Prewar Marxism in Japan Essay

Marxism was coined after its proponent, Karl Marx who believed that the abuses of capitalism would eventually lead to uprisings of the masses particularly of the working class. According to him, the aggrieved plight of the working class will become the key in unleashing the inevitable clashes between the classes. In his argument, Capitalism will be replaced by Communism, in which in his view, this set-up of free economy opens a gate to many inequalities in the society, making the weak and poor more vulnerable to the flaws of the system. As Uno Kozo observed in his work, The Essence of Capital, â€Å"The commodification of the labor force remains the crux of Capitalism† (SJT, pp.243). To Marx belief, Communism is the â€Å"common ownership of the means of production†. There would be public ownership of farms, factories, raw materials, and the like. To him, all means of production will be owned by the workers and all workers would eventually become workers.             In Japan, Marxism was first introduced in the late 1890’s but it was in the 1920’s that it started to catch attention and support from the people especially from the intellectuals (SJT, pp 239; Beckmann, pp. 139). The early Marxists belonged to two different groups, the reformers and the revolutionary. The reformers followed Tolstoian humanitarianism, advocated universal suffrage, and pursued reforms through parliamentary action. While the revolutionaries believed in the Materialist ideas from the German and French Marxist. They adhered to the idea of class struggle and direct revolutionary action by class-conscious workers. The revolutionaries were also attracted to the tactics of the anarcho-syndicalism (Beckmann pp. 140).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The various differences of principles of the Early Marxists in Japan had initially   signaled that a strong unified group would be quite a challenge to create a remarkable impact. In fact, at its onset Marxism was already noted with three general flaws such as its systematic character that degenerates into dogmatism; putative universality that recalls its foreign origin; and its critical modus operandi that provokes infighting and organizational fragmentation (SJT, pp241 ). But all these are generalized observations sums up probable enlightenment on why it seemed to appear that prewar Marxism was never a political success. However, it is pertinent to note that these observations envelopes one or more historical accounts and empirical evidences of the progresses and demise of prewar Marxism in Japan.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The idea of Marxism had its strong appeal in the university circle composed mainly of the professors and students. In fact, one of its early and notable supporters was Kawakami Hajime of the Kyoto Imperial University. He wrote may treatises on Marxism and provided valuable assistance to other advocates in the persons of Sakai Toshihiko, Arahata Kanson among others (Beckmann pp. 145). At that time, the battleground was published material like newspaper wherein people can be informed and get influenced at the same time. At some point, it created impact and stirred the discontentment of the people resulting to the clamor for reforms in Japanese society. This clamor was highlighted more by the onset of the Japan Modernization process in which new demands for the fundamental changes in the society is created (Beckamm pp146). To quote Beckamm, â€Å"Marxism was attractive to them because it provided the fullest explanation of the idea of progress that they had yet encountered. They were easily seduced by the Marxist proposition that through the dialectic progress was inevitable.   Dialectical materialism gave them (supporters) a scientific methodology for analyzing Japanese society, as well as general principles of strategy for effecting change†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   But no matter how ardent the campaign was and how dynamic the intellectual debates were, history underscores that prewar Marxism fell short in achieving its much desired political change. The variables affecting this result are attributed to both external and internal difficulties encountered by the group. It is believed that too much emphasis on theoretical conceptualization has left the advocates confused on what is real and what is not. And what is real during that time, is the dominance of the conservative elite who managed to uphold Japanese value system. All important institutions of Japanese society inculcated obedience, loyalty, and status over freedom, individual rights, and equality. All these summed up to hostilities of the society to individuals who think otherwise. Thus, it resulted to numerable defection from Communism and Socialism parties. It may also be relevant to note that conservative value system of Japanese society and the so called patterns of behavior during the modernization period contributed to the prevention of basic antagonism from being open clashes. Many intellectuals may be vocal in their convictions but a greater number of them seemed anxious to join the mass â€Å"hurly burly maybe because of the behavioral patterns pervading in the society and of the enveloping obligation not to disgrace the family through deviation from the generally accepted behavior. Another pitfall of the prewar Marxism is the very nature that the ideology was alien and much worse, dependent on the support of a foreign state which is labeled as enemy and competitor of their own country. It could not simply break the much preferred paradigm of Japanese Nationalism and Confucianism. Furthermore, the movement cannot fight equally with the raw power of the state especially of its police and military predisposition. This is for the obvious reason that communists had no civil liberties to protect them. As a matter of fact, party organizations were dismantled through various man-arrest in 1923, 1928, 1929, and much frequently in the 1930s. These arrests made it difficult for the advocates to maintain a substantial number that could function effectively for its cause (Beckamm, pp 148-150)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Much had been said by the writings and works of the early believers but less had been done. In the labor movement itself, the support and participation was only a small percent of the whole sector. Many who joined the cause were in the small and medium enterprises and almost none from the large industries. A few participation reflected that many have gone disillusioned or remained uninspired by the movement due to many failures of negotiations and strikes. The same also goes for the peasants, the Japanese agricultural communities and families were unreceptive and to some measure were hostile to Communism and Socialism. This maybe because the peasant movement lacks single central leadership that could have had become an effective channel of influence (Beckamm, pp150).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Commintern Policy also posted a challenge to the thriving ideology of Marxism. It added certain degree of divisiveness among the people in the movement. Also, it provided a very good issue that kept the proponents busy in arguing as to which would be the good and effective direction to heed towards the desired impact on Japanese society. Is it the bourgeois-democratic or the proletarian revolution? Again, it brood disunity, conflict, and frustration among themselves.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The defection of Etsuzo, Sano, and Nabeyama also influenced fellow believers to defect and to condemn all together the principles and actions of the group they once pledge allegiance and commitment (Beckmann, pp160; 166).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In totality, prewar Marxism in Japan made numerous progresses and successes in bringing out brilliance among Japanese intellectuals. However, it was never translated into a political action that would have given life to the very essence of the teachings of Karl Marx. Though numerous reasons tried to explain this result, but maybe the only reason true enough to describe its failure is the one said by George Beckmann, â€Å"†¦the very nature of Japanese society made it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for a Communist movement to exist, let alone operate with any degree of effectiveness†¦to Marxist-Leninist terms, the objective conditions were not at all favorable. (Beckmann pp. 152)†

