History Essay 20

(1) Discuss two weak points in the views of Karl Marx, and explain what’s wrong with them.

Karl Marx believed that socialism would become the normal economy for the world, that the state would fade away, leaving only the people. Marx also said that the individual would get to choose what type of labor he wanted to do, because no one should have that right taken away. The first problem I see with this view is that if everyday someone feels like moving to a different job how stable is the economy going to be and how much labor is actually going to be produced? If everyone sticks to one thing and becomes really good at it, they will more likely succeed in that trade. If your moving around to please your instant gratification your not going to be as good at a trade as if you would have stuck with one for a substantial amount of time. The second problem is if the state is gone who is going to plan the economy? Trying to get everyone on one plan would be difficult and a majority rules plan would not satisfy everyone, which is what happens with the state anyway.

Marx believed in the labor theory of value, which is when a product’s value is based on the amount of labor put into it. Marx thought that when you traded something it was of equal value, however this is not the case. When you trade something you are trying to get a better deal and we don’t value things based on the amount of labor put into it, it is instead based on how important it is to us. If everything was of the same value based on labor then we would have no reason to trade. When we trade, money for food, I value the food more because it is going to keep me alive, instead of the money which is a very powerful tool.

(2) What were Herbert Spencer’s views, as you encountered them in the reading for this week? Does he deserve to be called a “Social Darwinist”?

Herbert Spencer was a libertarian who did not support government welfare programs, instead he supported private charities. Many people had distorted Herbert Spencer’s image because of this and called him a Social Darwinist, which is the belief that rich people will thrive and the poor people will die in a free market society. Herbert Spencer does not deserve to be called a Social Darwinist because only supporting private charities is not the same as saying, “Let the poor people die.”

History Essay 19

(1) What happened in France during the Revolution of 1830?

Before the 1830’s where revolts were happening all around the world, Charles X became king and during the elections in 1827 it held mostly Liberals and Moderates. Instead Charles drew from his own officials from the Ultras. In 1830 Charles dissolved the chamber of deputies, and reduced the number of eligible votes to 23,000. This resulted in people protesting in the streets leading to Charles being deposed, who was replaced with Louis Philippe. Artisans were upset about the of free market economics and demanded that Louis put an end to labor saving machinery, which they broke.

(2) Were the Revolutions of 1848 successful or unsuccessful? Discuss two examples.

After the abdication of Louis Philippe, Louis Napoleon, becomes President, who was the nephew of Napoleon. He titles himself Napoleon III, Emperor of France in 1852. Napoleon III banned political assemblies but instead people had banquets that was a disguise for political assemblies. When Napoleon III tried to stop one of these banquets, a revolution broke out.

In Austria, news of the revolutions in Paris stirred up some riots in Vienna and the Austrian emperor Ferdinand I decides to abdicate in favor of his teenage grandson, Franz Joseph. Austria had been rioting for autonomy, without a lot of government intervention lead by Milan and Venice, Slavic people and Hungarians. While they will ultimately fail because of the help of the Russians to put down the riots.

History Essay 18

(1) Summarize the arguments either of Spencer or Molinari (whichever one you read this week).

Gustave de Molinari was a classical liberal thinker who hated government monopolies. He believed that when the government took over a trade of any kind and had no competition, the quality of the trade went down, while the price was unreasonably high. He believed in a free market, where everyone was pushing everyone else to do better with their trade. Molinari had no exceptions to this argument and believed that things worked better when the government stayed out of it.

(3) What were the characteristics of neoclassicism? Give one example of neoclassicism and show how it embodies at least one of these characteristics.

Neoclassicism is the Western movement where artists took inspiration from classical works of art. Many art forms were applied, music, writing, painting, theater, etc. Neoclassicists were focused on balance, structure, symmetry and reason. In the Oath Of The Horatii by Jacques Louis David you can see that the main focus point is in the center, with figures on both sides balancing out the painting.

(4) What were the characteristics of Romanticism? Give one example of Romanticism and show how it embodies at least one of these characteristics.

