"North Richmond street, being blind" - possibly refers to narrator being blind, or a long obscuring curve, or the road is just dark and ominous.
"was a quiet street" - why is this in past tense?
"except at the hour when the Christian Brother’s school set the boys free." - ‘the hour’ precision; ‘Christian Bro.’s school set boys free’ - Christian schools are viewed as harsh because of corporal punishment in the old days similar to imprisonment
‘house of two stories’- bible contains the old and new testaments, or the house refers to a religious order that is being torn apart by two opposing sides or ideals.
‘stood at the blind end’- justice is blind, the house stood alone, end- signifies a beginning/birth or ending/death.
‘detached from its neighbors in a square ground.’- separated by its square basis, strict, specific rules and regulations.
‘other houses of the street’- branches of the original?,
‘conscious of decent lives within them’- aware of respectable lives; know of wrong doings within them, within the houses, families, sects?
‘gazed at one another’- awed by the others, intrigued, curious about each others differences.
‘with brown imperturbable faces’- brown? Tanned laborers, foreigners, steady calm and cool, collected appearances, disguise.
‘our house’- religious sect/sub-division; priest is a leader/father, died in the back (forgotten/out of the way) drawing room- art/ philosophy of life and science killed his belief in his church.
‘Air’- is essential to life; musty means dirty/tainted or rotting/moldy;
‘been long enclosed’- forgotten and unattended;
‘hung in all the rooms’- tainted crosses hung in all the rooms.
‘waste room’- what is a waste room??
‘behind the kitchen’- hidden behind the most essential room of a house;
‘littered with old useless papers’- trashed/unorganized with knowledge forgotten over time.
‘curled and damp pages’- un-kept
‘The Abbot, Walter Scott’- about a orphaned boy who is raised by his aunt (Lady Mary) and his uncle (Sir Halbert), blessed with misfortune until he falls in love with the queens maiden helper, and finds out he is the offspring of royalty and marries her.
‘The Devout Communicant’ - is a pamphlet guiding Christians into a better understand and practice of receiving the holy communion, daily mass and prayer.
‘The Memoirs of Vidocq’ - autobiography of Vidocq, common thief that steals from family, spends time in prison, turns to help the police.
‘wild garden’- after the fall of man, the garden became wild and overgrown, with out the regular harvest, plants tend to grow free and fight each other for light.
- the priest falls from grace, and leaves the faith, thus is unable to tend to his garden.
The garden contained a central apple tree signifying that knowledge is the center of the garden/world, most important fruit bearing plant in the garden, focal point designed to attract the human eye.
Also the garden contained a few straggling bushes, under which he found the priests‘ (former tenant’s) rusty bicycle pump- natural course of metal is to oxidize and rust, nature took back technology in the absence of human or divine intervention. (regression)
‘term very charitable priest’ compared to stingy Christian priests as the norm.
‘in his will’ - Christian vocation, or death will
Priest shouldn’t have money, or wealth,
‘sister’ - nuns, blood relative?
Days have become short, less time to labor.
‘houses looked somber’- lack of light and energy, tired and dying.
Violet- church color
Feeble lights- not able to accomplish the task of lighting the street.
The stinging air, pleasure brings about pain, playing in the cold air makes you rosy.
A career of playing is a lifestyle of kids.
The gauntlet of rough tribes- the criticism of the families, dares from the kids.
Back doors to gardens- secondary entrance to the nauseating, sentimental past of the forgotten gardens, cast out by nonpartisan caregivers.
The odors from the ash pits are the only remaining hints to the memories of the gardens use, possibly for barbecue/grilling.
The dark odorous stables are housing for beasts/horses, filled with the odor of their presence.
The coachman tends to his horses, which are his living probably. The fact that he shakes music from the buckled harnesses could mean that he hinds pleasure in his work, which is not permanently affixed (buckles).
Returning to the street could mean that the boys returned to the mainstream/wide accepted ideas and/or religion.
When the uncle is spotted, the boys hid in the shadows until the uncle is safely housed. The boys know he tends to be drunk, and try to not piss him off, so they play dumb, or avoid him all together until he passed out or went to sleep.
Mangan’s sister would come out to call her brother in, they would wait to see if she went back in the house from their shadow peer. The shadow peer could be a dark intentioned friend, a shadowy strip or projection in the street. If she waited for Mangan then the boys would ‘resignedly’ walked up to Mangan’s steps. James Joyce never names Mangan’s sister, but makes her seem like and elder or authoritative figure, but Mangan seems to have more rights than she. Mangan’s sister would remain for the boys, knowing she could entice them to her, she knew they, or at least the narrator was attracted to her. She would act as a ‘Siren’ and draw them into her devious world of misconception. The boys’ ‘resignedly’ walk demonstrates they were, as if possessed by her charm, or beautiful appearance. Mangan’s sister waited for them, all that is described about her is her figure outlined by the light from the half opened door. Silhouettes could have been common portraits of poorer people, so that is the way he remembers her. The half opened door appears un-inviting, and kind of secretive.
Why would Mangan tease his sister, did she act flirtatiously, often seen as humorous by younger boys who don’t admit their attractions to girls. Yet he obeyed her orders, so she is probably older, and highly regarded by their parents.
When the narrator says he stood by the railings looking at her, this could mean that he looked at her while she argued harshly with her brother, because he teased her. or simply he watched her from the side of the stairs. his description of Mangan's sisters dress swinging from side to side as she moved her body signifies that she could be arguing at the lot of boys, or she is in the process of making a difficult decision.
Every morning he lay on the floor of the front parlor, this is a habitués action, he lies in wait for her to appear, so he can follow her.
The blind was pulled down to within an inch of the sash, shows that he doesn’t want to be noticed by her, he knows what he is doing may be wrong, he feels its immoral, but pursues his temptation in defiance of his better judgment. also a sash is something to hide or conceal something, exposed neck, chest so as to appear proper, and not indecent in the eyes of others.
His anxious waiting for her gives him excitement, but he is overjoyed when she appears on the doorsteps (Her door steps, or his own).
He (the narrator) ran to the hall to seize his books and then follow her. he rushes to seize, grasp tightly,
I kept her brown figure always in my eye, he could always see her no matter what he was thinking of, when they came to the point of the road where they diverged he sped up and passed her, he is anxious to appear ahead of her, he doesn’t want to be her follower anymore, as it may be uncommon in society, or he wants her to follow him, reversing the roles of his mental relationship with her.
I had never spoken to her, except for a few casual words, sets the tension between the two, he likes her but he’s unsure how she feels about him; and yet her name was like a summons to all my foolish blood- just the idea of her made him feel uneasy, fluttered by her name, he becomes intensely vexed by her thought.
He thought of her in times when love and romance should never come to mind - his guide from the ugly of life- weather it be with family, or surrounded by prostitutes and drunken men- often brings about thoughts of violence- amid the curses of laborers, the shrill litanies of shop-boys who stood on guard by the barrels of pigs' cheeks- these men are unsatisfied with their jobs, unlike the coachman, and are driven to drink, and lay with whores, blind to the natural beauty found in the world. the cheeks of animals are thought to be the most tender and flavorful part of the animal, very tempting.
Litanies- liturgical prayers consisting of vocations- the shop-boys swore to god about various hardships, shrill meaning deafening or vulgar.
He and his aunt walked through the flaring streets- flaming, dancing flame, fire is tempting to young people, draws moths the fire, hell. the streets may be guiding them to somewhere important, but if they go off the street then they might be lost.
Nasal chanting of street-singers, who sang a come-all-you about O'Donovan Rossa- Irish revolutionary around the time of 1838 - 1898(from Wikipedia). or a ballad about the troubled lands of Ireland, time of crisis, civil war, loss of faith, doubting all that is known.
These noises converged in a single sensation of life for me: I imagined that I bore my chalice safely through a throng of foes.- dreams of being a revolutionary/rebel, he imagined that he safely traveled bearing his religious beliefs through oppressors, barbarians?, native Irish tribes. (reflection of running the gauntlet of tribes from the 3rd paragraph).(also the street he is currently on, jostled by drunken...)
'Her name sprang to my lips at moments in strange prayers and praises which I myself did not understand.' - didn’t understand the prayers or why her name sprang to his lips.
'My eyes were often full of tears (I could not tell why) and at times a flood from my heart seemed to pour itself into my bosom.'- he had sudden feelings that he hid inside, but often escaped in tears, tears that made it difficult to see, in a flood of frustration. overwhelmed by grace, Mangan's sister is his Christ. Ignorant of his feelings and what they mean, he is slowly discovering himself.
'how could I tell her of my confused adoration'- he reveres her, but doesn’t know why he feels compelled by her, and doesn’t know how to judge it.
'my body was like a harp'- past tense, why?, harp is British offensive slang saying of Irish decent. Heavenly instrument.
'her words and gestures were like fingers running upon the wires.'- she controlled him, possessed, bewitched, manipulating his every action.
'One evening I went into the back drawing-room in which the priest had died.' - dusk/night time, place of discovery/judgment/loss of faith.
'broken pane'- allows the dark rainy environment in, he could hear the rain impinge upon the earth.
'the fine incessant needles of water playing in the sodden beds.'- beds in the garden, they are excited by the relentless rain, that impinges upon the earth, striking it violently or altering the state of things. rain is water falling from the sky, which only grows darker throughout the story.
'Some distant lamp or lighted window gleamed below me.'- reflection off the window from across the street or another room in the house.
'I was thankful that I could see so little.'- past tense, probably regrets it now, but was glad that he was impervious to the truth around him at the time, it allowed him to focus on something else.
'All of my senses seemed to desire to veil themselves'- hide themselves, but appear to improve, hide their real intentions, chastise themselves, purify or punish for reform
'feeling that I was about to slip from them, I pressed the palms of my hands together until they trembled, murmuring: O love! O love! many times.'- he feared that he was falling from grace, such as the priest might have, so he prayed fervently to his goddess, Mangan's sister, his love.
'At last she spoke to me. When she addressed the first words to me I was so confused that I did not know what to answer.' - She spoke to him, not necessarily appeared, or maybe was an apparition. What were the first words? he might have been confused because she shouldn’t be there, and she magically answered his prayers.
'She asked me if I was going to Araby'- possibly another name for Arabia, full of desired goods, spices, the original trade area of the world. the original bazaar.
'I forgot weather I answered yes or no.'- signifies the answer is irrelevant.
'It would be a splendid bazaar, she said; she would love to go.'- why does she want to go, why cant she, what’s her limitation?
'And why can't you? I asked.'- questioning his faith in her? wants to learn more.
'While she spoke she turned a silver bracelet round and round her wrist.'- signs of deception, enticement, flirting.
'She could not go, she said, because there would be a retreat that week in her convent.' if it takes a week, then Araby must be far, if she goes away, in an opposite direction, and he goes further away, then they grow separated, and lost from each other.
'Her brother and two other boys were fighting for their caps and I was alone at the railing.'- either she was arguing with the narrator, or he was arguing with Mangan's sister and/or the boys, possibly causing them to fight, where did they come into the picture. The BROTHER is trying to decide what cap he wants to wear, and argues with himself.(two stories?).
'She held one of the spikes, bowing her head towards me.'- what’s the spike for, crucifixion?, bow or bow, act of submission, or enticement, temptation.
'The light from the lamp opposite our door caught the white curve of her neck,'- attracting his attention, why is it now their door. neck, hair must be up.
'lit up her hair that rested there and, falling, lit up the hand upon the railing.'-some hair luminance in the light. falling hair? what railing? did she start to scold him again, or never stop.
'It fell over one side of her dress and caught the white border of a petticoat, just visible as she stood at ease.' she stood sideways in the doorway, don’t petticoats cover the dress? she was rested now.
'Its well for you, she said.'- what is well, the bazaar, or fare well, he missed his opportunity to go with her, she was sideways in the doorway as if she was about to leave.
only up to the 8th paragraph, might post some later
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Critical Thinking Competency Standards
Um....Mr. Hughes, I can't seem to find this book in any stores. And I've tried many websites too, but none of them sales them. Barnes and Nobles said that there was no publisher for this book so they wouldn't order it. Half Price Books said they didn't hold that book either.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Jesselman CHapter 16
Q: Why should we not feel like we are smarter or more superior than out grandfathers when we have messed up our ideal world?
A: "If they had not yet fully learned what was necessary to create the world they wanted, the esperience we have since gained out to have equipped us better for the task"(262) in other words, we should have drawn off of their knowlegde and moved farther than they did.
"we shall not grow wiser before we learn that much that we have done was very foolish". Amen.
A: "If they had not yet fully learned what was necessary to create the world they wanted, the esperience we have since gained out to have equipped us better for the task"(262) in other words, we should have drawn off of their knowlegde and moved farther than they did.
"we shall not grow wiser before we learn that much that we have done was very foolish". Amen.
Jesselman Chapter 15
Q:What are some of the problems of peace arising from aritificially fostered economic solidarity of all the inhabitants of any one country?
A: "If the resources of different nations are treated as exclusive properties of these nations as wholes, if international economic relations, instead of being relations between individuals, become increasingly relations between whole nations organized as trading bodies, they inevitably become the source of friction and envy between whole nations. (241)"
A: "If the resources of different nations are treated as exclusive properties of these nations as wholes, if international economic relations, instead of being relations between individuals, become increasingly relations between whole nations organized as trading bodies, they inevitably become the source of friction and envy between whole nations. (241)"
Jesselman CHapter 14
Q:What is it that distinguishes our generation?
A: "It is not any contempt for material welfare, or even any diminished desire for it, but, on the contrary, a refusal to recognize any obstacles, any conflict with other aims which might impede the fulfilment of their own desires which distinguishes our generation.(222)"
A: "It is not any contempt for material welfare, or even any diminished desire for it, but, on the contrary, a refusal to recognize any obstacles, any conflict with other aims which might impede the fulfilment of their own desires which distinguishes our generation.(222)"
Jesselman CHapter 13
Q: WHat prepared totalitarianism?
A: "and, undoubtedly, not merely the ideas which in Germany and elsewhere prepared totalitarianism but also many of the principles of totalitarianism itself are what exercises an increasing fscination on many other countries.(202)"
A: "and, undoubtedly, not merely the ideas which in Germany and elsewhere prepared totalitarianism but also many of the principles of totalitarianism itself are what exercises an increasing fscination on many other countries.(202)"
Jesselman CHapter 12
Q: where are the ideals that Plenge expresses popular, or where do they derive from?
A: "certain circles of german scientists and engineers who, precisely as is now so loudly demanded by their english and american counterparts, clamoured for the centrally planned organization of all aspects of life (190)."
A: "certain circles of german scientists and engineers who, precisely as is now so loudly demanded by their english and american counterparts, clamoured for the centrally planned organization of all aspects of life (190)."
Michelle Ch 16
Q: What is the guiding principal which Hayek mentions?
A: "The guiding principle that a policy of freedom for the individual is the only true progressive policy as true today as it was in the nineteenth century" (Hayek 262).
By Michelle
A: "The guiding principle that a policy of freedom for the individual is the only true progressive policy as true today as it was in the nineteenth century" (Hayek 262).
