Survival and Abolition: The Eighteenth Century Paraguayan Encomienda

1981 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Schofield Saeger

The history of the encomienda is an oft' told tale, although certain questions about the institution still provoke debate. Even the Paraguayan encomienda has received conscientious scholarly attention, most of which concentrates on the Habsburg period rather than the eighteenth century, when the institution had been eliminated in many areas.But in eighteenth century Paraguay the encomienda was still an important institution. Members of the provincial elite placed great value on its possession. Since high position in the province was synonymous with encomendero status, membership in the encomendero class was exceedingly important. The crown's decision to abolish the system in the 1770s had important consequences for the future of Paraguay. In the short run it meant a gain for royal interests; in the long run it spelled disaster for the Spanish crown.

2009 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimon Valaskakis

The purpose of this paper is to show that an essential symmetry exists between the "history of the future" (prospective) and the history of the past (retrospective) and that only by reference to both can we fully understand the present. The exploratory look into both the future and the past implies a model of time. This model is presented in a diagram entitled the "chronosphere" and involves a vision of time punctuated by the freedom to make decisions. In the very-short-run all factors are fixed. In the very long-run all factors are variable. In between there are five discernible time periods. The study of time itself implies model-building and scenario-writing. Both are analysed and elements of a methodology for future studies are put in place. The article ends with an exhortation to further "marry" the scenario-technique (essentially a creative process) with the modelling-technique (which is primarily a scientific procedure).


Author(s):  
Paul Frijters ◽  
Christian Krekel

Around the world, governments are starting to directly measure the subjective wellbeing of their citizens and to use it for policy evaluation and appraisal. What would happen if a country were to move from using GDP to using subjective wellbeing as the primary metric for measuring economic and societal progress? Would policy priorities change? Would we continue to care about economic growth? What role would different government institutions play in such a scenario? And, most importantly, how could this be implemented in daily practice, for example in policy evaluations and appraisals of government analysts, or in political agenda-setting at the top level? This book provides answers to these questions from a conceptual to a technical level by showing how direct measures of subjective wellbeing can be used for policy evaluation and appraisal, either complementary in the short run or even entirely in the long run. It gives a brief history of the idea that governments should care about the happiness of their citizens, provides theories, makes suggestions for direct measurement, derives technical standards, shows how to conduct wellbeing cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analyses, and gives examples of how real-world policy evaluations and appraisals would change if they were based on subjective wellbeing. In doing so, the book serves the growing interest of governments as well as non-governmental and international organizations in how to put subjective wellbeing metrics into policy practice.


2018 ◽  
pp. 67-81
Author(s):  
Dirk Berg-Schlosser

This chapter focuses on the history of democratization since the late eighteenth century. It introduces the concepts of ‘waves’ (trends) and ‘conjunctures’ (briefer turmoils) and delineates the major developments in this respect. In this way, the major long-term and short-term factors leading to the emergence and breakdowns of democracies are also highlighted. The first long wave occurred during the period 1776–1914, followed by the first positive conjuncture in 1918–19, the second long wave (with some intermittent turbulences) in 1945–88, and the latest conjuncture in 1989–90. The chapter identifies the main ingredients to democratization throughout history, namely: republicanism, representation, and political equality. It concludes by considering some of the current perspectives and dangers for the future of democracy.


2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 31-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Mokyr ◽  
Chris Vickers ◽  
Nicolas L. Ziebarth

Technology is widely considered the main source of economic progress, but it has also generated cultural anxiety throughout history. The developed world is now suffering from another bout of such angst. Anxieties over technology can take on several forms, and we focus on three of the most prominent concerns. First, there is the concern that technological progress will cause widespread substitution of machines for labor, which in turn could lead to technological unemployment and a further increase in inequality in the short run, even if the long-run effects are beneficial. Second, there has been anxiety over the moral implications of technological process for human welfare, broadly defined. While, during the Industrial Revolution, the worry was about the dehumanizing effects of work, in modern times, perhaps the greater fear is a world where the elimination of work itself is the source of dehumanization. A third concern cuts in the opposite direction, suggesting that the epoch of major technological progress is behind us. Understanding the history of technological anxiety provides perspective on whether this time is truly different. We consider the role of these three anxieties among economists, primarily focusing on the historical period from the late 18th to the early 20th century, and then compare the historical and current manifestations of these three concerns.


Author(s):  
Victor Gomes Lima Ferraz ◽  
Fernanda Luiza De Faria ◽  
Flávia Ribas De Brito ◽  
Ingrid Nunes Derossi ◽  
Maria Helena Zambelli ◽  
...  