Atheistic Existentialism †Life Domains Essay

Directions: Complete the â€Å"Atheistic Existentialism† column in the table below by filling in the cells from information provided in the textbook. Atheistic Existentialism / REALITY The only reality for an AE is the one they create for themselves†¦everything is matter – everything is connected as some form of matter or energy and in a cause and effect relationship Atheistic Existentialism / KNOWLEDGE The only knowledge comes from our own senses. Atheistic Existentialism / HUMAN NATURE To an AE – humans are allowed free-will, personalities and consciences – but don’t have any reason to do anything with it Atheistic Existentialism / HUMAN PROBLEMS Their problem is that they can’t deal with the fact that they have human personalities and tendencies – but don’t know why, or what to do with it Atheistic Existentialism / SOLUTIONS TO HUMAN PROBLEMS Humans alone have the only solution to their problem and the more they evolve the better they’ll be at fixing them, so live as if your inner desires do have some meaning and try to make an impact on the world. Atheistic Existentialism / HUMAN VALUE Truly there is no ultimate value of a human life, but Humans can have value because they create their own reality by making their own choices – good or bad. Atheistic Existentialism / HUMAN PURPOSE Our only purpose – according to an AE is that of making yourself into who or what you wish to be, otherwise there is no purpose. Atheistic Existentialism / ETHICS Ethics – Schmethics†¦As long as you make a conscience choice to do something – good or bad – you are determining what your ethics are. not living by the laws of man, or any other guide. Atheistic Existentialism / SUFFERING Nothing good comes of it – there is no purpose for it – so don’t do it. Atheistic Existentialism / MEANING OF LIFE There is no real meaning – each individual is able to determine what life means to them by their choices to be or not to be, do or not do, etc. Atheistic Existentialism / HUMAN DESIRE Kill it! Don’t be led by your inner needs, wants, voices, it is absurd to follow these â€Å"accidental causes† of evolution – because you don’t need anything more than the basics to survive. Personal Reflection Directions: Briefly summarize your personal reflection on the information that you have entered into Tables 1 and 2 in this assignment. It is interesting to see the â€Å"evolution† of these 3 worldviews. From the Naturalist who views everything as natural in it’s existence – you exist based on your senses and experiences alone to the Secular Humanist with their realization that humans are wonderful – great creatures with personalities and determinations, but it doesn’t matter†¦to the Atheistic Existentialist (AE) – who finally realizes that the innermost feelings and desires we have as humans do exist, but would be better off â€Å"killed† or cut out than to be nurtured and followed. To me – It is just man’s way of not wanting to give credit where credit is do! So many people feel they have to â€Å"give up† so much to follow God. The only way Satan can â€Å"win† is to have more souls in his army than God. He finds our weaknesses and zeroes in on them to keep us from realizing the truth. Man’s ego and sense of self is historically his ruination. It’s easy to see how in these days, these 3 views – all making humans the only thing that matter and by crossing out God, satan is able to lead many astray. (NIV) Matthew 7:13-14 † 13 â€Å"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.†