Romanticism was the art form that was more focused on emotions rather than reason. It saw beauty in a different angle than Neoclassicism. It focused on individuals, emotions and spirituality. Hector Berlioz was a composer during the Romantic period and his Symphonie Fantastique was a symphony with five movements. It was a story about the woman he loved and focused on his emotions and the music told his story.

History Essay 17

(1) What does the evidence show about education in England before the compulsory state system was established?

Before schools became a requirement from the government in 1870 in England most of the youth was given some form of education. Around 95% of fifteen year old’s were already literate and the rate of literacy kept growing. Most parents were already paying for their children’s education. When schooling was made compulsory by the government and public schools opened, parents switched schools because they didn’t have to pay for it any longer.

(2) What is classical liberalism?

Classical liberalism is the idea of individualism and limited government. Instead of relying on the government for everything, classic liberals believed that society thrived on it’s own without much interference from the government. They believed that the government existed to help protect and defend the rights of men, instead of using people for the states benefit. Classic liberalism defends the right of an individuals freedom of speech, religious freedom, the right to own private property, and protect the individuality of the citizen.

(3) Choose one of the works discussed in lesson 83 and explain how it reflects the principles of classical liberalism.

The Petition of the Candlemakers is a satirical work written by a French liberal author, Fredrick Bastiat. It describes the candlemakers complaining that they have an unfair competitor, the sun, because the sun gives off free light during the day. At night people need candles but during the day people won’t use candles, therefore they don’t use as many candles, so the candlemakers can’t sell as many candles as they would if the sun were gone. For their defense against the tyranny of the sun, they want the government to make it illegal to open windows during the day to let light in, so they have to use more candles. This is a ridiculous story that everyone would scoff at, but Bastiat is making a point against the fallacies of competition. This is a comparison of how the government raises import taxes on foreign goods to produce more domestic trade. This goes against a free market economy where people are free to sell and buy what they please, which Bastiat was in support of.

English Essay 15

“Why did Robinson Crusoe take the coins off the ship?”

In Daniel Defoe’s popular novel, Robinson Crusoe, he had been shipwrecked on a deserted island since chapter three. After everything that Robinson Crusoe goes through, rebelling against his father to go to sea, being a slave, owning a plantation, and finally getting shipwrecked it seems like this is the end. It seems like there is no hope and he is all alone, but there is one sliver of hope left, the ship. When Robinson Crusoe was shipwrecked there were no survivors other than him, leaving him all of the loot from the ship for himself. He got the important materials that would help him survive on the island, continuing to go back and forth from the ship to the island until the ship eventually sunk.

Daniel Defoe was clever in how he wrote this section of the book as a journal, it gives details that would be boring in the form of dialogue. I believe he can get away with this because in a personal journal it’s purpose is not to capture wonder or excitement, it is to record the daily events of a persons life, which in most cases are very basic. Robinson Crusoe grabbed lots of things from the ship. Clothes, food, tools, a Bible, weapons and something unexpected that was useless to him on the island, coins. Robinson Crusoe considered leaving the coins on the ship but decided against it, the question is why? It seems like he is going to be stuck on the island forever and they will have no use for him. He took the coins because he hoped that if a ship came by he could use them when he got back to society. After a few months with no signs of a ship, Robinson Crusoe gets discouraged and believes that he will be stuck on the island forever. Robinson Crusoe begins reading the Bible and after a while starts to not be despaired as he had before, he repents and thanks God for his deliverance. He finds peace which he had never had before in his life. He was always unsatisfied with his life trying to find where he was supposed to go, who he was supposed to be and he finally found peace on the island.

The story of Robinson Crusoe is about repentance and deliverance from one’s actions. It is like the prodigal son who returns home expecting to be turned into a lowly servant but is instead welcomed warmly back home. Robinson Crusoe experiences this with God, he had been running away for his whole life, who like Jonah did not care about God’s will. He did things on his own and time and time again things went wrong, the island was the last straw for him. He finally repented and sought after God with his heart, the same heart that was restless like a stormy sea with crashing waves had finally come to rest and found the contentment that had been missing.