Our Selfish Ways

"If the members of a large group rationally seek to maximize their personal welfare, they will not act to advance their common or group objectives unless there is coercion to force them to do so, or unless some separate incentive, distinct from the achievement of the common or group interest, is offered to the members of the group individually on the condition that they help bear the costs or burdens involved in the achievement of the group objectives."

Mancur Olsen

This passage point out the selfish ways of human. The author believes that even when an individual appears to be acting selflessly the reality is they are always going to work for something that benefits them n a personal level. In other words, an individual will not do anything that does not work to further their personal interest. When individuals unite to form a group of some sort it is in attempts to further their personal gain with the help of others and not in attempts to help the others of the group further their collective interest.

I believe there is truth in this quote. An individual will not join the fight of others unless they themselves are directly affected by the problem. Often we choose to stand by idling while others around us experience hardships. I do think that some good can come from this. Once we realize that we are affected and choose to join the action, one large collective voice is more powerful than a large number of single voices speaking for themselves. Forming groups provides the individuals with more force than they could develop independently. 

Purchasing Political Participation

In the wake of the Watergate affair, Congress attempted to ferret out corruption in political campaigns by restricting financial contributions to candidates. Among other things, the law set limits on the amount of money an individual could contribute to a single campaign and it required reporting of contributions above a certain threshold amount. The Federal Election Commission was created to enforce the statute.

Buckley v. Valero

Money is power. This simple phrase holds great truth when discussing the distribution of political influence in the United States, and probably all countries worldwide. Once elected, politicians often loose sight of their constituents, especially when they win an election with the helps of funds from wealthy campaign contributors. These contributions, more often than not, play a larger role in the decision making process of an elected official, than the constituents interest.

Large campaign contributors, such as the Koch Brothers and our very own former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, contribute extensive amount of money to political campaigns in effort to keep politicians in their pockets. In return of this financial backing, these contributors expect the politicians to work towards advancing the contributors personal agenda.

This case limited the amount of money individuals could contribute to candidates in effort to reduce this consequence and the abuse of political power both from the wealthy contributors and the elected politicians. Through their contributions the wealthy are able to gain much political influence and power without any direct political participation and so the court decided this limit did not infringe on the first amendment rights of the potential contributors. It was also decided that any contribution above a certain amount must be reported.

Alternative Energy Sources

We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.

C-SPAN: President Barack Obama 2009 Inauguration and Address

President Barack Obama is referring to the use of alternative energy sources. We remain highly dependent on oil usage and this is a tremendous issue especially when we consider that there is limited amount of oil found in United States soil. This makes the United States heavily dependent on the import of oil. Factories are large consumers of gas and great contributors of pollution. The damage inflicted on the environment because of the method of retrieval of the oil could be lessened if more families and companies turned to alternative energy sources.

Sadly, the reality remains that even though alternative energy sources are advancing and becoming more readily available the cost of alternative energy is as dreadful as the cost of using oil. The high cost of solar panels and energy efficient cars make this option less appealing too many. We suffered from high gas prices and even now the cost per gallon is close to $3. No one choice is the easier choice. They are both costly but alternative energy sources is the better choice for the environment. I believe it is crucial that the government take action to further advance and increase the usage of alternative energy sources. It is our responsibility to make sacrifices that decrease the negative impact endured by Mother Nature.  

Just Another Example of Abuse of Power

“…Democrats are under-represented by about 18 seats in the House, relative to their vote share in the 2012 election. The way Republicans pulled that off was to draw some really, really funky-looking Congressional districts.”

Christopher Ingranham

America’s Most Gerrymandered Congressional Districts

Gerrymandering allows politicians to effect the outcome of the elections. The impact of Gerrymandering is to such an extent that in the 2012 election republicans were able to win 18 more seats than democrats, even though the democrats actually earned about one million more votes than the republicans. Political parties draw the boundaries of congressional districts to increase the likelihood of election outcomes that better suit the party. Considering that we live in a country where the elected officials are there to represent us and not themselves or their party, I find no logical explanation as to why political parties have been permitted to exercise so much control over the outcome of elections.

While reading this I realized that gerrymandering has very similar negative effects of the electoral process. In both processes, the voters are left with elected officials that do not accurately represent the population but rather the interest of political parties. When looking at some of the shapes of the most gerrymandered districts I feel like I’m looking through the drawings of year old and who claims to have drawn a dog by scribbling senselessly without any real clue as to how to draw a dog. In this case though, the politicians claimed to have drawn congressional districts but really they just drew a bunch of weird shaped that lead to under-representation of a million voters. As voters, we should demand that politicians draw reasonable congressional lines to ensure that everyone’ vote matters and that the people decide who represents them, and not elected officials themselves.

