Cuba’s Isolation from Democracy Essay -- International Government

Numerous countries in Latin America have transitioned to more democratically sound political structures in the past forty years. Pressure from within the countries and abroad forced political revolutions that incorporated free elections in order to equally represent citizens that previously had no voice in society. However, with the transformation of other countries occurring, there are dissident entities in Latin American that refuse to comply with the new political migration. One country in particular, which does not have physical geographic connection to Central and South America, fiercely resisted the vociferous call of democracy. That country is Cuba situated ninety miles off the Florida coast and exists as an antithesis to United States democracy. Cuba’s unwillingness to succumb under the United States’ to adopt democratic policies has made it a special case of socialism. A revolution, transition to socialist belief, and increased economic stability have culminate d in a country that appears to be progressing, but stagnant in developing into a functioning political body. The Cuban Revolution, incited after Fidel Castro assumed power in Cuba, aimed to reform most of the policies left behind by Dictator Fulgencio Batista. Castro’s successful guerilla operations laid the groundwork for dismantling the Batista regime, and gave the Cuban people a relief from the repressive tactics used by the dictator. Historically, most revolutions take the path of using violence in order to achieve a new order of government. With Batista gone, members of the â€Å"middle class, workers, peasants, foreign investors, the U.S. embassy, and other observes† wondered â€Å"What kind of revolution would this be?† (Skidmore, Smith, & Green, 2010). Castro sough... ...e prime example of what socialism is capable of, and what the desires of larger and more developed countries can cause for countries that wish to remain independent. Castro’s revolution set aside the typical idea of a revolution by focusing on social issues that riddle the country with instability stagnant growth, but placed confidence in the Soviet Union for economic support, contradicting the national need for political independence. Works Cited Eckstein, S. (1986). The Impact of Cuban Revolution: A Comparative Perspective. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 502-534. Skidmore, T. E., Smith, P. H., & Green, J. N. (2010). Modern Latin America. In T. E. Skidmore, P. H. Smith, & J. N. Green. New York, New York: Oxford University Press Inc. UNICEF, World Health Organization, United Nations Population Division and United Nations Statistics Division

Child Labour Essay

Child labor is work that harms children or keeps them from attending school. Around the world growing gaps between rich and poor in recent decades have forced millions of young children out of school and into work. The International Labor Organization estimates that 215 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 currently work under conditions that are considered illegal, hazardous, or extremely exploitative. Underage children work at all sorts of jobs around the world, usually because they and their families are extremely poor. Large numbers of children work in commercial agriculture, fishing, manufacturing, mining, and domestic service. Some children work in illicit activities like the drug trade and prostitution or other traumatic activities such as serving as soldiers. Some social scientists point out that some kinds of work may be completely unobjectionable — except for one thing about the work that makes it exploitative. For instance, a child who delivers newspapers before school might actually benefit from learning how to work, gaining responsibility, and a bit of money. But what if the child is not paid? Then he or she is being exploited. As UNICEF’s 1997 State of the World’s Children Report puts it, â€Å"Children’s work needs to be seen as happening along a continuum, with destructive or exploitative work at one end and beneficial work – promoting or enhancing children’s development without interfering with their schooling, recreation and rest – at the other. And between these two poles are vast areas of work that need not negatively affect a child’s development. † Other social scientists have slightly different ways of drawing the line between acceptable and unacceptable work. As UNICEF’s 1997 State of the World’s Children Report puts it, â€Å"Children’s work needs to be seen as happening along a continuum, with destructive or exploitative work at one end and beneficial work – promoting or enhancing children’s development without interfering with their schooling, recreation and rest – at the other. And between these two poles are vast areas of work that need not negatively affect a child’s development. † Other social scientists have slightly different ways of drawing the line between cceptable and unacceptable work. In 2000, the ILO estimates, â€Å"246 million child workers aged 5 and 17 were involved in child labour, of which 171 million were involved in work that by its nature is hazardous to their safety, physical or mental health, and moral development. Moreover, some 8. 4 million children were engaged in so-called ‘unconditional’ worst forms of child labour, which include forced a nd bonded labour, the use of children in armed conflict, trafficking in children and commercial sexual exploitation.