ResumoEste artigo aborda a utilização de um jogo virtual como recurso didático e as possibilidades de aplicação para o professor. Desse modo, apresentamos a narrativa central do jogo e alguns aspectos que permitem a discussão sobre a visão da ciência e do cientista, o papel da mulher na ciência, dentre outros. No jogo, o jogador é inserido no século XVIII, durante a Revolução Francesa, e é apresentado a Antoine Laurent Lavoisier e sua esposa. Ao longo da história o jogador é convidado a enfrentar alguns desafios que trabalham conceitos sobre a Lei da Conservação da Massa. A partir dessa discussão apresentamos alguns resultados da aplicação do jogo, onde observamos que os alunos conseguiram executar as atividades propostas sem dificuldades. Futuramente pretendemos disponibilizar o jogo para professores utilizarem esse recurso com seus alunos. Palavras-chave: História da Ciência; Ensino de Ciência.AbstractThis paper discusses the use of a virtual game as didactic resource and the possibilities of application for the teacher. In this way we present the central narrative of the game and some aspects that allow the discussion about the vision of science and the scientist, the role of women in science, among others. In the game, the player is inserted in the eighteenth century during the French Revolution, and is introduced to Antoine Laurent Lavoisier and his wife. Throughout history the player is invited to face some challenges that discusses some concepts on the law of conservation of mass. From this discussion we present some results of the application of the game, where we observed that the students were able to execute the proposed activities without difficulties. In the future we intend to make the game available for teachers to use this resource with their students.Keywords: History of Science; Teaching Science.


2020 ◽  
pp. 174-198
Author(s):  
Juliette Cherbuliez

The final chapter turns to the particular nature of a Medean tragedy—that is, the tragedy of what Isabelle Stengers has called the “challenge” of a mother who kills her children but does not perish and is therefore without issue or, paradoxically, finality. This idea of tragedy in the neoclassical age is taken up through this temporal lens, by considering primarily Racine’s last play Athalie (1690). Through the idea of “lastness,” the chapter considers how tragedy demands a peculiar reading of time, of history, of our place in time, and of our relationship to a temporality out of our control. It considers the changing concept of “catastrophe,” originally a theatrical term that originally meant the final steps of a tragedy’s resolution, but shifted, in the eighteenth century, to designate an unpredictable cataclysm. Both within its verse and in its reception Athalie is the drama of a shift in temporalities, from one in which we lived history as an unfolding of events in the past, present, and future; to one in which the future’s devastations are always a surprise.


Author(s):  
Dirk Berg-Schlosser

This chapter focuses on the history of democratization since the late eighteenth century. It introduces the concepts of ‘waves’ (trends) and ‘conjunctures’ (briefer turmoils) and delineates the major developments in this respect. In this way, the major long-term and short-term factors leading to the emergence and breakdowns of democracies are also highlighted. The first long wave occurred during the period 1776–1914, followed by the first positive conjuncture in 1918–19, the second long wave (with some intermittent turbulences) in 1945–88, and the latest conjuncture in 1989–90. The chapter identifies the main ingredients to democratization throughout history, namely: republicanism, representation, and political equality. It concludes by considering some of the current perspectives and dangers for the future of democracy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-53
Author(s):  
Maik Huettinger ◽  
Jonathan Andrew Boyd

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to approach the issue of taxation of robotic process automation (RPA) through an interpretive lens provided by both Adam Smith and Karl Marx. Both scholars have affected the understanding and attitudes of generations of economists, and their ideas have considerable influenced modern economic policy. It will be argued that Smith and Marx have much to offer to help contemporary economists understand the taxation of RPA, and their writings on machines, automation, and their impact on the human labor force will be discussed from their primary texts. Design/methodology/approach The paper interprets the works of Marx and Smith in relation to contemporary debates on automation, particularly, proposals to tax technological innovations to offset the social costs of automation’s displacement effects. Findings In the case of Adam Smith, there is not enough evidence to suggest that he would support a specific taxation of RPA; however, he very well might agree with a modest taxation of capital goods. Marx would very likely support a taxation in the short-run, however, would be inclined to caution that the ownership of robots should in the long run be transferred to society. Originality/value This paper uses primary texts from the discipline of history of economic thought to spark a discussion about compensating the externalities of technological innovation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-81
Author(s):  
Kirk Essary ◽  
Yasmin Haskell

While the distinction between the calm and violent passions has been treated by Hume scholars from a number of perspectives relevant to the Scottish philosopher’s thought more generally, little scholarly attention has been paid to this distinction either in the works of Hume’s non-English contemporaries (e.g., the French Jesuit Pierre Brumoy) or in the long rhetorical and literary tradition which often categorized the emotions as either calm or violent. This article examines the long history of the distinction between calm and violent, or mild and vehement, emotions from the classical Roman rhetorical tradition through the Renaissance and into the modern period. In doing so, it provides a partial but substantial genealogy of an important heuristic taxonomy in the history of emotions, while suggesting that the philosophical import of the distinction in the eighteenth century owes something to rhetorical and poetic traditions which are often not considered by historians of philosophy.


Slavic Review ◽  
1976 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-257
Author(s):  
Michael Green

Some seventeen years ago, P. N. Berkov wrote: “The least-known aspect of the still comparatively unexplored field of Anglo-Russian cultural relations in the eighteenth century is that of the history of the stage and of stage-plays.“ The statement is hardly less true today. Berkov went on to say that a single question—“that of how far the Russian reader and theatergoer was familiar with Shakespeare’s work“—had attracted the lion’s share of scholarly attention. Even in this area, however, work remains to be done, and it will be the aim of the present essay, by demonstrating the relationship between Kheraskov’s drama Gonimye and Shakespeare’s The Tempest, to add a small but necessary link to the chain of our knowledge of Shakespeare in Russia.


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