Explore the Claim That a Consumer Society Is Always a...

Disposable income Values of rubbish Overseas Factories Waste being sent overseas Seduced amp; Repressed Migrants Recycling Consumption Consumer society Explore the claim that a consumer society is always a ‘throw-away’ society. In this essay I will be outlining consumerism and claims that a consumer society is always a throw-away society. Consumption plays a big part in our lives and causes us to live in divided societies. It may make us feel like we fit in buying new gadgets and clothes and also give us that sense of belonging but we don’t take into account what happens to the old items and packaging. People do not want to look at the problems caused. I will use this essay with the evidence I have read†¦show more content†¦We often question how our food and clothes can be sold so cheap, this all comes down to where it is made or grown. Our clothes are made overseas in factories by women and in some cases even children in unsuitable conditions. They work long hours and don’t get paid much in return, it is said to be less than what they can afford to live on and made to work extra hours. This is why large stores like Primark and Asda can sell their clothes at such little cost. Some of the workers are said to be working 60 to 90 hours every week for as little as  £17 per month. (Making social lives pg.88) The workers in the factories are grateful for their small wage and would struggle if the factories were to close and business was took elsewhere. The growth of consumption has caused a large increase in rubbish. This is due to people having more choice when out shopping. Many years ago women stayed at home and men went to work but now that both men and women are out earning there is a lot more disposable income which ends with people buying luxuries and upgrading items they already have. This results in the old ones being thrown away. People are constantly upgrading and renewing items to better models. Mobile phones bring out new models every year which people feel the need to buy to keep up with the trend and because they want the newest gadgets on the street. Pcs have changed to laptops which gives the pc no home except out to be collected on bin day. This causes a problemShow MoreRelatedSheilah Otieno. Professor Hax. T-Sem 102-65. April 4, 2017.1518 Words   |  7 PagesSheilah Otieno Professor Hax T-Sem 102-65 April 4, 2017 Reflection paper This paper will reflect on the readings that we have done thus far, as well as ask the important question of how our daily lives, the things that we buy, use, and throw away, are all intertwined and built to impact climate change. Readings such as: Poverty, the environment, and the market, Tangled routes, the story of stuff, and This Changes everything gave us a glimpse into how humans are the primary contributors to climateRead More Constructing Fantasy in Hitchcocks Vertigo Essay3254 Words   |  14 PagesSpecifically, Vertigo offers its most exciting ideas when contextualized in a culture of consumerism. Consumerism shaped the film, and also shapes the way we view it. The desire of the consumer is the driving force behind not only our economy, but our mode of seeing the world, and seeing films. As consumers, we are always looking for, and looking at, new commodities, especially clothing. We gaze at clothing in shop windows. We purchase it and wear it, making it visible to others . Indeed, the desire toRead MoreEssay on The Fast Food Culture is Detroying America4188 Words   |  17 Pagesjobs we find ourselves going to day-in and day-out, and the way these jobs encourage us to see the world we live in. If people are more apt to think of themselves as consumers rather than producers, if gratification is associated with consumption rather than working, doing, and making, we have only to bear in mind that this is a society where work is either unattainable or alienating. (Willis, A Primer For Daily Life, Learning From the Banana, page 59) The psychological impacts based on todaysRead MoreF. Scott Fitzgerald s The Great Gatsby3894 Words   |  16 Pagesmake it big at one point of their lives. One of the most important factors of the setting is that it is set in the 1920’s. Americans in this time period were known to have a superfluous amount of wealth. Americans had extra money and spent it on consumer goods, mostly cars. Time was revolutionizing; women were officially given their right during the 1920’s. They felt freer than ever before, both emotionally and sexually. However, the most important part of this time period was when there was a â€Å"culturalRead MoreResearch on Consumer Awareness13028 Words   |  53 PagesProject Report On â€Å"Consumer Awareness In India† Submitted To: Prof. Nadeem Merchant (Research Methodology) Submitted By: Division â€Å"B† Aniket nimonkar 36 Jayesh prabhu 43 Atul rane 46 Neha zunjarrao 68 Anjuman-I-Islam’s Allana Institute Of Management Studies amp; Research Mumbai University Academic Year 2011-2012 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT In making this project report a lot of people have contributed by giving us the required knowledge and time, we would like to thank all of them. It is becauseRead MoreMasculinity in Chuck Palahniuks Work7062 Words   |  29 Pagescritics’ attention more so than any other Palahniuk themes. It is very apparent that masculinity has changed as a natural progression of modernisation. This dissertation will analyse masculinity as it is depicted in Palahniuk’s writings and explore Palahniuk’s intentions and beliefs. I will interpret the responses of select critics in order to gain some understanding of what Palahniuk deems to be the ideal model of masculinity in the modern world, beneath his post-modern twists, transgressiveRead MorePortrayal Of Drug Use Modern Film3221 Words   |  13 Pagesscenarios that could take place. Perhaps it is for this reason that people do not often take film portrayals seriously. Furthermore, if someone were truly interested in learning about the effects of a drug, it would seem obvious that they should explore documentaries. The average person, or even the average user, may begin to watch a documentary, say on meth, and be disturbed by the graphic nature and turn it off claiming that â€Å"would never happen to them.