The crisis of communism Essay Example for Free

The crisis of communism Essay Why did Deng Xiaoping survive the ‘crisis of communism’ whilst Mikhail Gorbachev did not? The dominant powers of communism, China and the Soviet Union, were about to face a major test to their systems of governance in the 1970s and 1980s. Consequently, only one of them would survive. The ‘crisis of communism’ had its roots in the disillusionment of the people, after having been ruled for so long under repressive and clearly human rights-ignorant regimes. Deng Xiaoping managed to escape the wrath of this protest movement by, although reforming the economic system of China in various ways, clamping down on political systems, ensuring that the power of democracy bestowed on the people was not enough to usurp upon Xiaoping’s rule over the country. Gorbachev suffered a dissimilar fate. His failed economic policies of glasnost and perestroika, and the simultaneous political leniencies of his era meant that the Communist Party lost its place in the Soviet Union. One by one, the satellite states of the Eastern bloc would break away from the USSR’s control. Xiaoping became ruler of China among very difficult times, both economically and socially. The aftermath of Mao Tse-tung’s underwhelming contributions to policy was taking its toll on the people of China. Xiaoping was originally meant to be purged by the Gang of Four in 1976 during their attempted coup d’etat of the Chinese Government. One of the Gang of Four’s members was Mao Tse-tung’s last wife, Jiang Qing. However, when Hua Guofeng was appointed Communist Party chairman, he managed to turn the Red Army over to his side. The Gang of Four were subjected to a show trial and all given life sentences in prison. Consequently, the Democracy Wall was set up as a medium for which to criticise them and their treasonous crimes. With this sociopolitical relaxation in place, initialised by Huang Xiang, Deng Xiaoping rose to power. Xiaoping’s first reforms were on agricultural policy. The Great Leap Forward (GLF) and the Down To The Countryside migration movement of people from urban to agrarian communities, both bids to boost the role of agriculture in China’s economy, drew huge losses, and exacerbated the state of poverty among rural communities in China’s north and west, as the Soviet Union had predicted. To make matters worse, the communities who had been submitted to the GLF policy suffered severe droughts which decimated crops and left people hungry. To attempt to remedy these issues, Xiaoping abolished the communal system of agriculture and reissued the peasants with their private plots of land. Although the prosperity of rural Chinese communities wavered under Xiaoping’s rule, he had large support from them as a whole. China also underwent huge economic reforms under Xiaoping, which he termed ‘market socialism’. He directed Hu Yaobang, the General Secretary of the CCP, to impose most of these reforms. For the first time since the rule of the Kuomintang, China opened its markets up to the rest of the globe, in pursuit of a ‘free market’ approach to its trade. In this way, China would be able to benefit from the dollar of others, as its internal production suffered. Xiaoping also set up ‘Special Economic Zones’ (SEZs), such as the town of Shenzhen, which is now a city of 3.5 million people. Xiaoping’s economic policies were initially successful, but increased inflation and internal government corruption led to protest. Also, many of the party elders (most of them Maoists) opposed free market reforms and the attempts made by Xiaoping to make China’s government more transparent and open to scrutiny. When student protests in Beijing began, Hu Yaobang was criticised for being ‘lax’ by his political opponents, and was forced to resign, being replaced by Zhao Ziyang. When Hu Yaobang died, 100 000 students called for the government to reassess his legacy, and engaged in a mass protest in Tiananmen Square, demanding greater transparency of the Chinese government. Communism was being challenged by the people. Xiaoping, however, had a hold on the army, and used them to deal with the protests. This was a complete volte-face on Xiaoping’s part. Although he opened up the idea of democracy to the people of China for the first time, Xiaoping was relentless in silencing the Tiananmen protesters, even resorting to massacre in order to hold ‘peace’. When the defiance of the infamous ‘Tank Man’ was caught on tape, being seized by army officials, the Chinese government did its best to censor its release. Their attempts failed, and suddenly the whole world knew of the extent to which the Chinese government would go to maintain its hold of power on the people. Although Xiaoping was able to withstand these challenges to communism, Gorbachev could not. Gorbachev came to power in the Soviet Union succeeding a tide of disillusioned leaders whose ‘inertia’ in decision making meant that the Soviet Union’s economy, social tension and standard of living were starting to go stale. The age of these past leaders, due to their old age and ridiculously poor health, was termed the ‘gerontocracy’ of the Soviet Union. To rectify the inaction of these leaders and the disillusionment of the people towards the Communist Party, Gorbachev decided immediate reforms were needed to restart the economy and to regain social trust. He introduced two key policies: glasnost, meaning openness, which was make the government more transparent and allow freedom of speech; and perestroika, a political movement of Gorbachev’s which introduced demokratizasiya (democratisation of the government) and economic reforms which allowed foreign investment. Gorbachev’s perestroika movement also had other hidden side effects; it would cause the end of the Eastern bloc and the dissolution of Eastern Europe. The perestroika movement cut Gorbachev’s Communist Party into two: liberals who wanted this reform to be accelerated and ‘old communists’ who did not like the idea of reforming the Soviet Union’s systems at all. After some setbacks, Gorbachev managed to push the reforms through. However, his intention to keep a one-party system failed, as elements of a multi-party system began to crystallise. Boris Yeltsin, formerly a supporter of Gorbachev, was now independent of the Communist Party and challenging him. Meanwhile, after the international embarrassment caused by the censorship of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear reactor explosion, Gorbachev began releasing Soviet dissidents who had been kept imprisoned, and allowed even greater freedom of expression, rather than tightening it, as Xiaoping did. Gorbachev also supported the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, which signified the end to the repressive ‘iron curtain’ the Soviets had been ‘protectedâ⠂¬â„¢ by for nearly forty years. However, it soon became clear that perestroika was not targeting the correct areas of the Soviet Union’s economy which needed serious attention. Although Gorbachev now allowed privatisation and engagement in foreign trade and investment, much of the macroeconomic aspects of the Soviet command economy were still intact, such as price controls, and the monopolistic control of the means of production by the State. Thus, perestroika was a largely unhelpful ‘trickle-down’ policy, contrasting the SEZ policy of Xiaoping’s, which had the inverse effect. Perestroika only moved the bottleneck of the Soviet economy downwards, which failed to alleviate the continuous poverty which afflicted the country. The conservative side of the Soviet government was appalled with Gorbachev’s actions and how the Communist Party’s power was gradually being marginalised. Gorbachev also saw this, and to quell the opposition’s protest, he attempted to avert the dissolution of the Soviet Union by installing the New Union Treaty, which proposed a new confederacy named the ‘Union of Sovereign States’ which would replace the Soviet Union. But within it, the federal system would be less centralised and there would be a greater distribution of political power, which reduced the Communist Party’s control even more. Gorbachev was meant to sign the treaty on 20 August 1991, but was stopped by a coup d’etat attempt of Yeltsin’s (assisted by several others). On the day of the proposed signing, they issued an ultimatum for Gorbachev to declare Gennady Yanaev of the Communist Party the new President of the USSR, or call a union-wide state of emergency. Gorbachev accepted to do neither. He was consequently placed under ‘house arrest’ as the citizens of Moscow began erecting barricades around the presidential estate. On 21 August, tanks intruded on the Red Square, and an attack on the White House was imminent, but the tanks were barricaded by trolleybuses. When the coup was officially over, Gorbachev dismissed all members of the State involved with the coup from their positions. After this incident, Gorbachev knew that his popularity was waning. His last major political decision was to establish the Belavezha Accords, which denounced the 1922 treaty that established the Soviet Union. The Belavezha Accords were signed on December 8 1991, On December 25, Gorbachev officially resigned as President of the Soviet Union, replaced by Boris Yeltsin, and on December 26 the Soviet Union ceased to exist. Conclusively, it is clear that while there were similarities between the reformation of the Chinese and Soviet political and economic systems as a response to the ‘crisis of communism’, the reason why Xiaoping succeeded this era and Gorbachev did not was because the Chinese government retained control over its people and did not allow opposition to the Communist Party. Gorbachev marginalised this power, which polarised the Soviet government. Gorbachev also relied on a ‘trickle-down’ economic policy to save the Soviet economy, which unfortunately did not achieve what it set out to do. Finally, Gorbachev’s attempts to ‘democratise’ the Soviet Union and prepare its federal system for reformation failed when it resulted in a complete dissolution of the entity.

