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Spreading The News By Richard John
Spreading The News By Richard John
Since its creation in the year seventeen hundred and fifty five to commercialization of the telegraph in the year eighteen hundred and forty four, the American Postal system has spurred growth in the communications sector even more than the telegraph. This book discusses how the American postal system revolutionized and brought change to the businesses and social life of people living in America. The writer describes how postal policy has played an important role in influencing the state affairs. Moreover, Richard John illustrates its impact on institutions such as the national market which are normally information-intensive. Particularly, he outlines its significance on ordinary Americans for example, the blacks, poor whites and blue collar workers showing us how the postal scheme created a countrywide society from a weak amalgam of confederated states. His views on the postal system have served to refresh our memories on one of the most important period in American history which has received very little attention.
Contents
TOC o “1-3” h z u Evidence supporting the thesis PAGEREF _Toc377107592 h 1What is the intended audience? PAGEREF _Toc377107593 h 2What are the book’s success, failures and relevance to historiography? PAGEREF _Toc377107594 h 3Bibliography PAGEREF _Toc377107595 h 4
Evidence supporting the thesis Being both a symbol and representation of the American government in the early nineteenth century, John terms the postal system as a communication centerpiece which revolutionized the whole of America both politically and economically. In the early chapters of his book, John scrutinizes the structural innovations that made the postal system a dominant force in the American society. Factual to his thesis, Richard discuses the impact of postal system on transforming and shaping a brand new national globe for his discovered democratic state. Specifically, he discusses how the Post Office Act of nineteen ninety three laid the foundation for the impact of the postal system on the lives of American citizens when it allowed for the spread of newspapers through electronic mails, besides setting the basis for the expansion of the postal network. Furthermore, he explains how it defended the sanctity of electronic mails from inspection and scrutiny thereby heralding a new era where privacy as a tool in communication was upheld. Evidently, the administrative innovations brought about by the postal system under the leadership of Post Master General John McLean are also underlined by John. He does this by linking the administrative developments at federal level under John McLean’s leadership with the political system, explaining how the political authority had profound effect on the structure of the postal system. For example, he notes that the expansion of Post Master General’s powers via completion of the systems of networks that served the postal system threatened to incline the fragile poise between postal system, federal states and the executive branch. It was this merging of power presenting as Post Office Department he explains, that eventually influenced the struggle for state rights during the infamous campaign of the one time presidential aspirant, Jackson. In one of his chapters dedicated to the Jacksons, John expounds on his analysis through illustrations on the attempts by the Jacksons to make the administrators of the federal state answerable to their negligence and knowledge of the republican creed. Moreover, he explained how the spoils which were based on office rotation caused chaos within managerial operations and institutions such as the Post Office Department and at the same time laying down the foundation for the establishment of mass party system discovered by the Jacksons in the eighteen twenty nine elections. Apparently, John links the analysis of the spoils system to the influence of the postal network as the focus of a fundamental federal state that very many advocates and human rights activists like the Jacksons put much emphasis on.
What is the intended audience?The intended audiences for this book are the historians; they might be historians of politics, bureaucracy or even business. This is because John recognizes the innovations made in administration and executive positions in a situation and period when nobody ever expected them. Particularly, business historians used such events to date important milestones achieved between the mid-nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Moreover, John proves the existence of the core management tools, systems clearly within the postal network. To illustrate, he shows how the postal system would have collapsed if its three-leveled administrative structure and distribution system were scrapped. To the political historians, John demonstrates how the Jacksons influenced the appointing authority thereby organizing their political needs and creed. This eventually, brought them into power via the mass party. In my opinion, John does well in explaining his objectives to the intended audiences and I am quite sure therefore, the book will reach its intended audience.
