Forward To The Past - Feudalism And Communism :: Communism Essays

<a href="http://www.geocities.com/vaksam/">Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites The core countries of Central Europe (the Czech Republic, Hungary and, to a lesser extent, Poland) experienced industrial capitalism in the inter-war period. But the countries comprising the vast expanses of the New Independent States, Russia and the Balkan had no real acquaintance with it. To them its zealous introduction is nothing but another ideological experiment and not a very rewarding one at that. It is often said that there is no precedent to the extant fortean transition from totalitarian communism to liberal capitalism. This might well be true. Yet, nascent capitalism is not without historical example. The study of the birth of capitalism in feudal Europe may yet lead to some surprising and potentially useful insights. The Barbarian conquest of the teetering Roman Empire (410-476 AD) heralded five centuries of existential insecurity and mayhem. Feudalism was the countryside's reaction to this damnation. It was a Hobson's choice and an explicit trade-off. Local lords defended their vassals against nomad intrusions in return for perpetual service bordering on slavery. A small percentage of the population lived on trade behind the massive walls of Medieval cities. In most parts of central, eastern and southeastern Europe, feudalism endured well into the twentieth century. It was entrenched in the legal systems of the Ottoman Empire and of Czarist Russia. Elements of feudalism survived in the mellifluous and prolix prose of the Habsburg codices and patents. Most of the denizens of these moribund swathes of Europe were farmers - only the profligate and parasitic members of a distinct minority inhabited the cities. The present brobdignagian agricultural sectors in countries as diverse as Poland and Macedonia attest to this continuity of feudal practices. Both manual labour and trade were derided in the Ancient World. This derision was partially eroded during the Dark Ages. It survived only in relation to trade and other "non-productive" financial activities and even that not past the thirteenth century. Max Weber, in his opus, "The City" (New York, MacMillan, 1958) described this mental shift of paradigm thus: "The medieval citizen was on the way towards becoming an economic man ... the ancient citizen was a political man". What communism did to the lands it permeated was to freeze this early feudal frame of mind of disdain towards "non-productive", "city-based" vocations. Agricultural and industrial occupations were romantically extolled. The cities were berated as hubs of moral turpitude, decadence and greed.

My Life in College Essay

My Life in College BY arce1921 My Life I am attending this college success class due to the fact I had very poor grades in my previous semesters. I have been attending Palo Alto College for about four years now off and on of course. After four years of college I wish my GPA was more worthy to show to others. After the first semester of college I still was undecided on my major and what I wanted to do with my life. I took a liking for the arts when I was in high school. During high school I was attending an art program called Say Si (San Antonio Artistic Youth) I attend this program all through my high school years. After graduating from this program I was offered a Job in their ABC (artist building communities) program. In this program I was able to mentor children that have no art programs in their current school. We also would teach at different types of children shelters and children hospitals. I enjoy teaching very much, I was looking into teaching art in a school district. But after teaching for 4 years I think it takes a special person to teach little kids. I really don’t have the patiences for teaching 2nd and 3rd graders. I current teach but only older kids. Two semesters have passed and I lacked off on my school and I was going through a rough time in my life with my family. I picked up a second Job due to the fact my teaching Job was only two days out of the week. I started working in the learning about cars and how they work. But after awhile my school schedule did not fit into my work schedule. My boss would give me a hard time about my school life all the time. I had the craziest schedule while working with auto parts. I would go to work in the morning and go to school during my lunch break and I would also go to school after work as while. This was everyday for almost a year and six months. It was two uch for me and I had to withdraw from all my classes and it went down hill from that moment on. I current have a new Job still working with kids but its more personal. I started working for a company called Roy Maas Youth Alternative . This organization houses in children taken by cps custody and probational children. I really enjoy my current job it makes me feel great helping these kids . A lot of these kids come from broken homes and bad backgrounds . Talking to these children helped me decide what I want to do with the rest of my life. I want to pursue social work as my career. This semester is going to be my new turning point in life. I finally have no trouble with my Job or my family. This is going to be the right time for me to get my grades back up to were I want them to be at . I also will start making more time to study and less time slacking off. Teaching art will still be part of my life and hopefully I can squeeze it into my new career. tutoring department to my advantage . I never did go to tutoring in the past semesters, maybe if I took some time out to go I would have done much better in my classes. I am looking forward to keeping my education on track and not derailing off my prize which is to receive my masters in social work.

Essay on The Reality of Divorce in American Society

The Reality of Divorce in American Society As with most life transitions, divorce can be liberating, depressing, frustrating, or traumatic to any person who experiences it. Perhaps the most painful part on the process of divorce is when the children get involved and when they all get trapped in the situation. These children may suffer significant losses in their lives and unless the situation can be handled in a civil manner, they will become prone to the psychological torment that could affect them for the rest of their lives. The issue of divorce however is becoming more and more intense since for the past ten years the divorce rate in the United States has skyrocketed to a record high of almost fifty- percent. It is also believed†¦show more content†¦Counseling is also an alternative. Marriage counselors can be a great help for couples who are contemplating a marriage. Presently, the role of both husbands and wives has changed dramatically since the advent of the technological revolution in our society. Women are now often seen in the professional fields than ever before. Men still remain as the chief provider of the family but because of the involvement of their wives in the professional field, their relationship amongst themselves have also began to drift apart. These differences can sometimes lead to divorce. However, divorce can be easily prevented in this kind of situation. Marriage is all about the understanding and the love for each other. In able for a marriage to become healthy, both parties should come together in combining the effort to strengthen their relationship. Time is the most important thing in a relationship. Husbands and wives should try to compensate the time they lost from each other. Time is very useful in maintaining a relationship. It builds up trust and confidence for both parties thus making the marriage foundation firm. Economic opportunities also seem to be a significant factor in divorce. The rise in divorce closely parallels the increase in the number of women working. Women with a paycheck were less likely to stay in a marriage that wasnt fulfilling to them. Armed with a measure of economic power, many women had less incentive to stay in aShow MoreRelatedMarriage Is The Most Important Part Of Marriage861 Words   |  4 PagesMarriage is a word that has evolved into something else in today’s society. It is an â€Å"old† term that applies to â€Å"old† beliefs. Today marriage is a word used to describe the coming together of two people under a consenting agreement that they will care for each other under any circumstances. Timothy Keller, a marriage expert, describes marriage as, â€Å"to be loved but not know is comforting but superficial. It is what we need more than anything. 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