† The reality of the matter is that dramasRead MoreThe Analysis of Zara4664 Words   |  19 Pag escomplex process are necessary to be simplified. And incorporate technology in process and tackles are to be taken after comprehensive measurements and analysis. There are opportunities of existing domains where the company may progress and are going to explore. This assignment is going to analyze the market environment and making some achievable plans for the future. This process would be critical and crucial because it leads to decisions that are basis for future actions and these vital decisions forRead MoreMaking Sense of Advertisements Daniel Pope8330 Words   |  34 Pagesthe history of American advertising, marketing, and consumer culture, and on the history of nuclear power and anti-nuclear activism. Introduction Over a century ago, Harper’s Weekly commented that advertisements were â€Å"a true mirror of life, a sort of fossil history from which the future chronicler, if all other historical monuments were to be lost, might fully and graphically rewrite the history of our time.† Few if any historians today would claim that they could compose a complete history of an eraRead MoreFrom Salvation to Self-Realization18515 Words   |  75 Pages0From Salvation To Self-Realization: Advertising and the Therapeutic Roots of t he Consumer Culture, 1880-1930 T. J. Jackson Lears Lears, T.J. Jackson 1983. From salvation to self-realization: Advertising and the therapeutic roots of the consumer culture, 1880-1930. In The Culture of Consumption: Critical Essays in American History, 18801980, ed. by Richard Wightman Fox and T.J. Jackson Lears, New York: Pantheon Books, 1-38. Reprinted with the permission of the author. 1On or about December 1910

Employment Opportunities of Sharing Economy-Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the Impact on employment opportunities of sharing economy. Answer: Impact on employment opportunities of sharing economy: The sharing economy over the time has evolved as one of the main instrument for employment generation in Australia since last one decade. According to statistics 68% of the total labour force is now employed through sharing economy that depicts the importance of peer-to-peer economy in Australia (Chapman, 2018). Good side of the sharing economy: Major backer of the sharing economy often argues that social economy is simply not a business that is aimed to enhance the earning; it aids to create more job opportunity for the citizens of the country (Groen and Maselli 2016). Considering the case of the Australia, it can be stated that shared economy has really done something outstanding through societal transformation as well as labour market renovation. Australia on June 4 of 2017 has initiated its largest shared economy event in order to aid the labour force have an annual income of more than 30,000 AUD (Fraser 2017). Through proper channelling of the program sharing economy can bring in higher job opportunities to the citizens. With rising scope of participation in the labour market, sharing economy is providing opportunities to have part time jobs. In addition to this, sharing economy has provided job opportunity to the unskilled or semi-skilled labours, which is aiming to charging up the whole Australian economy. Dark side of the sharing economy: To the contrary of the sharing economy backers, it has been argued by the researchers that sharing economy is nothing but a reinvention of old capitalist framework (Chase 2015). It is operated by the institutional investors or by the venture capital firms, which are aimed to make their earning basket swell under the blanket of false promise of higher labour employment opportunity and cheaper service (Horton and Zeckhauser 2016). The selected Australian firm has desire to make their service automated, which will not only reduce the labour employment in addition will make the service more cheaper, while the operation cost will be lowered for the firm. Considering both the positive and dark side of the selected share economy attributes, it can be stated that though peer-to-peer economy is theoretically good; however it has various loopholes. From the opportunity front it has vast scope to enhance the countrys economy through higher labour employment but it is subjective in nature References: De Groen, W.P. and Maselli, I., 2016. The impact of the Collaborative Economy on the Labour Market. Chapman, B. (2018).Gig economy workers could be entitled to sick pay after plumber wins legal battle. [online] The Independent. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/plumber-gary-smith-win-legal-battle-sick-pay-pimlico-gig-economy-workers-rights-a7573186.html [Accessed 28 Mar. 2018]. Horton, J.J. and Zeckhauser, R.J., 2016.Owning, Using and Renting: Some Simple Economics of the" Sharing Economy"(No. w22029). National Bureau of Economic Research. Fraser, J., 2017.Technological progress and economic growth: An Australian exposition 1965 to 2015(Doctoral dissertation, Murdoch University). Chase, R., 2015.Peers Inc: How people and platforms are inventing the collaborative economy and reinventing capitalism. PublicAffairs.