By Michelle
Michelle Ch 15
Q: What will be one of the best safe guards of peace?
A: "An international authority which effectively limits the powers of the state over the individual" (Hayek 259).
By Michelle
A: "An international authority which effectively limits the powers of the state over the individual" (Hayek 259).
By Michelle
Michelle Ch 14
Q: If we are to succeed in the war of ideologies, what must we do?
A: "We must, regain the belief in the traditional values for which we have stood in the past and must have the moral courage stoutly to defend the ideals which our enemies attack. Not by shamefaced apologies and by assurance that we are rapidly reforming, not by explaining that we are seeking some compromise between the traditional liberal values and the new totalitarian ideas, shall we win confidence and support" (Hayek 239).
By Michelle
A: "We must, regain the belief in the traditional values for which we have stood in the past and must have the moral courage stoutly to defend the ideals which our enemies attack. Not by shamefaced apologies and by assurance that we are rapidly reforming, not by explaining that we are seeking some compromise between the traditional liberal values and the new totalitarian ideas, shall we win confidence and support" (Hayek 239).
By Michelle
Ellen Wagner Ch 16
Q: What is the “New Order”?
A: It “is no more than a projection of the tendencies of the last forty years, and who can think of nothing better than to imitate Hitler” (Hayek, 262).
By Ellen
A: It “is no more than a projection of the tendencies of the last forty years, and who can think of nothing better than to imitate Hitler” (Hayek, 262).
By Ellen
Ellen Wagner Ch 15
Q: What is the lesson of the recent past which is slowly beginning to be recognized?
A: “Many kinds of economic planning, conducted independently on a national scale, are bound in their aggregate effect to be harmful even from a purely economic point of view and, in addition, to produce serious international friction” (Hayek, 240).
By Ellen
A: “Many kinds of economic planning, conducted independently on a national scale, are bound in their aggregate effect to be harmful even from a purely economic point of view and, in addition, to produce serious international friction” (Hayek, 240).
By Ellen
Ellen Wagner Ch 14
Q: Which virtues are less esteemed and practiced in the modern world?
A: “Independence, self-reliance, and the willingness to bear risks, the readiness to back one’s conviction against a majority, and the willingness to voluntary cooperation with one’s neighbors” (Hayek, 233).
By Ellen
A: “Independence, self-reliance, and the willingness to bear risks, the readiness to back one’s conviction against a majority, and the willingness to voluntary cooperation with one’s neighbors” (Hayek, 233).
By Ellen
Ellen Wagner Ch 13
Q: On what thesis is Dr. Waddington’s claim that science is qualified to run a totalitarian society based?
A: “’Science can pass ethical judgment on human behavior’…Freedom, he explains, ‘is a very troublesome concept for the scientists to discuss, partly because he is not convinced that, ion the last analysis, there is such a thing’” (Hayek, 211) .
By Ellen
A: “’Science can pass ethical judgment on human behavior’…Freedom, he explains, ‘is a very troublesome concept for the scientists to discuss, partly because he is not convinced that, ion the last analysis, there is such a thing’” (Hayek, 211) .
By Ellen
Ellen Wagner Ch 12
Q: What was the common idea which united socialists and conservatives in one common front?”
A: “The fight against liberalism in all its forms” (197).
By Ellen
A: “The fight against liberalism in all its forms” (197).
By Ellen
Michelle Ch 13
Q: How have monopolists gained support?
A: "Either by letting other groups participate in their gains or, and perhaps even more frequently, by persuading them that the formation of monopolies was in the public interest" (Hayek 215).
By Michelle
A: "Either by letting other groups participate in their gains or, and perhaps even more frequently, by persuading them that the formation of monopolies was in the public interest" (Hayek 215).
By Michelle
Kelsey Marsh-Ch.12
Q:What caused the Nazi Socialism to be widely embraced by Germans?
A: They were the only people willing to stand up and lead. In a society of mostly working class here came a group of people saying they would lead you to a better life. And because you are ignorant and know no better it sounds like a million bucks to you and the life you always wanted. This caused the nazi socialist to be strongly accepted by germans and with the support of many they caused the destruction of many civilizations.
A: They were the only people willing to stand up and lead. In a society of mostly working class here came a group of people saying they would lead you to a better life. And because you are ignorant and know no better it sounds like a million bucks to you and the life you always wanted. This caused the nazi socialist to be strongly accepted by germans and with the support of many they caused the destruction of many civilizations.
Kelsey Marsh-Ch. 16
"The young are right if they have little confidence in the ideas which rule most of their elders. But they are mistaken or misled when they believe that these are still the liberal ideas of the nineteenth century, which, in fact, the younger generation hardly knows."
Q: If we dont get our ideas from the past then and we dont have the slightest clue of ideas today then how do we form them?
A: Its right to not strongly belive in the rule of our elders because if we base our ideas off of the past then we will just end up repeating history. However there are many strong ideas that come from our elders. If the younger generation is not being taught the liberal ideas of the nineteenth century then who knows them or are there simply just not any. Im having a very hard time understanding this statement.
Q: If we dont get our ideas from the past then and we dont have the slightest clue of ideas today then how do we form them?
A: Its right to not strongly belive in the rule of our elders because if we base our ideas off of the past then we will just end up repeating history. However there are many strong ideas that come from our elders. If the younger generation is not being taught the liberal ideas of the nineteenth century then who knows them or are there simply just not any. Im having a very hard time understanding this statement.
Kelsey Marsh-Ch.15
"That there is little hope of international order or lasting peace so long as every country is free to employ whatever measures it thinks desirable in its own immediate interest, however damaging they may be to others, needs little emphasis now."
Q: Is it not important to save yourself before you can save others, if your country is not functioning as one then how can all countrys function together as one?
A: Yes you run into a problem that when you are employing whatever measures desirable to you, because they might be so undesirable to another country that you are indeed hurting that country, but you make it up in the end. Its kind of like a friendship, at times you have to do things for you no matter who it may hurt but you go back and fix it, a country after war would make a peace treaty and friends would discuss it and promise to never do it again. You cant make others happy until you are happy, if your country is fighting and always in war you cant expect them to unify to create peace with the world.
Q: Is it not important to save yourself before you can save others, if your country is not functioning as one then how can all countrys function together as one?
A: Yes you run into a problem that when you are employing whatever measures desirable to you, because they might be so undesirable to another country that you are indeed hurting that country, but you make it up in the end. Its kind of like a friendship, at times you have to do things for you no matter who it may hurt but you go back and fix it, a country after war would make a peace treaty and friends would discuss it and promise to never do it again. You cant make others happy until you are happy, if your country is fighting and always in war you cant expect them to unify to create peace with the world.
Kelsey Marsh-Ch.14
"A complex civilization like ours is necessarily based on the individuals adjusting himself to changes whose cause and nature he can not understand: why he should have more or less, why he should have to move to another occupation, why some things he wants should become more difficult to get than others,will always be connected with such a multitude of circumstances that no single mind will be able to grasp them; or, even worse, thsoe affected will put all the blame on an obvious immediate and avoidable cause, white the more complex interrelationships which determine the change remain inevitably hidden to them."
Q:What if this is why our civilization will fail, what if this is why all of the ones in the past have failed because this statement is true of many?
A: It is mentally impossible to know why things happen in life. I have always been a strong believer that everything happens for a reason, why the reason you may never know. It is impossible for humans to adapt to things they do not know the cause or reason of. Its almost like setting yourself up for failure because you dont know whats to come of it and whats there. Just like you wouldn't go someplace you have never heard of and dont know whats there.
Q:What if this is why our civilization will fail, what if this is why all of the ones in the past have failed because this statement is true of many?
A: It is mentally impossible to know why things happen in life. I have always been a strong believer that everything happens for a reason, why the reason you may never know. It is impossible for humans to adapt to things they do not know the cause or reason of. Its almost like setting yourself up for failure because you dont know whats to come of it and whats there. Just like you wouldn't go someplace you have never heard of and dont know whats there.
Kelsey Marsh Ch.13
"Even if railways, road and air transport, or the supply of gas and electricity were all inevitably monopolies, the consumer is unquestionably in a much stronger position so long as they remain separate monopolies than when they are co-ordinated by a central control. Private monopoly is scarcely ever complete and even more rarely of long duration or able to disregard potential competition. But a state monopoly is always a state-protected monopoly-protected against both potential competition and effective criticism."
Q:So, which is better if they remain as private monopolies they are not protected from competition so each individual monopoly could fail due to its competition but if they are state monopolies then it is easier for everything to fail all at once?
A:Im not quite sure of the answer but I think it would be better to be private monopolies because then if one fails at least everything doesn't, it is easier to fix one then many. Although you cant live without all of them (at least in this example).
Q:So, which is better if they remain as private monopolies they are not protected from competition so each individual monopoly could fail due to its competition but if they are state monopolies then it is easier for everything to fail all at once?
A:Im not quite sure of the answer but I think it would be better to be private monopolies because then if one fails at least everything doesn't, it is easier to fix one then many. Although you cant live without all of them (at least in this example).
Austendo Chapter 16
Q: How does Hayek see that we can create a better world?
A: WE must be able to see the problem, and recognize it as the problem. This is easily enough done as we have the entirety of the past to lend examples of 'the wrong way.' But also, "we must have the courage to make a new start -- even if that means some reculer pour mieux sauter." (262) I think that means sacrifice for the better cause.
[edit] Actually, the literal definition, according to my wondrous online resource, is 'to move back for better jumping.' I can only assume that it means 'to take one step back in order to take two forward.' But who can know? Those crazy Frenchmen.
A: WE must be able to see the problem, and recognize it as the problem. This is easily enough done as we have the entirety of the past to lend examples of 'the wrong way.' But also, "we must have the courage to make a new start -- even if that means some reculer pour mieux sauter." (262) I think that means sacrifice for the better cause.
[edit] Actually, the literal definition, according to my wondrous online resource, is 'to move back for better jumping.' I can only assume that it means 'to take one step back in order to take two forward.' But who can know? Those crazy Frenchmen.
Dinh Chapter 16
Q: When Hayek speaks of guiding and directing, he refers to certain needs. What is the first need?
A: "The first need is to free ourselves of that worst form of contemporary obscurantism which tries to persuade us that what we have done in the recent past was all either wise or inevitable" (261, 262).
A: "The first need is to free ourselves of that worst form of contemporary obscurantism which tries to persuade us that what we have done in the recent past was all either wise or inevitable" (261, 262).
Dinh Chapter 15
Q: Why do most people tend to not see "the difficulty" (243)?
A: "This is mainly because, consciously or unconsciously, they assume that it will be they who will settle these questions for the others, and because they are convinced of their own capacity to do this justly and equitably" (243).
A: "This is mainly because, consciously or unconsciously, they assume that it will be they who will settle these questions for the others, and because they are convinced of their own capacity to do this justly and equitably" (243).
Austendo Chapter 15
Q: What must be in order for continued peace between countries?
A: "there must be a power which can restrain the different nations from action harmful to their neighbors, a set of rules which defines what a state may do, and an authority capable of enforcing these rules." (254) Today we have the United Nations, which succeeds in most of these points, yet has had much trouble enforcing the regulations and restraining certain countries.
A: "there must be a power which can restrain the different nations from action harmful to their neighbors, a set of rules which defines what a state may do, and an authority capable of enforcing these rules." (254) Today we have the United Nations, which succeeds in most of these points, yet has had much trouble enforcing the regulations and restraining certain countries.
Dinh Chapter 14
Q: What can individual freedom not be reconciled by?
A: "Individual freedom cannot be reconciled with the supremacy of one single purpose to which the whole society must be entirely and permanently subordinated" (225).
A: "Individual freedom cannot be reconciled with the supremacy of one single purpose to which the whole society must be entirely and permanently subordinated" (225).
Austendo Chapter 14
Q: What is the only was that individual freedom can be successfully given up and result in a positive outcome for the group?
A: "The only exception to the role that a free society must not be subjected to a single purpose is war and other temporary disasters when pressing need is the price at which we preserve our freedom in the long run." (225) For example, military rule in a national emergency.
A: "The only exception to the role that a free society must not be subjected to a single purpose is war and other temporary disasters when pressing need is the price at which we preserve our freedom in the long run." (225) For example, military rule in a national emergency.
Dinh Chapter 13
Q: What thesis did Dr. Waddington base on to claim that the scientist is qualified to run a totalitarian society?
A: He based it on the thesis that "science can pass ethical judgement on human behavior" (211).
A: He based it on the thesis that "science can pass ethical judgement on human behavior" (211).
Dinh Chapter 12
Q: What were the doctrines that guided the ruling elements in Germany opposed to exactly?
A: It was opposed to "the liberal elements contained in [the socialism in Marxism], its internationalism and its democracy" (184).
A: It was opposed to "the liberal elements contained in [the socialism in Marxism], its internationalism and its democracy" (184).
Austendo Chapter 13
Q: What happened - society-wise - in England and other English-speaking countries that was similar to events that happened in Germany prior.
A: Scientists in English-speaking countries, "agitated for a 'scientific' organization of society," similar to that of Germany's. (208)
A: Scientists in English-speaking countries, "agitated for a 'scientific' organization of society," similar to that of Germany's. (208)
Austendo Chapter 12
Q: Why did Germans in Sombart's time view war some thing sacred, and greater than economic commerce?
A: The Germans believed that, "There is as life higher than the individual life, the life of the people and the life of the state, and it is the purpose of the individual to sacrifice himself for that higher life." (187). The Germans saw the 'completely corrupted' English people as 'trade-unionists sunk in the morass of comfort.' Germans saw War as "the consummation of the heroic view of life, and the war against England is the war against an opposite ideal, the commercial ideal of individual freedom and of English comfort" (187). The Germans prized personal sacrifice, while the English idealized personal comfort. This difference in ideals is a microcosm of Socialism versus Democracy, conformity versus individuality.
A: The Germans believed that, "There is as life higher than the individual life, the life of the people and the life of the state, and it is the purpose of the individual to sacrifice himself for that higher life." (187). The Germans saw the 'completely corrupted' English people as 'trade-unionists sunk in the morass of comfort.' Germans saw War as "the consummation of the heroic view of life, and the war against England is the war against an opposite ideal, the commercial ideal of individual freedom and of English comfort" (187). The Germans prized personal sacrifice, while the English idealized personal comfort. This difference in ideals is a microcosm of Socialism versus Democracy, conformity versus individuality.
Melanie- Ch 16
Q: What do we need to do in order to build a better world?
A: If we are to build a better world, we must have the courage to maqke a new start-even if that means some reculer pour mieux sauter" (Hayek, 262).
A: If we are to build a better world, we must have the courage to maqke a new start-even if that means some reculer pour mieux sauter" (Hayek, 262).
Melanie- Ch 15
Q: What is "perhaps the most powerful agent in creating the belief in the possibility of a single central direction by democratic means"?
A: "Perhaps the most powerful agent in creating the belief in the possibility of a single central direction by democratic means of the economic life of many different peoples is the fatal delusion that if the decisions were left to the 'people,' the community of interest of the working classes would readily overcome the differences which exist between the ruling classes" (Hayek, 246).
