Shopping as an American Culture Value Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Shopping as an American Culture Value - Essay Example The contention is that though American culture has been manipulated into accepting materialistic 'must have' consumerism as a cultural value, there are those, past and present, who provide a glimmer of hope for a return to the better, more humane values of the American way of life. According to Rao (2004), writing from an Indian viewpoint, the American Dream encapsulated "freedom," and "democracy" in a "land of opportunities." In reviewing the book, 'Affluenza: The All Consuming Epidemic', he cited figures from De Graff et al (2003): Embedding of this value was reflected in "one poll found that 93% of teenage American girls rate shopping as their favorite activity." (Rao, 2004). He further contended that only about one quarter of mall shoppers are seeking to buy a specific item, the rest use shopping as therapy, for amusement, or just for its own sake. Americans in general would seem to have adopted shopping as a cultural value, a way of life. ... There is little doubt that people are buying, not from necessity, but spending above their means in order to acquire possessions in a search for happiness and to belong to their culture. They must have the newest fashion, the best brand, the biggest house, the fastest car in order to feel valued. Social theory provides some answers as to how this has happened. In order for businesses to make profits, they no longer seek only to produce to meet needs, but make sure that demand levels stay high, and so maintain the growth of a capitalist system. By marketing and motivating people to buy, this is accomplished; a psychological manipulation appears to be in place. "Advertising, marketing and the mass media have become central to the stimulation of demand through the continual invention of new wants. The images and identities they disseminate promise satisfactions earlier generations never dreamed of. They suggest life-styles of endless acquisition and inexhaustible glamour, which can be had at the pleasurable price of merely buying more and more." (Noble, 2000, p. 231) This shows how people can be sucked into the shopping vortex, with little or no regard for its effects on the individual or the world in general. The impact worldwide, where poorer nations make the goods, on low pay (rendering American workers jobless), in sometimes slave-like conditions, to feed the greed of multinationals and consumers, presents an immoral and inhumane side of capitalism. Sanders (2000), in an article on Maytag and the North American Free Trade Agreement, stated: "The simple truth is that American workers cannot, and should not be "competing" against desperate workers in developing countries who are forced to work for pennies an hour." (Why Overcoming

Religion :: essays research papers

Religion "Religion" is a simple word that divides humanity in several groups. It is the claim of many influential Christian and Jewish theologians that the only genuine basis for morality is in religion(Nielsen 13). The morals and beliefs of children are greatly influenced by their home life. It is sad how children grow up, not able to research into their beliefs, but conform to the beliefs that have run in their families for generations. Not many children break away from the traditional religion in their family because it has been practiced and influenced for many years. If one should participate in breaking tradition, he could be challenged by the family to show reasoning behind the change(Kaplan 258). In doing this, society still will be diverse, but at least that is one more person trying to express an opinion. The Old Testament is an accurate and valid resource to use when trying to explain Christianity and faith. For example, it is amazing how one can justify his faith to a strong Catholic family whentrying to prove that salvation is a free gift and not a time card for "good works." There is much difference between the religion of Catholicism and non- denominational Christianity. Though both groups believe in one God, the same God, growing up in the midst of the bickering of the two groups can confuse a child and bring bitterness toward this God that Christians believe is all-loving. School is an area where temptations are thrown in people's faces each day. Many people are challenged each day in these situations; children may be challenged in their home or in school because of the issue of salvation and trying to maintain a strong-willed mind as a young Christian. Catholic children are taught their religion in CCD classes, and the result is the children learning to be good in order to go to heaven. Many of the the things they are taught come from the Old Testament. The Christian Bible includes the Old Testament unlike Judaism where their bible is the Old Testament. Children learn Christian virtues such as faith, obedience, piety, chastity, love, mercy, and humility(Garner 272). Catholic children are also taught that if they do sin, than they simply can go confess their sins to a priest and then they are forgiven. According to the Old Testament, salvation is free gift and forgiveness is given straight from God, not through some high standing official in the Church. Catholics are given a bad name, and their religion is considered to be hostile towards others and unethical at times(Hudnut 22).

With Reference to Your Own Research?