Homelessness in Public Schools Essay -- Education

In the United States nationwide public schools are faced with dilemmas. The choices schools make has to be effective, serve the students, and have the best outcome. Well known problems such as bullying, special educational needs, budget cuts, new standards, and job cuts. Some of the problems are well known to the public while other problems are left in the background. According to the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) reported that the U.S. Department of Education collected data stating â€Å"during the 2008-2009 school year that 954,914 homeless children and youth were enrolled in public schools.† This problem affects the child socially, mentally, and most importantly academically. The National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) defines Homelessness â€Å"is a lack of permanent housing resulting from extreme poverty and/or unsafe or unstable living environments† (NAEHCY, 2011, p. 2). In the year 2004, it was required that all states were to report to CSPR (Consolidated State Performance Report) of data collected of children and youth enrolled in any educational services (Bowman, Dukes, Moore, 2012, p. 6). The table presented below shows reports the school years of 2004-2010. Number of Homeless Students Reported by States in the CSPR 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 2007-2008 2008-2009 2009-2010 655,591 906,680* 679,724 794,617 956,914 939,903 The National Center on Family Homelessness (NCFH) conducted research and collected data and found during a three year research of CSPR reports. (Bowman. ET al.’s, 2012). In the school years 2006-2009 â€Å"41% increase in the number of homeless student enrolled in schools across the nation† (Bowman... ...2). Summary of the state of research: On the relationship between homelessness and academic achievement among school-aged children and youth (ED-04-CO-0056/0002). Retrieved from U.S. Department of Education website: http://www.serve.org/nche Carter. Samuel, C. (2000). No excuses; lessons from 21 high performing high poverty schools. Washington, DC: The Heritage Foundation. Murphy.Joseph, F. & Tobin.Kerri, J. (2011, November). Homelessness comes to school. How homeless children and youths can succeed, 93(3), 32-37. Retrieved from http://kappanmagazine.org National Assocation for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth. (2011). Facts about homeless education. Retrieved from http;//naehcy.org/facts.html W&B School of Education. (2012). History of the mckinney act. Retrieved from http://education.wm.edu/centers/hope/resources/mckinneyact/index.php

