Plato Vs Aristotle On Politics And Philosophy - 1899 Words

Plato versus Aristotle Plato and Aristotle, two philosophers in the 4th century, hold polar views on politics and philosophy in general. This fact is very cleverly illustrated by Raphael s School of Athens (1510-11; Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican), where Plato is portrayed looking up to the higher forms; and Aristotle is pointing down because he supports the natural sciences. In a discussion of politics, the stand point of each philosopher becomes an essential factor. It is not coincidental that Plato states in The Republic that Philosopher Rulers who possess knowledge of the good should be the governors in a city state. His strong interest in metaphysics is demonstrated in The Republic various times: for example, the similes of the cave, the sun, and the line, and his theory of the forms. Because he is so involved in metaphysics, his views on politics are more theoretical as opposed to actual. Aristotle, contrarily, holds the view that politics is the art of ruling and being ruled in turn. In The Politics, he attempts to outline a way of governing that would be ideal for an actual state. Balance is a main word in discussing Aristotle because he believes it is the necessary element to creating a stable government. His less metaphysical approach to politics makes Aristotle more in tune with the modern world, yet he is far from modern. Plato s concept of what politics and government should be is a direct result of his belief in the theory of forms. The theory of formsShow MoreRelatedPlato vs. Aristotle1952 Words   |  8 PagesPlato vs. Aristotle Plato and Aristotle, two philosophers in the 4th century, hold polar views on politics and philosophy in general. This fact is very cleverly illustrated by Raphaels School of Athens (1510-11; Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican), where Plato is portrayed looking up to the higher forms; and Aristotle is pointing down because he supports the natural sciences. In a discussion of politics, the stand point of each philosopher becomes an essential factor. It is not coincidentalRead MoreEmpiricism Is The Theory That Experience1202 Words   |  5 Pagesproblems. Since this revolution, philosophers and political theorists have developed two different ideas on what politics should be about and how a government should be ran: politics should be about making citizens more virtuous vs politics should be about the â€Å"basics† like security and property rights. Throughout this paper, I will be analyzing these two different outlooks on politics and presenting a case for both. Thomas Hobbes believed that the government should essentially limit itself to theRead MoreThe 5 Hearths Of Civilization2028 Words   |  9 Pagescivilizations. Plato and Aristotle Plato and Aristotle are two of the most famous figures in ancient Greek history. These men were two of the most influential philosophers and scholars of their times. Although Aristotle was considered Plato’s most prized student, they had their differences. As a devoted follower of Socrates, Plato was an idealist. He developed what is known as inductive reasoning, which is going from a specific observation to a generalization. On the other hand, Aristotle was a realistRead MoreAn Ideal Hero: Greek vs. Roman Essay1527 Words   |  7 Pagescultural propaganda. Greek Heros= models of courage skill to men (what to be) women (what to look for- sense of security). a. Dominant Theme: warrior code of personal honor and glory b. Contrasting themes: Family principle, simple country life vs. war, admiration of enemies. 5. Literary works by Homer Blind poet Homer - represents the culmination of a long and vigorous tradition in which oral recitation—possibly to instrumental accompaniment—was a popular kind of entertainment. Read MorePlato And Aristotle s Political Situation2648 Words   |  11 Pages 1. Introduction Plato and Aristotle are two of the most influential figures in academic history, yet in spite of their intricate relationship, the pair had differing, albeit not always opposing, views on language which could be argued to be a result of the changing politics of the Ancient Greek era. In this essay I will firstly explore the political situation surrounding the time of both philosophers. Following this, I will expand upon these findings and consolidate them in regards to various languageRead MoreAristotle vs. Copernicus1501 Words   |  7 PagesAristotle vs. Copernicus Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and scientist, who shared with Plato the distinction of being the most famous of ancient philosophers. Aristotle was born at Stagira, in Macedonia, the son of a physician to the royal court. At the age of 17, he went to Athens to study at Platos Academy. He remained there for about 20 years, as a student and then as a teacher. When Plato died in 347 bc , Aristotle moved to Assos, a city in Asia Minor, where a friend of his, Hermias (dRead MoreThe Persian Wars Were Significant For World History1441 Words   |  6 Pagesduring the golden age after the Greek victory over Persia. The rule of the people paved the way for freedom of speech, which is still relevant in the modern day especially in America. However, while Athenian democracy provided a model for contemporary politics, there are some noticeable differences between the ancient and present day democratic practices. According to the International Journal of Sociology, â€Å"Modern democrats thought they knew a few big things about what democracy was because of what theyRead MoreDeontological Moral Systems : Ethics1532 Words   |  7 Pagesto those results are moral while your actions lead away from them are immoral. Teleology pervades Aristotle s philosophy, perhaps like no other notion. Its applications range from elemental theory and chemistry, to psychology, biology, astronomy, ethics and politics. Surveying the uses of teleology throughout his philoso phy can thus serve as a good introduction to Aristotle s overall philosophy. Monte Ransome Johnson s study provides such a survey, and in the process gives us an in-depth analysisRead MorePlato vs. Aristotle2421 Words   |  10 PagesBy Gerard Chretien Plato vs. Aristotle Numerous experts in modern time regard Plato as the first genuine political philosopher and Aristotle as the first political scientist. They were both great thinkers in regards to, in part with Socrates, being the foundation of the great western philosophers. Plato and Aristotle each had ideas in how to proceed with improving the society in which they were part of during their existence. It is necessary therefore to analyze their different theoreticalRead MorePolitical Theory: Comparing Locke, Rousseau and Plato Essay3770 Words   |  16 PagesLocke: What is the purpose of politics - we could live in the state of nature, we don’t need contract or soverign - life, liberty and property State of nature: men live according to reason and governed by reason - man exists in the state of nature in perfect freedom to do as they want, a state of perfect freedom - not necessarily good or bad, bit is calm and peaceful - men give up some of their freedom to secure the advantages of civilized socity