With reference to your own research to what extent do you think that acting in a socially responsible way is now  essential for businesses? Social responsible allows business to create a positive relationship with the community and also then environment within their operation. Companies that use socially responsible are Marks and Spencer. They have done this by creating an operation call Plan A where they are able to generate ? 85 million from just reducing costs. Saving this amount of money they are given the opportunity to expand the M&S brand, this is one of their main objectives where they want to have a M&S store within a 30 minutes radius of each customer. With M&S saving ? 185 million they have been able to a positive relationship with the community that they are in.What they have also done is that they have been cleaning out the community’s lakes and rivers this is very good as they will be looking to show that they are caring about the environment, being social resp onsible is a very good marketing strategy as they will be gaining publicity, and this will lead to more people becoming more aware that M&S are looking after the environment and people will be willing to support the idea. They will be doing this through shopping at M&S. The disadvantages of social responsible for companies such as M&S are that they will have lost an opportunity cost as they have been able to save ? 85 million they will have to choose whether they want to continue supporting the local community or increase their market share. As M&S want to increase their market share they will not be able miss opportunities like this, but they have to have a good relationship with the local community. M&S are now supporting fair trade and organic food, this very risky as this is asking customer whether they want to pay more for food or go to one of M&S’s competitors and start shopping with them as both fair trade and organic will cost more than any other food.By being social responsible M&S will have problems going in to emerging markets such as Brazil an d China. With China being able to take 600 million people out of poverty M&S will have lost the perfect chance to exploit that. Brazil have got big events happening in the next 3 years with the world cup in 2014 and the Rio Olympics in 2016, investing a new store within this area will help them increase both market size and also brand awareness M&S operating profits have fallen . by 1. 8%, this is not good for companies such s M&S trying to become more social responsible, with this decrease in profits they will have less money to spend on their Plan A project. With employees being told that they will have to clean up rivers and lakes M&S will have to be able to motivate their workers enough, this could cost M&S a large amount of money just to get employees to do this. One of social responsibility is to look after employees, making them clean a lake or rivers could make them feel as if they are not bein g used to their full potential and could result in them taking industrial action.M&S have been very good at reducing their amount of carbon emission being released and this is shown as they have been able to save 28% more energy compared to the amount of energy used in 2007. Being social responsible can help many companies such as M&S financially as they will not need to pay so much for their pollution tax this can result in them being able to increase their profit margin and helping them supports the community more.Problems that M&S can also face is that some of their customers may not believe that they will be helping their community and may think that they are just a marketing gimmick, this is important that M&S show those people that they are really helping the community and to do this they could publish the amount of money they have got and show them what they want to spend it on. Overall social responsibility is now essential for business to do as they can help the stores loca l community and business. With them saving ? 85 million they have got to choose whether they want to exercuite their Plan A effectively or try and open more M&S stores within developing countries such as Brazil and China. Especially where there are two of the worlds’s biggest events happening in Brazil within 2 years of each other. To make full use of their Plan A M&S will have to plan and exercuite it well enough that the community can feel like as if they have made a huge impact within their community. But with cost reduction occurring their profit will increase.