Apple Competitve Strength Assesment

What does a competitive strength assessment reveal about Apple, as compared to the leaders in the personal computer industry? †¢Design and innovation oriented. †¢Greater horizontal and vertical integration. †¢R&D oriented. †¢Everything ready device. ? 5. )Use the methodology in Table 4. 4 to support your answer. Among these competitors, who enjoys the strongest competitive position? †¢Dell Inc. enjoys the strongest competitive position. †¢Apple’s operating in a fast-cycle market. †¢Firm’s capabilities that contribute to competitive advantage aren? shielded †¢from imitation. †¢Where imitation is very fast and inexpensive. †¢Apple’s products and services have more restriction than its rivals 5. )Who is in the weakest overall competitive position? †¢Acer. †¢Most of its revenue (63. 8%) was rely in the mobile phone industry. †¢But mobile phone industry that have very intense competitive.†¢With Appl e and Nokia as major players. ? 5. )Has Apple’s strategy resulted in a substantial competitive advantage over its rivals in the computer industry? What is the basis for whatever competitive advantage it has? Innovation plays a dominant role in the competitive dynamics in fast cycle †¢markets. †¢Stronger brands value. MP3 PlayersOverallSound QualityEase of UseReliability Apple8. 38. 78. 68. 3 Microsoft8. 18. 78. 38. 2 Creative7. 88. 47. 58. 1 Archos7. 68. 17. 68. 0 Iriver7. 68. 47. 28. 1 Toshiba7. 68. 58. 18. 0 SanDisk7. 58. 07. 57. 9 Samsung7. 48. 07. 57. 9 Sony7. 38. 07. 47. 8 Industry Average7. 48. 17. 67. 8 6. ) What does a competitive strength assessment reveal about Apple, as compared to other main players in the digital music industry?Use the methodology in Table 4. 4 to support your answer. Among these digital music player competitors, which company enjoys the strongest competitive position? Who is in the weakest overall competitive position? Has Appleâ€℠¢s strategy resulted in a substantial competitive advantage over its rivals in the digital music player industry? What is the basis for whatever competitive advantage Apple has? Other Apple’s competitive advantages Marketing Features and technology Best Replacement in TV shows

What is the greatest obstacle preventing the US from having a more Research Paper

What is the greatest obstacle preventing the US from having a more effective and cost-effective healthcare system - Research Paper Example Different healthcare organizations have been affected by hospital staff turnover. Majority of the medical workers have been overworked and hence deciding to leave the profession. Currently, the decreasing number of nurses and medical personnel is a major problem with no new trainees joining the profession. Because of this, we have very many medical injustices and errors occurring each year. The success of a nation is determined by the health of its citizens. This facilitates economic development because the population is healthy and productive. The older population in America is stressed with the need for health insurance, something very expensive and almost unaffordable (Wieners 48). Because of this, it is necessary to have an insurance collectivism whereby the people are safeguarded from incurring exorbitant expenses for health care services. The issue of health care has widely been debated in the country. Just like the Medicaid Program, I believe something much more is needed to r educe the expenses incurred by the older generation when searching for medical support and care.Today the US is one the countries where a lot of money is spent per individual on issues related to healthcare. This is something that has been stressing the elderly citizens as well as the young ones. That being the case, the government has always been spending enormous amounts of money on other issues instead of tackling the health crisis faced in the country. Experts believe that the issue of health care is seen in the country as a hindrance to other agendas, but this should not be the case (Thompson 1). A lot of money is spent on secondary issues such as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Also, while security is something important, it should not be highly considered compared to the health of the common citizen. From the studies that have been conducted in five key States in 2001, it has been indicated that medical debts always contribute to about 46.2 per cent of the bankruptcies reco rded. Another study conducted in the year 2007 showed an increase to 62.1 per cent. The medical expenses in the country have also remained hence making it hard for the people to access better health support (TEDxBigApple). These facts therefore support the need to have free insurance for all legalized citizens of the country. This is the only way the rights of the people can be addressed and have a healthy nation. The logical explanation of any given country is always determined by the health of all its citizens. Possible Answers Today the U.S. is one of the wealthiest countries in the world yet is cannot make sure all the citizens of have proper medical care. Health care in the country is very expensive both from the public and private providers. In 2009, the U.S. Census Bureau announced that over fifty million people in the country had not insurance cover (Anderson 3). This indicates that majority of the people decide to live without any form of health cover rather than paying exo rbitant amounts for the cover. Looking at it keenly, the citizens pay very heavy taxes for this health benefit to be provided (Squires 1). However, this is something yet to be realized. It would be wise tax the people and provide them with free medical cover and health insurance. Currently we have many citizens who do not have access or qualify for the insurance provided by the government; others cannot afford or purchase insurance, and other individuals are not insured by private employers. Such people have remained without any medical cover. Taxes paid by the people should always be used to address issues like people’s health and not concentrating much on foreign issues (Fox 1). Budget reports from

