia Question: What the United States Gets Wrong About Sectarianism by Kristin Smith Diwan in ForeignAffairs.com on March 2, 2011), Iraq (Rage Comes to Baghdad: Will Iraq’s Recent Protests Lead to Revolt? by Raad Alkadiri published in ForeignAffairs.com on March 3, 2011), Syria (The Sturdy House That Assaud Built: Why Damascus Is Not Cairo by Michael Broning published in ForeignAffairs.com on March 7, 2011), Saudi Arabia (Rageless in Riyadh: Why the Al Saud Dynasty Will Remain by F. Gregory Gause III published in Foreign Affairs.com on March 16, 2011), Algeria and Morocco (Meanwhile in the Maghreb: Have Algeria and Morocco Avoided North Africa’s Unrest?, published in Foreign Affairs.com by Azzedine Layachi on March 31, 2011).

Historical ties or economic interests with one party can develop biases while reporting international events such as September 11, 2001 attacks on United States of America or Israel-Palestine conflict. These biases are often the results of looking at things from a local perspective. While expressing anguish over the casualties in September 2001 terrorist attacks in United States, international media also blamed US for not taking into considerations interests of the Muslim world. What gives the compendium under discussion a western tilt is that Council on Foreign Relations seeks to guide US policy makers on foreign affairs matters. This is despite the fact that the Council claims to take no institutional positions on policy matters and is independent of the US government.

Inclusion of articles like “Are the Mideast Revolutions Bad for Women’s Rights?” by Isobel Coleman published in Washington Post on February 20,2011 gives the book a social dimension as well in addition to dealing exhaustively with the politics of the day. There are also 13 documents, including remarks by President Barack Obama on a new beginning delivered at Cairo University, Egypt on June 4, 2009.

Director Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story

Through snippets of personal interviews and commentary on historical events in run-up to 2008 economic recession, Director Michael Moore‘s Capitalism: A Love Story portrays some of the dark sides of capitalism in US. The movie throughout has flavor of humor and sarcasm.

The movie starts with the footage of an armed robbery in which one of the robbers is in clutch. Next, there are few shots from a film named ‘Life in Ancient Rome,’ as Moore shows some more recent symbols of American power, including Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center wrapped with its usual stardom.   While depicting ancient Rome, the story more realistically starts with post World War II, which is the time period from which the movie will examine issues of capitalism categorically. Reminiscing 1989 when autoworkers in Flint, Michigan were protesting against layoffs, the movie moves forward 20 years. Moore visits the nation’s capital, asking average American people how they are doing keeping economic needs and aspirations in mind. The movie continues with another hour and a half of sobbing and smirking remarks by cross section of audience that includes actor and writer Wallace Shawn who defines free enterprise.

Mr. Moore presents himself as ‘Everyman,’ whose relatives benefited from the postwar middle-class prosperity. However, there was a difficult phase during the time of Vietnam War. This followed with snippet of grim-faced Jimmy Carter warning about threat from idolizing self indulgence and consumption. The movie then portrays Ronald Reagan’s rule when corporate gained more power and unions debilitated. Moore calls tax cuts and household debt as ‘spokesmodel for president’. Cut in tax rates led to rise in household debt. Shots from 'Roger & Me,’ Moore’s first film is also included.

The movie has many instances of people interviewed being manipulated by their employers. One instance is of an employee whose wife was insured without his knowledge and employer made a big sum after the death of woman, a practice called as death peasant insurance. Incorporated in the movie is ‘casino mentality’ of Wall Street and influence of Goldman Sachs in Washington.

The movie examines why young people are attracted towards finance than science. Fat salaries that executives in financial houses like Goldman Sachs and PwC earn allures many to join. In his course of query, Moore visits offices of big financial corporate houses trying to learn about ‘derivatives,’and ‘credit default swaps’ from financial executives. Interestingly, a past Vice President of Lehman Brothers, Marcus Haupt, could not explain meaning of such terms convincingly to Moore.

In the run-up to the crisis are also explored the role of Alan Greenspan and the US Treasury Department. Ohio Senate member Marcy Kaptur agrees with Moore that bailout package by the Obama administration is illegal.

The movie ‘Capitalism: A Love Story’ is a tragedy masked in comedy. The movie is not about capitalism theories put forward by economists like Adam Smith or Karl Marx. The movie, however, has little to offer remedy against negative outcomes of capitalism except calling for replacing the capitalism (money) with democracy (people). There is a religious component too when Moore asks if capitalism is a sin and if Jesus would choose to be a capitalist.