What are the book’s success, failures and relevance to historiography?As noted, John has efficiently supported his thesis by using his evidences relevantly and when required. For example, he relates the milestones achieved in the administrative and political structure to John McLean’s era as Post Master General. In a convincing manner, his evidence shows the evolution of the American society from a stateless system in to a national society bound together by a common ideology. This was done by creating communication and transport links which bore a network that seemingly made the American society a global village. It is worth mentioning however, that his arguments in some chapters are a bit unconvincing and definitely not compelling. For instance, his chapters touching on Sabbatarianism and abolitionism attribute to the postal system as a positive cause of change when in fact it defies the societal norms. Especially, when the postal offices open and transmit electronic mails on the Sabbath day which is meant to be a day of worship. Likewise, John also writes about the sending of abolitionist literature to the people living in the south.
This goes against the religious values on upholding human life. Furthermore, I find it hard to believe that the postal scheme was an agent of change in cases where for example, a group of human rights activists used the communications revolution brought about by the postal system to marshal nationwide support for their ideologies. Rather, it seems to me that the postal scheme was a means used incite battles in United States of America. The book revises historiography by linking and relating milestone events such as the discovery of the telegraph and the Jacksons clamor for power to the postal system. Moreover, it uses hem to explain the gradual transformation and importance of various sectors in the America society to the economy.
This book is deemed a masterpiece of literature because it enlightens us on where we came from and the contributions made by systems such as the postal system to our economy. Moreover, it encourages us to uphold and preserve such systems as they play an integral role in preserving our national heritage.
BibliographyRichard John. Spreading the News: The American Postal System from Franklin to Morse
Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1995
Animal Farm
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The Animal Farm: A Review of the Significance of the Title and Political Figures
No matter how one perceives matters, society will always be based on class, (in)equality, and the dynamics of power and control. In Animal Farm, George Orwell uses the themes of class power, control, and corruption to in an allegory of the Russian Revolution and the crowning of Joseph Stalin. Class struggles, rebellion, and some form of order and equality are represented by the animals’ lives, but the actions of the pig bring back inequality. Ultimately, the revolution brought more oppression and stronger government control, a clear representation of the political system of the time which is mirrored in today’s society.
Animal Farm, previously called the Manor Farm, is used as a symbol for Russia and the previous Soviet Union single-party dictatorship. In the context of the novel, the title is important because it represents not just the Russian society and what it became, but also the human society, whether using communist, capitalist, or socialist ideologies. The title Animal Farm is representative of change, especially the negative outcomes that emerged as a result of the pig’s actions. The farm started off as the Manor Farm, switched to Animal Farm, and later returned to Manor Farm. The title shows the idealistic dreams held by the animals. The farm symbolizes the different functions of a society, and the animals in it are the people. Overall, the title is important because it brings out a society and its ideas.
In Animal Farm, Orwell brings out the story in a political allegory fashion. Each of the characters in the novel are representative of a figure from the Russian Revolution and related events of the time. Therefore, Orwell portrayed political figures differently, similar to what was and still is in the ruling class. Mr. Jones, for example, the original farm owner represented the incompetent and highly ineffective Czar Nicholas. The pigs were used to show the main members of the Bolshevik group. Joseph Stalin was played by Napoleon, Vyacheslav Molotov was Squealer, and Snowball represented Leon Trotsky. All other animals were the ruled and the working classes in Russia. The later were passionate of a revolution supported and sponsored by cunning political elements. The end result was that the new rulers were just as ineffective but undoubtedly more ruthless than the previous regime. The importance of the inclusion of these political figures is that they showed how the Russian Society was structured, including the totalitarianism ideology that the pigs introduced.
In conclusion, the pigs sponsored and manipulated other animals to passionately support a revolution in order to gain more control and rule the farm in their favor, ignoring the seven commands and introducing new ones in their favor. The new political system introduced corruption, classism, power, and total control, all in favor of the ruling political figures. The revolution was meant to introduce new parameters on labor for the benefit of every animal on the farm, yet the revolutionary leaders used the opportunity to introduce new forms of incompetence and corruption. The pigs collude to become just like the humans and introduce negative changes.
high unemployment in Europe.
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High unemployment in Europe.. v.s.