Be the Change You Want to See in the World free essay sample

Be the change you want to see in the world† Mahatma Gandhi My name is Rosa Soto. I was born in Zacatecas, Mexico, and lived there until I was six years old. My family came to the United States because my parents desired for us to have a better, richer life in the United States because surviving in Mexico was really difficult due to the high rates of unemployment. One problem my family encountered as they came to the U. S. was that we did not know how to speak English. My father had to find work and we needed a home to live in as well. We moved to an apartment that had only one bedroom and eventually, my dad found a job in the apartments where we lived. He was hired as a repairman to help people with the plumbing and electricity. My parents took night classes in English at an elementary school to improve their English. We will write a custom essay sample on Be the Change You Want to See in the World or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page My mother stayed at home and she always reminded us to eat all of our food because we could not afford expensive food; we were not rich people. As a young student I was placed in resource classes because my English was not very good. Becoming a better English speaker is one of my life-long goals. Even though my English is not great, I do my best to learn everything I can. Math is my weakest subject. I took Algebra in the ninth grade and I struggled in the class, but was able to start to understand the subject better. The following year I took Geometry and did very well. The next year when I started taking Algebra II, I found I was again having difficulty learning the concepts. My teacher did not think I could learn the concepts and encouraged me re-take Algebra but with the help of a tutor I was able to be successful in the class. I earned a B+ and was really proud of the result. I realize that school is difficult and it’s hard to succeed if you don’t ask for help or look for resources to help you better understand the materials. As a college student, I know that the classes are only going to get harder but I will not let myself fail or get discouraged. I will ask for help and work hard so that I can continue to succeed academically. Although I have struggled in Math and English I have really excelled in my Art classes. I am currently taking Advanced Art and Printmaking. My teacher, Ms. Clay, has really taken to me and continues to push me forward towards college. My mother encourages me to go to school and is constantly reminding me of how difficult it is for minorities, including Mexicans, to live in the United States. We often talk about race and diversity and how many of us don’t have an opportunity to study at a university and so I should work hard to have that chance. It is important for the students of a university to learn and understand about how other cultures value education and other things. I feel proud to know that my mother believes that I can make a difference for the family and learn things that can help the people I love and others- including undocumented individuals. I have found that it is possible to be successful if you work hard enough. I made it my goal to get good grades in all my classes. Because of my struggles in school and experiences within my family a close and honest friend might consider me determined in my schooling, a hard-worker with compassion or kindness towards others. The reason people would call me kind is because they may feel like I had saved their lives. I always do my best to help all my friends. One example of this in my life is when one of my friends was scared to go by herself to the Xerox room to have a copy made for art class. I politely said yes to her and we both went together. Additionally, when I was in eighth grade in my math class there used to be a boy everybody that picked on. There was a time when we had to be in groups in math class to play a game related to math. Of course nobody was my partner for the game and I asked this boy to become my partner, he was proud and on the second time he asked me again to become his partner in a game. I feel my life has been one big example of my hard work and determination. In my junior year in high school I was supposed to be on a field trip for my advanced writing class. However, I had a test in physics and stayed at school to take the test. During that class period our teacher told us that we could go to the library. I of course did have homework and suggested finishing an essay for my English class and a couple of poems for my advanced writing class. Some of my friends even have the impression that I work to hard because I spend so much time in the library on my homework and after school. The librarians also complemented to me that I was a hard worker. In addition to my efforts in school I have been involved in the Chicano/Latino Club. The club offers job opportunities for Latinos and helps people learn more about the importance of attending colleges and universities and talks about classes that I can take such as photography. I am proud to represent the Latino Community because I can make a difference to other communities and in the process, have the opportunity to educate others about the issues that affect us. All of my experiences make me a great contender for this Scholarship. I believe in giving to my community, being a leader to those around me, and achieving success in whatever I set out to accomplish.