The Last Wave by Peter Weir Essay Example For Students

The Last Wave by Peter Weir Essay SOC 118The Last Wave-Peter Weir dir.(1977)In the film, The Last Wave, the director is trying to communicate the idea of aculture within a culture or sub culture. The dominant culture in the film is the whitemembers of society living in Australia. The subculture in the film is the Aborigines whowere natives to the land before the white people settled in Australia. The nativessustained their cultural beliefs and ideologies while living in largely populated cities. The dominant white culture imposes their laws , ideas of societal values and moralbeliefs on the native Aborigines. Forcing them to abide by a different law system andway of life than what their peoples have practiced for hundreds of years. In the moviethe lawyer, David, represents the dominant culture to the Aborigines because herepresents the law that is controlling their fate in the white culture. The director is also giving us many symbols or visual communication such as theconsistency of water in the film as well as, the overbearing control of darkness. The filmis shot in shadows and overall is very dark , almost forcing us to look beyond the obviousplot and storyline and into the meaning or what the film/director is trying to tell us. Thedarkness in the film can be seen as unconsciousness. It can also be seen as a predictionof the darkness that will occur in the world when the last wave comes. The last wavemeaning a giant tidal wave that will cover the earth , killing humanity. This idea issimilar to the Christian belief in the flood that was sent down centuries ago to destroy allthe evil in the world. Also, all the modern aspects of the movie (courtroom, Davidsoffice..etc) are filmed in light. While, all of the Aborigines scenes are filmed in darknessor shadows. Giving me the impression of something mysterious or not understood by thewhites concerning the Aborigines. The fact that all the modern scenes are filmed in lightcan also support the idea of the white culture being the predominate culture in the filmbut yet not dominant enough to take away the shadows(mysterious , mystical)aspect ofthe Aborigines. The lawyer, David, Also goes through a series of dreams and premonitions. Thisis stressing the idea of mind power and mystical strength that the Aborigines have. Inthat way they can be seen as the dominant culture. David is stuck between two worlds. The world he knows and understands and the other world that he is definitely a part ofbut does not understand. As he tries to grapple with the idea that he may be linked to theAborigines, his own cultural beliefs are changing. He is forming a complex view on life,a combination of ways of viewing the world by both the white Christians and theAborigines. The dream sequences in the film are sometimes difficult to distinguish from thewarped reality that is being portrayed. Overall, they do give us a chance to think andattempt to comprehend what is going through the mind of David. For he cannotdistinguish at times what is real and n ot real. But what is real depends on if you perceiveit as real as an individual. We will write a custom essay on The Last Wave by Peter Weir specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now To me, the film is saying that their is a definite cultural conflict between theChristians and the Aborigines living in Australia. Whichever one the viewer perceives asbeing dominant or subdominant, he will perceive the fact that their is a culture clash. The viewer may also see the idea that the Aborigines(tribal) are not understood in whitesociety and David is the only one who can. He is the link between the two worlds, and atthe same time he is the wall separating them. .u670f1f694359b154a88a6b88643a76a4 , .u670f1f694359b154a88a6b88643a76a4 .postImageUrl , .u670f1f694359b154a88a6b88643a76a4 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u670f1f694359b154a88a6b88643a76a4 , .u670f1f694359b154a88a6b88643a76a4:hover , .u670f1f694359b154a88a6b88643a76a4:visited , .u670f1f694359b154a88a6b88643a76a4:active { border:0!important; } .u670f1f694359b154a88a6b88643a76a4 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u670f1f694359b154a88a6b88643a76a4 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u670f1f694359b154a88a6b88643a76a4:active , .u670f1f694359b154a88a6b88643a76a4:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u670f1f694359b154a88a6b88643a76a4 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u670f1f694359b154a88a6b88643a76a4 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u670f1f694359b154a88a6b88643a76a4 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u670f1f694359b154a88a6b88643a76a4 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u670f1f694359b154a88a6b88643a76a4:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u670f1f694359b154a88a6b88643a76a4 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u670f1f694359b154a88a6b88643a76a4 .u670f1f694359b154a88a6b88643a76a4-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u670f1f694359b154a88a6b88643a76a4:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Janis Joplin EssayOverall, I feel the film was good concerning the ideas behind the storyline. Butdue in part to the directors fetish for water and darkness, he almost destroys the storylineto me. And without the storyline, you cannot interpret the film in a well structured way. Also, the symbolism is so predominant, it points at the viewers lack of intelligence . Similar to someone repeating themselves while speaking over and over and over andover, merely to stress a point. Too bad by that time the point is beyond stressed it isalmost destroyed completely. Category: Music and Movies