Law and morality - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1312 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Law Essay Type Narrative essay Did you like this example? Title: The ultimate basis for adhering to the positive thesis of the conceptual differentiation of law and morals is itself a moral reason. The point is to make sure that it is always open to the theorist and the ordinary person to retain a critical moral stance in face of the law which is. (MacCormick) Discuss. EXAM MODEL ANSWER Introduction This discussion focuses on the relationship between law and morality and the conceptual differentiation of the two paradigms. It is appropriate to begin with a definition of terms. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Law and morality" essay for you Create order Law can be defined as a body of rules and principles of procedure and conduct established and enforced by a political authority. Morality can be defined as a code of conduct advanced by a society or religion or adopted by an individual to guide his or her own behaviour[1]. In essence, as Kant asserts in Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals[2], morality is a personal concern, whereas law is a societal concern. There is a complex nexus between law and morality, the extent and depth of which has fluctuated over time and the appropriateness of which is the subject of considerable debate. The following commentary contains an analysis of the featured quote underpinned by observations from eminent authorities in the field. Law and Morality Law can be distinguished from morality on the grounds that a legal system is comprised of specific, written principles and rules interpreted by officials who are charged with the duty of applying appropriate penalties and awarding appropriate rem edies. In very broad terms, the law and morality have a common goal, being the lessening of social harm or evil. There is undoubtedly a substantial overlap between the conduct governed by law and that governed by morality and laws are inevitably often judged against a moral matrix. As, for example, the current debate concerning the age of criminal responsibility for children illustrates, moral criticism is commonly the catalyst for reform of the law and as Dworkin argues in Lawà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Empire, the interpretation of the law should delve beyond the black letter of the legal framework into the realm of morality[3]. This position is comparable to that of Raz in Legal Principles and the Limits of Law[4]. It is often difficult to chart a neutral path between the substantive theories of legal positivism and legal moralism, as Koller illustrated in The Concept of Law and Its Conceptions[5]. Debate on the issues of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"natural lawà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å "moralityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ has been plagued by vague definition and incongruous terminology. Even those positivists who might be characterised as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"softà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ or à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"inclusiveà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ have conceded that there is no obligatory connection between morality and law, although they often contend that moral criteria are referenced in determining the validity of legal principles, such as constitutional rights as put forward by Waluchow in The Weak Social Thesis[6]. The famous Hart/Devlin debate of the 1950s and 60s sparked by publication of the Report of the Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution (the Wolfenden Report)[7] in 1957 concerned the proper relationship between morality and law. This debate eventually saw the arguments for the dislocation of law from private moral choices advanced by Hart win out over the conservative ideology of Lord Devlin, who was concerned to preserve the link for the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"goodà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢ „ ¢ of society. Hart put forward a theory of positive law, which has been considered in recent times by commentators such as Orts, who in Positive Law and Systemic Legitimacy: A Comment on Hart and Habermas[8], has argued for exception from the thesis of the separation of morality and law along the lines of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"systemic legitimacyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ drawn from the work of Habermas. It is certainly true that critical legality can be employed to contrast Hartà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s own conception of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“critical moralityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  and it is submitted that Orts is well founded in his central contention that modern positive legal systems must maintain systemic legitimacy. MacCormickà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s view is manifestly correct, although