Miracle of the Quran free essay sample

Three aspects of various languages Particularity of the Arabic There are various concepts of learned philologists, circulating among whole the world about the basic language of human being. It is appreciating that nearly every philologist has collected very important information in the field of philology. All these information only provide us with details of various languages, spoken by the human beings and their concern with each other. In this regard the names of Oto Jespersen, J. Venduryes and many other philologists are highly considerable. No doubt, these learned philologists has worked with full sincerity and pointed out many important aspects of the philology. But question of the basic, natural spoken language of whole the human being was still un-solved. Attention please, in this research, I am going to explain and prove the Arabic as the basic, natural and spoken language of whole the human beings, according to the Quranic education, because this fact was firstly eclared out by the Holy Quran about fourteen hundred years ago. We will write a custom essay sample on Miracle of the Quran or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This fact has been stated by the Holy Quran in the various Quranic verses. The Meaning Aspect: The meaning aspect is the second different aspect of the human languages. It can explain in this way, that many words of different languages, having equal spoken sound, do not have the equal meanings mostly. So, this aspect is also different in various languages spoken by the human beings. 3. The Sounding or Natural Aspect The sounding aspect is only the common aspect of all the languages spoken by the uman beings, because every human being speaks according to the sounding system of the Arabic alphabetical letters. How is it possible? Although it is very easy and very simple, but first we are needed to identity the Arabic alphabetical letters, their sounds, their changeable shapes (moods) in the words and their vowel system to understand this hidden truth of the universe. For the above mentioned purpose, we shall first observe the five tables. In the 1st table actual writing shapes of the Arabic alphabetical letters, their names nd English alphabetical letters, having equal sounds to the Arabic letters, has been shown. In the 2nd table the changeable shapes of the Arabic alphabetical letters in the words, has been mentioned. While in the 3rd, 4th 5th table various sounds of the Arabic alphabetical letters followed by the different vowels of the Arabic and their roman pronunciation has also been shown. 1st Table This table shows the names natural shapes of the Arabic alphabetical letters and English alphabetical letters, which are equal in sounds to the Arabic alphabetical letters.