The Apology About The Trial Of Socrates - 1874 Words

The Apology was about the trial of Socrates, how he went before the jury to defend himself from the charges brought against him. Socrates was charged with impiety he does not believe in the gods whom the people believes in he is portrayed as an atheist and he speculates about the heaven and thing beneath the ground, he seeks natural explanation for astronomical and geological phenomena rather than the gods and also he corrupts the youth he infuses in them a spirit of criticism his questioning of authority had effects on the youth. He makes the weaker reason seem to be stronger. Socrates went before the jury to lay his case, he was overwhelmed with the lies told about him and how persuasively they went about deceiving the people of Athens, he told the jurors he was before them to tell the truth and prove his accusers wrong and trust in justice, it would not be fitting at his age to come before them and lie. Socrates begged the jurors to listen to him and he would speak to them with the same language with which he was accustomed to and the same way he spoke in the market place by the bankers table, where most of the people heard him speaking every time. He also told them this was the first time appearing in a law court at the age of seventy, he was a stranger to these manner of speaking and he wanted them to excuse his dialect and manner with which he was brought up, but hey should concentrate their attention on whether he spoke the truth or what is just or not, becauseShow MoreRelatedPlato s Views On Socrates928 Words   |  4 Pageson Socrates came from one of his own disciples, Plato. Plato’s writings are the reason Socrates is historical figure he is today, without them Socrates would have been nothing more than a minor presence (Navia 93). Plato’s writings are classified as either early, middle, or late. However, only the early writings best portray the real Socrates (Navia 105). These writings include the Euthyphro, Crito, Phaedo, and most importantly the Apology, which discusses the trial and execution of Socrates. SimilarlyRead MoreThe Function of the Quest or Journey Motif in the Apology and the Crito966 Words   |  4 Pagesfor peace; in the platonic dialogues they play a crucial role in the Apology of Socrates and the Crito. The Apology in the trial and death of Socrates is an example of a quest or journey motif applied, whether or not quest or journey is the preferred word is left to you who are reading this. In the apology, Plato is accused of corrupting the youth of Athens and of Atheism, to elaborate on these they are one and the same as Socrates is claimed to have corrupted the minds of the youth by atheistic idealsRead MoreWhat Are The Charges Against Socrates?1019 Words   |  5 Pages2015 What are the charges against Socrates as recorded in the Apology. Is he guilty of them? Why or why not? The Apology is assumed to be the most realistic account that has been conserved of Socrates defense of himself as it was presented before the Athenian Council. It is in essential agreement with the references to the trial that occur in Plato s other dialogs. We may determine that Apology is not written by Socrates and only contains the words of Socrates that were memorized by Plato, sinceRead MoreAnalysis Of Platos Apology On The Man Of Save The Day, But Not Himself1285 Words   |  6 PagesHimself An Analysis of Plato’s Apology Socrates, painted as a humble man who never had any of his own writings, and often speculated to be illiterate, is considered one of the major partisans of Western philosophy. Western philosophy is the philosophical thought of the western world. This idea proves to be quite accurate when considering Plato’s Apology, the apology of Socrates which is not really considered an apology but a defense. 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Both of these charges were because of false accusations of people who were insulted by Socrates’ intelligence. Socrates’ argument or defense against the charges while he is on trial is written by Plato, Socrates’ student, as â€Å"The Apology.† During Socrates’ trial, he argued that he wasRead MorePlato and Socrates Relentless Question1274 Words   |  6 PagesSocrates knew the trial brought onto him by three citizens of Athens was not just and the official accusations of corrupting the youth and impiety are not the true reasons for the trial. He was put to death because of his method of challenging others in the search for wisdom and knowledge. Socrates was given the opportunity to defend himself and choose not to beg for his life but praise his life and to honor his mission. He opposed the charges by a cross-examination of the people who put him onRead MoreEssay on A Hoax in Court: The Trial of Socrates1547 Words   |  7 PagesAlbert Einstein quoted, â€Å"In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems, for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same† (Brainy Quote). Were justice and truth a part of Socrates’ trial? The primary question is: what is justice? According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of justice is: â€Å"the administration of law, especially the establishment or determination of rights according to the rules of law or equity.† Meletus broughtRead MorePlatos Apology, Summary, Main Characters750 Words   |  3 PagesSocrates - The protagonist of The Apology, as well as all of Plato s other dialogues. Socrates seems to be a very simple man, not having many material possessions and speaking in a plain, conversational manner. However, this seeming plainness is all a part of the ironic chara cteristic of Socrates method. Professing his own ignorance, he engages in conversation with someone claiming to be an expert, usually in ethical matters. By asking simple questions, Socrates gradually reveals that his interlocutorRead MoreSocrates : Not Guilty1610 Words   |  7 PagesSocrates: Not Guilty Intro (138) In 399 BC, when he was seventy years old, Socrates was called into court by three men: Meletus, a poet, Anytus, a politician, and Lycon, an orator. The specific charges were impiety (namely that he did not believe in the gods of Athens, and instead had introduced new gods), and corruption of the youth of the city. The account of Socrates’ trial is preserved in the Apology by Plato, a dialogue that ought not to be considered a verbatim report of Socrates’ defense