Distinguishable Power-Wielding Body in the US - Essay Example

Lecturer’s Elitism There have been numerous writings on this particular According to my own understanding, elitism involves the hoarding of power by a certain class of people. This power rarely changes hands even though it changes its face. This theory was best exemplified by Eisenhower’s Cabinet. It contained 8 millionaires and 1 plumber. C. Wright Mills in his book The Power Elite identified certain power groups. This included- those heavily involved in politics, economy and the military. It is individuals in these groupd who form a distinguishable power-wielding body in U.S (Mills, 1956). It was proposed that this group had been generated through rationalization at work in most advanced industrial societies whereby power mechanisms had become concentrated, and thus overall control fell into the hands of a limited and somewhat corrupt group (Mills, 1956). This was a reflection of a decline in politics. This analysis sought to point out the degradation of democracy in most if not all "advanced" societies and also the fact that power is rarely held by elected representatives. Floyd Hunter held the same opinion. He said that those at the top of the power hierarchy have been isolated and they comprise of policy-makers. These policy-makers are largely drawn from the businessmens class (Hunter, 1953). Even more disheartening is that those at the top of the chain merely play a game of musical chairs. When one ceases to be at the top of the hierarchy in politics he goes to the top of the hierarchy in matters concerning the economy. Therefore power is ever consolidated at the very top and other deserving candidates do not stand a chance as they cannot even get a foot at the door. Types of Elitism Power elites. As previously stated, these are the people who consolidate power amongst themselves and according to Mills these includes those at the top of political, economic and military hierarchy (Mills, 1956). Resource elites. This refers to those who have substantial financial muscle. Traditionally, such are people have access to natural resources and in todays world access to hi-tech technology. Idea elites. These are ideological leaders who emerge especially from a given social movement. They usually come up with great ideas however they lead only for a time as they are susceptible to loosing their position to the next great thinker. Typically, such people are involved in policy development. Procedural Justice The term procedural comes from the word procedure which means steps or stages that ought to be followed one after the other. While justice means rightfulness, lawfulness or moral uprightness. So what is procedural justice? It refers to fairness in dispute resolution processes. In other words, procedural justice involves the making and implementing of decisions through fair processes. A very interesting question was put foward with regards to this topic. What makes a certain procedure fair? It is very difficult to determine if a procedure is fair at face value. The procedure in question needs to be looked at very intently for certain characteristics: i. Consistency. There should be a lot of emphasis on consistency. This means that like cases ought to be treated in the same manner. The distinctions should be one of personal identity and not on the procedures followed. ii. Impartiality. It is of paramount importance that those carrying out the procedures ought to be impartial and neutral. There should be no question as to the biasness of the decision makers. In the event that there are any suspicions of such, the decision makers should be asked to step aside which in legal terms is referred to as recusing themselves. Such third parties should be trusted by the parties disputing. iii. Chance to be heard. Natural justice states that the accused should be given a chance to be heard. They should be given an opportunity to defend themselves. Other parties involved for instance witnesses also should be given such an opportunity. iv. Transparency. Lastly, this process should be transparent. It should be conducted in open court or open places. There should be no secrecy. However, it should be noted that there are exceptions to this especially where the matter in dispute involves national security. This principle of procedural fairness governs the U.S courts. This principle is encapsulated under Amendment VI of the American Constitution which states that, the accused in criminal prosecutions has the right to a speedy trial, by an impartial jury. The accused also has a right to be informed of the nature and cause of accusation. If there are any witnesses against him he should be able to confront them. It is noteworthy that if the accused has any witnesses in his favour, he could compulsorily obtain them. This court process ought to be under the Assistance of Counsel for his defence, who if unable to pay for one, should be provided by the state (American Constitution). This principle is not only applied in court but in any dispute settlement mechanism for instance negotiations. Gangs of New York The scene is set in the 1860s and a young man arrives from America by the name Amsterdam Vallon. He is a man on a mission but to complete his mission he needs to quietly infiltritate a gang- the Natives in the Five Points. These was a group of people who had been in America and were against the immigration of Irish Catholics. This part of the town is run by a man known as “Bill the Butcher”. The man who allegedly killed Amsterdam’s dad after a blood bath between the Natives and the Dead Rabbits- a gang of the Irish immigrants. Amsterdam at the time was a young boy but he witnessed his father’s death and took the knife used and buried it before he was taken to an orphanage. His young son has come back for vengeance but he has a well laid out plan on how he will do this. Will he succeed? Amsterdam is an orphan and his late father- Priest Vallon was slain. He was once the chief warrior of the Dead Rabbits. “Bill the Butcher” detests immigrants and this was one of the reasons that led to the feud between him and the late Vallon. After the death of Priest Vallon, each year on his anniversary the victory is commemorated with a celebration. Amsterdam plans to avenge his father’s death. He manages to infiltrate Bill’s gang and becomes part of his inner circle. As he gets closer to Bill, he becomes more attached as he becomes his surrogate son. Amsterdam falls under Bill’s spell and becomes conflicted. All this time Amsterdam manages to keep secret the truth of his past. Amsterdam meets Jenny Everdeane, an enigmatic pickpocket whose fierce independence fascinates him. When details of her closely linked past with Bill the Butcher emerge, the relationship between the three intensifies. As has been proven time and time again, matters of the heart always conflict with ones plans. Amsterdam became torn between the fight for his family honor, freedom and the woman he has fallen in love with. Eventually, Bill the