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 47

Marketing - Essay Example By doing so, it becomes easier for the company to spread the message and brand image in an effective manner. This type of promotion is called as Above The Line Promotion. Direct marketing is one of the most widely used strategy for promoting brands and product. Apart from Above The Line strategy, Vodafone also operate direct marketing channels in which it delivers its product through direct sales agent, super call centre and tele-calling. Vodafone owns number of stores all over the world through which it sells its product directly to its customers. Stores often propose promotions, special offers and posters pertaining to point of sales in order to attract those customers which are inside the store so that they buy more. All the marketing channels mentioned above for Vodafone are integrated channels of marketing. The reason is for integrated marketing channels, there is a holistic approach to keep harmony among all the channels. In case of Vodafone, the message, brand image and marketing strategies are consistent and therefore they complement each other. Since it opts integrated marketing channel strategy, Vodafone isn’t promoting differently through any of its marketing

Audit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Audit - Essay Example This has resulted in the emergence of the phrase that â€Å"auditors are the dogs that did not bark during the crisis†, and thus their role in helping avert financial crisis through detecting and reporting any anomaly or perceived misrepresentation of the financial truthfulness of organizations has been put to question (Fielding, 2011 p35). Therefore, considering that there are four major auditing firms that operate globally and monopolizes the European Union regions, namely PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, Deloitte and KPMG, concerns have always arisen regarding the collusion between the auditing firms and their clients to give unfair and unbalanced financial reporting information and opinion (Clifford, n.p.). This has necessitated the need for introducing reforms that would see the already existing collusion, as well as the conflict of interest in auditing, effectively addressed (IFAC, 2013 p36). EC audit reform proposals and the underlying areas of concern that they s eek to address First, the EC audit reform proposes a system of compulsory rotation of audit firms amongst their clients (Crump, 2011 n.p.). This proposal has arisen from the fact that; it has been noted that many firms and organization have enlisted the services of a single audit firm for many years, even running for decades, something that has made it possible for the audit firms and their clients to develop a collusion mechanism that prevents the auditors from applying prudence in auditing the transactions and the financial reports of their longstanding clients (Irvine, 2013, n.p.). The effect of this has always been unbalanced and misleading audit reports, which are only proven wrong, when such firms are eventually netted in big financial scandal or when the firms are forced to close down, due to financial problems, despite the fact that their previous reporting and audit reports have been indicating favorable financial positions (Garcia, 2005 p56). Consequently the EU has introd uced a proposal requiring that the client firms will have to change their auditors after a maximum period of 6 years, or a maximum of 9 years, on condition that the client firms have enlisted the services of joint auditing services, since there is a potential of the audit firms increasing the quality of the auditing done, when the firm is audited by two different firms (IFAC, 2013 p42). Thus, this proposal was meant to introduce measures that would encourage joint services, even where it is has not been made obligatory; to avert the problem of conflict of interests and collusion, amongst the auditing firms and their client firms (Orlik, 2011 n.p.). Mandatory audit tendering The EC reform proposal also introduces a proposal for the audit client firms for all public-interest entities to mandatory introduce obligatory open and transparent selection procedures for the new firms (Lovells & Banerjee, 2011 p44). Under this requirement, the EC also proposes that the audit committee should e ffectively be involved in the selection procedure of the new auditors, to ensure the prudence of the selection process, since the auditors selected also influences the nature of the reporting and financial opinion given by the audit firms

Argumentive Essay The Myth of Media Violence Research Paper

Argumentive Essay The Myth of Media Violence - Research Paper Example in television programs as well as music videos that are obviously not meant for innocent children and accordingly, convey negative messages to the children whenever they happen to encounter them. These programs include but are not limited to negative reality shows, crime reports, adult movies and vulgar fashion shows. Such programs have caused the children to mature before the right age and they know too much for their age and mental capacity. A lot of people deny the difference between the extremity and intensity of negativity of the programs projected on television in the 1950s and those shown today by arguing that violence has always been there in the television programs, particularly in the bull fighting and wrestling. However, what I feel lacking in his argument is a realization of the fact that today’s media is far too open towards vulgarity and adultery contrary to the standards that were followed half a century ago. Any argument in favor of the violence and porn projected in the movies, video games and media today is, to me, illegitimate and irrational. It is an established fact that many music videos released nowadays are full of sexually explicit material. In fact, eroticism has become a fundamental trait of profitable music videos, particularly when they star famous celebrities. People are curious to know who has exposed to what extent. (Lewis 94) says that music slowly penetrates so deep into the social setup that it ultimately develops the tendency to overtly express the hidden belief systems that have long remained taboos in the society and hence, alters the society’s way of thinking and its lifestyle. (Lewis 94) further notes that in this way, music serves as the advertisement for the social belief systems that have not been discussed openly in the past, yet have existed in all times. Having watched the taboos openly discussed in the reality shows telecast, people become immune to them and stop shying about discussing matters and watching the