scholarly journals The Failed Masculinist State in Africa: A Rejection of Phallic Man

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-28
Author(s):  
Theresa Addai-Munumkum
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Political Leadership ◽  
Political Corruption ◽  
African Literature ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Creative Writers ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The People ◽  
The Rich

African literature is famous for the depiction of a type of politics that tends to reflect the reality on the ground, spanning a panorama of incompetent leadership to gross political corruption.  As a result, writing about politics in Africa tends to be a risky undertaking as many creative writers who criticize political leadership and corrupt practices in their works end up being jailed. Using contemporary African literature to discuss the postcolonial African Political State, this paper explores the nature of the state in West Africa in three novels, Chinua Achebe’s A Man of the People, Anthills of the Savannah and Sembene Ousmane’s Xala.  Using the metaphor of an impotent masculinity, this paper argues that the political State in Africa is a failed one. From the dawn of independence to the era of democracy, the political state in Africa has had to grapple with failed leadership, corruption, injustice, the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor etc., and it appears that these problems are becoming more.

The veil of philanthropy: Kant on the political benefits of dissimulation and simulation

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-44
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Church
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Ethical Duty ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The People ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Veil ◽  
Ethics And Politics

Kant has traditionally been read as an excessively moralistic critic of lying in his ethics and politics. In response, recent scholars have noted that for Kant we have an ethical duty not to be completely candid, but rather we should practice reticence and simulate virtues even when we do not have them. This article argues that Kant extends the value of dissimulation and simulation beyond the interpersonal to society and politics. By examining three examples—politeness and decorum in society, and the veiled relationships between the rich and the poor and between government and the people in politics—this article further challenges the received reading of Kant as a defender of truth at all costs and reveals him to be much more attentive to the need for pretense, reserve, and appearance than is commonly understood.

scholarly journals THE PROTECTION OF THE RICH AGAINST THE POOR: THE POLITICS OF ADAM SMITH’S POLITICAL ECONOMY

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 138-158
Author(s):  
James A. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Political Culture ◽  
The Political ◽  
Ordinary People ◽  
General Attitude ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Natural Forms ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Point Of Departure

AbstractMy point of departure in this essay is Smith’s definition of government. “Civil government,” he writes, “so far as it is instituted for the security of property, is in reality instituted for the defence of the rich against the poor, or of those who have some property against those who have none at all.” First I unpack Smith’s definition of government as the protection of the rich against the poor. I argue that, on Smith’s view, this is always part of what government is for. I then turn to the question of what, according to Smith, our governors can do to protect the wealth of the rich from the resentment of the poor. I consider, and reject, the idea that Smith might conceive of education as a means of alleviating the resentment of the poor at their poverty. I then describe how, in his lectures on jurisprudence, Smith refines and develops Hume’s taxonomy of the opinions upon which all government rests. The sense of allegiance to government, according to Smith, is shaped by instinctive deference to natural forms of authority as well as by rational, Whiggish considerations of utility. I argue that it is the principle of authority that provides the feelings of loyalty upon which government chiefly rests. It follows, I suggest, that to the extent that Smith looked to government to protect the property of the rich against the poor, and thereby to maintain the peace and stability of society at large, he cannot have sought to lessen the hold on ordinary people of natural sentiments of deference. In addition, I consider the implications of Smith’s theory of government for the question of his general attitude toward poverty. I argue against the view that Smith has recognizably “liberal,” progressive views of how the poor should be treated. Instead, I locate Smith in the political culture of the Whiggism of his day.