A: "Perhaps the most powerful agent in creating the belief in the possibility of a single central direction by democratic means of the economic life of many different peoples is the fatal delusion that if the decisions were left to the 'people,' the community of interest of the working classes would readily overcome the differences which exist between the ruling classes" (Hayek, 246).
Melanie- Ch 14
Q: What is "the one thing modern democracy will not bear"?
A: "The one thing modern democracy will not bear without cracking is the necessity of a substantial lowering of the standards of living in peacetime or even prolonged stationaries of its economic conditions" (Hayek, 230).
A: "The one thing modern democracy will not bear without cracking is the necessity of a substantial lowering of the standards of living in peacetime or even prolonged stationaries of its economic conditions" (Hayek, 230).
Melanie- Ch 13
Q: What is Dr. Waddington's thesis that says that a "scientist is qualified to run a totalitarian society"?
A: "Dr. Waddington's claim that the scientist is qualified to run a totalitarian society is based mainly on his thesis that 'science can pass ethical judgment on human behavior'-a claim to the elaboration of which by Dr. Waddington Nature has given considerable publicity" (Hayek, 211).
A: "Dr. Waddington's claim that the scientist is qualified to run a totalitarian society is based mainly on his thesis that 'science can pass ethical judgment on human behavior'-a claim to the elaboration of which by Dr. Waddington Nature has given considerable publicity" (Hayek, 211).
Melanie- Ch 12
Q: What is the "Prussian idea"?
A: "The 'Prussian idea' requires that everybody should become a state official-that all wages and salaries be fixed by the state. The administration of all property, in particular, becomes a salaried function" (Hayek, 196).
A: "The 'Prussian idea' requires that everybody should become a state official-that all wages and salaries be fixed by the state. The administration of all property, in particular, becomes a salaried function" (Hayek, 196).
Monday, July 30, 2007
Michelle Ch 12
Q: According to professor Johann Plenge, what is the essence of socialism?
A: "Organization is to him [professor Johann Plenge], as to all socialists who derive their socialism from a crude application of scientific ideals to the problems of society, the essence of socialism" (Hayek 188).
By Michelle
A: "Organization is to him [professor Johann Plenge], as to all socialists who derive their socialism from a crude application of scientific ideals to the problems of society, the essence of socialism" (Hayek 188).
By Michelle
Friday, July 27, 2007
Questions
1. What time or where can we find the new book list?
2. When and from whom can we know which class that I am going to take next year?
3. If that Hayek book is going to be a book which is required for next year, do we need to keep next deadline?
2. When and from whom can we know which class that I am going to take next year?
3. If that Hayek book is going to be a book which is required for next year, do we need to keep next deadline?
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Life and Consequences
By my calculations, we are down to 12 who made the deadline on 14 July. According to the new academic dean and the head of the English Dept., 12 is not enough. So, Mr. Hughes (me) will now be teaching two "regular" EnglishIV classes (book list to be determined, though heavy on philosophy). I have requested to keep (if possible) a aldridge, e wagner, a power, m snider, c penca, a kocher, j castleman, f wang, m lynch, m dinh, k marsh, and v tran, as these are the ones who have made the deadlines. If I have made an error in which of you have made the deadlines, please let me know ASAP, since schedules are nearly done. Also, you may post any appropriate comments on the blog.
IT IS POSSIBLE, ACCORDING TO THE ACADEMIC DEAN, THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO ADD AN "HONOR'S COMPONENT" TO MY CLASS. IF THIS IS SO, I WILL FIND A CONCRETE WAY TO REWARD THOSE WHO HAVE COME THIS FAR (I.E. I will make Hayek a large part of it!). IF IT TURNS OUT TO BE IMPOSSIBLE, I AM OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS (ASSUMING I GET THE 12 IN MY CLASSES).
THE SHAKESPEARE CLASS ALSO DID NOT MAKE. TRULY A SAD OCCURRENCE, AS WELL.
IT IS POSSIBLE, ACCORDING TO THE ACADEMIC DEAN, THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO ADD AN "HONOR'S COMPONENT" TO MY CLASS. IF THIS IS SO, I WILL FIND A CONCRETE WAY TO REWARD THOSE WHO HAVE COME THIS FAR (I.E. I will make Hayek a large part of it!). IF IT TURNS OUT TO BE IMPOSSIBLE, I AM OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS (ASSUMING I GET THE 12 IN MY CLASSES).
THE SHAKESPEARE CLASS ALSO DID NOT MAKE. TRULY A SAD OCCURRENCE, AS WELL.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Jules ch. 4
What makes competition the only method by which co-ordination can be brought about?
A-"...It is the very complexity of the division of labor under modern conditions which makes competition the only method by which co-ordination can be brought about" (hayek 55)
A-"...It is the very complexity of the division of labor under modern conditions which makes competition the only method by which co-ordination can be brought about" (hayek 55)
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Adrian Ch.8
Q: Which form of social rule is more reasonable and easier to gather followers?
A: " The new socialist movement had grown in a democratic and liberal world, adapting its tactics to it and taking over many of the ideals of liberalism. Its protagonists still believed that the creation of socialism as such would solve all problems. Fascism and National Socialism, on the other hand, grew out of the experience of an increasingly regulated society's awakening to the fact that democratic and international socialism was aiming at incompatible ideals. Their tactics were developed in a world already dominated by socialism policy and the problems it creates. They had no illusions about the possibility of a democratic solution of problems which require more agreement among people than can reasonably be expected. They had no illusions about the capacity of reason to decide all the questions of the relative importance of the wants of different men or groups which planning inevitably raises, or about the formula of equality providing an answer. They knew that the strongest group which rallied enough supporters in favor of a new hierarchical order of society, and which frankly promised privileges to the classes to which it appealed, was likely to obtain the support of all those who were disappointed because they had been promised equality but found that they had merely furthered the interest of a particular class. Above all, they were successful because they offered a theory, or Weltanschauung, which seemed to justify the privileges they promised to their supporters."(Hayek, p.130-131). A societal government that appealed to the oppressed, and overwhelming masses would be easier and more reasonable as a successive government. As is evident in South Korea, South Vietnam, various eastern European countries, the Middle East, and various Central and South American counties.
A: " The new socialist movement had grown in a democratic and liberal world, adapting its tactics to it and taking over many of the ideals of liberalism. Its protagonists still believed that the creation of socialism as such would solve all problems. Fascism and National Socialism, on the other hand, grew out of the experience of an increasingly regulated society's awakening to the fact that democratic and international socialism was aiming at incompatible ideals. Their tactics were developed in a world already dominated by socialism policy and the problems it creates. They had no illusions about the possibility of a democratic solution of problems which require more agreement among people than can reasonably be expected. They had no illusions about the capacity of reason to decide all the questions of the relative importance of the wants of different men or groups which planning inevitably raises, or about the formula of equality providing an answer. They knew that the strongest group which rallied enough supporters in favor of a new hierarchical order of society, and which frankly promised privileges to the classes to which it appealed, was likely to obtain the support of all those who were disappointed because they had been promised equality but found that they had merely furthered the interest of a particular class. Above all, they were successful because they offered a theory, or Weltanschauung, which seemed to justify the privileges they promised to their supporters."(Hayek, p.130-131). A societal government that appealed to the oppressed, and overwhelming masses would be easier and more reasonable as a successive government. As is evident in South Korea, South Vietnam, various eastern European countries, the Middle East, and various Central and South American counties.
Adrian Ch.9
Q: Why is the saying, "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer" true, what part of our Democratic society allows for this to continue?
A: "In England and America such restrictions, especially those affecting the intermediate strata of society, have assumed important dimensions only in comparatively recent times, and we have scarcely yet realized their full consequences. The utter hopelessness of the position of those who, in a society which has thus grown rigid, are left outside the range of sheltered occupation, and the magnitude of the gulf which separates them from the fortunate possessors of jobs for whom protection against competition has made it unnecessary to budge ever so little to make room for those without, can be appreciated only by those who have experienced it. It is not a question of the fortunate ones' giving up their places, but merely that they should share in the common misfortune by some reduction of their incomes, or frequently even merely by some sacrifice of their prospects of improvement. The protection for their 'standard of life,' of the 'fair price,' or the 'professional income' to which they regard themselves as entitled, and in the protection of which they receive the support of the state, precludes this. In consequence, instead of prices, wages, and individual incomes,it is now employment and production which have become subject to violent fluctuations. There has never been a worse and more cruel exploitation of one class by another than of the weaker or less fortunate members of a group of producers by the well-established which has been made possible by the 'regulation' of competition. Few catch-words have done so much harm as the ideal of a 'stabilization' of particular prices (or wages), which, while securing the income of some, makes the position of the rest more and more precarious."(Hayek, p.143). The unfair status between those with and those without a protected income is only held fast by regulations set by the riches ancestors.
A: "In England and America such restrictions, especially those affecting the intermediate strata of society, have assumed important dimensions only in comparatively recent times, and we have scarcely yet realized their full consequences. The utter hopelessness of the position of those who, in a society which has thus grown rigid, are left outside the range of sheltered occupation, and the magnitude of the gulf which separates them from the fortunate possessors of jobs for whom protection against competition has made it unnecessary to budge ever so little to make room for those without, can be appreciated only by those who have experienced it. It is not a question of the fortunate ones' giving up their places, but merely that they should share in the common misfortune by some reduction of their incomes, or frequently even merely by some sacrifice of their prospects of improvement. The protection for their 'standard of life,' of the 'fair price,' or the 'professional income' to which they regard themselves as entitled, and in the protection of which they receive the support of the state, precludes this. In consequence, instead of prices, wages, and individual incomes,it is now employment and production which have become subject to violent fluctuations. There has never been a worse and more cruel exploitation of one class by another than of the weaker or less fortunate members of a group of producers by the well-established which has been made possible by the 'regulation' of competition. Few catch-words have done so much harm as the ideal of a 'stabilization' of particular prices (or wages), which, while securing the income of some, makes the position of the rest more and more precarious."(Hayek, p.143). The unfair status between those with and those without a protected income is only held fast by regulations set by the riches ancestors.
Jesselman CHapter 11
Q: Why is it that if you deprive the majority of independent thought you must also silence the minority who will criticize?
A:"If the people are to support the common effort without hesitation, they must be convinced that not only the end aimed at but also the means chosen are the right ones" (175)
A:"If the people are to support the common effort without hesitation, they must be convinced that not only the end aimed at but also the means chosen are the right ones" (175)
Adrian Ch.10
Q: Are emotions the downfall of a totalitarianism society, or even mankind, merely because some feel inclined to help those who are not capable of surviving on their own?
A: "Where there is one common all-overriding end, there is no room for any general morals or rules. To a limited extent we ourselves experience this in wartime. But even war and the greatest peril had led in the democratic countries only to a very moderate approach to totalitarianism, very little setting-aside of all other values in the service of a single purpose. But where a few specific ends dominate the whole of a society, it is inevitable that occasionally cruelty may become a duty; that acts which revolt all our feeling, such as the shooting of hostages or the killing of the old or sick, should be treated as mere matters of expediency; that the compulsory uprooting and transportation of hundreds of thousands should become an instrument of policy approved by almost everybody except the victims; or that suggestions like that of a 'conscription of women for breeding purposes' can be seriously contemplated. There is always in the eyes of the collectivist a greater goal which these acts serve and which to him justifies them because the pursuit of the common end of society can know no limits in any rights or values of any individual."(Hayek, p.165). Everyday common life is just like war, nature is against us, we are against each other, man is naturally territorial out of fear of injury and death. Man feels threatened by others and all, this is totally natural, in order to survive, an animal must show up the threat or run, since running leads to being outcast, animals usually fight. This primal tendency is what kept man (homo sapien), plus his intellect of the usage of tools, alive for longer than his predecessors (cromagnon man, homo erectus,homo habilis, homo floresiens, etc.). Triage is necessary for the greater good, the survival or the pack, society, nation, race, or species.
A: "Where there is one common all-overriding end, there is no room for any general morals or rules. To a limited extent we ourselves experience this in wartime. But even war and the greatest peril had led in the democratic countries only to a very moderate approach to totalitarianism, very little setting-aside of all other values in the service of a single purpose. But where a few specific ends dominate the whole of a society, it is inevitable that occasionally cruelty may become a duty; that acts which revolt all our feeling, such as the shooting of hostages or the killing of the old or sick, should be treated as mere matters of expediency; that the compulsory uprooting and transportation of hundreds of thousands should become an instrument of policy approved by almost everybody except the victims; or that suggestions like that of a 'conscription of women for breeding purposes' can be seriously contemplated. There is always in the eyes of the collectivist a greater goal which these acts serve and which to him justifies them because the pursuit of the common end of society can know no limits in any rights or values of any individual."(Hayek, p.165). Everyday common life is just like war, nature is against us, we are against each other, man is naturally territorial out of fear of injury and death. Man feels threatened by others and all, this is totally natural, in order to survive, an animal must show up the threat or run, since running leads to being outcast, animals usually fight. This primal tendency is what kept man (homo sapien), plus his intellect of the usage of tools, alive for longer than his predecessors (cromagnon man, homo erectus,homo habilis, homo floresiens, etc.). Triage is necessary for the greater good, the survival or the pack, society, nation, race, or species.
Jesselman chapter 10
Q:Why would a collectivist program not work outside of a limited group?
A: "The belief in the community of aims and interests with fellow- men seems to presuppose a greater degree of similarity of outlook and thought than exists between men merely as human beings. If the other members of one's group cannot all be personally known, they must at least be of the same kind as those around us, think and talk in the same way and about the same kind of things, in order that we may identify ourselves with them. Collectivism on a world scale seems to be unthinkable - except in the service of a small ruling elite. It would certainly raise not only technical but, above all, moral problems which none of our socialists is willing to face. " (154-155)
A: "The belief in the community of aims and interests with fellow- men seems to presuppose a greater degree of similarity of outlook and thought than exists between men merely as human beings. If the other members of one's group cannot all be personally known, they must at least be of the same kind as those around us, think and talk in the same way and about the same kind of things, in order that we may identify ourselves with them. Collectivism on a world scale seems to be unthinkable - except in the service of a small ruling elite. It would certainly raise not only technical but, above all, moral problems which none of our socialists is willing to face. " (154-155)
Adrian Ch. 11
Q: How is it that totalitarianism, in its pure form is viewed as an unwilling governing system of of the people, however by those that are governed by it, it is accepted, both openly and freely?
A: "While in the totalitarian states this status [Gleichschaltung] of propaganda gives it a unique power over the minds of the people, the peculiar moral effects arise not from the technique but from the object and scope of totalitarian propaganda. If it could be confined to indoctrinating the people with the whole system of values toward which the social effort is directed, propaganda would present merely a particular manifestation of the characteristic features of collectivist morals which we have already considered."(Hayek, p.169). When someone's perceptive reality is exposed to only one ideal, that is the standard to all other comparisons.