Leadership Roles My Experience in the Nokia Cup

Leadership Roles My Experience in the Nokia Cup Event organization always features different leadership roles being exhibited. There is clearly a need for organization, and therefore events are always instances where leadership is needed. The event I participated in is the Nokia Cup. This is an annual curling event and is very big within the sporting circles. I was assigned the role of lead hand in one of the event locations, namely Guelp Memorial Gardens stadium.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Leadership Roles: My Experience in the Nokia Cup specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The main leadership role there was organization. A lot of resources and personnel were allocated so that the organization could be efficient. There was the overall committee, which had been working in partnership with other organizations. Additionally, there were departments headed up by individuals who took care of specifics such as security, entertainment and other facets within the event. My role was to help with organizing and controlling others within the stadium I had been assigned to. The organization had both its advantages and challenges. The first advantage relates to the delegation of duties. The head committee delegated responsibility to various individuals based on the spread of the venue. This delegating allowed the people involved to specialize and take responsibility for different facets of the event. However, this was not followed up with effective communication, thus a breakdown in the quality of organization. The result was that inter-related aspects of organization were not taken into consideration. For example, security was a nightmare simply because the head committee did not give feedback on the expected attendance. Additionally, the leadership on the ground did not prepare those who were actually going to carry out security properly. There was need for a master plan as regards to planning, but this did not happen. It would have required an inter -committee task force to properly plan out the security in order for it to work effectively. The mediocre planning caused a series of unfortunate events. There was need for the leadership role of crisis handling. Good crisis handling allows the event to save face and maintain its reputation. The compressor for keeping the ice temperature was not working properly because the overhead sensor was malfunctioning. Additionally, since concessions were not up to par, we had less money to work with. However, there was real leadership shown in the heat of the moment. The leadership allowed for creativity, which saw a suggestion to increase the drinking so as to divert attention from the failed areas. This worked as the participants loved to drink. Additionally, the staff on the ground were inspired to work extra hard in order to cover for the unfortunate circumstances. At my venue, our venue head inspired us with a pep talk and a lot of warmth. Advertising Looking for essay on busin ess economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The result was that we were able to pull off the event, despite the overwhelming amount of work. However, I do not know specifically how the leadership handled the crises that they were facing in the other venues. What I do know is that the crises had to be handled, thus presenting a leadership moment for those in charge on the ground. Supervision is another aspect that we can explore. It is the work of any leadership to allocate roles and see them out. This is what supervision entails: handing out roles and checking whether they have been done effectively and efficiently. The main committee handed out responsibility according to the venue, and thus the delegated supervision to the various leaders appointed. At our venue, our leader was very hands on. He wanted to know what was happening and how it was being done. This allowed him to oversee effectively and respond to the chal lenges on a real time basis. However, this also made him very exhausted at the end of the day. In my department, as one of the leaders I was able to organize my minions to move into the irregular roles assigned to us. This made it hard to supervise what they were doing since I had â€Å"lent† them out to different departments to help out as was necessary. I left them to be supervised by the various heads of the departments I lent them to. In terms of creativity, I think the job done was very good. In this regard, I would change very little. The creativity was amazing, as shown by the building of a bar, food and beverages stand within the stadium, at the west end of the rink. They used professionals in creativity, and it paid off. However, if I extend creativity to include problem solving, I would recommend bringing on more talent and wider experience. The leadership should have trusted us, in the lower levels, to be able to come up with suggestions and insights into how the event could be organized. Had we been consulted, I am sure a wide range of suggestions that would have proved invaluable would have come up. Additionally, I would have loved if the leadership put in place a feedback mechanism for assessing the event. This way, the people on the ground would have given their view on how to improve the event. Additionally, they would include information on things to watch out for in the next event.