Cultivating the Art of Anxiety: Securitising Culture in China

China Report ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 000944552110470
Author(s):  
Rudolf Fürst
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Political Leadership ◽  
The State ◽  
Public Communication ◽  
The Political ◽  
Xi Jinping ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Security Concern

Deepening globalisation and worldwide availability of free information and ideas raise concerns of the communist China’s political leadership about the stability of the regime and the sustainability of the state ideological orthodoxy. Therefore, the state’s tightening control of the public communication to curtail the domestic criticism and occasional public discontent is becoming framed and legitimised in terms of cultural security as a non-traditional security concern. This study argues that the restrictive impacts of the politicisation of culture in the centralised agenda of President Xi Jinping reinvigorate China’s anti-Western narratives and attitudes. The research focuses on the state’s cultural security-related and applicable strategy in the political and institutional agenda and media. Moreover, the study also traces the state cultural security policy in the field of the civic and non-governmental sector, religious and ethnic minorities policy, literature, film and audiovisual sectors. The findings assess the concern that the intellectually anachronistic, self-restraining and internationally hostile policy devaluates China’s cultural potential and complexity.

scholarly journals Satire in Shrestha’s Ghintang Ghishi Twank

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-81
Author(s):  
Man Kumar Rai
Keyword(s):  
Positive Change ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Poor People ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Common People ◽  
The People ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Special Occasion ◽  
The Common

   The objective of this article is to analyze the use of satire in three poems, from Rupesh  Shrestha’s volume of poems Ghintang Ghishi Twank in order to examine use of the suffering of voiceless people. The poems depict absurdities of the society and hypocrisy of the leaders which are the causes of poor people‟s pains. This poems exhibit how follies, vices and absurdities are hurdle in transforming society into prosperous one. The poet has berated them with the aim of bringing positive change in the society and in the lives of the common people. The poet mocks at the political changes which have brought change only in the lives of political leaders, not in the lives of the people who have been ignored by the state for long. Despite many anxieties, they enjoy dancing and playing sticks in their hands on the special occasion of Gaijatra. The poems are collection of sharp words which are used to butt the corrupt politicians. For this, the elements of Juvenalian satire have been used as tools for analysis of the selected poems. This study highlights upon the anxieties of marginalized people; demonstrates the shameful act of politicians; and exposes the absurdities prevailed in the society. It indicates that the political and social absurdities are subject to be poked in order to reform a society.

scholarly journals Sinergi Pelayanan Zakat dan Pajak Dalam Upaya Mengurangi Kemiskinan

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (32) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jumi Herlita
Keyword(s):  
Public Awareness ◽  
The State ◽  
Tax Collection ◽  
Economic Problems ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Government

Zakat and taxes are two important sources of funding for the state. Both function to solve economic problems and reduce poverty in the community. But in reality the function of zakat and tax can not be optimal. BAZNAS and LAZ as an extension of the government in managing zakat can not be maximized in the collection of zakat funds as well as taxes. Although the nature of the tax is not specific to the poor, but also to the rich, but in fact the existence of taxes have not been able to solve poverty in Indonesia. Therefore it is necessary solution to synergize zakat and tax in order to increase zakat and tax collection. With bersinerginya zakat and taxes are expected to increase public awareness to pay zakat and taxes that can eventually be used to reduce poverty.

The Political Economy of Land Reform in China's “Newly Liberated Areas”: Evidence from Wuxi County

2008 ◽  
Vol 195 ◽  
pp. 675-690 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Kai-Sing Kung
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Communist Party ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Chinese Communist Party ◽  
The Political ◽  
Land Inequality ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Farm Survey ◽  
Class Status ◽  
The Rich

AbstractA farm survey conducted in Wuxi county in the 1950s found that the Chinese Communist Party had successfully “preserved the rich peasant economy” in the “newly liberated areas”: the landlords were indeed the only social class whose properties had been redistributed, yet without compromising on the magnitude of benefits received by the poor peasants. A higher land inequality in that region, coupled with an inter-village transfer of land, allowed these dual goals to be achieved. Our study further reveals that class status was determined both by the amount of land a household owned and whether it had committed certain “exploitative acts,” which explains why some landlords did not own a vast amount of land. Conversely, it was the amount of land owned, not class status, that determined redistributive entitlements, which was why 15 per cent of the poor peasants and half of the middle peasants were not redistributed any land.