A: "While in the totalitarian states this status [Gleichschaltung] of propaganda gives it a unique power over the minds of the people, the peculiar moral effects arise not from the technique but from the object and scope of totalitarian propaganda. If it could be confined to indoctrinating the people with the whole system of values toward which the social effort is directed, propaganda would present merely a particular manifestation of the characteristic features of collectivist morals which we have already considered."(Hayek, p.169). When someone's perceptive reality is exposed to only one ideal, that is the standard to all other comparisons.
Victor Tran Ch. 11
Q:What are the moral consequences of totalitarian propaganda?
A:"They are destructive of all morals because they undermine one of the foundations of all morals: the sense of and respect for truth. From the nature of its task, totalitarian propaganda cannot confine itself to values, to questions of opinion and moral convictions in which the individual will always conform more or less to the views ruling his community, but must extend to the questions of fact where human intelligence is involved in a different way" (p.170).
A:"They are destructive of all morals because they undermine one of the foundations of all morals: the sense of and respect for truth. From the nature of its task, totalitarian propaganda cannot confine itself to values, to questions of opinion and moral convictions in which the individual will always conform more or less to the views ruling his community, but must extend to the questions of fact where human intelligence is involved in a different way" (p.170).
Jesselman chapter 9
Q: What is the transformation of society that ahs taken place?
A: "THe younger generation of today has grown up in a worrld in which in school and press the spirit of comercial enterprise has been represented as disreputable and the making of profit immoral, where to employ a hundred people is represented as exploitation but to commandthe same number as honorable" (144)
A: "THe younger generation of today has grown up in a worrld in which in school and press the spirit of comercial enterprise has been represented as disreputable and the making of profit immoral, where to employ a hundred people is represented as exploitation but to commandthe same number as honorable" (144)
Jesselman chapter 8
Q: What is one of the problems with socialism?
A: "so long as the socialist movement in a country is closely bound up with the interests of a particular group, usually the more highly skilled industrial workers, the problem of creating a common view on the desirable status of the different members of society is comparitively simple. The movement is immedietly concerned with the status of one particular group, and its aim is to raise that status relatively to other groups. The character of the problem changes, however, as in the course of the progressive advance toward socialism it becomes more and more evident to everyone that his income and general position are determined by the coercive apparatus of the state, that he can maintain or improve his position only as a member of an organized group capable of influencing or controlling the state machine in his interest." (126-127)
A: "so long as the socialist movement in a country is closely bound up with the interests of a particular group, usually the more highly skilled industrial workers, the problem of creating a common view on the desirable status of the different members of society is comparitively simple. The movement is immedietly concerned with the status of one particular group, and its aim is to raise that status relatively to other groups. The character of the problem changes, however, as in the course of the progressive advance toward socialism it becomes more and more evident to everyone that his income and general position are determined by the coercive apparatus of the state, that he can maintain or improve his position only as a member of an organized group capable of influencing or controlling the state machine in his interest." (126-127)
Austendo Chapter 11
"The most effective way of making people accept the validity of the values they are to serve is to persuade them that they are really the same as those which they, or at least the best among them, have always held, but which were not properly understood or recognized before. The people are made to transfer their allegiance from the old gods to the new under the pretense that the new gods really are what their sound instinct had always told them but what before they had only dimly seen. And the most efficient technique to this end is to use the old words but change their meaning." (172)
Regarding using old ideas and changing the meaning, what popular religion began by doing the same? That's right.
A: Christianity.
Most people probably already know this, but the early Christian church moved in on pagan holidays and changed the meanings of their idols to fit in with church doctrine. Christmas was originally a Festival to the Sun. Son of God. Sun. Get it?
Regarding using old ideas and changing the meaning, what popular religion began by doing the same? That's right.
A: Christianity.
Most people probably already know this, but the early Christian church moved in on pagan holidays and changed the meanings of their idols to fit in with church doctrine. Christmas was originally a Festival to the Sun. Son of God. Sun. Get it?
Austendo Chapter 10
Q: What did acts of hate such as the Holocaust have in common? Why do the leaders of such acts most commonly choose that path?
A: "...it is easier for people to agree on a negative program -- on the hatred of an enemy, on the envy of those better off -- than on any positive task. The contrast between the "we" and the "they," the common fight against those outside the group, seems to be an essential ingredient in any creed which will solidly knit together a group for common action." (153)
A: "...it is easier for people to agree on a negative program -- on the hatred of an enemy, on the envy of those better off -- than on any positive task. The contrast between the "we" and the "they," the common fight against those outside the group, seems to be an essential ingredient in any creed which will solidly knit together a group for common action." (153)
Ch.11- Kelsey Marsh
"The most effective way of making everybody serve the single system of ends toward which the social plan is directed is to make everybody believe in those ends. To make a totalitaian system function efficiently, it is not enough that everybody should be forced to work for the same ends. It is essential that the people should come to regard them as their own ends......" p. 168
Q: Why does it matter if the individual shares his goal with the society? ... Especially if the goals are chosen for the individual?
A: Look at christianity the end goal is to go to heaven. Deciding to be a christian means you have let them decide your end goal is heaven. However in order to make the religion and beliefs successful you much teach each and every person who pracitces it to think the same way. Though there are different branches in christianity each branches end goal is heaven, yet for example in catholicism if you dont agree with certain things of the church then you are not considered a catholic you are simply considered a christian. Totalitarian systems control what you think therefore when they put out propaganda you can only believe that their stuff is the best and as for everybody else propaganda you either dont know it exsists or you believe it sucks. If in christianity each branch had a different goal then nobodys goal would be achieved or successful not the individuals or the communitys. So to make a totalitarian society work the individual has to share the goal of the society in order to achieve or obtain any goal.
Q: Why does it matter if the individual shares his goal with the society? ... Especially if the goals are chosen for the individual?
A: Look at christianity the end goal is to go to heaven. Deciding to be a christian means you have let them decide your end goal is heaven. However in order to make the religion and beliefs successful you much teach each and every person who pracitces it to think the same way. Though there are different branches in christianity each branches end goal is heaven, yet for example in catholicism if you dont agree with certain things of the church then you are not considered a catholic you are simply considered a christian. Totalitarian systems control what you think therefore when they put out propaganda you can only believe that their stuff is the best and as for everybody else propaganda you either dont know it exsists or you believe it sucks. If in christianity each branch had a different goal then nobodys goal would be achieved or successful not the individuals or the communitys. So to make a totalitarian society work the individual has to share the goal of the society in order to achieve or obtain any goal.
Victor Tran Ch. 10
Q: What is one misconception of totalitarianism?
A:"It is believed that the most repellent features of the totalitarian regimes are due to the historical accident that they were established by groups if blackgaurds and thugs.[...]We must not deceive ourselves into believing that all good people must be democrats or will necessarily wish to have a share in government"(p. 148).
A:"It is believed that the most repellent features of the totalitarian regimes are due to the historical accident that they were established by groups if blackgaurds and thugs.[...]We must not deceive ourselves into believing that all good people must be democrats or will necessarily wish to have a share in government"(p. 148).
Austendo Chapter 8
Q: What single rule will provide a solid, definite answer to the questions regarding Power and Justice in society?
A. "Equality, complete and absolute equality of all individuals in all those points which are subject to human control." (121)
A. "Equality, complete and absolute equality of all individuals in all those points which are subject to human control." (121)
Ch. 10- Kelsey Marsh
"...Yet it is through positions like these that the road to the highest positions in the totalitarian state leads. It is only too true when a distinguished American economist concludes froma similar belief enumeration of the duties of the authorities of a collectivist state that they would have to do these things whether they wanted to or not:and the probablity of the people in power being individuals who would dislike the possesion and exercise of power is on a level with the probability tha an extremely tender-hearted person would get the job of whipping-master in a slave plantation...." p.167
Q/A: So in reality no leader whether in totalitarian society or democratic society necessarily agrees with views of their position, they just conform to their status, well this is true in any governement or competitive or planned economy, so even if you obtain the higher or highest position its still not humanitarian and your personal values are still changed and to a higher degree. So why do you go for the highest position if it disagrees with your values well everybody does no matter what type of society why because the whole point of a society is rank is to be the best most powerful and highest. So its not surprsing that totaltarian governmens conform your thinking because well every government does and once you have the highest status you then start conforming people.
Q/A: So in reality no leader whether in totalitarian society or democratic society necessarily agrees with views of their position, they just conform to their status, well this is true in any governement or competitive or planned economy, so even if you obtain the higher or highest position its still not humanitarian and your personal values are still changed and to a higher degree. So why do you go for the highest position if it disagrees with your values well everybody does no matter what type of society why because the whole point of a society is rank is to be the best most powerful and highest. So its not surprsing that totaltarian governmens conform your thinking because well every government does and once you have the highest status you then start conforming people.
Caroline P. Ch-11
Q: What is the problem with the assumption that only a minority truly thinks for themselves and that this situation then can be harnessed to steer people towards certain thoughts or actions?
A: "It shows a complete confusion of thought to suggest that, because under any sory of system the majority of people follow the lead of somebody, it makes no difference if everybody has to follow the same lead." (180) This is a direct attack on socialism as a whole. Although not everyone came up with socialism independently, they still chose to follow its ideals. However, because they made this choice to follow by themselves, they should not then take the ability to make the choice of whom or what to follow from others, seeing as it is in contradition of something they did themselves.
A: "It shows a complete confusion of thought to suggest that, because under any sory of system the majority of people follow the lead of somebody, it makes no difference if everybody has to follow the same lead." (180) This is a direct attack on socialism as a whole. Although not everyone came up with socialism independently, they still chose to follow its ideals. However, because they made this choice to follow by themselves, they should not then take the ability to make the choice of whom or what to follow from others, seeing as it is in contradition of something they did themselves.
Caroline P. Ch-10
Q: What "illusion" do many socialists fail to see through?
A: "the tragic illusion that by depriving private individuals of the power they possess in an individualist system, and by transfering this power to society, they can thereby extinguish power." (159)
People fail to realize that by taking away distributed power and changed it into "concentrated power", they really endanger themselves because thenit is in the hands of a smaller group of people, namely the government, who may or may not use said power for the aims that the people wish for (159).
A: "the tragic illusion that by depriving private individuals of the power they possess in an individualist system, and by transfering this power to society, they can thereby extinguish power." (159)
People fail to realize that by taking away distributed power and changed it into "concentrated power", they really endanger themselves because thenit is in the hands of a smaller group of people, namely the government, who may or may not use said power for the aims that the people wish for (159).
ch. 9 - Kelsey Marsh
"In the sphere of executive work the problem of sanctions for negligence arises in a different but no less serious form. It has been well said that, while the last resort of a competitve econmy is the baliff, the ultimate sanction of a planned economy is the hangman."
Q: So a planned economy would be better because the best sanction is to be the head in charge and in a competitve society the last sanction is to be given orders or in this case is being in charge worse?
A: As the manager your success depends on the workers yet as a worker your success depends on just you. But in the planned economy the best is the worst and in a competitive the last, which is usually referred to as the worst, is the best. It really depends wether you are baseing which is better upon ranks or actual duties. If its upon ranks than a planned economy would be better but if its upon duties than a competitve economy would be the best. So either one could be right, but in my opinion ranks are of no importance although its what everybody looks at, duties should be more important to the individual so i would go with the competitve in this case.
Q: So a planned economy would be better because the best sanction is to be the head in charge and in a competitve society the last sanction is to be given orders or in this case is being in charge worse?
A: As the manager your success depends on the workers yet as a worker your success depends on just you. But in the planned economy the best is the worst and in a competitive the last, which is usually referred to as the worst, is the best. It really depends wether you are baseing which is better upon ranks or actual duties. If its upon ranks than a planned economy would be better but if its upon duties than a competitve economy would be the best. So either one could be right, but in my opinion ranks are of no importance although its what everybody looks at, duties should be more important to the individual so i would go with the competitve in this case.
Austendo Chapter 9
Q: The demand for security against 'diminutions of income' (Hayek uses this term a lot. It's fancy words for pay cut.) Hayek says, "This demand for security is thus another form of the demand for a just remuneration -- a remuneration commensurate with the subjective merits and not with the objective merits of a man's efforts. Why must the remuneration be commensurate with the subjective rather than the objective?
A: Correct me if I'm wrong, but I see subjective as being a relative type of judgment while objective doesn't take other factors into account. Subjective sees a worker and understands, he's got a wife and seven kids, give him some time off and he'll be more relaxed for work. Objective doesn't see any factors, and instead sees a slacking worker who shouldn't receive a certain remuneration. With these definitions, remuneration, or pay, must be commensurate with, or based off of, the subjective because, "remuneration in these trades should correspond to [the worker's] usefulness to the other members of society. (135)
A: Correct me if I'm wrong, but I see subjective as being a relative type of judgment while objective doesn't take other factors into account. Subjective sees a worker and understands, he's got a wife and seven kids, give him some time off and he'll be more relaxed for work. Objective doesn't see any factors, and instead sees a slacking worker who shouldn't receive a certain remuneration. With these definitions, remuneration, or pay, must be commensurate with, or based off of, the subjective because, "remuneration in these trades should correspond to [the worker's] usefulness to the other members of society. (135)
Victor Tran Ch. 9
Q: What are the two kinds of security?
A: "[T]he limited one, which can be achieved for all, and which is therefore no privilege but a legitimate object of desire; and absolute security, which in a free society cannot be achieved for all and which ought not to be given as a privilege- except in a few special instances such as that of the judges, where complete independence is of paramount importance"(p.132).
A: "[T]he limited one, which can be achieved for all, and which is therefore no privilege but a legitimate object of desire; and absolute security, which in a free society cannot be achieved for all and which ought not to be given as a privilege- except in a few special instances such as that of the judges, where complete independence is of paramount importance"(p.132).
Victor Tran Ch. 8
Q: What will happen one " the state takes upon itself the task of planning the whole economic life"?
A: "[T]he problem of the different individuals and groups must indeed inevitably become the central political problem"(p. 119).
A: "[T]he problem of the different individuals and groups must indeed inevitably become the central political problem"(p. 119).
Ch.8 -Kelsey Marsh
"Although under competition the probability that a man who starts poor will reach great wealth is much smaller than is true of the man who has inherited property, it is not only possible for the former, but the competitive system is the only one where it depends solely on him and not on the favors of the mighty, and where nobody can prevent a man from attempting to achieve this result." p.113
Q: So under competition the lucky are more successful yet have a higher risk of failure, therefore does this make luck or competition better?
A: Both have a possiblity of failure, competition because it depends on the man and his readiness for game and luck because he depends on someone else and well if they dont come through he is screwed. Although you are assuming that the competition man is a strong hard working man, alot of people who begin as tough competitors get tired easy and give up. i believe it to be false that no man can keep a competitve man from achieving his goal though it is more the competitive mans fault for giving up everybody else around him is trying to get him to fail and sometimes those are the stronger people. I guess in a sense you have to have both luck and competition, you have to be lucky to get the competition and you have to compete to get the luck.
Q: So under competition the lucky are more successful yet have a higher risk of failure, therefore does this make luck or competition better?