Introduction
Unemployment means a state of being jobless whereby an individual looks for a job with no vain. Lack of employment has been a serious problem not only in Europe but all over the world. Europe has been experiencing high unemployment rates since 1970s because of the supply side shocks. The 2008-2012 economic recessions accelerated the unemployment rate in Europe to rise over 10% and have since shown no sign of going down. In fact as we talk today, the unemployment rate in Europe has gone up to 20%. According to the Guardian News paper on Friday 31st May 2013, European youths held demonstrations over the high unemployment rates in the country that hit 24.4% from 24.3% in March this year. The following discussion focuses on this news article trying to get more statistics on high unemployment in Europe and the main causes.
Discussion
Statistics of unemployment in Europe
According to the guardian, unemployment in Europe is in the crisis since the statistics show that in May 2013 the rate rose up to 24.3% with quarter of jobless being youths below 25 years. The demonstration had entered the second day as the youths claimed that they could not stand the Greece condition where two-thirds of under-25 was unemployed with the rate hitting 62.5%. The increasing unemployment rates in Europe are a threat to the social fabric in the Euro zone. Policy makers and economists say the greatest concern to the unity of Euro zone is the social breakdown from the financial crisis, and not market driven factors. France being Europe’s second largest economy recorded the highest number of jobless in April 2013, while in Italy; the unemployment rate has been the highest for the past 36 years, with almost 40% of youth jobless (Eurostats 1-2). Figure 1 shows the rate of youth unemployment in Europe.
Figure 1: Youth unemployment by March 2013 (Source: Eurostat 2013)
The high respond to youth unemployment lead into the development of new job plans although, the labor market experts claimed that such measures would take time to be effective after a rise of jobless levels in 24 months consecutively. In addition, the market experts warn that people should be ready for the worse before the 19.4 million jobless people in the Euro Zone secure jobs. According to Martin Van Vliet, the ING Financial Market expert, the end of euro zone labor market downturn is not the solution because even with the existence from recession later in the year, the labor market will remain in recession until 2014. The wider European Union (EU) areas saw an 11% rise in all countries apart from 9 compared with 2012 rates. The biggest rises were seen in the following countries; Greece, Cyprus, Portugal and Spain. However the HIS Global Insight economist observed a sign of downward trend in unemployment rate in the euro zone during the previous months. The increase in unemployed is at an average of 82,000 a month compared to 158,000 in the year 2012 (The Guardian 2).
Causes of high unemployment rates in Europe
The high unemployment rates in Europe occur due to technological changes and expansion of international trade. The advancement in technology leaves more people unemployed as machines replace human workforces. In addition, introduction of technology in organizations leads to more workers being laid off since the main aim of modern technology is to reduce manpower cost by replacing human workforce with machines. Europe is a developed country and most activities are automated leaving little room for human labor to occur. Mechanization has affected many people with high populations of young people leaving colleges being forced to stay at home. Moreover, the stringent laws that ensure job security make companies prefer machines to personals, or outsource labor from other countries (Chinadaily 3).
On the other hand, Germany and Australia having the strongest economies in Europe record low rated too. The mid-sized companies in Germany avoid training apprentices putting more people at risks of acquiring professional jobs. The above action shows some limitations of using economic models applied at times of hard economic circumstances. The Euro zone expects fiscal consolidation to work in reducing economic growth rates. Government policies also have a stake on the high unemployment rates in Europe. The social welfare policies reduce the employment incentives. In addition, minimum-wage laws eliminated low-productivity workers from job market (ChinaDaily 2).
The European sovereign debt crisis has created a lot of impact on employment. The impact of savages caused by debt situation in Italy and Spain created a lot of fear on most organizations who could not hire employees. The increased taxes and growing opposition creates a big recession on the European financial markets since the shutdown of Greek bailout. The crisis was also as a result of welfare policies in social security, employment promotions, and labor protections. On the other hand, the European debt crisis threatened United Stated equity market forcing it lay down employees from Europe. This led to an increase in population of unemployed in Europe as many countries fear hiring people from this region. The debt crisis has resulted into fall of the European economy because many financial institutions lay off their employees. The unemployment figures continue to increase as the equity markets decrease their returns. The effect on the European Union during the 20th century has created a lot of impact on the continent’s economy (Greenblatt 12; Kelly 14-15).