Success of Online Learning

Success of Online Learning Free Online Research Papers Different studies have been made regarding the success rate of online distance learning. Some show a significant higher pass rate versus the classical classroom approach. Example of this is a study conducted at the Riverside Community College (Anon, 2008) showing a significant higher number of achievements for mathematical courses delivered through the internet (average 66%) versus traditional courses (average 50%). An other study at a College of the Sequoias in California (COS) revealed just the opposite, with a 70% success rate for the face-to-face course versus only 46.6% success for students in distance education (Rapid Intellect Group Inc., 2004). This immediately shows that neither formulas in themselves are a guarantee for success. Several factors have an impact on the final result. There exists a huge variety in the types of courses offered through distance learning. Some simply provide a text to read, others check students learnings through online multiple choice tests, and yet others develop a more personal relationship with and between participants. Although some approaches were statistically proven to be more successful than others, it is the responsibility of the student to find the course and the way of working best suited for his personal situation. Characteristics of Virtual Education One of the great advantages of asynchronous online learning, is the freedom and the flexibility this offers to the student. He can choose when and where to study, combining his academical ambitions with his work obligations and social agenda. This, on the other hand, seems to be one of the great pitfalls (Reid, n.d.). With no fixed time table, the student must find his own way to keep all those balls in the air and manage his time in the most efficient way. This requires self-knowledge, time management and discipline. Even though this often is a new way of studying, it is a situation most professionals have learned to deal with throughout their working experience. He will have developed his own method to respect deadlines and to keep an overview of the tasks at hand, and a similar methodology will have to be used to get the most out of his studies. A second great advantage is the opportunity to learn from others, and their experience. Adult students have learned a great deal during their career, both from a knowledge point of view as with regards to behavioural development. They have acquainted the processes and procedures of their company and most likely helped to shape or fine-tune some of them. Distance learning now gives them the change to not only discover new theoretical aspects, but also how they are applied in other environments. This may lead to a critical assessment of their own way of working, and the sharing of best practices. Conclusion There are many different formats and formulas of online learning. None offer a guarantee for success. Aspirant students should first carefully assess their personal situation: what motivates them; what do they want to achieve; how much time do they have available; do they master the required technological skills, †¦ Knowles (1980 cited in Galusha, n.d.) believes that† learner behaviour is influenced by a combination of the learners needs plus the learners situation and personal characteristics. Knowing these personal characteristics is an important aspect of planning distance learning course-ware and strategies.† REFERENCES Anon. (2008) Delivery Method and Success in MAT63MAT64MAT52 [Online] Riverside Community College. Available from: http://academic.rcc.edu/ir/Research/Delivery%20Method%20and%20success%20in%20MAT63MAT64MAT52.doc (Accessed 30 May 2010) Galusha J.M. (n.d.) Barriers to Learning in Distance Education [Online] The Infrastruction Network. University of Southern Mississippi. Available from: infrastruction.com/barriers.htm (Accessed 1 June 2010) Rapid Intellect Group Inc. (2004) Impacting distance learning success rates [Online] Available from: thefreelibrary.com/Impacting+distance+learning+success+rates-a0129973235 (Accessed 30 May 2010) Reid (n.d.) What Every Student Should Know About Online Learning [Online] Kennesaw Georgia: Kennesaw State University. Available from: ion.uillinois.edu/resources/tutorials/overview/reid.html (Accessed 30 May 2010) Research Papers on Success of Online LearningStandardized TestingThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseResearch Process Part OnePersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalOpen Architechture a white paperEffects of Television Violence on Children

What are four dimensions of social responsibilityWhat impact do they Essay

What are four dimensions of social responsibilityWhat impact do they have on marketing decisions - Essay Example to economic development while improving the quality of life of the work force and their family as well as the community and society at large†Ã‚  (cited in Sims, 2003). Again, Wartick and Cochran frames CSR as â€Å"a business organization’s configuration of principles of social responsibility, processes of social responsiveness, and policies, programs, and observable outcomes as they relate to the firm’s societal relationships†(Wartick and Cochran, 1985). CSR is however the most aptly defined by the World Business Council as â€Å"The continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large† (Holme and Watts, The World Business Council for Sustainable Development). One idea comes out very clearly from the above definitions, and that is, CSR is a duty to be performed by corporations towards all its stakeholders, and not simply the shareholders. CSR can be divided into 4 basic dimensions. These are The four afore-mentioned dimensions form the pyramid of social responsibilities, and are referred to as the Carroll’s CSR pyramid. As Carroll himself frames it â€Å"corporate social responsibility involves the conduct of a business so that it is economically profitable, law abiding, ethical and socially supportive. To be socially responsible then means that profitability and obedience to the law are foremost conditions when discussing the firm’s ethics and the extent to which it supports the society in which it exists with contributions of money, time and talent† (Carroll, 1983, p.608). At the very base is the economic dimension that forms the foundation for all the other aspects. Next, above the economic dimension, comes the legal aspect, where the mantra is to follow and play strictly by the rules of the game. The law clearly demarcates what is right and what is wrong, and the legal dimension simply