it is really stating little more than the obvious. A critical moral stance must always be retained in the face of the law and while the legal system is operated by human beings this will inevitably be the case. The law will a lways be guided, to some extent by a moral compass and morality will continue to influence decision-making and the day-to-day administration of justice in every corner of the legal system. Cases such as Pretty v United Kingdom (2002)[9] concerning the right to die and euthanasia, R v R (1991)[10] concerning rape in marriage, Re A (Children)(2000)[11] regarding the separation of conjoined twins and R v Brown (1993)[12] dealing with consensual acts of homosexual sadomasochism, illustrate that in practice (which overrides the abstract) the relationship between law and morality is indivisible. Concluding Comments Law governs conduct within our society. Morality influences personal decisions relating to individual conduct. The conceptual differentiation of law and morals is thus, at fundamental level, difficult to identify with precision. It is true to conclude that law can be divided into two components. Law consists of a body of basic concepts (its conceptual system) and of a bod y of general legal principles (its substantive system). The distinction between these two components is not easy to describe, but in essence the underlying conceptual system endeavours to distil the basic framework and superstructure of the paradigm of law, whereas the overarching substantive system lays down its morally-shaded, normative constituent parts. It is submitted that in what is a highly subjective and often abstract field of theory, there are no right answers, but some that are clearly à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"betterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ than others. Rational natural law theory clearly anchors the contents of law firmly in morality and equates legal principle with moral principle. Therefore, while conceptual legal dogma separates law from morality (although this need not discharge itself into positive law), natural law forges a coalescence. This commentator supports the line taken by Puchta in Cursus der Institutionen[13], in drawing a distinction between law and morals which, in t urn is in accord with the Kantian distinction between legality and morality. In this sense the law delineates the outer limits to be imposed on individual freedom of choice, while morality is confined to an internal, personal choice which is influenced by a subjective sense of obligation, conduct and social duty. This suggests that the primary connection between law and morality is that the law provides individuals with the possibility to make moral choices with certain parameters. THE END EXACT WORD COUNT INCLUDING TEXT OF ANSWER ONLY : 1002 Question text, footnotes and bibliography not included. BIBLIOGRAPHY Case law as footnoted to standard citation Dworkin R, Lawà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Empire (Legal Theory), (1986) Belknap Press Kant, I., Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, (1967) Barnes Noble Koller, P., The Concept of Law and Its Conceptions, (2006) Ratio Juris Vol.19 Issue 2, pp 180 -196 Orts, E., Positive Law and Systemic Legitimacy: A Comment on Hart and Habermas, (2007) Ratio Juris, Vol. 6 Issue 3, pp 245 278 Puchta, G., Cursus der Institutionen, (2002) (reprint of 1850 edition), Adamant Media Corporation Raz, Legal Principles and the Limits of Law, (1972) 81 Yale Law Journal 823 Report of the Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution 1957 (London: HMSO) Cmnd 247 Wallace, G. and Walker, A. D. M., editors, The Definition of Morality, (1970) Methuen Waluchow W., à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"The Weak Social Thesisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (1989) 9 Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 23 Footnotes [1] See for insightful comment: Wallace, G. and Walker, A. D. M., editors, The Definition of Morality, (1970) Methuen. [2] Kant, I., Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, (1967) Barnes Noble. [3] Dworkin R, Lawà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Empire (Legal Theory), (1986) Belknap Press [4] Raz, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Legal Principles and the Limits of Lawà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (1972) 81 Yale Law Journal 823. [5] Koller, P., The Concept of Law and Its Conceptions, (2006) Ratio Juris Vol.19 Issue 2, pp 180 -196. [6] Waluchow W., à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"The Weak Social Thesisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (1989) 9 Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 23. [7] (1957) (London: HMSO) Cmnd 247. [8] Orts, E., Positive Law and Systemic Legitimacy: A Comment on Hart and Habermas, (2007) Ratio Juris, Vol. 6 Issue 3, pp 245 278. [9] (2002) 35 EHRR 1. [10] (1991) 1 All ER 759. [11] (2000) EWCA Civ 254. [12] (1993) 2 WLR 556. [13] Puchta, G., Cursus der Institutionen, (2002) (reprint of 1850 edition), Adam ant Media Corporation.