Solutions to high unemployment in Europe
The European Union has put in place measure to cope the high unemployment rates in the region. Firstly, organizations are urged to extend their employees’ benefits during recession in order to cover a longer time. In addition, the labor markets have introduced laws that prohibit organizations from firing more than 20 employees without any legal process. The following measures ensure the employed work until a person reaches the retirement age. Moreover, the measures take care of employee’s rights at work place whereby an employer has no right to intimidate an employee unless the action requires a legal action.
Secondly, the European Union has introduced incentives aimed at creating job opportunities among the youths. The big population of unemployed in Europe consists of youth under the age of 25. The Country-specific recommendations held in July 2012 proposed that youths should be considered in employment policies because of dramatic youth unemployment rates. The European Commission supporting the program came with solutions to tackle youth unemployment through job creating, education and training. The packages proposed included; a recommendation from council to introduce youth guarantee, quality framework for traineeships, and European Alliance for Apprenticeships. The Youth Guarantee Recommendation ensures that every young person up to the age of 25 receives quality offer of a continued education, job, and apprenticeship. The member states are responsible for funding youth guarantee with costs depending on national circumstances (Europa press Release).
Another approach to minimize unemployment rates in Europe is by introduction of unemployment reduction policies. Fiscal policies help in reducing unemployment rates in Europe by increasing rate of economic growth and aggregate demand. Some of the fiscal policies adopted by European Union include cutting taxes and increasing government spending. For example, the reduction of Value Added taxes (VAT) helps increase consumption, thus increasing the aggregate demand (AD). An increase in AD increases the Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP). When firms produce more, an increase in demand for workers come occurs thus more people are employed to cope with high productivity. Moreover, higher AD and a strong economic growth reduced chances of organizations becoming bankrupt leading to fewer job losses. Elimination of recession leads to a more productive and economically stable country because recession makes resources (capital and labor) idle (Snower 1-3).
Conclusion
The high level long-term unemployment in Europe is a serious problem that affects millions of European citizens who leave from hand to mouth lives. The proportion of unemployed found in Europe is much higher than from any other country. The main cause of high unemployment rated was the financial crisis that hit European Union causing the countries to undergo economic recession. Even though the current global financial crisis is natural, the debt crises experienced in Europe have gone to an extreme. The crisis has led into real shocks in the labor markets because of the external competitiveness and market trade unions. This paper has tried to analyze the main causes of high rate of unemployment in Europe citing various sources for evidence. In addition, the paper discusses the steps EU has taken to reduce unemployment rates and ensure more people secure jobs by the year 2020.
Works cited
ChinaDaily. High unemployment in Europe caused by govtpolicies. 2013. Retrieved from:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2012-06/01/content_15452877.htmEuropa Press Release. EU measures to tackle youth unemployment. 2013. Retrieved from:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-13-464_en.htm?locale=enEurostat. Record Unemployment, Dramatic 62,5% for Greek Youths. 2013. Retrieved from:
http://greece.greekreporter.com/2013/05/31/eurostat-record-unemployment-dramatic-625-for-greek-youths/Greenblat, J. European debt crisis threatens U.S equity market. 2012. Retrieved from:
http://www.futuresmag.com/2012/04/16/european-debt-crisis-threatens-us-equity-marketsKelly, K. The Euro debt crisis and economic theory. U.S: Ludwig Von Mises Institute
European Commission 2007, European Economy, Belgium: European Communities. 2011.
Snower, J. Dennis. “European Unemployment: The insider-outsider explanation and its policy
implications”. Center for Economic Policy Research. 2012
The Guardian. Unemployment in Europe: get the figures for every country. 2013. Retrieved
from:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/oct/31/europe-unemployment-rate-by-country-eurozone