Policy and practice in the education of bilingual children Essay

Policy and practice in the education of bilingual children - Essay Example Educators must observe the following key principles in teaching foreign children. First, bilingualism is an asset instead of a liability for children who know more than one other language other than their mother tongue or primary language. Baker (2006) contends that evidence supports that there are cognitive and performance advantages in being bilingual over being monolingual. Another principle to be remembered by educators is that language learners should be kept cognitively challenged with the continuous provision of linguistic and contextual support. Lastly, the acquisition of another language should go hand in hand with the student’s cognitive and academic development within the same school environment and the student would not need outside support. This implies that the school curriculum is already embedded with these language learning principles. School Observation One school was observed regarding its adherence to the policies set by the â€Å"Rationale for Planning fo r Children Learning English as an Additional Language† document as well as analyse its practices with theories on bilingual education. The school looked like a typical one when one enters it. No welcome procedures were observed nor signs around the school seen in relation to the cultural composition or languages of the students or teachers. However, towards the entrance of the main building, a bulletin board on Black History Month was on display. This was the only piece of evidence in the campus that showed recognition of another culture. As one enters the Year 1 Key Stage 1 classroom, the same generic ambience was observed. Children were grouped into various groups according to their ability levels. On the wall near the teacher’s desk is a list of pupils’ literacy levels indicated with pictures of fruits. For example, the low ability group belonged to the grape group. The middle ability group belonged to the banana group and the high ability group belonged to th e apple group. The same was done with numeracy levels. However, these were represented by shapes. For example, the low ability levels for numeracy belonged to the triangle group, the middle ability level in the square group and the high ability level in the circle group. These groupings were for the mainstream students. The EAL learners and SEN learners belonged to another group. A special corner for learning another language featured pictures of different body parts with words in Spanish. For example, a picture of eyes with the Spanish word eyes, â€Å"Ojos† underneath. Also, there were words displayed in Spanish and translated in English such as â€Å"Good morning†, â€Å"Good afternoon†, â€Å"Hello†, â€Å"Goodbye† and so forth. However, there were no EAL books nor books with any other language except English seen in the book corner. Other adornments on the walls include different pictures of children’s actions with the words indicating the actions such as good listening, eyes looking, lips closed, sitting with their legs crossed. These pictures represented good behaviour as indicated with a thumbs-up picture. For EAL students, such visual aids are graphic

