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The creed which forms
Summary of Utilitarianism by John Mill
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The creed which forms the basis of morals maintains that people’s actions are only right in proportion as they promote happiness and wrong because they also promote the reverse of happiness. Happiness is the intended pleasure and absence of pain, while unhappiness refers to pain and privatization of pleasure (Ogan, 2018). The thesis has to do with utilitarianism as a theory of morality grounded on all desirable things and which are perceived as ends, including the ideas of pain and pleasure. In essence, utilitarianism is all about using desirable things for the pleasure inherent in them or as means to prevent the pain while promoting the pleasure. While the theory is exciting, supposing life does not have a higher-end than pleasure brings forth a doctrine that paints us utterly groveling and mean. Upon comparison, followers of Epicurus argued that it is not they but their accusers who represented human nature in a degrading light.
The main argument is that human beings were not capable of any pleasures except those of which swines were capable. If the supposition were true, the charge could not be gainsaid. It would no longer be an imputation because the sources of pleasure were all the same to humans and to swines, and if the rule of life is good enough for one, it would also be good for the other. Comparing Epicurean life to beasts comes out as degrading because a beast’s pleasure does not satisfy what human beings have conceptualized as happiness. The faculties of human beings are more elevated than any appetite of humans and once they are made aware of them, they do not associate happiness with anything that does not give the gratification. As such, Epicureans were at fault for drawing out their scheme of consequences from the utilitarian people.
References
Ogan, T. V. (2018). John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism: A Critique. International Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies, 5(1), 66.
Political Strategy. Jane Bitzi Johnson Miller is a Texan, having been born to the family of a former Texas governor Mr. Joe B
Political Strategy
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Introduction
Jane “Bitzi” Johnson Miller is a Texan, having been born to the family of a former Texas governor Mr. Joe “Big Daddy” Johnson. Big daddy was the governor of Texas from 1954-1958. Despite the fact that she is the granddaughter of the man who did great things as the principal man in the state in the past, she is a conservative republican having supported several Republican candidates over the years while upholding republican doctrines. Her republican roots and beliefs make her the perfect candidate to represent the party in the forthcoming elections. She is the right candidate because she knows the problems and challenges of the people having grown up here.
She is a hardworking woman. She has supported her two kids to adulthood on her own since her separation from her husband. She has also been in the corporate world, having owned a software company, which she started on her own. She later sold her company to Dell at $2.5 million. Her success in life means that she can lead the state to prosperity so much needed by the populace. She is a friendly person that loves interacting with people and lending helps whenever necessary. Her wealth is clearly defined making her the only person among all the contestants to be transparent about their wealth. This situation will help in a transparent way she will handle the states’ finances.
Cultural and regional support
Since Jane is a Republican, much of her vote will come from Republican strongholds in the state. Much of the population in Texas is republicans but as history will prove, this development cannot be relied upon. Like any other state, Texas is divided into three political areas the democratic stronghold for example San Luis, Republican stronghold that includes Dallas and Houston and the swing areas (Hammet, 1992). Republican strongholds, take a larger part of the state, but it is the swing areas that will decide who wins the election. It is, therefore, very advisable to have extra campaign work in these areas. The use of billboards, TV adverts, and even newspapers should be considered since any candidate no matter the party affiliation can capture votes from the swing areas. These swing areas consist of mostly black people with no political affiliation. Bitzi will find it hard to get support from democratic zones since there is a tradition in Texas that once one is belongs to a particular affiliation, he/she remains in that affiliation. It is not to say that Jane cannot campaign in such areas, but much effort should be put into these areas. House to house campaigning is then suggested. The cultural beliefs in this society that a particular social order must be followed will help Jane win this election since her father was a governor of the state in the past (Tolleson, Sue & Jeanie, 1994).
Demographic support
Since the start of the empowerment of women, women have started supporting their own positions in the society. Texas is not the odd one out; the women will avail themselves in large numbers to support their own. The campaigners should note down all the phone numbers of these women so that during the polling day, they are called to ensure that they report to the polling station and participate in the voting process. The campaign strategy will involve convincing the Latinos and the African-Americans who constitute the majority of the swing voters in this state. A proper campaign strategy will deliver these votes since they are not aligned in a particular direction politically. Another group that will vote for her is the white higher income earners since most of them are diehard republican supporters (Hammet, 1992).
Rallies should be used to address the African-Americans and the Latinos because their large number will mean high campaign costs. A proper guideline of the plans for the state for the time Jane will be in office should be well articulated and should include all the issue that affect this population. This campaign strategy should also include the women. Dinners for fundraising should be organized for the high earners so that funds to support the campaign may be realized.
Campaign themes
Since the group that needs convincing is the one which holds the swing vote that is the Latinos and the blacks, the theme of the campaign should center on the reduction of poverty. This will entail reform of the educational sector by reducing the fee to accommodate the poor, reduction of taxes and overall development of the economy. These issues will appeal to this group because of the poverty index in their midst. These people would want to elect a person that would alleviate the suffering brought about by poverty, by improving their standards of living through economic empowerment. Education for the poor has been elusive, and any leader who pledges a reduction in school charges endears him/her to this populace. The higher in this community will want to keep their seats safe and so Jane will promise them the same. Jane will also provide ways in which she plans to deal with these issues one by one so that the voters see the sincerity in her words. She should also volunteer to help one or two of the kids in the neighborhood complete their schooling as an act of charity that will wow the voting population. The policy to be used should be all-inclusive so that all the voters are gathered for in the campaign and in the government to be formed after the campaigns (Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services, 2009).
