The Social Contract Tradition: Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau :: Philosophy Philosophical Papers

The Social Contract Tradition: Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau ABSTRACT: The classical contract tradition of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau have enjoyed such fame and acceptance as being basic to the development of liberal democratic theory and practice that it would be heretical for any scholar, especially one from the fringes, to critique. But the contract tradition poses challenges that must be given the flux in the contemporary socio-political universe that at once impels extreme nationalism and unavoidable globalism. This becomes all the more important not in order to dislodge the primacy of loyalty and reverence to this tradition but from another perspective which hopes to encourage that the anchorage of disclosure be implemented. The contract tradition makes pronouncements on what is natural and what is nonnatural. It offers what many have contended are rigorous arguments for these pronouncements that are "intuitive," "empirical," "logical," "psychological," "moral," "religio-metaphysical." What I offer in this essay is a challenge from the outside. I ask: 1) on what empirical data are the material presuppositions of contractarianism built? 2) what is the epistemological foundation of contractarianism? 3) is contractarianism not derivable from any other form of sociological presupposition except that of the state of nature? 4) does any human know a "state of nature"? 5) given the answers to the above questions, to what extent are the legal and moral foundations of contractarianism sacrosanct? I attempt to answer these questions in what can only be a sketch, but my answers suggest that it is very presumptuous of contractarianist to suppose that they have captured the only logically valid basis of democratic practice universally. Introduction The classical social contract tradition of Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau have, in spite of their variation in themes and emphases, enjoyed such fame and acceptance as being basic to the development of liberal democratic theory and practice that it would be almost heresy for any scholar, especially one from the fringes or margins of mainstream (socio-political) philosophical academia, to post frontal, side, arial, rear or sub-surface attack and critique. But the social contract tradition poses challenges that must be accepted on various counts, with new insights and interpretations, given the fluxed reality in contemporary socio-political universe that at once impels extreme nationalism and unavoidable globalism. This becomes all the more important, not simply in order to dislodge the primacy of the loyalty and the reverence of devotion from the followers of this tradition

Cross Cultural Leadership Essay

Leadership is the process of getting work done through others. A leader encourages and motivates others towards accomplishment of certain pre-defined organizational goals. The management maintains the status quo whereas the leadership is responsible for predicting fresh solutions and methodologies. The leadership is responsible for motivating people to bring out their best. The modern leader must be multicultural because corporate success, profit, and growth depend increasingly on the management of a diverse work force. Cross-cultural leadership is a term that identify the diversity of work culture, the fact that the leader (or leaders) may come from social, linguistic, ethnic, or cultural groups but work would be remain same for all. Working with people from different countries, conducting meeting, dealing with clients, entertaining, negotiating and corresponding with colleagues or clients can be a beneficial to the employee to understand the intercultural differences. Understanding intercultural difference ultimately breaks down the barrier and helps to build trust and increase good relationship which yields concrete results in terms of business success. Few key components of cross cultural leadership skill are: Attitudes towards time, Commitments, Success Status Authority Accountability Planning Negotiation Rewards Teamwork Personal boundaries and social interactions Effectively managing a multicultural business requires at least a basic knowledge of employee’s culture and traditions. Familiarity with both is essential because each has a bearing on an employee’s every day behavior. Whether we realize it or not, culture and tradition are powerful principles we always carry with us. Culture is always with people even though people are unaware of it.

Oil Prices Good Or Bad For The Economy - 1787 Words

Oil Prices; Good Or Bad For The Economy? By William Wakefield 5/11/2016 Is it true what experts say, when the price of oil drops the economy gets better, and when the price of oil rises the economy suffers? Of course as consumers we love to pay less at the gas pumps, but as we play much less now for gas then we did last year many of us are suffering due to the dramatic drop in the price of oil. As I strongly agree that the low cost of oil is hurting the economy in general, as I was one who fell victim to the recession working for an oil company up until January 2015, but fell victim to lay off due to the big drop in prices. Over 250,000 that work in the oil industry have lost their job due to the price of oil; 42 oil companies have†¦show more content†¦Foreclosures are also taking a big spike in the oil effect, states such as Texas, Oklahoma and North Dakota have seen in increase of foreclosures jump up 15.7 percent in Texas, 36 percent in Oklahoma and a stunning 387 percent jump in North Dakota. For the lucky people that were able to keep their job in the oil industry were glad they were able to keep their job, but had to take a huge hit in pay. The average pay check before the big hit was an average $1,120 a week, dropping to an average of $857 a week. So why is the price of oil so low, from once $100 a barrel, down to a stunning $40 a barrel? The answer is there is a surplus of oil in the world. There was such a long run of high oil prices that researchers and developers were inspired to find new techniques on places to find new oil and they succeeded which in return has created too much oil and the cost in a downward spiral. Since November 2015 tax revenues in Texas have plunged up to 51 percent from oil and gas production and North Dakota has seen the dip from tax revenue from oil and gas at an eye opening 43 percent. Which in return has many banks worried that if the price of oil continues to be at the low ball price that they are, we are going to see a high increase of loans by oil companies going into default and creates a squeeze on banks bottom line and will continue the strong recession that we are in as of today and by banks