Identification of Socialism - Essay Example

IDENTIFICATIONS Why there is no socialism in the U.S? Socialism refers to a system wherebythere is cooperation between or among several institutions or individuals towards managing economic activities productive to the nation. The United States, unlike other countries such as Japan and Germany, has not employed this system of running the economy. Though the system has worked very well in the above mentioned countries, the United States continues to thrive well without its enforcement. Politically, socialist parties in the United States began fairing very poorly in the run up to the general elections. For instance, in the year 2008, socialist candidates and their parties received less than two of the three socialist candidates. This is way below what other socialist candidates in other nations receive. In Germany for example, socialist parties gathered close to 50% of the total votes cast in each successive election since the 1970’s. There are several theories, however, that explain this phenomena in United States politics or governance. The United States has never had a feudal system. Other nations had hierarchical systems which was lead from the top by a supreme deity while at the bottom of the system lay the commoner. Such systems were discriminatory in nature since it gave too much power to the person at the top at the expense of the common man at the bottom. A good example of such a system is the United Kingdom which has always been headed by the Royal family members. Since there is no known history of such a system in the history of the United States, it would be difficult to establish one presently. Most United States citizen prefer or think that they live a modest lifestyle therefore can be categorized as living in the middle class. Even the filthy rich would like to believe this fallacy. This means that majority of United States citizens fear class systems since it would make them look different from others. They do not appreciate the fact that some of them may be superior or wealthier than others but would rather be seen as equal to one another. For instance, the head of state from one regime to another have all been seen or reported to be engaging in activities that are considered to be done by the regular person such as collecting firewood or swimming by the sea shores. Unlike other socialist nations, the United States workers were not mandated to from parties so as to be heard in the national elections. Instead, workers were granted freedom to vote or run for office without necessarily forming a labor party. Additionally, many political parties were ready and willing to welcome any worker who had interest in running for a particular political office. This can be seen in the way presidential candidates woo workers during campaigns by visiting them at their work stations and extending a welcoming arm to anyone who would like to join the campaign as well as searching for potential votes. Absence of socialism in the United States has played greatly to its advantage. It has encouraged equality among its citizens whereby everyone is given a chance to be heard or participate in whichever economic, social or political activity he or she wishes to engage in. This means that everyone has an equal opportunity to battle on a level ground without outside interference or having unfair advantage. It has also brought the government closer to the people and therefore can easily address issues affecting the general population since the government has hands on experience and is accessible to the people. 2. Die Welle It is a German film released in the year 2008 by movie director Denis Gansel. The term ‘Die Welle’ is a German word that translates to ‘The Wave’. Based on a real life story, aims to address the issue of Nazism and potential outbreaks of this group in future. The plot of the story is set in Germany in local German School which is attended by rich and very intelligent students as well as the teaching staff. It all starts when a teacher (Mr. Rainer) who is adored by his students, realizes that his students are bored in a teaching lesson about fascist autocracy. This boredom motivates him to introduce a sudden practical lesson that will show the practicality of social conventions. The plan starts off very well with no incidents reported as he announced to the class the novel experiment. As part of the experiment, his students were supposed to stand up when speaking to him in class and they should address him as Sir. In addition to this, he instructs his students to sit upright in class and help one another in taking proper breaths. In all these, the students faithfully obey his every word eager to learn the results of the experiment. What the students didn’t realize was that at the end of the lesson, they had been empowered through group thinking. As the group grew, they named themselves ‘The Wave’ and started creating their own unique greeting styles, uniforms as well as logos. As time flew by, more and more students began to be enrolled in this group and soon it became too obvious that it would grow out of control, therefore making it impossible for Mr. Wegner to control it. The experiment had now started bearing results as it portrayed how important it was to be part of a group in the school’s environment. What the students didn’t know was that they had started copying mistakes that were made in the past that they thought would not be done ever again. For instance, in a particular scenario in the movie, when one student who is a member of the group gets ridiculed by others who are not members, the rest of the members come to the rescue. What is worrying in this scenario is how the circumstances could easily flip to the reverse. This experiment showed what normally happens in real life and has also been tested and proven in reality shows. Though Mr. Wegner cut shot the wave before it escalated into uncontrollable levels, in the movie directed by Ron Jones, the waves was allowed to escalate to unimaginable heights. The aim was to show the probable scenario that could have happened if Mr. Wegner had not stopped the wave. The movie acts as an important lesson to individuals about the existence of fascism in society and its probable cause. 3. Federal systems It is a political system of governance that is founded on the basis of agreement between groups of members in a political grouping headed by a representative head. This system of government is often separated between the central government and other smaller political units and is bound by the constitution. Power to govern is usually shared between the branches of government while running the affairs of the nation. This is often referred to as federalism. Federalism can be defined in to two principles; primary and secondary. Primary principles refer to a situation where the division of power between the regional government and the central government is assured. This means that the federal system is bound by law and therefore the government is obligated to share and divide power equally between these two organs of government. Secondary principles, on the other hand, are categorized in to five. One, it specifies that an agreement on sharing of power between the two organs of government is guaranteed through a binding constitution. Two, the federal system is divided in to two chambers; one serving the interest of the general population, while the other branches of the federation. Three, the smaller branches of the government is highly