John Stuart Mill's On Liberty as applied to an issue of modern times Essay

John Stuart Mill's On Liberty as applied to an issue of modern times - Essay Example He was concerned that this majority would stamp out diversity, repress individuals whom failed to conform to herdlike values, and stifle dissenting views. The mass media presents a complex study because it involves an interplay between a tightly controlled corporate elite and masses of citizens whom too often turn to and rely upon the mass media for facts and information. How the mass media presents events is critical to American citizens attaining the intellectual and physical sovereignty to which Mill referred as constititing the foundations of their liberty and freedom. This essay will argue that, viewed through the principles articulated by Mill, today's oligopolistic mass media undermines and stifles the ideals to which he aspired for American citiens; as a result, notions such as the legitimacy of diversity and the sanctity of variety have been dealt a critical blow. As a preliminary matter, before discussing Mill more particularly, it is necessary to place modern American mass media in context. ... In democratic societies the manner by which the media system is structured, controlled, and subsidized is of central political importance. Control over the means of communication is an integral aspect of political and economic power" (McChesney, 1997: 6). The irony is that, although the mass media is privately controlled, it is structured in a way which more resembles a non-democratic oligopoly or military junta than a democratically-structured disperssion of media outlets. In short, from a structural point of view, American mass media is controlled and delivered by a wealthy corporate elite, economic and political barriers often bar entry to new participants, and American citizens receive their news from this structural mass media creature. In addition to structure, it is important to discuss the more substantive features of American mass media. A superficial analysis might yield the view that American mass media, as a corporate enterprise designed to generate profits for corporate shareholders, reflects like a mirror the diversity and the variety of the American citizenry. If the mass media oligopoly didn't give the American consumers what they wanted, this logic goes, then the consumers would switch allegiance and the corporate profits would dry up. There are two fundamental flaws with this argument from the point of view of a theorist such as Mill. First, how the corporate mass media decides to present programming is often a product of detailed surveys and focus groups (Carper, 1995: D-19.2); in effect, the mass media is appealing to the majority as a primary justification for the selection of suitable subject matter and viewpoints. Rather than making programming decisions independently, based on

The International Debt Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The International Debt Crisis - Essay Example After World War 2, the Bretton Woods system was established and followed by many nations for years till is a collapse in 1971. The Bretton Woods system was related to fixed exchange rate; linked to the reserve of gold held by the country. The system operated as the value of the dollar was kept almost constant and any fluctuation in the exchange rates between the dollar and other currencies was accordingly countered by the central banks of the related countries.   If the dollar experienced a decrease in value, the central bank of the country would act so as to counter the effects of this fall in value by selling more of its own currency to decrease its value and maintain the value of the dollar to its previous level. This system functioned because of the willingness and ability of other nations to help maintain the value of the dollar. However, in 1971 when the United States experienced a fall in the value of the dollar the countries did not act to maintain the value of the dollar. ...  Finally, the Bretton Woods system was abolished in 1971 and the floating exchange rate system was introduced where the value of the dollar was allowed to fluctuate in the money market.   THE OIL PRICE HIKE AND ITS EFFECTS  The increase in the prices oil in the 1970s was massive enough to create a ruffle in the economies of many countries throughout the world. The oil-exporting nations experienced a huge capital inflow due to the increase in prices whereas the oil-importing countries (which included many developing nations) experienced noticeable capital outflow and oil inflation in their respective economies.