What is wrong with Single Member Plurality? Case study in context of electoral reform in Canada

Canada's current electoral system is built on the British model of parliamentary system which it inherited from its colonial past. The existing SMP (Single Member Plurality) system which divides a country into number of geographical divisions (ridings) and from the winners (Members of Parliament or MPs) of each division or riding government formed metaphorically finds its expression in horse racing where only one horse who manages to pass the post first counts: First-Past-The-Post (FPTP).

Instead of total number of votes obtained countrywide, a government is formed on the basis of number of winning seats, and this can create substantial anomaly. Huntley and Wortis observe, “Because there are usually several candidates in a riding, the winner is frequently elected with significantly less than percent of the votes cast; many voters are therefore represented by an MLA for whom they did not vote.” They argue, “FPTP often produces a legislature whose composition does not accurately reflect voters’ preferences." In 1993 federal election for example, Bloc Quebecois became the official opposition despite securing fourth highest popular votes. It is this deviation which is at the heart of discontent with SMP.

Democratic deficit is what is expected from a democracy and not delivered through the existing system. According to Jansen and Siaroff, “the SMP system contributes to the regionalization of Canada's party system. Furthermore, it distorts the parliamentary representation of large parties, under-represents small parties with nationally-dispersed support, and over-represents those parties with small regional base of support.”

One advantage of SMP, however, is that by discouraging smaller parties, it tends to reduce chances of coalition governments or minority governments. Smaller parties with newer ideas are not always in a position to carry forward their philosophy and fund themselves for a long time, making it tougher to support and sustain new ideologies (Bittle, 2002). 

Mixed-Member Proportional representation (MMP) is one interesting alternative to address democratic deficit from the existing SMP. Under the proposed MMP, half of the Members of Parliament (MPs) would be elected from single-member districts using SMP while other half selected in a way so as to compensate parties against distortions in voting from the SMP system. This is seen as a judicious blend where the other half would take care of the distortions produced through First-Past-The-Post concept. It is, however, feared that the new system would give too much influence to party bosses who would determine half of the candidates earmarked for compensating against distortions from the SMP: this is not truly democratic. Also, the number of MPs would double adding cost to the nation.

On the positive side under the proposed MMP, parties will be rewarded for every vote they get. Total number of seats in the legislature represented by a party will more closely mirror total votes bagged (exact method of calculation slightly varies). New Zealand and Germany are presently using this system. MMP would give smaller parties with new ideas an early recognition. Proportional representation would also help create pressure among prominent parties to work for common interest because of fear of coalitions and minority governments. Proportional representation would provide under-represented groups such as minorities a greater say: they are the ones who are victims of single plurality the most.

On the negative side, MMP can lead to formation of many smaller parties making opposition vague. It is feared MMP would lead to more minority or coalition governments. SMP keeps number of smaller parties in check. C.J. Kam, skeptic of proportional representation, feels that SMP does a better job of setting conditions required for accountability than proportional representation because Kam sees accountability, which is ability of citizens to identify and sanction underperforming political agents, as more important than representation. By keeping number of parties functionally limited, SMP does prepare a ground for competitive opposition. Also for voters, SMP is easy to understand while MMP complicated. In order to implement MMP, citizens should be first taught of its modus operandi.

Introducing proportionality into voting system will dramatically change ways negotiations are carried over government formation, cabinet membership, and the likes. J.C. Courtney observes that it is not necessarily an untoward development, as political history of some countries with non-plurality votes show. But for Canada, that would be entering uncharted waters with no historical map of inter-party, as opposed to intra-party, elite bargaining to draw on.

Among other proposals, Single Transferable Vote (STV) is one which has caught the attention of electoral reformists in Canada more than others. Under STV, a voter can place his or her ranking preference in ordinal terms irrespective of party affiliation. A voter can mark his or her preference for candidates of the same party as well as from different parties. A voter will get still only one vote. The main feature of Single Transferable Vote is that if the candidate voted by you as your first preference has no chance of winning or already secured sufficient votes, your vote is transferred to another candidate (from your own or different geographical division) as per your instructions. Thus few votes are wasted. This is unlike Single Member Plurality for which Huntley and Wortis observe, “Under FPTP, voters who prefer an independent candidate or one from a smaller party are routinely placed in the frustrating position of “wasting” their vote on a candidate they now will not be elected or voting for someone who is not their first preference. In this situation they may, indeed, decide not to vote at all.”.