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Leadership Roles: My Experience in the Nokia Cup specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More I recommend that proper planning be done in future. The structure of planning needs to change in order for the event to succeed. In my opinion, the leadership was way too concerned with what was happening in the upper ranks that it forgot the small planning details that mattered. Ensuring proper delegation would solve this. Event venues should have their own effective plannin g committees, as opposed to relying on leadership directives from afar. Additionally, I would have the main and sub-committees meet regularly to discuss the challenges of planning. This way, we would avoid the problems altogether. Planning should be a participative process, and therefore I would include the lower levels of staff in the process. This would allow for an even greater pool of suggestions to be made. As for supervision, I think it would be solved by effective delegation. In order to avoid senior leadership from getting tired handling all the work, I recommend more leadership posts be created. This way, the system runs without exhausting some individuals. I have already stated that with creativity, I would prefer if the leadership allows recommendations from lower levels. This would boost morale and give the leadership a true picture of what is happening on the ground. Finally, since even the best laid plans have flaws, emergency precautions need to be put in place. Putti ng flexible and adaptable individuals in charge to handle the unknown would greatly help. Additionally, these individuals must be true leaders: they must be able to rally up those underneath them to effectively handle the challenges. This way, any challenge would be effectively handled.

Art and Gender Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Art and Gender - Essay Example Women have become the cornerstone to cultural construction and one such edifice was Gertrude Bass Warner (1863- 1951). Warners works have been considered evolutionary and pioneering in the field of Asian studies. What has attracted this authors attention to Warners work was her valuable input on the females view of the world. In the following sections, the author shall study one of her photos, and enumerate on this view. Houseboat Illinois (see below) is one of Warners photographic works which the author has found among the Gertrude Bass Warner Lantern Slides, first bequest collection at the University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History (known as the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art). Warner had dedicated the collection in memory of her late husband Murray Warner. Houseboat Illinois, like most of Warners photographic work, is a work of art; a hand tinted photo taken during one of her voyages. The image depicts of Gertrude and Murray Warner sitting on their houseboat named Illinois with an Asian guide sitting at the bow of the boat. Both Gertrude and Murray are sitting on wicker chairs with a wooden table in the middle. On the table there is a cup, a smoking pipe and a note book. Gertrude is dressed in a long sleeved shirt and skirt with a hat covered with a pink scarf while her husband is dressed in a stripe pants and coat, and wearing a brown hat. The Asian guide, dressed in pants, long sleeved shirt, jacket and cap, is navigating the boat. At the outset the background comprises of blue river water, dark green trees, and some form of yellow and green vegetation that resemble a farm. Warners work is a representation of feminist view of the world. A feminist view, according to Perry (8) "studies, exposes and challenges womens cultural, political and social positions and disadvantages." But more importantly, a feminist approach is one which is

Reflection - 21st century skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reflection - 21st century skills - Essay Example Students are encouraged to learn by doing, which increases their global skills highly needed in the 21st century. The portal also focuses on leadership, and collaboration between teachers and students. However, teachers seem to be focusing more on the digital recording of the grades rather than on the core content of the subjects. The portal system is not appropriate for early year students, since they cannot use the digital technology properly. The teachers of early year students still need to come face-to-face with the parents to communicate effectively. Also, the system seems to be discouraging the traditional way of teaching subjects. Students will slowly forget the conventional classroom environment. Hence, besides promoting global skills, the core content also needs to be focused upon. Students must also learn how to communicate in person while being good at

Religions wage peace Essay Example for Free