A: Both have a possiblity of failure, competition because it depends on the man and his readiness for game and luck because he depends on someone else and well if they dont come through he is screwed. Although you are assuming that the competition man is a strong hard working man, alot of people who begin as tough competitors get tired easy and give up. i believe it to be false that no man can keep a competitve man from achieving his goal though it is more the competitive mans fault for giving up everybody else around him is trying to get him to fail and sometimes those are the stronger people. I guess in a sense you have to have both luck and competition, you have to be lucky to get the competition and you have to compete to get the luck.
Caroline P. Ch-9
Q:What point does Hayek seek to make with the opposing quotes at the beginning of the chapter?
"The whole of society will have become a single office and a single factory with equality of work and equality of pay." -Lenin (1917)
"In a country where the sole employer is the State, opposition means death by slow starvation. The old principle: who does not work shall not eat, has been replaced by a new one: who does not obey shall not eat." -Leon Trotsky (1937)
A: The first puts an obvious positive spin on socialism, making it sound as if this "equality" will ensure freedom when it really endangers it (132). The second quote shows that this "freedom" is really no freedom at all; if one does not cooperate with the government, or "sole employer", then their livlihood is then in jeopardy. In seeking "economic security", many people actually put themselves at risk due to the fact that since their "sole employer" is the State, if they defect or disobey, then their controlled income, which is supposedly being protected from diminutations (135), is then at risk.
"The whole of society will have become a single office and a single factory with equality of work and equality of pay." -Lenin (1917)
"In a country where the sole employer is the State, opposition means death by slow starvation. The old principle: who does not work shall not eat, has been replaced by a new one: who does not obey shall not eat." -Leon Trotsky (1937)
A: The first puts an obvious positive spin on socialism, making it sound as if this "equality" will ensure freedom when it really endangers it (132). The second quote shows that this "freedom" is really no freedom at all; if one does not cooperate with the government, or "sole employer", then their livlihood is then in jeopardy. In seeking "economic security", many people actually put themselves at risk due to the fact that since their "sole employer" is the State, if they defect or disobey, then their controlled income, which is supposedly being protected from diminutations (135), is then at risk.
Caroline P. Ch-8
Q: Why do people favor the "blindness" of competition over planning?
A: "While people will submit to suffering which may hit anyone, they will not so easily submit to suffering which is the result of the decision of authority [...] Dissatisfaction of everybody with his lot will inevitably grow with the consciousness that it is the result of deliberate human decision." (118)
A: "While people will submit to suffering which may hit anyone, they will not so easily submit to suffering which is the result of the decision of authority [...] Dissatisfaction of everybody with his lot will inevitably grow with the consciousness that it is the result of deliberate human decision." (118)
Charlie C-11
Q:
"This applies even to fields apparently most remote from any political interests and particularly to all the sciences, even the most abstract. That in the disciplines dealing directly with human affairs and therefore most immediately affecting political views, such as history, law, or economics, the disinterested search for truth cannot be allowed in a totalitarian system, and the vindication of the official views becomes the sole object, is easily seen and has been amply confirmed by experience."
What is these all be done for?
A:
"These disciplines have, indeed, in all totalitarian countries become the most fertile factories of the official myths which the rulers use to guide the minds and wills of their subjects."
(Page 176)
"This applies even to fields apparently most remote from any political interests and particularly to all the sciences, even the most abstract. That in the disciplines dealing directly with human affairs and therefore most immediately affecting political views, such as history, law, or economics, the disinterested search for truth cannot be allowed in a totalitarian system, and the vindication of the official views becomes the sole object, is easily seen and has been amply confirmed by experience."
What is these all be done for?
A:
"These disciplines have, indeed, in all totalitarian countries become the most fertile factories of the official myths which the rulers use to guide the minds and wills of their subjects."
(Page 176)
Friday, July 13, 2007
Charlie C-10
Q:
"...it is inevitable that occasionally cruelty may become a duty; that acts which revolt all our feelings, such as the shooting of hostages or the killing of the old or sick, should be treated as mere matters of expediency; that the compulsory uprooting and transportation of hundreds of thousands should become an instrument of policy approved by almost everybody except the victims;or that suggestions like that of a 'conscription of women for breeding purposes' can be seriously contemplated."
How is that be agreed by the majority?
A:
"...for the mass of citizens of totalitarian state it is often unselfish devotion to an ideal,..."
(Page 165)
"...it is inevitable that occasionally cruelty may become a duty; that acts which revolt all our feelings, such as the shooting of hostages or the killing of the old or sick, should be treated as mere matters of expediency; that the compulsory uprooting and transportation of hundreds of thousands should become an instrument of policy approved by almost everybody except the victims;or that suggestions like that of a 'conscription of women for breeding purposes' can be seriously contemplated."
How is that be agreed by the majority?
A:
"...for the mass of citizens of totalitarian state it is often unselfish devotion to an ideal,..."
(Page 165)
Charlie C-9
Q:
"The conflict with which we need to deal is, indeed, a quite fundamental one between two irreconcilable types of social organization,..."
What are these two types of organization?
A:
"...Which, from the most characteristic forms in mercial and the military type of society."
(Page 140)
"The conflict with which we need to deal is, indeed, a quite fundamental one between two irreconcilable types of social organization,..."
What are these two types of organization?
A:
"...Which, from the most characteristic forms in mercial and the military type of society."
(Page 140)
Dinh Chapter 11
Q: What is the most effective way to make people accept the validity of the values they are to serve?
A: It "is to persuade them that they are really the same as those which they, or at least the best among them, have always held, but which were not properly understood or recognized before" (172).
A: It "is to persuade them that they are really the same as those which they, or at least the best among them, have always held, but which were not properly understood or recognized before" (172).
Dinh Chapter 10
Q: What would be another meaning for treating the "universal tendency of collectivist policy to become nationalistic as due entirely ot the necessity for securing unhesitating support" (154)?
A: It "would be to neglect another and no less important factor" (154).
A: It "would be to neglect another and no less important factor" (154).
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Michelle Ch 11
Q: What are the two central features of every collectivist system?
A: "The need for a commonly accepted system of ends of the group and the all-overriding desire to give to the group the maximum of power to achieve these ends" (Hayek 161).
By Michelle
A: "The need for a commonly accepted system of ends of the group and the all-overriding desire to give to the group the maximum of power to achieve these ends" (Hayek 161).
By Michelle
Michelle Ch 10
Q: In the market system, how can security be granted to particular groups?
A: "By the kind of planning known as restrictionism (which includes, however, almost all the planning which is actually practiced!). "Control," i.e., limitation of output so that prices will secure an "adequate" return, is the only way in which in a market economy producers can be guaranteed a certain income. But this necessarily involces a reduction of opportunities open to others" (Hayek 141-142).
By Michelle
A: "By the kind of planning known as restrictionism (which includes, however, almost all the planning which is actually practiced!). "Control," i.e., limitation of output so that prices will secure an "adequate" return, is the only way in which in a market economy producers can be guaranteed a certain income. But this necessarily involces a reduction of opportunities open to others" (Hayek 141-142).
By Michelle
Michelle Ch 9
Q: How is the contrast between a liberal and a totally planned system illustrated?
A: "By the common complaints of Nazis and socialists of the 'artificial sparations of economics and politics' and by their equally common demand for the dominance of politics over economics" (Hayek 120).
By Michelle
A: "By the common complaints of Nazis and socialists of the 'artificial sparations of economics and politics' and by their equally common demand for the dominance of politics over economics" (Hayek 120).
By Michelle
Melanie- Ch 11
Q: How does one make a totalitarian system function efficiently?
A: "To make a totalitarian system function efficeiently, it is not enough that everybody should be forced to work for the same ends. It is essential that the people should come to regard them as their own ends. Although the beliefs must b e chosen for the people eand imposed upon them, they must beomce their beliefs, a generally accepted creed which makes the individuals as far as possible act spontaneoulsy in the way the planner wants. If the feeling of oppression in totalitarian countries is in general much less acute than most people in liberal countries imagine, this is because the totalitarian governments succeed to a high degree in making people think as they want them to" (Hayek, 168).
A: "To make a totalitarian system function efficeiently, it is not enough that everybody should be forced to work for the same ends. It is essential that the people should come to regard them as their own ends. Although the beliefs must b e chosen for the people eand imposed upon them, they must beomce their beliefs, a generally accepted creed which makes the individuals as far as possible act spontaneoulsy in the way the planner wants. If the feeling of oppression in totalitarian countries is in general much less acute than most people in liberal countries imagine, this is because the totalitarian governments succeed to a high degree in making people think as they want them to" (Hayek, 168).
Melanie- Ch 10
Q: How is "The definitely antagonistic attitude which most planners take toward internationalism" explained? (Hayek, 157).
A: "The definitely antagonistic attitude which most planners take toward internationalism is further explained by the fact that in the existing world all outside contacts of a group are obstacles to their effectively planning the sphere in which they can attempt it. It is therefore no accident that, as the editor of one of the most comprehensive collective studies on planning has discovered to his chagrin, "most 'planners' are militant nationalists"" (Hayek 157).
A: "The definitely antagonistic attitude which most planners take toward internationalism is further explained by the fact that in the existing world all outside contacts of a group are obstacles to their effectively planning the sphere in which they can attempt it. It is therefore no accident that, as the editor of one of the most comprehensive collective studies on planning has discovered to his chagrin, "most 'planners' are militant nationalists"" (Hayek 157).
Melanie- Ch 9
Q: What happens when we try harder to provide full security (by interfering with the market system)?
A: "Thus, the more we try to provde full security by interfering with the market system, the greater the insecurity becomes; and, what is worse, the greater becomes the contrast between the security of those to whom it is granted as a privilege and the ever increasing insecurity of the underprivileged. And the more security becomes a privilege, and the greater the danger to those excluded from it, the higher will security be prized" (Hayek, 143).
A: "Thus, the more we try to provde full security by interfering with the market system, the greater the insecurity becomes; and, what is worse, the greater becomes the contrast between the security of those to whom it is granted as a privilege and the ever increasing insecurity of the underprivileged. And the more security becomes a privilege, and the greater the danger to those excluded from it, the higher will security be prized" (Hayek, 143).
Melanie- Ch 8
Q: What is the choice that is open to us?
A: "The choice open to us is not between a system in which everybody will get what he deserves according to some absolute and universal standard of right, and one where the individual shares are determined partly by accident or good or ill chance, but between a system where it is the will of a few persons that decides who is to get what, and one where it depends at least partly on the ability and enterprise of the people concerned and partly on unforeseeable circumstances" (Hayek, 112-113).
A: "The choice open to us is not between a system in which everybody will get what he deserves according to some absolute and universal standard of right, and one where the individual shares are determined partly by accident or good or ill chance, but between a system where it is the will of a few persons that decides who is to get what, and one where it depends at least partly on the ability and enterprise of the people concerned and partly on unforeseeable circumstances" (Hayek, 112-113).
Alyssum : Chp11
Q: What is the most effective way of making people accept the validity of values they are to serve?
A: "To persuade them that they are really the same as those which they or at least the best among them, have always held but which were not properly understood to reconize before." ( p.172)
A: "To persuade them that they are really the same as those which they or at least the best among them, have always held but which were not properly understood to reconize before." ( p.172)
Alyssum: Chp 10
Q: Socialism Can be put into practice by methods which most socialists disproved of. How was this lesson learned by most socialists in the past?
A: The old socialist parties were inhibited by their democratic ideals; they did not possess the ruthlessness required for the performance of their chosen task.
A: The old socialist parties were inhibited by their democratic ideals; they did not possess the ruthlessness required for the performance of their chosen task.
Alyssum: Chp 9
Q: Why is the problem of combating general flucutations of economic activity and the recurrent waves of unemployment such a supremely important problem?
A: "This is of course, one of the gravest and most pressing problems of our time. Its solution will require much planning in good sense it does not or at least need not require that special kind of planning which according to its advocates is to replace the market. Many econnomists hope indeed the ultimate remedy may be found in the field of monetary policy which would involve nothing incompatible even with 19 century liberalism." p. (134)
A: "This is of course, one of the gravest and most pressing problems of our time. Its solution will require much planning in good sense it does not or at least need not require that special kind of planning which according to its advocates is to replace the market. Many econnomists hope indeed the ultimate remedy may be found in the field of monetary policy which would involve nothing incompatible even with 19 century liberalism." p. (134)
Alyssum:Chp 8
Q: What is it that our generation has forgotten?
A: "What our generation has forgotten is that the system of private property is the most important guaranty of freedom, not only for those who own property, but scarcely less for those who do not." (p. 115)
A: "What our generation has forgotten is that the system of private property is the most important guaranty of freedom, not only for those who own property, but scarcely less for those who do not." (p. 115)
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Michelle Ch 8
Q: How is the contrast between a liberal and a totally planned system illustrated?
A: By the common complaints of Nazis and socialists of the “artificial sparations of economics and politics” and by their equally common demand for the dominance of politics over economics” (Hayek 120) .
By Michelle
A: By the common complaints of Nazis and socialists of the “artificial sparations of economics and politics” and by their equally common demand for the dominance of politics over economics” (Hayek 120) .
By Michelle
Ellen Ch 11
Q: What is the most effective way of making people accept the validity of the values they are to serve?
A: “Persuade them that they are really the same as those which they, or at least the best among them, have always held, but which were not properly understood or recognized before. The people are made to transfer their allegiance from the old gods to the new under the pretense that the new gods really are what their sound instinct had always told them but what before they had only dimly seen. And the most efficient technique to this end is to use the old words but change their meaning” (Hayek 172).
By Ellen
A: “Persuade them that they are really the same as those which they, or at least the best among them, have always held, but which were not properly understood or recognized before. The people are made to transfer their allegiance from the old gods to the new under the pretense that the new gods really are what their sound instinct had always told them but what before they had only dimly seen. And the most efficient technique to this end is to use the old words but change their meaning” (Hayek 172).
By Ellen
Ellen Ch 10
Q: What is one of the inherent contradictions of the collectivist philosophy?
A: “While basing itself on the humanistic morals which individualism has developed, it is practicable only within a relatively small group….Collectivism has no room for the wide humanitarianism of liberalism but only for the narrow particularism of the totalitarian” (Hayek, 155-156).
By Ellen
A: “While basing itself on the humanistic morals which individualism has developed, it is practicable only within a relatively small group….Collectivism has no room for the wide humanitarianism of liberalism but only for the narrow particularism of the totalitarian” (Hayek, 155-156).
By Ellen
Ellen Ch 9
Q: How does having a certainty of a given income prohibit any freedom in the choice of one’s occupation?
A: “If it is provided for some, it becomes a privilege at the expense of others whose security is thereby necessarily diminished. That security of an invariable income can be provided for all only by the abolition of all freedom in the choice of one’s employment is easily shown. Yet although such a general guaranty of legitimate expectation is often regarded as the ideal to be aimed at, it is not a thing which is seriously attempted. What is constantly being done is to grant this kind of security piecemeal, to this group and to that, with the result that for those whoa re left out in the cold the insecurity constantly increases. No wonder that in consequence the value attached to the privilege of security constantly increases, the demand for it becomes more and more urgent, until in the end no price, not even that of liberty, appears to high” (Hayek, 136-137).