STV is presently used in Ireland and Australia. Under the proposed BC-STV which went for referendum in May 2009 in British Columbia, total number of MLAs (Member of the Legislative Assembly) would remain the same at 85. British Columbia is to be divided into 20 larger geographical districts. A voter could exercise preference for more than one MLA from within a district. As voters could also influence election outcome from nearby constituencies of their district, STV can also be one weapon to put national interest above regionalism.

It is felt that lack of information among public and perception that BC-STV is complicated was one prime stumbling block to have it passed in the 2009 referendum. Andrew Coyne, a supporter of BC-STV, shows BC-STV is simple enough for an eleven-year-old child to use! Perhaps such proportional systems need better ways of demonstrating so that voters are not intimidated.

Communitarian movement of Amitai Etzioni: What makes it so popular since 1990s?

Discussion regarding communitarian movement in this article pertains to works of Israeli-born American intellectual Amitai Etzioni ((date of birth January 4, 1929) to popularize community ideas while respecting personal liberty through Communitarian Network, a nonprofit organization, since 1990s. The word communitarian (noun communitarianism) is coined from the word community carefully avoiding communal as the same is now pariah because of failure of the erstwhile communist countries to come out with a doctrine as opposed to capitalism that can better take care of economy and mass. This movement does not propose a new political or economic system uprightly but raise awareness where citizens prioritize community interest starting with 'family as building block' as part of 'individual responsibility' and 'social morality' voluntarily.

Continuing Erosion-Cum-Disintegration of Moral Order in Family since 1960s

Statistics reveals that proportion of nuclear families in US had decreased from 42 percent in 1960 to 26 percent in 1990; rate of divorce doubled while rates of illegitimacy rose from 21 per 1000 births in 1960 to 42 in 1989. These, according to communitarian leaders, speak amply of gradual erosion-cum-disintegration of moral order in society during the period. Ordinary people find it hard to understand what family stands for; where a child stands in responsibility of parents. This has impacted family, building block of any society, the most. Renewed stress on communitarian movement from the 1990s targets rectifying such crises from families.

US Society during 1950s Marked by High Degree of Moral Suasion

Amitai Etzioni did a study of communitarian trends in US dividing it under distinct time phases. He observes that US society during 1950s (refer three from organizational theory to the new communitarian movement of Amitai Etzioni, The ideal of American society in the 1950s, pg.34) was marked by high degree of imposed discipline and moral suasion. He recalls a fact that it was compulsory for college students to take a number of prescribed classes, which in his word ‘reflected unabashedly’ dominant set of values. Coercion, according to him, may be good at times but can be destructive if applied too generously. In his view, low autonomy is not always a bad thing.

Emotional Crisis Because of Too Much Freedom and Dwindling Influence of Religion 

At a time when most states do not prohibit abortion and are neutral on homosexual behavior, there is an emotional crisis on part of many new-age citizens because of too much freedom. In pursuit of being secular, there is little motivation to adhere to strict lifestyle other than legal rulings by state. A vacuum is felt created in personal life because of failure to adhere to any strict norm of living, be it under a banner of religion or any other moral philosophy. Amitai Etzioni observes that while the essence of 1950s was deep sense of obligation, 1960s to 1980s saw growing temptation to eschew from social responsibilities. One main reason cited is dwindling influence of religion in personal life.

The Rise of Counter-Feminists 

When it comes to laying foundation of a good family, women naturally takes a center stage. Feminism has been a vocal movement over past decades which liberated women of many restrictions. Despite this, there are issues such as pregnancy that cannot be addressed in terms of equal rights for men and women. Huge success for women-rights activists through legal rulings led to so called counter-feminists such as Phyllis Schlafly fighting for against its excesses. The aim is to instill some form of order in family and justice for children who are victims of neglect of their parents due to divorce, indifference etc. This movement (movement by counter feminists) is often labeled as communitarian conservatism.

Nation One Large Community on Which Provision of Welfare of People Depends

 According to Communitarian leaders Maurice Mullard and Paul Spicker, revival of institutions of family, neighborhood, and community would once again lay foundation of a vibrant communal atmosphere. David Miller, another Communitarian leader, opines that nation is one large community on which provision of welfare of its people depends.