How the Majority Adapts to Major Economic Transformations Essay Example for Free

How the Majority Adapts to Major Economic Transformations Essay ALN provided a simplified plus-minus tax cut or tax increase, increased government spending or reduced expenditures analyses of the U.S. political landscape covering the pre- and post-World War period (85; 94-5) up to Bill Clinton’s term as U.S. President (109). ALN’s ‘When Legislators Get Out of Step’ or Chapter 6 of the book ‘Title’ attempted to explain the fiscal policy changes in the United States with regards to constituent preferences on fiscal policy issues; the speed or slowness of legislator actions, inactions, or stances; and constituent-legislator equilibrium or interest-and-action matching from a state of non-equilibrium (92). Meanwhile, ALN’s ‘Key Episodes in the Twentieth Century’ or Chapter 7 of the same book attempted to discuss the drawn out process of fiscal policy change initiatives (110). Chapter 6 basically explained how U.S. political representatives identify, understand, and support the majority while Chapter 7 detailed the U.S. Economy’s shift from agricultural to industrial and the corresponding increase in government spending to support denser population growth in the cities during the pre-World War U.S. economy (94-6). Chapter 7 also suggested that â€Å"voters became more conservative† and legislators â€Å"made an ‘honest mistake’† (110) during the later part of the twentieth century as the reasons behind the slow, yet ultimately, quick trend in tax cuts, and hence, reduced government spending (100-5). The thesis of this paper is that when it came to fiscal policy preferences, U.S. constituent mood swings from conservative to liberal or vice-versa actually reflected a major transformation in the U.S. economy that ALN reasonably examined in Chapter 6 (90-1) and some parts of Chapter 7 (94-7), but failed to identify or support in Chapter 7’s conclusion with regards to the later part of the twentieth century (110). First, ALN observed that U.S. government spending was increased in the early twentieth century but was cut or reduced during the last three decades (83). ALN also observed that some U.S. states followed this trend while others did not (83). ALN called those states that followed the trend as ‘initiative states’ while those states that did not follow the trend as ‘non-initiative states’ (83). Majority of ALN’s observations and analyses are focused on fiscal policies that increase or reduce spending or taxes versus those policies that retain the status quo. ALN pointed out that legislators or politicians that followed the trend are clearly the representatives of the majority while those that did not: â€Å"voted according to their conscience† believing that they know better than the majority (87). In this light, ALN asserted that: â€Å"After all, representatives who want to stay in office will try to please their constituents, and those who flagrantly ignore the wishes of the electorate will eventually be voted out of office† (87). ALN also provided numerous examples on how government spending increased during the U.S. economy’s shift from the agricultural era into the industrial age as the rural economy became weak while the urban economy became strong (94-7). Moreover, ALN cited as an example voters’ preference for increased welfare spending during a recession instead of during an economic boom (90). ALN’s examples appeared to have economic explanations, and dovetailed with Roosevelt’s New Deal and spending economics to pump prime a sluggish U.S. economy during the Great Depression, except in ALN’s discussion of the California Tax Revolt (100; 102-5), Ronald Reagan (102-3; 106; 108-9), and Bill Clinton (109). Here, initiatives for tax cuts have been simply presented and explained as constituency preferences or setting about â€Å"to implement the will of the voters† (103). Second, Chapter 6 or ‘When Legislators Get Out of Step’ provided insights on how legislators deliberately or unwittingly interpret or misinterpret voters’ preferences on certain issues that affect the speed by which fiscal policies change and vice-versa. Meaning, voters too can misinterpret the stances on fiscal policy issues of their duly elected representatives. Both ways, misinterpretations are due to a variety of reasons such as: [a] the diverse portfolio of issues that a politician supports or information overload (88); [b] the great number of politicians that need to be elected in federal, state, and local government offices (88); [c] the distinct interests of politicians compared with ordinary citizens (87); [d] limited information (89); and [e] lack of measurement tools that gauge voter preferences on selected issues (89). According to ALN, these reasons determine the speed or slowness of a politician to adapt to a fiscal policy change that the majority of constituents prefer. Ultimately, the politician catches up with the preference of the voting majority. Otherwise, politicians get voted out of office. Meanwhile, Chapter 7 or ‘Key Episodes in the Twentieth Century’ provided an insight into how a visionary initiates the process of fiscal policy change (102), how the initiative slowly gains momentum (102), and how the initiative affects the majority of the voters eventually resulting in a fiscal policy change (103-5). However, ALN’s discussion of the slow fiscal policy change did not refer to any economic explanations even though the time period graphically shown in Figure 7.3 illustrating the growth of support for tax cuts from 1968 to 1979 in California (104) can be dovetailed with major economic events that occurred during this time such as the oil crisis of the 1970s; the emerging trend in Japanese car imports; or the beginnings of offshore manufacturing plants. Essentially, the slow gain in momentum of the California tax cut that was initiated by Philip Watson could also be attributed to lack of information, both from the point of view of politicians and the voting constituency of California State. This is for the simple reason that: Watson may have had been ahead of his