Religions wage peace Essay Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi used his influence as a revolutionary spiritual leader to bring about political and social improvement. Despite holding no government office, he was a major participant in India’s struggle for independence. On the 2nd of October, 1869, Gandhi was born in the coastal town of Porbandar. His family belonged to the wealthy Vysya or merchant caste. His father Karamchand Gandhi was the prime minister of a princely state. At the age of thirteen he was married to Kasturbai, who was of his own age (Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand (1869 1948) , 2001). His approach was that of a pacifist and he based his independence movement on non –violent non – cooperation or satyagraha, which means truth and firmness. He started this movement in 1915 and was imprisoned on several occasions by the British authorities. He exerted great influence on the Congress Party and the 1947 independence negotiations. In 1948 British India was partitioned into India and Pakistan, which resulted in a great deal of religious violence. At that point of time he was assassinated. His preaching served as an inspiration for non – violent movements and was adopted by Martin Luther King Jr in the USA, who fought for the rights of the blacks and by Nelson Mandela in South Africa, who opposed apartheid (Gandhi, Mahatma (1869 1948) , 2005). In the beginning, in 1893, Gandhi was practicing law in South Africa, when he started to formulate and practise the principles of satyagraha or non – violent resistance to injustice. Till the year 1914, he led the movement started by the Indian community of that place, which was opposing racial discrimination. In that year, the South African government bestowed a number of important concessions in accordance to his demands. At that juncture he decided to return to India and in the month of January 1915 he set sail for India. In India he assumed the leadership of its freedom struggle from British rule (Gandhi, Mahatma (1869 1948) , 2005). His actions took the form of hunger strikes, the boycott of British goods and civil disobedience. At the same time he made serious attempts to bring about social reform. Even after several rounds of talks and demonstrations, the British chose to ignore the demands of the freedom fighters of India, consequently, Gandhi initiated a non – cooperation movement. This movement had a large number of supporters and many Indians holding official posts in the British Government resigned from their jobs, government agencies were spurned and Indian schoolchildren were removed from schools managed by the British Government. The British were compelled to release Gandhi whom they had arrested (Gandhi, Mahatma (1869 1948) , 2005). Gandhi wanted to usher in Swaraj or self rule in India and economic independence was an essential component of this movement. British industry had adopted measures that had exploited the Indian villagers and had reduced them to extreme poverty. In order to counter this situation, Gandhi advocated the adoption of cottage industries and employed the spinning wheel as a symbol of the movement to revive the indigenous Indian industries and lead the simple lifestyle of the villagers of India (Gandhi, Mahatma (1869 1948) , 2005). He was granted total executive authority by the Indian National Congress, which was the pioneer in India’s freedom struggle, in 1921. Due to the outbreak of a number of violent and armed insurrections against the British, Gandhi stepped back from active politics from 1924 to 1930 (Gandhi, Mahatma (1869 1948) , 2005). On the 26th of January, 1930, a proclamation regarding the Declaration of Independence of India was made by Gandhi. In order to catalyze the process of obtaining independence, Gandhi embarked on a novel civil disobedience campaign. In India the British exercised a monopoly on the production of salt and deemed it a criminal offense for anyone else to produce it. Salt constituted an essential and invaluable commodity for the Indians, a large number of whom were poverty stricken agricultural laborers. Gandhi realized that salt was used by all sections of the society and that an attempt to manufacture salt would appeal to every strata of the Indian society (Graham, 1998). On the 12th of March, 1930 Gandhi and seventy eight of his followers commenced the march from the Sabarmati Ashram to the coastal village of Dandi on the Arabian Sea. The distance covered by them was two hundred and forty one miles and it took them twenty four days to do so. Along the way, they were joined by a tremendous number of people and at one stage the procession was two miles in length. Finally on the 6th of April, 1930 Gandhi reached the sea coast at Dandi and picked up a sod and some salt and boiled it in seawater (Graham, 1998). This act of his shook the British Empire, on which the sun never set, to its very foundations. The man whom a disparaging Churchill had described as a half naked fakir had single handedly defied the might of the British Empire. The British Empire swung into action and arrested Gandhi and his associates. The number who courted arrest was immense and all the jails were overflowing with freedom fighters. Such was the response of the Indians to Gandhi’s call to oppose the British monopoly on the production of salt (Dandi: Salt March). According to Gandhi, there were two difficulties involved with human nature. One was the scope of making a human