Communitarian Movement Offers a Channel to Reform While Remaining Neutral on Religion

Elsewhere and in the western countries, there has also been a rise in religious fundamentalism. As a result, there is compulsion on part of policy makers to be neutral on religion while promoting good ethics. In a secular setup, only way to bring all people together and make them agree to adhere to good moral behavior is through channels that are religiously neutral. Communitarian movement promises itself one such powerful channel.

Future Possibility of Community-Based Social Work in an International Context

After judging Communitarian Movement today and Labor’s distinct ways to project the welfare state in United Kingdom, many predict a future possibility of community-based social work in an international context. Community as a basis for social work has attracted renewed interest with popularization of this movement. Community is seen as a point of care and support as well as conflict and discrimination. If one stretches concept of community, it can be all embracing from welfare of a single family to whole nation. The movement has suggestions on ways to improve family life, tackle feminist issues, protect rights of children, rights of mentally and physically challenged, and so on.

No Thin Line of Difference Between Justified Coercion by Communitarian Leaders and Excessive Coercion

There is, however, no thin line of difference between justified coercion by communitarian leaders like Etzioni and excessive coercion. It is feared that if parents and teachers start taking too proactive role in bringing children, the very interest might be counterproductive. It may curtail individual freedom of a child to grow and thrive in realistic ways. Western people are after all known and appreciated for being independent-minded. Experiences of close community in many Asian countries show how rigid their family and society became over time. There was little room for flexibility and society was intolerant to other religion or culture. There were few rights for women, who were exploited in the name of maintaining good family and good community. Children were brainwashed to follow tradition.

Amish Community Model: Against for Diversity

One concept of community as perceived by ordinary laymen is depicted through Amish community in the movie ‘The Witness,’ directed by Peter Weir, 20th Century Fox. The Amish have their ancestral roots to Switzerland of the 18th century. They live in close group and avoid strangers. Farming is their main source of sustenance. As Christians, they believe they should live as brethren, that their faith is distinct from State, and that they are committed to live peacefully. They live a simple life and wear modest clothes. Sunday evening ‘sing’ is attended by all teenagers. Men do outside work like farming while women do household work like cooking. Amish believe that their faith calls for good work. Children receive education in Amish schools. In the movie, they are seen taking care of each other. People in this water-tight community do not like police. They do not follow rules of any other community because they see their own rules well and sufficient.

If this is one perception of community, then it is only natural to have some form of skepticism while examining if Communitarian Movement can adequately recognize, support, and promote moral and cultural diversity. After all, it is one thing to recognize, support, and promote moral and cultural values, which, as we could see, is found in plenty in the Amish community model; and other, when question of diversity comes in. The same in Amish community model is found to be against for diversity.

Imposing Strict Guidelines May Ultimately Take a Form of Religion

One of the goals of communitarian leaders is to form an ideology where people adopt moral ethics in their day-to-day life without religious discourse. But any guideline which call in adopting good ethics may ultimately take a form of religion; even in a way of extreme religion which does not recognize any religion, as we see in case of socialism and communism in many countries empirically. If Communitarian Movement gets huge popularity, it is doubtful whether it can resist that trend.

Risk of Dictatorship When Intermixed with Politics and Economics

Giving importance to individual satisfaction and personal autonomy is important; otherwise, there will be tendency on part of communitarian leaders to dictate their own philosophy, which at some point, might restrict society to exercise diversity in thoughts, religion, and everything which such communitarian leaders will not be comfortable with. Empirically, this is found true with erstwhile USSR, which was formed on huge hopes of founding a big community where community goals will take precedence over individual interests. Over time, it ruthlessly sanctioned practice of religion and any philosophy which stood against its perception of ideal community. When intermixed with politics and economics, this has been a problem with traditional Communitarian Movements. Gradually, focus shifts on dictating ordinary people in community.

Communitarian Movement Overlaps with Other Initiatives in Society

The Communitarian Movement often overlaps with other initiatives in society such as welfare and applied ethics. Philosophers such as Tony Fitzpatrick have tried to explore how ethical theories can be relevant to social policy in a welfare community. The economic concept of welfare state is not new. The same age old concept of welfare state is approached by many philosophers in community setup, making a case for good family and increased happiness for all its members. This, however, makes its doctrine rather some form of wishful thinking than few practical things that can be done and delivered. While communitarian leaders address feminist issues keeping it under context of a good family, others like Johanna Brenner argue that they must be set in political and economic context.

