Western cultures Essay Example for Free

Western cultures Essay

World Bank Report & World Development Report Essay example -- essays r

Starting from the year 1990, the international community has set up plans to eliminate poverty in the world by the year 2015 with a set of specific goals to be achieved by that date. These goals were set up according to the studies done beforehand, that showed where and what the major poverty areas and problems in the world were. These studies explained that although the poverty problem was extensive, there were several factors of which the crisis was mainly constituted. The first problem was extreme income poverty, with almost half the world's population living on less than $2 a day, and a fifth living on less than $1 daily. Another major problem was education, which encompassed many aspects. Not only wasn't primary education compulsory in many regions, but there were also problems regarding women getting equal education to men, due to cultural, social and economic barriers. The third main problem area was health, where child mortality rates, for example, were alarming; 'in rich countries fewer than 1 child in 100 does not reach its fifth birthday, while in the poorest countries as many as a fifth of the children do not'. After getting these goals in focus and setting these plans in motion, it was discovered that they weren't going as well as planned. It was found that the goals were pretty unrealistic compared to the conditions and the time period. For example, one of the goals was 'cutting income poverty by half'. This could only be achieved, if income poverty decreased by 2.7% annually between 1990 and 2015, which didn't happen, because studies showed that between 1990 and 1998, it decreased by only 1.7% annually. This failure to achieve the objectives was mainly because of the inequality of the world; inequality in distribution of income, inequality in cultural and religious conditions, inequality in practically too many facets of life to be able to control or conform to a generalized plan. So, from the outcome of this attempt and from going back to the reports of previous decades, a new strategy to eliminate poverty was laid out, based on three fundamental interrelated concepts that could be adapted to each community differently according to its individual conditions. These concepts are promoting opportunity, facilitating empowerment, and enhancing security. In promoting opportunity, the government plays an important role, in making it easy for ... ...le, it says that the governments have to improve their facilities and services, like health, education and infrastructure, so as to give the poor equal opportunities. In the WBR, on the other hand, it says that in needy countries, the World Bank actually finances and funds their infrastructure and educational programs. In the WBR it mentions many different things of this sort, while in the WDR it only clarifies the plan that should be adopted by the countries. Another difference is that in the WBR it is sort of dealing with clients that it wants to please and to better its performance for, and that its plan for reducing poverty, is only part of what it does, in order to reach this goal. The WDR was dealing with the poverty problem only, so I think it sounded more involved in it and more giving in attention to this problem only, using greater detail. I think that for the general public, the WDR is much easier laid out and written, with sufficient background information, plenty of detail and a more humanitarian side of the issue. The WBR is much more disordered, financially oriented, with much greater monetary detail and not much emphasis on the compassionate side of the problem.