being perfect and the other related to nonviolence. Gandhi always had an optimistic view regarding men. However, a thorough examination of Gandhi’s political opinions reveals that he never assumed that man had a nature that could be rendered perfect. Further, he opined that reform could only transform a man to a certain extent, but it could never be made perfect. Gandhi proclaimed that it was incorrect to dogmatize in respect of the capacity of human nature to be either besmirched or exalted. This statement clearly elicits Gandhi’s views on man. He also opined that the environmental factors would significantly influence human behavior (Power, March, 1963). Due to individual feelings and thoughts, these efforts have suffered a setback by the negative and irrational forces that reside in them. In particular strong forces like greed and lust could not be diverted by availing oneself of the help forthcoming from other issues. He strongly believed that illogical forces motivated men and this belief was subscribed to by moralists. This is evidenced in situations where there arises a need to participate in a mass movement for realizing socio – psychological interests. Most individuals have shown reluctance to join such movements in the absence of a competent leader. This situation arose in Gandhi’s political career and his opinion regarding this subject was that it was the task of the leader to draw the people towards the objectives. The other issue involves the reshaping of Gandhi’s opinion about the capability of man to engage in acts involving nonviolence. Gandhi had explained in great detail in his thesis that every man had the ability to evaluate the value of ahimsa, where the term ahimsa denotes love or non – injury. Gandhi interpreted ahimsa as individual and social love in thought and deed towards all human beings (Power, March, 1963). Gandhi was prone, on occasion, to restrict this concept of ahimsa as being restricted to himself and his closest followers. For instance, in 1942, the Japanese Army was poised to attack India; at that point of time he permitted all those who did not subscribe to nonviolence to join the effort underway to defend the country. However, the question that remains unanswered is whether he granted such permission because Japanese rule would have been worse than the British rule (Power, March, 1963). The philosophical beliefs of Gandhi were founded on a number of scholarly authorities and social experiences. He staunchly believed that last stage in a man’s journey was the absolute truth, which was described by resorting to theism, pantheism or atheism. He believed that by the use of reason and also by taking the help of faith and intuition, an individual by relying on partial truths could attain the absolute truth. Moreover, Gandhi held that every person was required by dharma to search for this ultimate truth (Power, March, 1963). The method advocated by Gandhi to attain this goal was to follow the path of anasaktiyoga or path of selfless action, which entailed the performance of one’s duty without entertaining a desire for the results of such action. He considered involvement in Indian nationalism to signify selfless action. One of the qualifications to tread this path was the possession of physical, psychological and spiritual courage. He also stated that the man devoid of fear succeeds in realizing his latent prowess by comprehending and practicing ahimsa (Power, March, 1963). The most important characteristic of ahimsa is the attainment of the most advantageous, practical good while treading the path that leads to the absolute truth. The usefulness of such a conviction has to be Its merit is to be elucidated in the light of Gandhis firm belief that it is better to resort to violence than to adopt an attitude of submissiveness or to adopt cowardice in the garb of nonviolence. He also stated that violence to some extent was inherent in the process of living (Power, March, 1963). Gandhi based his interpretation of ahimsa on the Laws of Manu and the tenets of Jainism; however, his views were closer to the beliefs of Jainism. His objective and expectation was that he would be successful in transforming every person in such a manner that they would adapt this ideal as an integral part of their life. This precept of ahimsa was one of the foremost requirements of Gandhi. However, he considered truthfulness to be much more important than ahimsa. In this context he stated that truthfulness was far more important than being peaceful (Power, March, 1963). Despite the recurrent description of his pacifism as being absolute, the fact remains that he did not consider nonviolence to be his main goal. Moreover, when ahimsa is considered to be absolute pacifism, then a distortion of the beliefs that were subscribed to by Gandhi occurs (Power, March, 1963). Some other issues that had been addressed by Gandhi are to be found in his opinion of the optimal political system. In his writings, one sees the recurrence of the panchayati raj or the village republic and a system to ensure the welfare of everyone, which he designated as sarvodaya. These ideas reveal the fact that he sought to usher in a political system that was based on his opinions of truth and ahimsa. Moreover, he abhorred the divorce of political and social responsibility from dharmic obligations or obligations required by the