Talking about Good Community: Gimmick to Win Audience?

For many political leaders, talking about good community is just a gimmick to win audience and gain votes. We see in United Kingdom that this has become a battleground for its political parties. It is important to discern facts from rhetoric without which this term can be open to lose interpretation and not help serve any meaningful community reform. For instance, the following Blair’s speech appears in its tone yet another of likes that he was used to while building a case for going to war in Iraq: At the heart of my beliefs is the idea of community. I don’t just mean the villages, towns and cities in which we live. I mean that our fulfillment as individuals lies in a decent society of others. My argument to you today is that the renewal of community is the answer to the challenges of a changing world.

Independent Standing Contested and Accused of Being Non-Inclusive

Whether Communitarian movement has any independent standing or it is just a repeat of basic moral lessons that children have been taught during their primary classes over the years can be open to debate. What we see as ideals for good community in Scotland, Wales, and Norway as cited by many communitarian leaders is perhaps result of high level of refinement on part of citizens through a long history that started with the renaissance. The fact that such countries have given asylum to political refugees and political prisoners may also be because of vested interests. If a state gives incentive to so-called ‘good people’ in community, it will obviously indirectly penalize those who do not match its version of definition. It could be predicted to be non-inclusive because anyone who will not be seen ‘good’ in this model will be left out of its benefits. Also, many of notions put forward by communitarian leaders are fuzzy and cannot be taken without a grain of salt. For instance, intense obsession of Etzioni with US society before 1950s and sarcasm for decades that follow till 1990s appears to be a personal way of viewing things that old days were good days. The fact of the matter is that over the years US society has become more open, more diverse, and more receptive to new culture. If communitarian leaders have objection to that, then this may be because of some form of nostalgia: returning to old days where Church visit was an integral part of living. Communitarian leaders are not comfortable with mainstream economic culture of too much stress on individualism and Spencerism. They usually suggest a middle path. But this is nothing new.

Serving to Make a Case for Good Family and Good Community; Citizen Journalism and Disinterested Scrutiny Should Stop the Movement Taking Conservative Route

The new Communitarian Movement perhaps seeks to moderate aspirations of extreme socialists and prods those who are too individualistic in their personal life to take a family and community approach. By putting stress on moral responsibility of each individual, it appears that goal of current Communitarian Movement is to address some of excesses of human behavior which has made personal, family, and social life of many of modern citizens miserable in qualitative terms. There is no doubt that Communitarian Movement has become popular over the last decade or so. Right now, the movement broadly is not geared on changing any political structure. Repeated association of western philosophers like John Mcmurray and Christian socialism with this movement does, however, raise concern whether it is just that limited in scope or crossing its limit. Will it be another western crusade to revive its past culture which has been threatened by influx of mass arrival of immigrants over the years? This may be an exaggerated fear today. So long as it induces people for good moral behavior, there is little to be intimidated by it per se. Right now, it appears that Communitarian Movement is actually serving to make a case for good family and good community under a secular setup. New-age citizen journalism and disinterested scrutiny should stop the movement taking any conservative route that makes it vulnerable to faults like the one evident from the erstwhile USSR experience.

Double standard in raw milk ban vis-à-vis cigarette and alcoholic drinks in Canada

(The following article is not so much about personal life story of Canadian dairy farmer Michael Schmidt. It is not relevant whether Michael Schmidt has personal commercial interest in mind. The theme that is targeted is rather freedom of choice to consume and intrusion of government in this affair because of influence of corporate houses worldwide.)

Sale of unpasteurized milk is currently prohibited in Canada. For well over two decades until 2006, Michael Schmidt was distributing raw milk from his Glencolton Farms in Canada. The fact that Michael was selling milk that is not pasteurized was never denied by him. In 2006, Michael’s farm became a subject of surveillance by officials who deployed cameras to gather proof. Since then, there has been a big debate over Michael Schmidt’s right to sell raw milk. 

Many who had become used to consuming raw milk distributed by Michael found it extraordinarily wholesome. They claim that it flavored better than branded milks. Also, it gave them great satisfaction that the milk is from well-cared animals living in a natural farm near neighboring Grey Bruce County. One web discussion titled "Canadian farmer on hunger strike to protest government raid; freedom of choice violation" cites examples of people who opted for Michael’s milk and experienced number of health benefits including relief from osteoporosis, ulcer, and allergies. Many claim unlike pasteurized milk, milk distributed by Michael did not cause constipation. 