Xenophon contra Plato: Citizen Motivation and Socratic Biography

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-102
Author(s):  
Josh Vandiver
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Leadership ◽  
Political Corruption ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Leader ◽  
Cautionary Tale ◽  
Proper Understanding ◽  
Political Biography ◽  
Political Status ◽  
Character Type

Abstract Xenophon’s Cyropaedia should be considered a classic text of political theory. It inaugurated the political biography and is one of the most extensive classical Greek works on political leadership. It has, however, been neglected or, when studied, misunderstood as a cautionary tale of political corruption. I argue that Xenophon’s method in the Cyropaedia is illustrative of Socratic biography and focused on three problems: why leaders emerge, what motivates them, and how their character is constituted. Xenophon responds to these questions by modelling a spirited character type, a person uniquely motivated by philotimia, the desire for political status and honour, and thus uniquely suited for development into a political leader. Furthermore, Xenophon is in theoretic dialogue with Plato over the concepts which comprise this model and a proper understanding of their dialogue impacts interpretations of the Cyropaedia as a whole, Xenophon’s intervention in Greek political discourse, and Plato’s influence on contemporaries.

scholarly journals Democracy and the Environment: An Ecological Economics Research Agenda

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-41
Author(s):  
Prakash Kashwan
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Ecological Economics ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Economics Research

In this essay, we look into two dominant pillars of environmental governance, the State and the market, juxatoposed with the varitiies of environmentalism--of the rich and of the poor--to create a mosaic for the ecological economists to examine how socio-economic and political factors mediate the framing, design, and implementation of policies and institutions meant to foster socially just environmental protection efforts.

scholarly journals POLITICAL SYSTEM AS A CONDITION FOR DEVELOPMENT OF STATE AND LAW

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1803-1805
Author(s):  
Dimitar Spaseski
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Political Culture ◽  
Political System ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
The People ◽  
Democratic Societies ◽  
The Government

The state has a central place in the political system. Through its structure and positioning the country has the strength to be a unifier of society against its overall division of the various classes and layers, ethnic, cultural and other groups. The legitimacy of all these processes is given by laws that determine the trajectory of all processes and the conditions under which the processes take place. The state, by adopting the highest legal acts such as: the constitution and the laws, achieves one of its most important functions, which is the management of society. The state directs society to promote development, but also punishes and sanction infringements and mistakes. Depending on who exercises power in the state, i.e. whether it belongs to the people, to an individual or to a powerful group, the political system can be determined. The political system in itself includes the overall state relations, the relations in society and the guidelines for the conduct of the policy of the state. A state in which the government is elected by the people through direct elections certainly fulfills the basic requirement for the development of a stable civil society. The political system is one of the sub-systems of the entire civil society. The political system is specific in that all the activities and relations of which it is composed are directed to the state and its functions. The structure of the political system is composed of political and legal norms, political knowledge, political culture and political structure. These elements confirm the strong relationship between the state, the law and the political system. Developed democratic societies can talk about a developed political system that abounds with political culture and democracy. It is the aspiration of our life. Investing in democratic societies we invest in the future of our children. If we separate the subjects of the political system, we will determine that the people are the basis of the political system. All competencies intertwine around people. Political systems are largely dependent not only on the political processes that take place in them every day, but also on the economic performance and the economic power of the states. Economic stagnation or regression in some countries often threatens democracy and its values. We often forget that we cannot speak of the existence of a functioning and well-organized democratic political system without its strong economic support. In conditions of globalization, it is necessary to pay special attention to international positions as the main factor of the political system, for the simple reason that the functions of the state in this process are increasingly narrowing.

scholarly journals Structural teaching methods in Republic of Uzbekistan

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusupova Barchina Gakhramanova
Keyword(s):  
Teaching Methods ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
The Political ◽  
New Approach ◽  
National Pride ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Short Time

In the short time since Uzbekistan gained independence, the Uzbek people have made great strides in the political, social, economic and cultural spheres; a new approach to the history of the minority, the honor of organizing the rich cultural and spiritual heritage left by great ancestors, the restoration of national pride; Science, including pedagogy, is entering a new stage of development in the country; A lot of work is being done to revive the glory of the pedagogical geniuses of the eighties, to apply their ideas in the life of the people.

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