By Ellen
A: “If it is provided for some, it becomes a privilege at the expense of others whose security is thereby necessarily diminished. That security of an invariable income can be provided for all only by the abolition of all freedom in the choice of one’s employment is easily shown. Yet although such a general guaranty of legitimate expectation is often regarded as the ideal to be aimed at, it is not a thing which is seriously attempted. What is constantly being done is to grant this kind of security piecemeal, to this group and to that, with the result that for those whoa re left out in the cold the insecurity constantly increases. No wonder that in consequence the value attached to the privilege of security constantly increases, the demand for it becomes more and more urgent, until in the end no price, not even that of liberty, appears to high” (Hayek, 136-137).
By Ellen
Ellen Ch 8
Q: What is the position of the individual determined by?
A: It “is not a result of the competitive effort of many, but by the deliberate decision of authority, the attitude of the people toward their position in the social order necessarily changes…..But when these things occur in a society which is consciously directed, the way in which people will react will be very different from what it is when they are nobody’s conscious choice” (Hayek, 117) .
By Ellen
A: It “is not a result of the competitive effort of many, but by the deliberate decision of authority, the attitude of the people toward their position in the social order necessarily changes…..But when these things occur in a society which is consciously directed, the way in which people will react will be very different from what it is when they are nobody’s conscious choice” (Hayek, 117) .
By Ellen
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Charlie C-8
Q:
"Then it soon becomes the one burning question which of the different sets of ideals shall be imposed upon all by marking the whole resources of the country serve it."
How did they solve this question?
A:
"Socialists, the cultivated parents of the barbarous offspring they have produced, traditionally hope to solve this problem by education." (Page 125)
"Then it soon becomes the one burning question which of the different sets of ideals shall be imposed upon all by marking the whole resources of the country serve it."
How did they solve this question?
A:
"Socialists, the cultivated parents of the barbarous offspring they have produced, traditionally hope to solve this problem by education." (Page 125)
Monday, July 9, 2007
Dinh Chapter 8
Q: What does Hayek use to disprove the idea of "power which is thus conferred on the state is merely transferred to it from others" (114)?
A: "It is a power which is newly created and which in a competitive society nobody possesses. So long as property is divided among many owners, none of them acting independently has exclusive power to determin the income and position of particular people-nobody is tied to any one property owner except by the fact that he may offer better terms than anybody else" (114, 115).
A: "It is a power which is newly created and which in a competitive society nobody possesses. So long as property is divided among many owners, none of them acting independently has exclusive power to determin the income and position of particular people-nobody is tied to any one property owner except by the fact that he may offer better terms than anybody else" (114, 115).
Dinh Chapter 9
Q: The planning for security which has an insidious effect on liberty Hayek refers to is aimed towards what kind of security?
A: "It is planning designed to protect individuals or groups against diminution of their income, which although in no way deserved yet in a competitive society occur daily, against losses imposing severe hardships having no moral justification yet inseparable from the competitive system" (135).
A: "It is planning designed to protect individuals or groups against diminution of their income, which although in no way deserved yet in a competitive society occur daily, against losses imposing severe hardships having no moral justification yet inseparable from the competitive system" (135).
Name & Email
I do not know about the Chinese version. Simply type your name & email address as a "post", and everything should be ok.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
A qusetion about posting name and E-mail
Practically, how to do it?
I didn't find anything to set to change my name or something like this.
Is there something wrong when I am using the Chinese vision?
I didn't find anything to set to change my name or something like this.
Is there something wrong when I am using the Chinese vision?
Friday, June 29, 2007
adrian ch-4
Q: If the consumer can purchase a better product, for a less expense, both of monetary and environmental value, then why do the producers restrict the consumers to an overflowing market of antiquated, overpriced products?
A: " It is, for example, at least conceivable that the British automobile industry might be able to supply a car cheaper and better than cars to be in the United States if everyone in England were made to use the same kind of car or that the use of electricity for all purposes could be made cheaper than coal or gas if everybody could be made to use only electricity. In instances like these it is at least possible that we might all be better off and should prefer the new situation if we had the choice-but that no individual ever gets the choice, because the alternative is either that we should all use the same cheap car ( or all should use only electricity) or that we should have the choice between these things with each of them at a much higher price. I do not know whether this is true in either of the instances given. But it must be admitted that it is possible that, by compulsory standardization or the Prohibition of variety beyond a certain degree, abundance might be increased in some fields more than sufficiently to compensate for the restriction of the choice of the consumer. It is even conceivable that a new invention may be made some day whose adoption would seem unquestionably beneficial but which could be used only if many or all people were mad to avail themselves or it at the same time."(hayek,57-58).
A: " It is, for example, at least conceivable that the British automobile industry might be able to supply a car cheaper and better than cars to be in the United States if everyone in England were made to use the same kind of car or that the use of electricity for all purposes could be made cheaper than coal or gas if everybody could be made to use only electricity. In instances like these it is at least possible that we might all be better off and should prefer the new situation if we had the choice-but that no individual ever gets the choice, because the alternative is either that we should all use the same cheap car ( or all should use only electricity) or that we should have the choice between these things with each of them at a much higher price. I do not know whether this is true in either of the instances given. But it must be admitted that it is possible that, by compulsory standardization or the Prohibition of variety beyond a certain degree, abundance might be increased in some fields more than sufficiently to compensate for the restriction of the choice of the consumer. It is even conceivable that a new invention may be made some day whose adoption would seem unquestionably beneficial but which could be used only if many or all people were mad to avail themselves or it at the same time."(hayek,57-58).
adrian ch-5
Q: If democracy retains ultimate control, then are the essentials of democracy truly not affected?
A: " ' The only way in which a planned society differs from that of the nineteenth century is that more and more spheres of social life, and ultimately each and all of them, are subjected to state control. But if a few controls can be held in check by parliamentary sovereignty, so can many.... In a democratic state sovereignty an be boundlessly strengthened by plenary powers without renouncing democratic control.' "(hayek,76)
A: " ' The only way in which a planned society differs from that of the nineteenth century is that more and more spheres of social life, and ultimately each and all of them, are subjected to state control. But if a few controls can be held in check by parliamentary sovereignty, so can many.... In a democratic state sovereignty an be boundlessly strengthened by plenary powers without renouncing democratic control.' "(hayek,76)
adrian ch-6
Q: If every man may engage in any lawful occupation and he is entitled to paid employment and to a free choice whenever there is any variety of employment open to him, who decides what jobs are open to certain individuals?
A: The answer is not set in a socialist state, and any bias or ruling to decide so would lead directly to a totalitarianism state (hayek, 94-96).
A: The answer is not set in a socialist state, and any bias or ruling to decide so would lead directly to a totalitarianism state (hayek, 94-96).
adrian c-7
Q: Why is it-the belief that economic maters only affect the less important ends of life- is justified in a market/free economy, and not in a totalitarianism market?
A: " So long as we can freely dispose over our income and all our possessions, economic loss will always deprive us only of what we regard as the least important of the desires we were able to satisfy."(Hayek, 99)
A: " So long as we can freely dispose over our income and all our possessions, economic loss will always deprive us only of what we regard as the least important of the desires we were able to satisfy."(Hayek, 99)
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Caroline P. Ch-7
Q: What is the difference between "competitive" and "directed" economies?
A: In a competitive economy, if the price of an item is much too high one place, we can go somewhere else to find a cost more suited to our needs and wants. Everyone wants the same "end" but may go about it my a different "mean" (103). However, in a directed economy, the "authority" supervises and controls the flow of the economy so that some ends are realized and others are not (i.e. if anyone has read 1984, where the main character was not allowed to have a journal because the government thought they could cause rebellion, and therefore banned the production and purchasing of journals) (103). Personally, I'd like to have the competitive economy.
A: In a competitive economy, if the price of an item is much too high one place, we can go somewhere else to find a cost more suited to our needs and wants. Everyone wants the same "end" but may go about it my a different "mean" (103). However, in a directed economy, the "authority" supervises and controls the flow of the economy so that some ends are realized and others are not (i.e. if anyone has read 1984, where the main character was not allowed to have a journal because the government thought they could cause rebellion, and therefore banned the production and purchasing of journals) (103). Personally, I'd like to have the competitive economy.
Caroline P. Ch-6
Q: What power does the "planning authority"have by not setting up formal rules?
A: Formal rules are made in advance so that the actions of the state in any instance can be forseen by the individual depending on the time and place of their actions (80-81). The "planning authority" cannot uphold such rules because if they are to guide people towards one common goal, they must be an "arbitrary government" and therefore if they did first lay down rules to be known ahead of time, it would not be able to weild the power they want over their citizens. This also leaves an out for them to be discriminatory to certain groups or peoples simply because they must make up rules as they go, and therefore choose someone's views over another's in a dispute (82).
A: Formal rules are made in advance so that the actions of the state in any instance can be forseen by the individual depending on the time and place of their actions (80-81). The "planning authority" cannot uphold such rules because if they are to guide people towards one common goal, they must be an "arbitrary government" and therefore if they did first lay down rules to be known ahead of time, it would not be able to weild the power they want over their citizens. This also leaves an out for them to be discriminatory to certain groups or peoples simply because they must make up rules as they go, and therefore choose someone's views over another's in a dispute (82).
Caroline P. Ch-5
Q: What aspect of democracy leaves an opening for planning to find a way into America?
A: The ability of the will of the majority to be the determining factor in any decision. "Yet agreement that planning is necessary, together with the inabillity of democratic assemblies to produce a plan, will evoke atronger and stronger demands that the government or some single individual should be given powers to act on their own responsibility [...] if things are to get done, the responsible authorites must be freed from the fetters of democratic procedure." (75)
A: The ability of the will of the majority to be the determining factor in any decision. "Yet agreement that planning is necessary, together with the inabillity of democratic assemblies to produce a plan, will evoke atronger and stronger demands that the government or some single individual should be given powers to act on their own responsibility [...] if things are to get done, the responsible authorites must be freed from the fetters of democratic procedure." (75)
Kelsey Marsh: Ch. 6
Q: If the formal rules of a country are not aimed at a specific population of a country as a whole then who are they aimed for?
A: The formal rules are amied at the country as a whole in general because it doesnt benifit just one race. The rules of a country such as the ones in america are meant to help the entire population regardless of its race to make a stronger, more powerful, better country for the people to live in. The goal of a country is to help its people not for people to help its government. if a country dictated laws to benifit only a single race then that particular country would be biased and therefore not be equal. the formal rule is meant to be for all people and is not restrited by any bounries to one particular race.l
A: The formal rules are amied at the country as a whole in general because it doesnt benifit just one race. The rules of a country such as the ones in america are meant to help the entire population regardless of its race to make a stronger, more powerful, better country for the people to live in. The goal of a country is to help its people not for people to help its government. if a country dictated laws to benifit only a single race then that particular country would be biased and therefore not be equal. the formal rule is meant to be for all people and is not restrited by any bounries to one particular race.l
Caroline P. Ch-4
Q: What is the planners' reason for the "inevitability of planning"? Why has this belief spread and what factual evidence disputes it?
A: "technological changes have made competition impossible in a constantly increasing number of fields and that the only choice left to us is between control of production by private monopolies and direction by the government." (49)
As for a dispute of this theory, look at the passage from the Final Report and Recommendations of the Temporary National Economic Committee on page 51.
A: "technological changes have made competition impossible in a constantly increasing number of fields and that the only choice left to us is between control of production by private monopolies and direction by the government." (49)
As for a dispute of this theory, look at the passage from the Final Report and Recommendations of the Temporary National Economic Committee on page 51.
Kelsey Marsh: Ch. 7
"If all rewards, instead of being offered in money, were offered in the form of public distinctions or privileges, positions of power over other men, or better housing or btter food, opportunities for travel or education, this would merely mean that the recipient would no longer be allowed to choose and that whoever fixed the reward determined not only its size but also the particular form in which it should be enjoyed"(99).
Q: When currency was not available in countries and people were forced to trade goods for services and vice versa was one of the reasons for creating currencies because they wanted to have the freedom to choose what public distinctions they wanted to have?
A: I believe that currency was created so that the people of the countries could do what they wanted with their work more freely. With the currencies people could choose what they did with their labor instead of being forced to do what the public destinction restricted them to do. with these new found freedoms the people of the country have new found rights they feel they havew deserved for a while. the creation of this currency also creates an economy to balance, creating an overall better country for them to live in.
Q: When currency was not available in countries and people were forced to trade goods for services and vice versa was one of the reasons for creating currencies because they wanted to have the freedom to choose what public distinctions they wanted to have?
A: I believe that currency was created so that the people of the countries could do what they wanted with their work more freely. With the currencies people could choose what they did with their labor instead of being forced to do what the public destinction restricted them to do. with these new found freedoms the people of the country have new found rights they feel they havew deserved for a while. the creation of this currency also creates an economy to balance, creating an overall better country for them to live in.
Erin C-7
Q: What consolation do our planners offer us about their economic plan?
A: "[T]hat this this authoritarian direction will apply 'only' to economic matters." (97)
A: "[T]hat this this authoritarian direction will apply 'only' to economic matters." (97)
Erin C-6
Q: Why can't the ideal of the Rule of Law be perfectly achieved?
A: "[The] legislators as well as those to whom the administration of the law is entrusted are fallible men[.]" (80)
Quick question: Could this also say that the reason the ideals of the Catholic church can never be achieved is because the pope is, infact, fallible?
A: "[The] legislators as well as those to whom the administration of the law is entrusted are fallible men[.]" (80)
Quick question: Could this also say that the reason the ideals of the Catholic church can never be achieved is because the pope is, infact, fallible?
Erin C-5
Q: How do the various kinds of collectivism, communism, facism, etc., differ among themselves?
A: [They] differ among themselves in the nature of the goal toward which they want to direct the efforts of society. (63)
A: [They] differ among themselves in the nature of the goal toward which they want to direct the efforts of society. (63)
Kelsey Marsh: Ch.5
"The cry for an economic dictator is a characteristic stage in the movement toward planning."
Q: Does the want for an economic dictator which moves you towards planning, knowing that competition determines the plans, mean that you can co-exsist a plan against the competition with no plan, since democracy has the plan against the competition (the dictator) and the dictatorship really has no plan except for that of the dictator himself?
"Hitler did not have to destroy democracy; he merely took advantage of the decay of democracy and at the critical moment obtained the support of many to whom, though they detested Hitler, he yet seemed the only man strong enough to get things done"(76). (Good Quote! Its an interesting way of thinking one i haven't thought of before).
A: Basically you have no plan and a plan against competition at the same time because the democracy in this case works together as a whole using a plan against competition and the dictator himself is the competition while the people who are under his rule have no plan because they have no say in anything due to living under a dictatorship. For example Hitler was the competition and everybody against him came up with a plan against competiton by working as a whole to cancel out his plans, while the nazi's really had no plan because they were just following the dictator.
Q: Does the want for an economic dictator which moves you towards planning, knowing that competition determines the plans, mean that you can co-exsist a plan against the competition with no plan, since democracy has the plan against the competition (the dictator) and the dictatorship really has no plan except for that of the dictator himself?