On the other hand, health experts say there is tangible menace in consuming raw milk, particularly for small children. Unpasteurized milk could include a number of harmful bacteria, including campylobacter, listeria, salmonella, brucella, and E. coli 0157:H7 that led to the death of seven people in Walkerton in 2000. 

Rady Ananda in her article "How Safe Is Your Food? GMO’s, Foodborne illness and Trade Agreements" is particularly worried about how governments and corporate houses are using so-called ‘food safety’ to manipulate market access. Ananda brings into light a global report released by GRAIN claiming that whole of the exercise, instead of making food safer, imposes open markets or backchannel ways to monopolize things. 

The 37-page GRAIN report observes that while the food problem globally is getting more serious with every passing day, governments and corporations are responding to the food crisis that has little to do with public health. It is stated in the GRAIN report that BSE or mad cow disease does not originate from cows that feed on normal grass: it is rather grains mixed with slaughter waste that leads to BSE. It is true that selling raw milk is permitted in 28 states in US and all other G8 countries. However, there is intense pressure by big dairy houses who sell their milks in branded form to stop distribution of raw milk. According to the report, legal rulings only support corporate houses to the disadvantage of biodiversity, traditional knowledge, and local markets.

The documentary "Michael Schmidt: Organic Hero or Bio Terrorist" narrates the plight of local Canadian farmer as he endeavors to supply 'farm fresh milk' while confronting government officers and preparing for his court case. One nature lover Paul Noble who is perturbed by the intrusion of the government over raw milk opines that if God intended us to drink pasteurized milk, he would have put a pasteurizer on the cow. Accepting that it may be harmful for human beings to consume raw milk, should it be taken as far as raw milk not allowed to be consumed by those who still choose to drink voluntarily? If consumption of raw milk has harmful effect on small children, perhaps banning it from consumption by small children would be the right thing. Making raw milk out of the reach of nature lovers who choose to consume knowing risks associated appears unacceptable.

According to Karen Selick, lawyer of Michael Schmidt, the issue is not just about selling raw milk but of wider human rights. It is harmful to consume cigarette and other alcoholic drinks. Are they not allowed to be sold with warnings? They will never be banned because of being produced by powerful corporate houses. Banning raw milk completely is easy because relatively poor dairy farmer have little say on the system. By restricting Michael Schmidt from carrying on his business, clearly it is a case of double standard.

El Contrato : Korean-Canadian Writer Min Sook Lee unearths plight of immigrant laborers in Leamington

The documentary El Contrato by Korean-Canadian writer Min Sook Lee traces plight of Mexican laborers in Leamington in Ontario, Canada. Teodoro and “M” together with few other Mexican colleagues make annual immigration to Southern Ontario to pick tomatoes. “M” puts on a mask to conceal his real identity.

Once identified with Heinz tomatoes, one quarter of a billion pounds of tomatoes is harvested from the Leamington stretch. According to 2011 survey, total population of Leamington is 28,833 with 7,485 immigrants. Most of these immigrants are from Mexico and Jamaica and work as seasonal laborers.

To make sure that no one remains in Canada after contract, only married men are allowed to sign in for El Contrato (meaning “under contract” in Portuguese). Those eligible for El Contrato should have less than a grade school learning. The contract stipulates that at $7.25 per hour, they would work ten hours a day, seven days a week. A quarter of their pay would be deducted as taxes and costs related with conveyance and lodging. 

For eight months a year, the town adds nearly 4000 migrants who work under wages which perhaps no local residents would be ready to work with. The job is tiring. One observer is quoted as saying, "If that's all you can do, how smart can you be?" 

These farm workers in tomato gardens add economic utility to the beautiful town of Leamington which is also known for tourism. They are frequently insulted by their employers and local residents. Despite fears of repression, Mexican laborers are seen in the movie raising voice for dignity and respect. As the contract ends in the winter, Mexicans pledge neither for the first time nor perhaps the last that they would never return again. Few in the batch like Teodoro are even lucky to board to plain as they face frustrating delay in recovering their due sum: while the contract ends on Saturday, it is only after repeated phone calls that they manage to recover their amount on Monday, few hours before scheduled time of flight.