time. For the purpose of this paper, it can be conjectured that Watson may have had seen, evaluated, or assessed economic events that were unfolding during his time that eventually resulted in the trend of tax cuts and reduced government spending. For instance, U.S. consumer preference for more fuel-efficient and cheaper Japanese cars could have had a positive externality that politicians would initially favor for the sake of the bigger majority of consumers. However, the same situation has a negative externality in the sense that U.S. car manufacturing jobs will be greatly affected when demand for Japanese cars rise while those for US-made cars plunge. Due to the multiplier effects of the US automotive industry on the US economy, tax cuts would essentially counter the side effects of cheaper, Japanese automotive goods such as: [a] lost jobs from direct and indirect automotive industry businesses; [b] lesser US worker and business income due to international competition; and [c] lesser demand for other US goods due to reduced purchasing power of US workers and businesses. On the contrary, since tax cuts would basically reduce government spending due to lesser government funds, major US businesses and US workers could be negatively affected by these tax cuts. Cause and effect-wise, politicians initially favoring the preference of the majority of consumers could eventually be doing a disfavor to the majority of constituents who have had lost jobs and reduced income. In this sense, ALN appeared to have had ignored the cause and effects brought about by the economic externalities on the US political landscape. Third, ALN tried to tie-up several theories on voter preferences and the will of the majority in Chapter 6 with the California Tax Revolt story (100; 102-5) in Chapter 7 to illustrate how ‘voters became more conservative’ (86) and how politicians make ‘honest mistakes’ (87). ALN basically explained in Chapter 6 how US politicians identify their supporters and voters to win an election; how they understand voter preferences; and how they support the majority of their constituents. In Chapter 7, ALN explained how the voting majority of the early twentieth century changed from rural into urban citing the change in economy as the main reason behind such change in fiscal policy. ALN noted the mass migration of the rural population into the cities albeit political structures initially favored the rural population that eventually became the minority (94). In time, city dwellers gained stronger political influence and hence had greater say in US government. One point that appears to have been left out in ALN’s discussion is the nature of initiative states and non-initiative states. It can be postulated that initiative states appear to be states with highly urbanized majorities while non-initiative states appear to have highly rural majorities. This is an area that has not been thoroughly explored to explain the fiscal policy gaps between initiative states and non-initiative states. This crucial point could explain why fiscal policy change in non-initiative states are slower or appear to favor the status quo. A conjecture is that the dominant economy of a particular non-initiative state may be less affected by major economic transformations compared with initiative or highly urbanized states, or those with highly developed economies. In another light, ALN seemed to have succeeded in recognizing the following: [a] â€Å"a change in the aggregate economic environment can alter the electorate’s views about the desirability of government programs;† and [b] â€Å"preferences also change as people learn about the consequences of policies;† (90). However, even though economic transformations and externalities have been recognized in the latter, ALN did not offer any economic explanations as to why ‘voters became more conservative’ in the later part of the twentieth century, specifically in favoring and voting for a tax cut. It would have been more reasonable if ALN explored the tie up of voter preferences with economic transformations and externalities rather than simply stating that voters became more conservative in the later part of the twentieth century. The said statement appears to imply that fiscal policy can change on the mere whim of the majority, or a visionary, when in fact policy changes start due to changes in the economy as ALN reasonably observed but insufficiently supported for the tax cut and reduced government spending. On the contrary, ALN successfully tied up the same premise for increased government spending in the early part of the twentieth century. The idea that changes in fiscal policy reflect the changing nature of voter preferences could be more in line with the argument that voter preferences change with a corresponding change in the general economic condition. Economic changes are basically brought about by improvements or innovations in technology that affect how people make or earn their living as ALN correctly observed. It is also noteworthy that policy changes trigger a corresponding effect that could either be positive or negative. Initially, the political intention or cause might be for favoring the majority but due to some unexpected effect, the welfare of the majority becomes compromised. This could explain why some politicians appear to be slow in immediately discerning the preferences of the majority. The arguments here have already shown that favoring the preferences of the majority could in fact have unintended side effects that could eventually disfavor the majority. When the capacity of constituents to make a living becomes threatened or is at risk, it becomes relatively easy to recognize that: when it came to fiscal policy preferences, U.S. constituent mood swings from conservative to liberal or vice-versa actually reflected a major transformation in the U.S. economy. Work Cited Author’s Last Name, Author’s First Name, Author’s Middle Name Initial. â€Å"Key Episodes in the Twentieth Century.† Title of Book. Year of Publication. . â€Å"When Legislators Get Out of Step.† Title of Book. Year of Publication.