"Hitler did not have to destroy democracy; he merely took advantage of the decay of democracy and at the critical moment obtained the support of many to whom, though they detested Hitler, he yet seemed the only man strong enough to get things done"(76). (Good Quote! Its an interesting way of thinking one i haven't thought of before).
A: Basically you have no plan and a plan against competition at the same time because the democracy in this case works together as a whole using a plan against competition and the dictator himself is the competition while the people who are under his rule have no plan because they have no say in anything due to living under a dictatorship. For example Hitler was the competition and everybody against him came up with a plan against competiton by working as a whole to cancel out his plans, while the nazi's really had no plan because they were just following the dictator.
Erin C-4
Q: "Most [planners] affirm that we can no longer choose but are compelled by circumstances beyond our control to substitute planning for competition." (49) Why is this argument rarely developed?
A: [I]t is one of the assertions taken over by one writer from another until, by by mere iteration, it has come to be accepted as an established fact. It is, nevertheless, devoid oa any 'objective facts' beyind our control but the product of opinions fostered and propagated for half a century until they have come to dominate all our policy." (49)
A: [I]t is one of the assertions taken over by one writer from another until, by by mere iteration, it has come to be accepted as an established fact. It is, nevertheless, devoid oa any 'objective facts' beyind our control but the product of opinions fostered and propagated for half a century until they have come to dominate all our policy." (49)
Kelsey Marsh: Ch. 4
Q: The people who believe that competition determines the plans, do they make a plan at all or just make one around the competition?
A: If they dont make a plan at all they automatically amount to failure. However if they make a plan based on and around the competition they are merely predicting a course of action according to what they think will happen which in the end could also lead to failure since there is no telling what will happen in the future. So i guess basically you have to decide which failure has less consequences.
A: If they dont make a plan at all they automatically amount to failure. However if they make a plan based on and around the competition they are merely predicting a course of action according to what they think will happen which in the end could also lead to failure since there is no telling what will happen in the future. So i guess basically you have to decide which failure has less consequences.
Jesselman chapter 7
Q: What can be seen as a plus of a free economy?
A: "Once we realize that there is no separate economic motive and that an economic gain or economic loss is merely a gain or a loss where it is still in our power to decide which of our needs or desires shall be affected, it is also easier to see the important kernal of truth in the general belief that economic matters affect only the less important ends of life and to understand the contempt in which 'merely' economic considerations are often held. In a sense this is quite justified in a market economy - but only in such a free economy. So long as we can freely dispose over our income and all our possessions, economic loss will always deprive us only of what we regard as the least important of the desires we were able to satisfy"(99).
A: "Once we realize that there is no separate economic motive and that an economic gain or economic loss is merely a gain or a loss where it is still in our power to decide which of our needs or desires shall be affected, it is also easier to see the important kernal of truth in the general belief that economic matters affect only the less important ends of life and to understand the contempt in which 'merely' economic considerations are often held. In a sense this is quite justified in a market economy - but only in such a free economy. So long as we can freely dispose over our income and all our possessions, economic loss will always deprive us only of what we regard as the least important of the desires we were able to satisfy"(99).
Jesselman chapter 6
Q:How can recognition of individual rights lose significance in a state with complete economic control?
A:"It has been shown [in various Central Europeean countries] that it is possible to pursue a policy of ruthless discrimination against national minorities by the use of recognized intruments of economic policy without ever infringing the letter of the statuatory protection of minority rights.This oppression by means of economic policy was greatly facilitated by the fact that particular industries or activities were largely in the hands of a national minority, so that many a measure aimed obstensibly against an industry or class was in fact aimed at a national minority"(96).
A:"It has been shown [in various Central Europeean countries] that it is possible to pursue a policy of ruthless discrimination against national minorities by the use of recognized intruments of economic policy without ever infringing the letter of the statuatory protection of minority rights.This oppression by means of economic policy was greatly facilitated by the fact that particular industries or activities were largely in the hands of a national minority, so that many a measure aimed obstensibly against an industry or class was in fact aimed at a national minority"(96).
Jesselman chapter 5
Q: what is one of the problems of democracy?
A: "It may be the unanimously expressed will fo the people that its parliment should prepare a comprehensive economic plan, yet neither the people nor its representatives need therefore be able to argee on any particular plan. THe inability of democratic assemblies to carry out what seems to be a clear mandate of the people will inevitabley cause dissatisfaction with democratic institutions. Parliments come to be regarded as ineffective"talking shops," unable or incompetent to carry out the tasks for which they have been chosen. The conviction grows that if efficient planning is to be done, the direction must be "taken out of politics" and placed in the hands of experts - permanent officials or independent autonomous bodies"(69-70).
A: "It may be the unanimously expressed will fo the people that its parliment should prepare a comprehensive economic plan, yet neither the people nor its representatives need therefore be able to argee on any particular plan. THe inability of democratic assemblies to carry out what seems to be a clear mandate of the people will inevitabley cause dissatisfaction with democratic institutions. Parliments come to be regarded as ineffective"talking shops," unable or incompetent to carry out the tasks for which they have been chosen. The conviction grows that if efficient planning is to be done, the direction must be "taken out of politics" and placed in the hands of experts - permanent officials or independent autonomous bodies"(69-70).
Jesselman chapter 4
Q: where does the movement for planning get its present strength and what is a problem with it?
A:"the movement for planning owes its present strength largely to the fact that, while planning is in the main still an ambition, it unites almost all the single-minded idealists, all the men and women who have devoted their lives to a sinlge task. The hopes they place in plannning, however, are the result not of a comprehensive view of our society but rather of a very limited view and often the result of a great exaggeration of the importance of the events they place foremost. This is not to underrate the great pragmatic value of this type of men in a free society like ours, which makes them the subject of just admiration. But it would make the very men who are most anxious to plan society the most dangerous if they were allowed to do so - and the most intolerant of the planning of others" (62).
A:"the movement for planning owes its present strength largely to the fact that, while planning is in the main still an ambition, it unites almost all the single-minded idealists, all the men and women who have devoted their lives to a sinlge task. The hopes they place in plannning, however, are the result not of a comprehensive view of our society but rather of a very limited view and often the result of a great exaggeration of the importance of the events they place foremost. This is not to underrate the great pragmatic value of this type of men in a free society like ours, which makes them the subject of just admiration. But it would make the very men who are most anxious to plan society the most dangerous if they were allowed to do so - and the most intolerant of the planning of others" (62).
Victor Tran Ch.7
Q:What is the aim of planning?
A:"[T]he professed aim of planningwould be that man should cease to be mere means...since it would be impossible it take account in the plan of individual likes and dislikes-the individual becomes mere means, the be used by authority in the service of such abstractions as the "social welfare" or the "good of the community""(p.106).
A:"[T]he professed aim of planningwould be that man should cease to be mere means...since it would be impossible it take account in the plan of individual likes and dislikes-the individual becomes mere means, the be used by authority in the service of such abstractions as the "social welfare" or the "good of the community""(p.106).
Austendo's chapters 4 through 7
I am posting austen's questions because he is on vacation and not exposed to internet.
Chapter 4
Q- Why does our society prefer a slow, broad afvance to our goals over a focusing all of our energies on a single aspect?
A - The movement toward planning tends to separate and delegate authority and responsibility in groups and governments. Today's government is and example. Instead of the entirety of the system focusing on only education, for example, and nothing else, we have set aside a special group focused solely on developing education. The separate judicial, legislative and executive branches delegate and spread the efforts to accomplish many things at once." we all find it difficult to bear to see things left undone which everybody must admit are both desirable and possible"(60).
Chapter 5
Q-Why is the 'common good' not an adequete term to use when trying to organize a society?
A-Saying "we are working towards the commonn good" sounds nice and helpful, but it does not give a specific goal to focus on. "the welfare of the people, like the happiness of a man, depends on a great many things that can be provided in an infinite variety of combinations"(64). Yet all the members of that societymay not have the same ideals that provide for their own personal good. In order to find what would provide for said common good, "every one of our needs [must be] given its rank un an order of values..."(64)
Chapter 6
Q- The Rule of Law is, "that government in all its actions is bound by rules fixed and anounced beforehard"(80). Following this rule, what would the converse of this Law be?
A- If the Rule of Law states that governments have to follow rules made beforehand, then the converso would be ex post facto, to validate actions after they have occured.
Chapter 7
Q- There is no questions that our society could relieve much of the trouble and discord in the world. Yet, why is little or no action taken to solve solvable problems?
A Without a doubt, we could solve many problems in today's society. THe question is, "are we willing to pay the price necessary". "to take only one exapmle: we could, of course, reduce the casualties by automobile accidents to zero if we were willing to bear the cost - if in no other way- by abolishing automobiles. And the same is true of thousands of other instances in which we are constantly risking life and health and all the fine values fo the spirit, of ourselves and of our fellow- men, to further what we at the same time contempltuously describe as our material comfort"(107). We have to be able to sacrifice our own comforts to help better society.
Chapter 4
Q- Why does our society prefer a slow, broad afvance to our goals over a focusing all of our energies on a single aspect?
A - The movement toward planning tends to separate and delegate authority and responsibility in groups and governments. Today's government is and example. Instead of the entirety of the system focusing on only education, for example, and nothing else, we have set aside a special group focused solely on developing education. The separate judicial, legislative and executive branches delegate and spread the efforts to accomplish many things at once." we all find it difficult to bear to see things left undone which everybody must admit are both desirable and possible"(60).
Chapter 5
Q-Why is the 'common good' not an adequete term to use when trying to organize a society?
A-Saying "we are working towards the commonn good" sounds nice and helpful, but it does not give a specific goal to focus on. "the welfare of the people, like the happiness of a man, depends on a great many things that can be provided in an infinite variety of combinations"(64). Yet all the members of that societymay not have the same ideals that provide for their own personal good. In order to find what would provide for said common good, "every one of our needs [must be] given its rank un an order of values..."(64)
Chapter 6
Q- The Rule of Law is, "that government in all its actions is bound by rules fixed and anounced beforehard"(80). Following this rule, what would the converse of this Law be?
A- If the Rule of Law states that governments have to follow rules made beforehand, then the converso would be ex post facto, to validate actions after they have occured.
Chapter 7
Q- There is no questions that our society could relieve much of the trouble and discord in the world. Yet, why is little or no action taken to solve solvable problems?
A Without a doubt, we could solve many problems in today's society. THe question is, "are we willing to pay the price necessary". "to take only one exapmle: we could, of course, reduce the casualties by automobile accidents to zero if we were willing to bear the cost - if in no other way- by abolishing automobiles. And the same is true of thousands of other instances in which we are constantly risking life and health and all the fine values fo the spirit, of ourselves and of our fellow- men, to further what we at the same time contempltuously describe as our material comfort"(107). We have to be able to sacrifice our own comforts to help better society.
Victor Tran Ch.6
Q: What does it mean when stated that "in a society the Rule of Law cannot hold"?
A: "It means only that the use of the government's coercive powers will no longer be limited and determined by pre-established rules"( p. 91)
A: "It means only that the use of the government's coercive powers will no longer be limited and determined by pre-established rules"( p. 91)
Jordan Kellner : Chp7
q- What is a "merely" economic loss?
a- "A merely economic loss is thus one whose effect we can still make fall on our less important needs, while we say the value of something we have lost is much greater then its economic value or that it cannot even be estimated in economic terms." (99)
a- "A merely economic loss is thus one whose effect we can still make fall on our less important needs, while we say the value of something we have lost is much greater then its economic value or that it cannot even be estimated in economic terms." (99)
Jordan Kellner: Chp6
q- What does economic planning of the collectivist involve?
a- "The planning authority cannot confine itself to providing opportunites for unknown people to make whatever use of them they like. " (82)
a- "The planning authority cannot confine itself to providing opportunites for unknown people to make whatever use of them they like. " (82)
Jordan Kellner : Chp5
q- How do the various kinds of collectivism, communism, fascism, ect. differ from liberalism and individualism?
a- "They differ in wanting to organize the whole of society and its rescources for unitary end and in refusing to reconize autonomous in which the of individuals are suprememe." (63)
a- "They differ in wanting to organize the whole of society and its rescources for unitary end and in refusing to reconize autonomous in which the of individuals are suprememe." (63)
Jordan Kellner : Chp 4
q- What is the most frequent arguement employed to demonstrate the inevitabilty of planning?
a- "The one most frequently heard is that technological changes have made competition impossisible in a constantly increasing number of fields and that the only choice left to us is between control by private monopolies and direction by the government." (49)
a- "The one most frequently heard is that technological changes have made competition impossisible in a constantly increasing number of fields and that the only choice left to us is between control by private monopolies and direction by the government." (49)
Victor Tran Ch. 5
Q: What is one one of the complaints given bt socialist critics?
A:"[O]ur present society lacks such "conscious" direction toward a single aim, that its activities are guided by the whims and fancies of irresponsible individuals, has always been one of the main conplains of its socialist critics"(p.63).
A:"[O]ur present society lacks such "conscious" direction toward a single aim, that its activities are guided by the whims and fancies of irresponsible individuals, has always been one of the main conplains of its socialist critics"(p.63).
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Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Dinh Chapter 7
Q: What is a(n) "merely" economic loss?
A: "A 'merely' economic loss is thus one whose effect we can still make fall on our less important needs, while when we say that the value of something we have lost is much freater than its economic value, or that it cannot even be estimated in economic terms, this means that we must bear the loss where it falls" (99, 100).
A: "A 'merely' economic loss is thus one whose effect we can still make fall on our less important needs, while when we say that the value of something we have lost is much freater than its economic value, or that it cannot even be estimated in economic terms, this means that we must bear the loss where it falls" (99, 100).
Dinh Chapter 6
Q: What are the two forms of the argument Hayek refers to in chapter 6?
A: The first way the reader can view the argument is through economics, where Hayek states that "the state should confine itself to establishing rules applying to general types of situation and should allow the individuals freedom in everything which depends on the circumstances of time and place, because only the individuals concerned in each instance can fully known these circumstances and adapt their actions to them" (83, 84). The second form is moral or political. "If the state is precisely to foresee the incidence of its actions, it means that it can leace those affected no choice" (84).
A: The first way the reader can view the argument is through economics, where Hayek states that "the state should confine itself to establishing rules applying to general types of situation and should allow the individuals freedom in everything which depends on the circumstances of time and place, because only the individuals concerned in each instance can fully known these circumstances and adapt their actions to them" (83, 84). The second form is moral or political. "If the state is precisely to foresee the incidence of its actions, it means that it can leace those affected no choice" (84).
Dinh Chapter 5
Q: When will the "precise goal" Hayek speak of come about?
A: According to him, "the question of the precise goal toward which all activity is to be directed will arise as soon as the executive power has to translate the demand for a single plan into a particular plan" (69).
A: According to him, "the question of the precise goal toward which all activity is to be directed will arise as soon as the executive power has to translate the demand for a single plan into a particular plan" (69).
Dinh Chapter 4
Q: What is required if the details of changes that constantly affects the conditions of demand and supply of different commodoties can never be recognized?