The movie El Contrato has unearthed once and for all what has been happening in the farms of Canada for a long time. It is disheartening to see workers packed into close quarters with little or no resort. It is surprising for the outside world to know contracted workers working almost like slaves in a developed country like Canada!

Song of Solomon by Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison

Milkman Dead of “Song of Solomon” embodies young African Americans of their tendency to ignore their past ancestral base, indulge in earning gold and wealth in USA, and finding vanity in the process.

The novel “Song of Solomon” is an important work in the field of racial literature by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison which explores dilemmas of life which African Americans face. With their heritage in black oral history quite different with western lifestyle, the novel explores sensitive issues affecting African Americans. Although African Americans today legally occupy equal status to that of whites, emotional crisis faced by this class is subjective. Side-by-side, the novel also includes political developments with racism, segregation, and the civil rights movement. 

“Song of Solomon” centers around Milkman Dead's transformation from self-alienation and materialism that he received from his father, Macon Dead, to community values when he comes in touch with his aunt Pilate Dead. Other characters such as that of Guitar, Reba, and Hagar also play influential role in shaping Milkman's thought process.

“Macon Dead never knew how it came about -- how his only son acquired the nickname that stuck in spite of his own refusal to use it or acknowledge it." It was a matter that concerned Macon a good deal, for selecting names in his family was always surrounded by what he believed to be monumental foolishness.

Young African Americans are desperate to find new identity through owning material wealth, may be to compensate for discriminations. They groom themselves with ideas such as “Let me tell you right now the one important thing that you'll ever need to know: Own things. And let the things you own own other things too. Then you'll own yourself and other people too.” Milkman's belief that his trip to south holds the key to liberation proves correct, although it is not gold that helps. Coming into touch with ancestors' world and realizing importance of communal values over materialism, Milkman is able to arrive at a more complete understanding of what his identity is and what his dreams and aspirations should be.

The Nexus of Economic Growth, Employment and Poverty Reduction: An empirical analysis by Rizwanul Islam

The link between growth, employment, and poverty depends on various factors, and it is pertinent that policy makers take into account implications of variables such as allocation of resource between farming and manufacturing sectors. 

The treatise under scanner The Nexus of Economic Growth, Employment and Poverty Reduction: An Empirical Analysis by Rizwanul Islam examines how economic growth, employment, and poverty reduction are interrelated with data of few countries which were facing acute poverty and their experiences of poverty reduction with rise in economic growth. The study is based on experiences of Bangladesh, Bolivia, Ethopia, Uganda, India, and Indonesia. According to the treatise, there is no doubt that higher economic growth is the first condition to fight poverty. But, the pattern of economic growth affects the magnitude of employment opportunities generated and thus poverty reduction is influenced further by it. In general, it has been found that shift in employment to manufacturing sector from farm sector contributes favorably in reducing poverty. Also, increase in labor force participation helps reduce poverty. However, the study did not find any invariant relationship between growth and poverty reduction, and same rate of overall growth often resulted in varying impact on poverty. It is rather the pattern of employment and labor markets that determines their actual impact on the poverty reduction.

It is observed that while a structural shift from agriculture is important in poverty reduction, what happens within the sector is also important, as for the time being, majority still depends on it. So policies supporting agricultural laborers in different forms contribute favorably in poverty reduction. Even when the long-term aim is to reduce expenditure on farm sector; in the short-term, given the concentration of people, farm sector cannot be ignored. From the supply side, quality of labor and expenditure on improving them through investment on education can have significant positive impact in raising the productivity of labor.

Though it has been long believed that benefits of economic growth would ultimately trickle down to poor, many questions its automation. Kuznets came out with a U shaped relationship between economic growth and reduction in poverty (1955). Kuznets’ view that rise in economic growth would ultimately lead to reduction in poverty is not accepted by many economists. Adelman and Morris (1973) questions automation, and the landmark study by Chenery et al.(1974) places importance on pattern of redistribution along side growth.  

The employment growth that is associated with a given output is called employment elasticity of output growth and may be taken as a surrogate for employment intensity of growth. This elasticity is inverse of productivity of labor (more than 1 means fall in productive capacity of individual labor). So raising employment elasticity per se cannot be the aim. Though the rate of elasticity should be less than 1, optimum level depends on the allocation of output to the workforce. Activities which are labor intensive as well as profitable would lead to employment-intensive growth. The idea is that growth should be accompanied by its ability to generate more employment. But rise in employment numbers should not be at the cost of reduced productivity of individual labor. Thus, rise in productivity of labor as well as the number of labors employed is desired.  