Quest for Manhood Malcolm X Essay

Manhood is when a boy takes the leap from being a child to a true man. People say that leap happens at different times for every boy. People can tell it happens because they stop acting foolishly and deal with matters by themselves. The four stories The Autobiography of Malcolm X, â€Å"The Ethics of Living Jim Crow†, â€Å"The Man Who Killed a Shadow†, and â€Å"Almos’ a Man† all deal with African American boys and them becoming true men. The literature of Richard Wright and Malcolm X illustrate how African American males encountered much difficulty in asserting their manhood while living within the racist society of the 1930’s and 1940’s. Racism denied African American males the opportunity to gain economic power. In â€Å"The Ethics of Living Jim Crow†, the young African American boy gets a job in a factory. He works with white men and wants to learn more. One day he is told that the factory is â€Å"a white man’s work†¦and [he] better watch [him] self! † (241) The white men feel he is threatening their job even though he is just trying to support his family. They threaten him and make him quit his job. Unlike the young boy who already has a job, Malcolm X moves to Boston to search for a new job. During Malcolm X, Malcolm decides his life would be better if he moves in with his sister. He was walking through the city and noticed these people were â€Å"only a big city version of those successful Negro bootblacks and janitors back in Lansing† (42). Janitors and bootblacks were considered successful jobs for African Americans where that job for a white man would be around middle to lower class. Blacks don’t even have a chance at a good job like a lawyer or doctor. â€Å"The Man with a Shadow† is about an African American man growing up in life. He is working as a janitor and his boss has legs spread wide open and her panties showing. He is embarrassed and refuses to clean under her desk. The boss becomes angry and screams, â€Å"‘You’re being paid to clean, You black nigger†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (232). The black man feels real embarrassed and gets yelled at for not cleaning the same area again. He feels as if he is being treated like a slave. Also being called the N word is real offensive for African Americans. He has to quit because he accidentally killed the librarian. Economic power is one step in leading men to manhood, but exercising one’s freedom is also an important step. Racism prevented African American males from exercising their autonomy. In â€Å"The Ethics of Living Jim Crow†, the young African American boy has a job and is making a delivery. He is on his back to the store when â€Å"a police car, swerving toward [him], jammed [him] into the curbing† (244). Blacks in this time period were treated unfairly. He is just trying to do his job and even the cops wouldn’t let blacks exercise their own independence. Whites put fear into blacks in all different kinds of settings during this time period, from work places to social settings. During Malcolm X, Malcolm is in a theatre watching a show. When the show started, Malcolm â€Å"was the only Negro in the theatre†¦[and] felt like crawling under a rug† (33). People go to theatres all the time and shouldn’t be forced to feel uncomfortable while in them. Malcolm wants to watch the show, but since the country was so racist and he was the only black, he felt weird and wanted to leave. Later on in the book, Malcolm is thinking about what he wanted to do for his job. â€Å"Lansing certainly had no negro lawyers or doctors,† something he may have wanted to be (38). He wants to be successful in life, but as he recalls there are zero lawyers or doctors in Lansing. This quote shows that because of race alone, blacks can’t use their autonomy and get a job they aspire to be. Finding their independence was hard enough, but trying to protect each other was even harder. Racism would not allow African American males to defend themselves or others. The young boy in â€Å"The Ethics of a Living Jim Crow† is at a store working when an old woman gets beat. â€Å"They would not beat me if I knew enough to keep my mouth shut† even though they beat that old black lady (243). The white workers beat an old black lady for not paying her bill. He could not defend the old lady because he knew the whites would hurt him if I tried to help her. Later on in the story, a security guard slaps a fellow black female employee on the butt. The African American man feels embarrassed for letting his friend get slapped on the butt. The employee who got slapped says, â€Å"‘Don’t worry, you couldn’t help it†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (246). This quote shows that blacks had no chance to defend others because if they did, the whites would just beat them even more. The girl knows they can’t do anything about it and tells him not to worry. From white security guards to racist groups such as the KKK, whites could do basically whatever they want to do to blacks at this time. At the very beginning of Malcolm X, the KKK is at Malcolm’s house. They were surrounding the house, â€Å"brandishing their shotguns and rifles† (1). The KKK is around the house with weapons wanting Malcolm’s father to leave town. He had no way to defend himself because they had all weapons. Many people and organizations in town, and even the police are corrupt and don’t like the blacks. Part of being a man is defending others and the whites would not let them do this at this time. The four stories show how black males had different obstacles to overcome in gaining their manhood while living in the racist society during the mid 1900’s. The boys in all the stories had problems they encountered on their way to finding their manhood. They couldn’t gain economic power, exercise their autonomy, or defend themselves and others. The 30’s and 40’s were a bad time for African Americans to live in, but as the years have gone on, minorities have gained more rights in America. With the help of groups such as the NAACP, blacks have more rights than ever. Barack Obama, the United States President and Tiger Woods, the world’s most popular athlete are both examples of how far African Americans have come.

Should Marijuana Be Legalized - 1314 Words

Marijuana, also known as cannabis, has been deemed an unacceptable and illegal substance in Canada, as well as in many other nations. It is a drug which can alter an individual’s sense of perception and distort one’s senses, and may become addictive if used repeatedly. Although marijuana is looked down upon in society when used for recreational purposes, it serves several beneficial purposes in the medical field. The legalization of marijuana is a prominent growing issue in several Canadian provinces, as it is allegedly believed to benefit the Canadian economy and decrease crime rates if it is legalized and regulated properly. The government spends millions of dollars to enforce new rules and regulation to control the use and trafficking†¦show more content†¦The predominant effects of prohibition range from wasted resources to ruined lives, as each year enforcing laws on prohibiting possession and use of marijuana costs approximately $500 million (MacQueen, Ken ). Moreover, not only is it excessively costly to enforce prohibition laws, but rather the arrests for those in possession of marijuana divert officers away from more crucial issues, and can have severe repercussions for those arrested. The hundreds of thousands of people who are arrested each year but do not do jail time also suffer as their arrests stay on their records for years, thus hindering their prospects for jobs, loans, housing and benefits. As unemployment and underemployment rates remain high, and while many parts of the country are experiencing a housing crisis, a single marijuana arrest can have ominous consequences. There is no substantial evidence proving that prohibition reduces drug use, rather it is a recurring criminal act, especially among adolescents. Although some may argue that legalizing marijuana would increase the use of it, it is actually the opposite that will occur if it is regulated properly. Prohibiting marijuana has evidently not stopped individuals from illegally using it, as it is in fact proven that marijuana use has continuously increased among adolescents, as they see it as a sign of rebellion (Beckett, Katherine and Herbert, Steve). As banning marijuana has not produced significant benefits, and has rather been conducive to