Marshal

Differential status, associated with class, function, and family, was replaces by the single uniform status of citizenship, which provides the foundation of equality on which the structure of inequality can be built.

T.H Marshal

l

As citizen of a state, individuals are granted certain rights. Because there is no universal principle that is used to determine what these rights are, often times these rights will differ among states. Something all citizens will likely agree on is that citizenship grants these individuals the rights to engage as an independent unit in the economy. Citizenship, in theory, grants the individual the right to strive for success and function as another piece of the economy.

With the rising of the of citizenship, in theory, all start as equal and status and worth are no longer based on family or class. The dangers of inequality was relevant to many since the early stages of democracy. This new system allowed individuals, regardless if class and family, to strive to accomplish things previously out of reach. This passage shed light on a downside of citizenship and the free economy it enables. Citizenship and the free economy would be great, if the system did not make it possible for few to benefit at the cost of others. The very system set up to create equality contributes to the growth of inequality among citizens

Civil Disobedience

Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison. The proper place to-day, the only place which Massachusetts has provided for her freer and less desponding spirits, is in her prisons, to be put out and locked out of the State by her own act, as they have already put themselves out by their principles.

Civil Disobedience

Henry David Thoreau

Thoreau was uninterested in belonging to a state which misrepresented his beliefs and demonstrated disregard for human life and rights. In his discourse he specifically referred to his home state of Massachusetts. Thoreau writes about his night spent in jail after refusing to pay his poll-tax. He mentions that he refuses to pay this tax because he finds the service useless. He is willing and happily pays his highway taxes and helps support education because these services are necessary for the good of his neighbors. Thoreau believes voting is useless unless accompanied by action that demonstrates support for your vote. Voting creates a false illusion that you are taking action when in reality it is comparable to sitting back and doing nothing. In a nation where the majority rules, often times many will suffer unnecessarily before the majority realizes that change is necessary. Thoreau believes this flaw in the government and the way it is ran, slows down and often prevents progress from occurring. He acknowledges that often times the majorities opinion is not the right one. This led him to refuse to pay certain taxes because he believes it is wrong to blindly align oneself to government and support a government that is doing more harm than good simply to follow the majority and norms.

Thoreau accepted his time in jail with pride because his choice to stand up for what is right is what landed him there. He was an innocent man imprisoned for going against a flawed government and that he was proud of. As a prisoner he was viewed himself as freer than most of his neighbors because he made use of his conscious rather than allow a government to tell him right from wrong. Thoreau believes change is a result of disobedience. He preferred to live imprisoned and in constant clash with the government if it was a result of him standing up for human life and their rights. Thoreau urged others to follow his example and free themselves from a government that based decisions on what the majority believed rather than what is fair and right. Thoreau's argument remains relevant in present day. Often times we choose to abide by rule that are unfair because it is easier than taking action against the government and cultural norms. We should use all available resources to create progress where necessary in a peaceful manner even though often times that means facing a lot of opposition. This is necessary because our government is flawed and so are many of our policies.

Defiance: A Necessity

"Every member of every Northern legislature is bound by oath, like every other officer in the country, to support the Constitution of the United States"

The Seventh of March Speech

The congressman discusses the difference of opinion entertained between the northern and southern states. He is specifically referring to slavery and the issues that surfaced nationwide because of this controversial topic.  Even as a Northern man the congressman clearly favored the existence of slavery. It is clear that he opposed any progression that would go against the word of the constitution.  The congressman writes this line when referring to the obligation stated within the constitution that any slave that escapes to the North shall be returned to his/her rightful owner. The congressman is angry that many members of the northern states are not fulfilling this obligation. This is one of the major conflicts among the southern and northern states that has prompted some to consider peaceful secession. Such talk of secession was occurring because there was much disagreement as to the morality of slavery.Considering the congressmen's obvious tone of support he uses when referring to slavery, it is no surprise that he is against northern men opting to ignore this part of the Constitution.

The congressmen portrays himself as fully devoted to the Constitution and the country. He, like many others who oppose progress, fail to realize that while the constitution was invaluable because it united all the states to form the United States, to blindly follow a document does not permit one to realize the flaws. Such defiance of the constitution was necessary to pave way for the creation of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. He thought foolish those who opposed the constitution even though variety of opinion is necessary for improvement and progression. It is now clear to us that this progression was in fact the best alternative. I believe many in present day society can learn from this congressman's error. Often times completely devoting oneself without question, allows for unfair policies, ideals, and policies to remain in place while there being a better alternative.