In order to measure employment intensity of growth of the countries under study, employment elasticity in manufacturing sector is considered as a variable as reliable data for unorganized sectors were unavailable. After computing elasticity or employment-intensity of growth, the study supplements how growth has led to structural changes in the economy. A close look is taken on sectors where poor people are employed while tracking trends in productivity. Next, it is examined whether growth opened new avenues for employment with higher productivity. Next, the study equates productivity of the above two with change in real wages of labors. That is the basis for deciding by how much growth has impact on poverty reduction.

Indonesia’s economic growth in the 1970s and 1980s as well as the experiences of Uganda and Vietnam during the 1990s can be called as cases of good growth leading to high employment generation and reduced poverty. On the other hand, moderate growth in Ethopia and Bolivia in the 1990s did not lead to significant rise in employment. However, no invariant relationship between rate of economic growth and poverty reduction is found. Because poverty reduction is influenced by intensity of employment generation from growth as well as ability of the poor to benefit from those employment opportunities, it is conjectured that growth has different impact on poverty reduction in different countries, and even same country with similar growth rate may experience varying impact on poverty during different time periods.

Oskar Schindler: The Untold Account of His Life, Wartime Activities, and the True Story behind the List

The Holocaust was a massive attempt to terminate an entire ethnic group, the Jews. Also in the process, many non-Jews, including Christians, gypsies, homosexuals, and just about anyone caught opposing Hitler’s regime faced death in the concentration camps. German businessman with an inclination towards greed Oskar Schindler during the Holocaust had an opportunity to make big, but ended up losing virtually all his money trying to save the Jews working in his factory, saving at least 1100 Jews from the Holocaust.

When David M.Crowe decided to write biography “Oskar Schindler: The Untold Account of His Life, Wartime Activities, and the True Story behind the List,” Oskar Schindler was already a known figure, thanks to the works by Steven Spielberg and Thomas Keneally who were men of talent, filmmakers, and novelists. David Crowe as a historian presented Oskar in historical perspective backed by series of primary researches to answer many of the myths surrounding this personality - spy, industrialist, bon vivant, Nazi Party member, Righteous Gentile.

It was December of 1939 when occupied Poland was torn apart by the savagery of Holocaust that Oskar Schindler took a first tentative step from the darkness of Nazism towards the light of wisdom. "If you saw a dog going to be crushed under a car," he said later of his wartime actions, "wouldn't you help him?"

David Crowe collects information regarding family, business, political activities of Oskar Schindler. Crowe did prodigious research and in the end came to gather huge information about Schindler. While exploring Schindler, Crowe also describes the wider political and economic environment under which Schindler worked.

Crowe remains in touch with Steven Spielberg’s movie Schindler's List and Thomas Keneally’s novel Schindler's Ark adding more inputs. This book is a treatise on Oskar Schindler, who despite all his shortcomings, underwent a transformation and became the single largest German rescuer of Jews.

Oskar Schindler despite all his greed to make money could not watch Jews killed mercilessly. The book also provides details of number of German officials terminating Jews centered around Schindler’s domain, and also glimpses of the death camps. Hitler wanted to wipe out the entire Jews community. Schindler saved over a thousand Jews by putting them on the famed "Schindler's List" and transferring them to his factory in today's Czech Republic. Crowe tells here for the first time how the "List" was prepared.

Although married to Emilie at nineteen, Schindler was never without a mistress or two. He was reckless in business trying to make big, presided over the demise of his family business, and became salesman when opportunity came in the guise of war. Schindler marched to Poland on the heels of the SS. He succeeded in making big in the black market by alluring officials with bribes and women. But somewhere something changed and by the end of the war he spent everything on rescuing at least 1100 Jewish men and women. After the war ended, Schindler moved to Argentina with his wife and bought a farm. In 1958, he abandoned his land, his wife, and his mistresses, and returned to Germany. The remaining years of his life were spent divided between Germany and Israel, where he was honored and taken care of by his "Schindlerjuden."

Oskar Schindler died in Hildesheim in 1974. Schindler was a greedy businessman, not a good son, not a good husband, but still his wife admitted that despite excesses, he had a big and loving heart for which she was forced to forgive her time and again.