represented in the bicameral parliament. Four, the two chambers in the bicameral parliament will be equally involved in the process of amending the constitution together. Lastly, power sharing in the regional governments in a federation, is generally larger than those in a unitary state. The federal system of government allows each level of government to manage its affairs separately with some level of autonomy. However, the federal government has the authority to make decisions that affects both levels of government especially in cases where it touches on matters of national security. This means that though each level of government has its autonomy, the federal or central government controls affairs that are regarded as national concern, whereas the local government handles issues touching on the domestic level within their jurisdiction. Exercising of power within a federal system of government is determined by provisions written in the constitution. This means that the power vested on the central government is limited to what is stipulated and agreed upon in the constitution. In most cases, as discussed above, the central government is vested with powers to make decisions that are deemed to be of national importance. For instance, the central government, through the president and approval by majority of the legislator, could have the authority to declare war on a particular nation if it feels that the security on the entire nation is at risk or threatened by that particular country. 4. German nationalism. The term ‘nationalism’ is coined from the word nation. According to Benedict, pg. 359, a nation is a political community that has been imagined and possesses qualities of sovereignty and is fundamentally limited. Benedict believes a nation is imagined because in it, there exists a number of individuals from different cultural and geographical locations, who have never, meet one another yet each belief they are one and therefore live as a communion. However, the term nationalism has been interpreted differently by a number of philosophers’. Gellner for instance, believes that nationalism is just an invention in a scenario that did not exist initially, rather than self-awareness. He claims that people are made to believe that nationalism exists through self-awareness yet it is a fabrication and creation made to exist by individuals. Conclusively, Gellner asserts that there exists a true community which is imposed upon nations. He goes further and states that communities which are so large such that one cannot meet everyone around are all imagined communities. The term’ German Nationalism, therefore, refers to the idea that declares Germans to be a nation which ensures the unification through cultural heritage and preservation. German nationalism was coined during the Napoleonic wars and the Romantic nationalism. It was a crucial ideology that united Germans in defending their territory during their invasion by France which was under the leadership of Napoleon. However, the ideology later on faded after the Nazi Germans committed what came to be known as the Holocaust, all in the name of nationalism. German Nazi committed acts of genocide against other non-Germans such as the Jewish population in the country during world war two. However, nationalism soon gained popularity during the cold war when a wave of moderate nationalism swept throughout the nation in support of the unification of East and West Germany. German nationalism, though with some disadvantages, has been able to demonstrate positive impacts on the economy. For instance, it is through the spirit of nationalism that Germany created what came to be referred to as the welfare state. Through the welfare state, programs were started to address issues faced by majority of the citizens. Such programs include pension schemes for the aged population, health care insurance for all citizens as well as implementing safety regulations for workers. As a sign of strong bonds among German nationals, the spirit of nationalism among them continues to grow. For instance, Germany was initially divided into two countries; East and West Germany. Both the Soviet Union and the United States occupied these two countries respectively. However, when these two countries reunited in the 1990’s, West Germany was willing to incur lots of expenditure in reuniting the Wessies and the Osssies. As a sign of strong nationalism, West Germany also willing to fund the reconstruction of East Germany economy which was completely destroyed by communist dominance. It is estimated that close to 970 billion Euros was transferred to East Germany from the year1991 to 2003. 5. Polyarchy It refers to a system of government in which power to govern is given to three or more individuals in the government. This system of government was first applied in the United States and was slowly implemented by other countries globally. The main of polyarchy is to weaken the powers of single leadership. Germany for instance employs polyarchy in its system of governance. The president of the republic is generally ceremonial in nature and is generally in place to ensure stability in the nation. He or she is not even the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, but rather is the Cabinet Defense minister who holds such title and responsibility. To further demonstrate polyarchy, the president’s term is limited to two and his or her election is determined by an electoral college which comprises of national and sub-national law makers. It is the chancellor who takes up most of the responsibility that is assumed to be the president’s. Though the chancellor takes up most of the responsibility, the holder of the office of chancellor can be eliminated through a vote of no confidence by the Bundestag majority. However, the Bundestag must choose a successor to replace the chancellor who will be appointed by the president. On the other hand, the chancellor can initiate a vote of no confidence and if the Bundestag fails to support it, the chancellor can request the president to dissolve the Bundestag within 21 days. If the president in this case, does not act before the 21days, the Bundestag can prevent dissolution by electing another chancellor in replacement. In all these voting session, an extension of 48 hours is usually granted as a waiting period. There are other checks and balances that are put in place to enforce polyarchy. For instance, there is a suspensive veto that allows the Bundestag to over-rule objections made by the Bundesrat to passed laws. There is also a federal convention which allows the president to be elected through plurality if the majority rule has already been applied twice. The system has overlapping terms whereby the president can only serve for a five year term while the Bundestag can serve for four years only. The Bundesrat, on the contrary has no term since members can be appointed and removed at any time. The polyarchy system is also federalist in nature. The German system is divided into 16 lands. This distributes power to all regions as opposed to a unitary state where power is centrally located. Additionally, three of these lands are major cities in the region. The election system in this form of government is also equally distributed. Voters therefore get to select a party as well as a candidate. Each participating partly gets the opportunity to be awarded seats depending on a pre-determined percentage. Out of the total 598 seats, 299 seats are given to both sides of the election. Read More