Butcher comes to know of Amsterdam’s intentions who immediately resurrects his late father’s gang- the Dead Rabbits. Both gangs prepare for war and just before it occurs, Jenny tells Amsterdam that she has chartered passage for herself on a ship heading to San Francisco because she reasoned that Amsterdam would to die in the fight. The fight coincided with the New York City draft riots. Union soldiers are sent into the city to quell the riots. As the warring gangs meet, shells from naval ships hit them. Many people are killed, and the scene resembles a typical batle field as it is filled with a cloud of dust and debris. In the haze, Amsterdam and Cutting exchange blows but another shell blast throws them to the ground. Bill the Butcher discovers he has been wounded by a piece of shrapnel, and as he dies he says, "Thank God, I die a true American." Amsterdam then stabs him, and he dies. This uprising will have repercussions that will spread through the Five Points and into the halls of Government and beyond. Liberalism and American Conservatism This is a case of two extremes as this two ideologies are worlds apart. Liberalism is derived from the word “liberal” which means the free man. The American founders were committed to three types of freedom: i. Economic Freedom ii. Political Freedom iii. Freedom of speech and religion This ideology was formulated centuries ago and freedom in this case meant limiting the government’s power thus increasing the scope for individual and private action. This was the premise of classical liberalism. This form of liberalism has undergone two dramatic changes: the 1930s revolution and the 1960s revolution. The 1930s revolution was based on the reasoning that rights become useless unless people have the means to exercise them. Franklin Roosevelt argued that, people who lack necessities in life cannot be deemd to be free. Roosevelt was of the opinion, that in order for citizens to have true liberty, the government should insure them against the common societal occurrences for instance deprivation, loss of a job, illness, among others. It is therefore safe to say that the 1930s revolution introduced a new understanding of freedom. For this newly acquired freedom to be realised, the government has a bigger role to play. The 1960s experienced the second liberal revolution. It was championed by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Before the sixties, it was largely believed by most if not all Americans, in a universal moral order. This order made certain demands on individuals and people had to conform to it. Previous generations had taken this order for granted. Some demands made in pursuit of adhering to this moral order include: Working hard and striving to better oneself, being faithful to ones spouse, and if your country requires you, make yourself available. However, at the inception of the revolution, several factions had been formed- the gay activist movement, the anti-war movement, the feminist movement, and they attacked the moral order for being too narrow and oppressive. The generation at the time fought for a new order or consensus that would not be based on an external authority instead it would be on the sovereignty of the inner self. Rousseau invented this new order: inner freedom, or moral freedom. Rousseau argues that an individual whilst on his own makes major decisions such as- what to believe in- God or atheism, whom to love or what to become. Such questions and decions are made after an individual digs deep within himself and listens to his inner voice. This is the new liberal morality. Let us now shift our focus to American conservatism. This ideology propones that the government’s two main duties: to protect freedom and provide security. However, the ideology continues to propone that, beyond those two duties, the government should simply not interfere in people’s lives. It should allow people to act as they see fit. According to believers of this ideology, conservatives, freedom trumps equality (Hayek, 1944). They believe that the government ought to promote the former, despite the equalities affected. Jaws Growth Machine Harvey Molotch proponed the thesis, the "city as a growth machine". This approach of analysis has over the years been found to be very influential in urban politics and local economic development especially in the United States. Despite its influential nature, the context of urban politics since this thesis was first proposed have changed considerably. Any attempts to apply it to settings other than the U.S. have revealed certain limitations of a conceptual and empirical nature. Molotch was of the view that, high levels of economic activity translate into high returns (Molotch, 2007). In capitalist societies, which are premised on the economic maxim, “Willing buyer, willing seller”, urban areas become an arena where property entrepreneurs use the government as well as other civic institutions in a bid to maximize returns on their investments. So how does one make money from such places? The best way would be to increase the economic activity intensity in such areas. For instance; which is better to have a thousand apartment units on a parcel of land or have a single-family house? In other words, which one generates more money? Of course it is the latter. Seeking an increase in economic activities in the city as a whole. Most entrepreneurs in a certain region tend to lobby for development where they have vested interests. However, this is myopic on their part. This is because, they stand to gain more if economic activities intensify in the whole region as a whole (Molotch, 2007). For instance, this will attract labour migration, as well as attracting potential investors. Who are these pople who make up growth machines? It should be noted that they do not only include land and building owners. Banks can also be thrown into the mix. This is because extend loans to property purchasers and start-up businesses in a certain region. The banks then develop such a vested interest in this region to the extent that area activity intensifies. This means that borrowers will be able to pay back loans extended to them. Growth of such areas also provides more depositors and eventually more customers to pay interest on any future loans granted. This thesis upon formulation was based on interdependence. Economic activities once generated in an area can only survive through the provision of other economic activities. By this I mean, houses constructed for sale will require a transport system nearby, they will require schools, hospitals, banks among other things. Therefore economic activities tend to feed of each other. Harvey Molotch himself notes, the growth machine idea asserts that, virtually every city has the potential to be a growth machine. (Molotch, 2007) References American Constitution Friedrich .H (1944). The Road to Serfdom Logan, J. Molotch, H. (2007). “The City as a Growth Machine” Wright. M (1956). The Power Elite Floyd H. (1953). Community Power Structure Read More