Win or lose
The facts that Bitsy is a republican means that she has an improved chance of winning since most people from Texas are republican. The door-to-door campaign strategy coupled with other strategies will give a good result in the end. Dallas Morning News claims that despite the funding that white received for the campaigns, Texans saw him as old and out of touch. New York Times, alternatively, says that white lost because Texans are republicans by nature. Fox News, on the other hand, says that the fact that most Hispanics did not vote enabled Romney to win the elections (Dallas Morning News, 2010; New York Times, 2010; Fox News, 2010). Since Jane is not old and is a republican, the probability of her winning the ballot is high. The three articles point to the same factor that the whole paper has been discussing, and that is the weight of Republican support in Texas and the importance of the region with swing votes. Since Bitzi’s campaign, strategy involves getting and wooing the swing voters; the guarantee for her to win the election is high.
References
Hammet, J., (1992). Computer mapping helped Clinton campaign target voters. InfoWorld 14
Romney wins again, (2010), Dallas Morning News, retrieved from http://www.news.morningdallas.com/texas elections/
Texas elections, (2010), Fox News, Retrieved from www.fox news.com
Texas Politics (2009), Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services. Austin: University of Texas at Austin
Tolleson, R., Sue & Jeanie R., (1994). Claitie and the lady. Austin: the University of Texas Press.
White’s downfall, (2010), The New York times, (2010) retrieved from http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/w/bill_white/index.html
Political Socialization Analysis
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Political Socialization Analysis
Question #1) Explain what (if any) trends you noticed about the media consumption habits of your respondents[including which specific news sources they consult, their stated confidence in their sources, and how much they keep up with the news] and the political habits/ views of your respondents [including whether they are registered to vote, whether they voted recently and their views on the significance of voting, and their political party identification]. Both media consumption habits AND political habits/ views must be addressed for your response to earn full credit.
(Be VERY specific about the exact number of responses you receive about a particular topic. For example, you would write “1 out of 3 people told me ….”) If you do not notice any trends, demonstrate that this is the case using specific numbers from your respondents. (For example, you would write “0 out of 3 people thought … , but 1 out of 3 people said…”)
The trends on media consumption habit varied with different respondents based on their occupations and preferences. One out of three respondents told me that they only keep up with the news at a low rate of 4 out of 10. This is because most of the news are presented when the respondents are busy carrying out their day to day activities. The regular source of the news consulted by the respondents are newspapers and television. Two out of three respondents talked of watching the news from the internet through twitter. Two of the three respondents said that they like to watch the Fox News in the mornings so as to follow on the current news. Majority of the interviewed respondents feel confident of their sources of news whereas a smaller number of them are not. For instance, one out of the three respondents confirmed that they are confident on their sources of news since they watch them on a daily basis. On the other side, one of the three respondents thought that the sources of news could even tell lies so as to remain relevant because it’s just business. On the issue of keeping up with the news, two of the three respondents keep up with the news at a rate of seven to ten. One out of the three does not keep up with the news regularly as they believe they will hear of the same news from either other people or from the media.
The political views of the respondent on voting were mostly positive as three out of three respondents confirmed that they are already registered voters. Two of the interviewed candidates told me that they had voted in the last election while one out of three had not voted. The trend observed here based on the responses is that most citizens take part in elections. The respondent’s views on the importance of voting varies in that two out of the three thought that voting is an important exercise. One of the three respondents thinks that voting is not necessarily important since at the end of it, the elected politician is the one favored by those in authority. Out of the three respondents, two of them identifies themselves with the Republican political party while one out of three identifies himself with the Democrat party.
Question #2) What might explain the similarities or differences you identified between the results of your own survey and the results of your respondents? What do these results say about your “political socialization?” As you answer the question, be sure to include all of the following content, in this order:
Begin your response by stating the complete and fully quoted definition of political socialization from our textbook.
Explain the similarities and/or differences between your responses and those of your respondents
Name each of the seven “agents of socialization” noted in the textbook. Then select which of the seven “agents of socialization” most contributes to those similarities or differences (between your responses and those of your respondents). Conclude by explaining why they do. (Be sure that your analysis is clear and thorough.)
According to the book ‘American Democracy Now’, Political socialization refers to the process by which people develop their political values and opinions throughout their lives. There are various similarities between my responses and those of the respondents. One of the similarities is that we all think that voting is important and that is why elections campaigns are taken seriously, with people trying to identify themselves to certain political parties. Another similarity is that most of them don’t keep up with the news as they have a rating of less than 5. On the other hand, several differences can be deduced from survey. One of the differences is that all the respondents are registered as voters and have participated in elections but on the other side, I am not a registered voter nor have I percolated in any voting in an election. Another difference is that I don’t identify with any political party because am not a registered voter but the rest of the respondents belong to a registered political party. Another difference is that we get our news from different sources.
Another difference is that I believe that most of the news, 75% comes from social media while the respondents claimed that some of the news comes from the social media with others saying that none comes from social media. The seven agents of socialization include, mass media, school, peer group, family, religion, government and work place. Among the seven agents of socialization, mass media and government most contributed to the similarities and differences in opinions. The reason behind is that the questions asked in the survey were political which directly refers to the government and also the social media as a news source. The differences came in through identifying to a political party and the belief that social media contributes to most news. Work Place can also be said to influence the differences as there were differences between a student and a police officer respondent.