basic principles of cosmic or individual existence (Power, March, 1963). Despite being committed to establishing a functionally and physically decentralized political community, he was not in favor of a society that was stateless. The concepts of Sarvodaya and Swaraj or self rule that is personal or corporate, constitute claims for impartiality, freedom and uprightness, and they do not constitute assaults on the government (Power, March, 1963). If he had been desirous of establishing a stateless system, then he would have had to entertain a more sanguine opinion about people than he did under normal circumstances. Moreover, he would have been compelled to eschew political power like he had rejected personal property. The varieties of Sarvodaya as comprehended by Vinoba Bhave, who advocated the redistribution of land and Jayaprakash Narayan, who was an ideologue, had perhaps aimed at a stateless society. However, this was not a component of Gandhi’s political ideologue (Power, March, 1963). Gandhi never struggled against power, and his disagreement was directed against the legal structure of power and the influence of the bureaucracy on it. This was due to the fact that he considered these factors to be hindrances in allowing self realization among the people, prevented them from obtaining justice and precluded rule based on the universal dharma. The acceptance of these views regarding Gandhi’s beliefs, implies that Gandhi’s display of a lack of interest for public office, both during the freedom struggle and during the transfer of power only shows that he did not believe in special forms of power and not that he disliked political power (Power, March, 1963). Gandhi was attached to political power and this is vindicated by his theory of satyagraha, which he construed to be soul force or direct action of a nonviolent nature, because this stratagem was a system of power, which was used by him in the expectation that he would be able to engender reform in institutions and effect the fulfillment of men. This method assumes that an opponent is redeemable and that it can be used for realizing a range of objectives as long as there is no violation of the principle of ahimsa. However, despite its prominence in his political beliefs, this theory was not a dominant principle of his ideology (Power, March, 1963). Amongst all the political thinkers of India, Gandhi was the most modern. He combined the best practices of the Orient and the Occident and formulated a political philosophy that obtained results bordering on the miraculous. The present day politics, which is steeped in corruption, could benefit enormously by implementing his political teachings. Gandhi has never ceased to be an integral part of the politics of India. Gandhi subscribed to a political philosophy that was founded on a number of tenets that had emerged from what was fundamentally his humanistic outlook towards life. He did not encounter any differences between spiritual and worldly matters. However, he subscribed to a few fundamental beliefs, which he adhered to with great firmness. In an article in his journal Harijan he stated that there existed certain eternal principles which could not be compromised on any account and that a person should uphold such principles even at the cost of one’s life. Gandhi was as good as his word and there were some principles that he never deviated from throughout his life. Moreover, he extended these principles in order to rekindle the flame of the nationalist spirit among his fellow Indians. Non – cooperation and nonviolence have not lost their relevance even in modern times. Violent incidents, lack of interest in addressing major issues and in conducting a rational and meaningful dialogue by political parties are the characteristics of present day Indian politics. The only way to rectify this dismal situation is to adopt the principles that had been formulated by Gandhi. Gandhi gave great prominence to power, which he considered to be a means by which people could improve the quality of their life. His political actions were aimed at attaining power, which according to him was not to be concentrated in the hands of a few members of the elite, but was to be distributed among the public. Further, people had become firmly convinced that revolt was a legitimate manner of expressing one’s dissatisfaction. In the final analysis Gandhi was mainly seized with elevating the consciousness of the masses and bestowing upon them the required authority to determine their destiny. This was a unique contribution to Indian politics. References Dandi: Salt March. (n. d. ). Retrieved July 4, 2007, from Manas: History and Politics: http://www. sscnet. ucla. edu/southasia/History/Gandhi/Dandi. html Gandhi, Mahatma (1869 1948) . (2005). Retrieved July 4, 2007, from The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia including Atlas: http://www.credoreference. com/entry/6428505 Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand (1869 1948) .(2001). Retrieved July 4, 2007, from World of Sociology, Gale: http://www. credoreference. com/entry/4785371 Graham, S. (1998). The Salt March to Dandi. Retrieved July 4, 2007, from emory: http://www. english. emory. edu/Bahri/Dandi. html Power, P. F. (March, 1963). Toward a Re-Evaluation of Gandhis Political Thought . The Western Political Quarterly , Vol. 16, No. 1, Pp. 99 – 108.