[goldenchild]

I couldn't decide whether to put this in homework or philosophy so here 'tis.
Anybody know what this is telling me to do in layman's terms and/or have any paper topics from a Christian perspective? Thanks.


• This paper explores how could we live together is a better way. What philosophical principles should guide us? This touches on social and political philosophy and our vision of the good life lived in community.

• Kresse handout should give you an idea about the nature of this paper. I will discuss possible topics in class. Your Mission: Research one area where our current social structures need to be reformed or transformed. Be sure to discuss the underlying values or principles that have led to the problem and new ways of thinking needed to bring the transformation. Cite sources in the body of your paper in a recognized format, e.g. mla or apa.

[Napoleon17]

Your Mission: Research one area where our current social structures need to be reformed or transformed. Be sure to discuss the underlying values or principles that have led to the problem and new ways of thinking needed to bring the transformation. Cite sources in the body of your paper in a recognized format, e.g. mla or apa.

Umm, it seems to me that they want you to pick something that is wrong with our society, explain which flawed worldview caused this problem, and how society should adjust its worldview to fix this problem.

[goldenchild]

I decided to play it safe and write about capitalism and outsourcing in particular. I've decided I'm against it(at very least the way it is in it's present form). But now I have to offer a solution, a better way of dealing with things. A way that would lessen the disparity between the richest and the poorest, but a way that would do this without taking away a person's freedom to better themselves... What to do... Maybe this would be better in Government or Philosophy or somewhere...

[goldenchild]

Okay, this is really bad. But I don't know how else to approach it... (Rough Draft, no ending yet)
_________________________________________

One of the most pressing needs in our world today is the call to discover an opportune remedy to the injustices pushed upon the vast majority of the working class today. Such people have been pushed aside by the insatiability of unchecked competition. It is this competition that has placed 39% of our nation’s wealth in the hands of only 1% of her citizens, and as a result, gives to these same men virtually unimpeded power. For, as the saying goes, “money is power” and the more money one has, the stronger in society they become. In a seemingly democratic country, where every voice should be heard, how can we have let this happen? Is it fair, in a country based on fairness and equality, that a few should be able to control the futures of the vast majority? Yes, as a people, we have been given the chance in this country to do our very best to advance ourselves as far as we can, to make and get the very most out of life that is possible. However, this chance has been given to everybody who wants it. So then, how can one’s right to success override that same right of another? It follows that the advancement of one’s self must not come at the expense of another.
A prime example of such abuse is in the widespread practice of outsourcing. Outsourcing certainly has its benefits. It provides us with the ability to provide goods and services to the people at a very low price, and still be able to make substantial profit. With this it would seem that everybody wins. The people can receive their goods at an affordable rate, and the provider comes out ahead.
This innovation has made many companies extremely successful. However, they both have also caused problems of epic proportions. In sending work overseas, outsourcing has taken the jobs of many hard-working Americans. These people also have the right to better themselves, and do so by laboring for their company. When their jobs are taken from them, they lose this opportunity. A country’s primary goal is to do everything in its power to protect and better provide for the well-being of its people and of the country. Outsourcing creates essentially the opposite effect. By sending jobs overseas, not only does a country lose many jobs for her people, but it gives many jobs to people in foreign lands. While this is a noble thing to do, and is beneficial to those in the foreign country, it is detrimental to the advancement of one’s own country as a whole. It has been found that “. . . 400,000–600,000 professional services and information sector jobs moved overseas in the past few years, accounting for about half of the total net job loss in the sector over the period . . . employment in U.S. software-producing industries fell by 128,000 jobs from 2000 to early 2004, while about 100,000 new jobs producing software for export to the U.S. were created in India over the same period of time.” (http://www.aflcio.org/issues/jobseco..._problems.cfm). One could continue in all sectors of employment and find similar results. One can imagine just how much of the working-man’s salary is being lost due to this. What is the effect? The few who are in leadership positions of big businesses thrive for the moment while the consumers of his products are getting, on average, poorer and poorer. As this continues it really makes no difference how cheap the product or service is, because as much as these things get cheaper, so to do the people get poorer for lack of jobs and lack of sufficient wages. It doesn’t matter if you can provide goods at incredibly low rates if the people are getting equally poorer and thus are receiving no better a deal than if outsourcing didn’t exist in the first place. The only one outsourcing benefits is the provider. It fails to take into consideration the working-man, most of the country’s population, and it also does not recognize the smaller businesses that are also unable to compete due to an inability to provide goods or services at a rate as cheap as that of the larger corporations.
Outsourcing also gives the illusion of being of such benefit to the workers who are given jobs in foreign countries. Such jobs are normally better than the ones the foreign workers would usually have, however this really does not mean much as the bar is set so low in such places, China being the best example, that such comparison is faulty. These outsourced jobs are better than the ones overseas workers would normally find, but they are not much better. The conditions are still shockingly bad and the pay is still ridiculously low. Such jobs, instead of providing foreign countries with an example of what a decent job is, actually promote the horrible condition of employment in such places.
It is clear then, that such a concept has not worked to the advantage of the common good. We complain about the glaring disparity between the top 1% and the lower working-class, and yet this disparity is a direct result of the outsourcing crisis due to unbridled capitalism. How, then are we to treat this problem? How do we restore justice to the many, without thwarting one’s right to personal advancement? It seems capitalism has taken things just one step too far with outsourcing. Just how much money does one person need to have? Can we not tone it down just a little bit and still be doing immensely better than other nations? I believe so. In 2005, the average CEO in America accumulated 475 dollars for every dollar that the average working-man earned. In the next highest earning country for CEO’s the numbers are down to 50 dollars to every one for working-class employees. This is a 425 dollar difference. It certainly would be no stretch to narrow the gap between CEO’s and working class employees in America much more than it is and the CEO could still make a considerable amount more than those in other countries. If we did away with outsourcing, we regain all those many jobs that were lost, and thus regain a great deal of income for the average worker. In keeping the jobs in the country we would develop the skills of the people, which have greatly been lost when jobs go overseas. With the improved economic situation of the working-class the sale of goods will rise, thus benefiting the leaders of big business. The CEO will not be making as much as he was before, with outsourcing, however he certainly is still making a lot more than the CEO’s of other countries and certainly is not hindered from pursuing the good life. Erasing outsourcing from the picture would put all businesses back on an even playing field and gives many smaller businesses the chance to stay in business, which once again, contributes positively to the overall economy. This allows for all people in a society who want to, to better themselves and to achieve the good life. Not to mention that bringing back jobs from places like China, will affirm a strong stance against the horrible situation that workers in that nation are placed under.

[nate95366]

If you made it a Word attachment or something like that and it was double-spaced, I might just consider reading it. But maybe you don't want very many comments. If so, I understand.

Nate

[goldenchild]

Sure. I can do that. It's been further updated. Actually I just decided to discuss the topic further in Gov and Economics forum. Check out the thread on Distributism. I'll make it a word doc there if it's easier.