A: "what is required is some apparatus of registration which automatically records all the relevant effects of individual actions and whose indications are at the same time the resultant of, and the guide for, all the individual decisions" (55).
A: "what is required is some apparatus of registration which automatically records all the relevant effects of individual actions and whose indications are at the same time the resultant of, and the guide for, all the individual decisions" (55).
Charlie C-7
Q:
What situation did progressive division make and became necessary now?
A:
"...the progressive division of labor has created a situation where almost every one of our activities is part of a social process. This is a development which we cannot reverse, since it is only because of it that we can maintain the vastly increased population at anything like present standards." (Page 110)
What situation did progressive division make and became necessary now?
A:
"...the progressive division of labor has created a situation where almost every one of our activities is part of a social process. This is a development which we cannot reverse, since it is only because of it that we can maintain the vastly increased population at anything like present standards." (Page 110)
Charlie C-6
Q:
How do the formal rules work?
A:
"The formal rules tell people in advance what action the state will take in certain types of situation, defined in general terms, without reference to time and place or particular people. They refer to typical situations into which anyone may get and in which the existence of such rules will be useful for a great variety of individual purposes." (Page 82-83)
How do the formal rules work?
A:
"The formal rules tell people in advance what action the state will take in certain types of situation, defined in general terms, without reference to time and place or particular people. They refer to typical situations into which anyone may get and in which the existence of such rules will be useful for a great variety of individual purposes." (Page 82-83)
Charlie C-5
Q:
Is Democracy a means to a higher political end?
A:
"It cannot be said of democracy, as Lord Acton truly said of liberty, that it 'is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end." (Page 78)
Is Democracy a means to a higher political end?
A:
"It cannot be said of democracy, as Lord Acton truly said of liberty, that it 'is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end." (Page 78)
Charlie C-4
Q:
"It contends not that modern technique destroys competition but that, on the contrary, it will be impossible to make use of many of the new technological possibilities unless protection against competition is granted."
What wrong point of view is this statement possibly based on?
A:
"...it is probably based on a confusion between technical excellence from a narrow engineering point of view and desirability from the point of view of society as a whole." (Page 57)
"It contends not that modern technique destroys competition but that, on the contrary, it will be impossible to make use of many of the new technological possibilities unless protection against competition is granted."
What wrong point of view is this statement possibly based on?
A:
"...it is probably based on a confusion between technical excellence from a narrow engineering point of view and desirability from the point of view of society as a whole." (Page 57)
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Ellen Ch 4
Q: Why are so many technical experts ‘planners’
A: “That there is little question that almost every one of the technical ideals of our experts could be realized within a comparatively short time if to achieve them were made the sole aim of humanity" (Hayek 57).
By Ellen
A: “That there is little question that almost every one of the technical ideals of our experts could be realized within a comparatively short time if to achieve them were made the sole aim of humanity" (Hayek 57).
By Ellen
Ellen Ch 5
Q: What forms the essence of the individualist position?
A: "The recognition of the individual as the ultimate judge of his ends, the belief that as far as possible his own views ought to govern his actions" (Hayek 66) .
By Ellen
A: "The recognition of the individual as the ultimate judge of his ends, the belief that as far as possible his own views ought to govern his actions" (Hayek 66) .
By Ellen
Ellen Ch 6
Q: How does the rule of law limit the scope of legislation?
A: “It restricts it to the kind of general rules known as formal law and excludes legislation either directly aimed at particular people or at enabling anybody to use the coercive powers of the state for the purpose of such discrimination. It means, not everything is regulated by law, but, on the contrary, that the coercive power of the state can be used only in case defined in advance by the law and in such a way that it can be foreseen how it will be used” (Hayek 92).
By Ellen
A: “It restricts it to the kind of general rules known as formal law and excludes legislation either directly aimed at particular people or at enabling anybody to use the coercive powers of the state for the purpose of such discrimination. It means, not everything is regulated by law, but, on the contrary, that the coercive power of the state can be used only in case defined in advance by the law and in such a way that it can be foreseen how it will be used” (Hayek 92).
By Ellen
Victor Tran Ch. 4
Q: What has made competition impossible?
A: [T]echnologicalchanges have made competition impossible in an constantly increasing number of feilds and that the only choice left to us is between control of production by private monopolies abd direction by the government"(p.49).
A: [T]echnologicalchanges have made competition impossible in an constantly increasing number of feilds and that the only choice left to us is between control of production by private monopolies abd direction by the government"(p.49).
Michelle Ch 7
Q: Why does a monopoly take away our freedom of choice?
A: “Our freedom of choice in a competitive society rests on the face that, if one person refuses to satisfy our wishes, we can turn to another. But if we face a monopolist we are at his mercy. And an authority directing the whole economic system would be the most powerful monopolist conceivable" (Hayek 102).
By Michelle
A: “Our freedom of choice in a competitive society rests on the face that, if one person refuses to satisfy our wishes, we can turn to another. But if we face a monopolist we are at his mercy. And an authority directing the whole economic system would be the most powerful monopolist conceivable" (Hayek 102).
By Michelle
Michelle Ch 6
Q: How is formal law different from substantive rules?
A: “The difference between the two kinds of rules is the same as that between laying down a Rule of the Road, as in the Highway Code, and ordering people where to go: or, better still, between providing signposts and commanding people which road to take” (Hayek 82) .
By Michelle
A: “The difference between the two kinds of rules is the same as that between laying down a Rule of the Road, as in the Highway Code, and ordering people where to go: or, better still, between providing signposts and commanding people which road to take” (Hayek 82) .
By Michelle
Michelle Ch 5
Q: What problems would arise if a complete ethical code were to exist?
A: It “would raise innumerable questions to which the answer could be provided only by a moral rule, but to which the answer could be provided only by a moral rule, but to which existing morals have no answer and where there exists no agreed view on what ought to be done. People will have either no definite views or conflicting views on such questions, because in the free society in which we have lived there has been no occasion to think about them and still less to form common opinions about them” (Hayek 65) .
By Michelle
A: It “would raise innumerable questions to which the answer could be provided only by a moral rule, but to which the answer could be provided only by a moral rule, but to which existing morals have no answer and where there exists no agreed view on what ought to be done. People will have either no definite views or conflicting views on such questions, because in the free society in which we have lived there has been no occasion to think about them and still less to form common opinions about them” (Hayek 65) .
By Michelle
Ellen Ch 7
Q: Is the phrase; ‘political freedom is meaningless without economic freedom?’ correct?
A: “This is true enough, but in a sense almost opposite from that in which the phrase is used by our planners. The economic freedom which is the prerequisite of any other freedom cannot be the freedom from economic care which the socialists promise us and which can be obtained by relieving the individual at the same time of the necessity and of the power of choice; it must be the freedom of our economic activity which, with the right of choice, inevitably also carries the risk and the responsibility of that right” (Hayek 110 -111).
By Ellen
A: “This is true enough, but in a sense almost opposite from that in which the phrase is used by our planners. The economic freedom which is the prerequisite of any other freedom cannot be the freedom from economic care which the socialists promise us and which can be obtained by relieving the individual at the same time of the necessity and of the power of choice; it must be the freedom of our economic activity which, with the right of choice, inevitably also carries the risk and the responsibility of that right” (Hayek 110 -111).
By Ellen
Michelle Ch 4
Q: Why would the industrial system not grow if it had to rely on conscious central planning?
A: The “method of central direction is incredibly clumsy, primitive and limited in scope. That the division of labor had reached the extent which makes modern civilization possible we owe to the fact that it did not have to be consciously created by that man tumbled on a method by which the division of labor could be extended far beyond the limits within which it could have been planned” (Hayek 56).
By Michelle
A: The “method of central direction is incredibly clumsy, primitive and limited in scope. That the division of labor had reached the extent which makes modern civilization possible we owe to the fact that it did not have to be consciously created by that man tumbled on a method by which the division of labor could be extended far beyond the limits within which it could have been planned” (Hayek 56).
By Michelle
Monday, June 25, 2007
Alyssum: Chp7
Q- Why are economic values less important to us than many things?
A- "Precisely because in economic matters we are free to decide what to us is more and what less important. Or as we might say because in present society ot is we who have to solve the economic prioblems of our lives." (p.100)
A- "Precisely because in economic matters we are free to decide what to us is more and what less important. Or as we might say because in present society ot is we who have to solve the economic prioblems of our lives." (p.100)
Alyssum: Chp6
Q- In order for the Rule of law to be effective what should be applied?
A- "A rule should be applied always without exceptions than what this rule is. Often the content of the rule is indeed of minor importance, provided the same rule is univerasally enforced." (p.88)
A- "A rule should be applied always without exceptions than what this rule is. Often the content of the rule is indeed of minor importance, provided the same rule is univerasally enforced." (p.88)
Alyssum: Chp5
Q- What is the fundamental fact on which the whole philosophy of individualism is based?
A- ""The limits of our powers of imagination make it impossible to include in our scale of values more then a sector of the needs of the whole society and that since strictly speaking, scales of value can exist only in individual minds nothing but partial scales of value exist- scales which are inevitably different and often inconsistent with each other." (p.66)
A- ""The limits of our powers of imagination make it impossible to include in our scale of values more then a sector of the needs of the whole society and that since strictly speaking, scales of value can exist only in individual minds nothing but partial scales of value exist- scales which are inevitably different and often inconsistent with each other." (p.66)
Alyssum : Chp4
Q- What manner can the assertion that modern technological progress makes planning inevitable be interpreted?
A- "It may mean that the complexity of our own modern industrial civilization creates new problems with which we cannot hope to deal effectively except by central planning". (p. 54)
A- "It may mean that the complexity of our own modern industrial civilization creates new problems with which we cannot hope to deal effectively except by central planning". (p. 54)
Melanie- Ch 7
Q: What is "economic motive" (in "ordinary language")?
A: "What in ordinary language is misleadingly called the 'economic motive' means merely the desire for general opportunity, the desire for power to achieve unspecified ends" (98)
A: "What in ordinary language is misleadingly called the 'economic motive' means merely the desire for general opportunity, the desire for power to achieve unspecified ends" (98)
Melanie- Ch 6
Q: What is the Rule of Law?
A: "Nothing distinguishes more clearly conditions in a free country from those in a country under arbitrary government than the observance in the former of the great principles known as the Rule of Law. Stripped of all technicalities, this means that government in all its actions is bound by rules fixed and announced beforehand--rules which make it possible to foresee with fair certainty how the authority will use its coercive powers in given circumstances and to plan one's individual affairs on the basis of this knowledge"(80).
A: "Nothing distinguishes more clearly conditions in a free country from those in a country under arbitrary government than the observance in the former of the great principles known as the Rule of Law. Stripped of all technicalities, this means that government in all its actions is bound by rules fixed and announced beforehand--rules which make it possible to foresee with fair certainty how the authority will use its coercive powers in given circumstances and to plan one's individual affairs on the basis of this knowledge"(80).
Melanie- Ch5
Q: How can the common features of all collectivist systems be described?
A: "The common features of all collectivist systems may be described, in a phrase ever dear to socialists of all schools, as the deliberate organization of the labors of society for a definite social goal"(63).
A: "The common features of all collectivist systems may be described, in a phrase ever dear to socialists of all schools, as the deliberate organization of the labors of society for a definite social goal"(63).
Melanie- Ch 4
Q: What is the alleged technological cause of the growth of monopoly?
A: "The alleged technological cause of the growth of monopoly is the superiority of the large firm over the small, owing to the greater efficiency of modern methods of mass production"(50).
A: "The alleged technological cause of the growth of monopoly is the superiority of the large firm over the small, owing to the greater efficiency of modern methods of mass production"(50).
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Mr. Hughes needs everyone who has posted (NOT MERELY ACCEPTED THE INVITATION) to post their name (first/last) next to their email address. In this way, I can remove those who failed to post by the deadline.
We are keeping everyone who posted so far, as that should be enought to have a whole class. Do this ASAP so I can tell Mr. Suda to change the class role, as he is scheduling now.
Thanks for your prompt attention.
We are keeping everyone who posted so far, as that should be enought to have a whole class. Do this ASAP so I can tell Mr. Suda to change the class role, as he is scheduling now.
Thanks for your prompt attention.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Kelsey Marsh - Ch. 3
Q: "The socialist believe in two things which are absolutely different and perhaps contradictory: freedom and organization." (p.37) How are freedom and organization essentially the same?
A:In order to have freedom you must have organization. Organizing rules and regulations is in fact organizing freedom. The rules and regulations set boundaries within which people need to live to ensure their continued freedom. Just because socialist use organization in a different sense doesnt mean freedom and organization are opposite.
A:In order to have freedom you must have organization. Organizing rules and regulations is in fact organizing freedom. The rules and regulations set boundaries within which people need to live to ensure their continued freedom. Just because socialist use organization in a different sense doesnt mean freedom and organization are opposite.
Jordan Kellner
Q: How Does Hayek say is an argument for individualism?
A: "it is subtle insophitcation; it is the indirect rational argument" (xii)
Q: What does he mean by the Road to Serfdom?
A: It means that we may lead to a world controlled by a head master, also know as Serfdom. It is that we are forced to be ruled and not to have total freedom out of our own free will.
Q:What does the Laissez Farie relate to the book?
A: It is some what of an anarchy related document that defies the norm of the government and wished to change it to a government and/or economy that the rebels of government see fit in their image.
A: "it is subtle insophitcation; it is the indirect rational argument" (xii)
Q: What does he mean by the Road to Serfdom?
A: It means that we may lead to a world controlled by a head master, also know as Serfdom. It is that we are forced to be ruled and not to have total freedom out of our own free will.
Q:What does the Laissez Farie relate to the book?
A: It is some what of an anarchy related document that defies the norm of the government and wished to change it to a government and/or economy that the rebels of government see fit in their image.
Austendo Chapter Three
Q: What is the real problem that educated people see in socialism.
A: While the average American hears socialism and thinks, "Fire, bad," those who study the concept of socialism know that the ideas that the system strives for are very similar to America's ideals. "It may mean, and is often used to describe, merely the ideals of social justice, greater equality, and security, which are the ultimate aims of socialism." (p. 37) The problem, then, is the means by which this state of equality and security is attained. "[...] socialism means the abolition of private enterprise, of private ownership of the means of production, and the creation of a system of 'planned economy' in which the entrepreneur working for profit is replaced by a central planning body." (p. 37) To have the security and equality that socialism promises, we must relinquish our individual freedoms and powers.
A: While the average American hears socialism and thinks, "Fire, bad," those who study the concept of socialism know that the ideas that the system strives for are very similar to America's ideals. "It may mean, and is often used to describe, merely the ideals of social justice, greater equality, and security, which are the ultimate aims of socialism." (p. 37) The problem, then, is the means by which this state of equality and security is attained. "[...] socialism means the abolition of private enterprise, of private ownership of the means of production, and the creation of a system of 'planned economy' in which the entrepreneur working for profit is replaced by a central planning body." (p. 37) To have the security and equality that socialism promises, we must relinquish our individual freedoms and powers.
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