Man’s Innate Evil †“Lord of the Flies” by William Golding Essay

The Savage inside us all, when certain situations are brought up the primitive human nature is unleashed. Aspects of human nature in the world alert us to our potential to descend from law and order to chaos, good to evil and civilization to savagery. The break down of civilization towards savagery dramatizes the struggle between the ruling element of society which include law, morality, culture and the chaotic element of humanity’s savage instincts which include anarchy, amorality, and a desire for power. Throughout the novel, Lord of the Flies, Golding explicitly articulates that circumstances creates decay in moral value, innocence of human being and deteriorates the democratic system. Ralph the leader is the symbols for morality and leadership, while their enemy Jack is the symbol for the desire for power, selfishness and amorality. Simon the intellect who was the only boy who realizes fear is innate and the beast is within the boys. Lord of the Flies reveals how people ca n descend into barbarism in an atmosphere of chaos. The protagonist, Ralph, who personifies order, pragmatism, and everyman’s natural weakness, displays power and influence in the beginning but is almost tempted into savagery in the end; his use of the conch in the beginning of the book exhibits his characteristics and his civilized nature. He at first is presented as an activist individual, but also possesses an innate savage nature like everyone else and this is displayed when he partakes in the killing of Simon. Dont you understand, Piggy? The things we did He may still be. Although Ralph commits murder, he is still not completely submerged into savagery since he is able to realize what they have done, and this is clearly allegorized when he says he is afraid of them and wants to return home. These examples of Ralph show that when humans are not under the right circumstance, or away from civilized world they are most likely to unleash their inner selves their evil side. They also show how Ralph descended from Civilization to Savagery. In spite of Ralph’s display of civility, wisdom and the confident view for man’s fate, Jack on the other hand reveals the credence of man’s fall into savagery. Jack, who personifies savagery, bloodlust, and the hunger for power, shows the unavoidable fate of man. When Jack painted his mask, he had liberated  from shame and self consciousness. This is one of the major turning points for the alteration of Jack’s character is his relevance of the mask. Jack’s hiding behind the mask is a way for him to unleash his savage nature without feeling repentance. He also desires power from the beginning of the novel to the point when he declares himself the new leader. Jack persuades the boys to join him by using fear about the beast, and he does so until they all come to believe in its existence. After Jack diffuse this fear and belief in the boys’ minds, all aspects of civilization, culture and dissolve quickly. Absurdity emphasizes Jack’s bloodlust when he kills the sow and when he attempts to kill Ralph also. Jack hunts not with the sole intention to get meat, but he particularly enjoy exercising power over living creatures while hunting. Though it is not accomplished, Ralph’s potential murder also illustrates Jack’s ridiculous and savage nature. Jack is completely descended from good to evil in an atmosphere of chaos. On the opposite side Simon is the only boy on the island who really knows who the beast is. Simon was the only boy who did not descend into savagery. He is really the only one on the island who realizes that the fear is innate and that there is no beast. What I mean is†¦ maybe it’s only us. Simon’s delirious confrontation with the Lord of the Flies confirms his theory of evil being instinctive to man and actually within all of us There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me. And I’m the beast†¦ fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! †¦ You knew didn’t you? I’m a part of you. These examples validates that savagery was always there in mankind but need a proper circumstance to come out. So when Simon climbs the mountain and sees the parachutist and comes back to tell everyone that there is no beast, the inner beast of the boys made them kill Simon thinking that it is the beast. As Jack had implanted that there is a beast in real into their brains. Even after Simons death Jack and his tribe did not stop hunting and did not think about the murder they did the night before. The inner beast led to the loss of religion, and turned Jack and his tribe into complete savages. These are examples of the events that happened away from the civilized world. Simon the only boy to know the original beast mans innate evil. Jack turning completely savage; and Ralph the leader who was often tempted by the  savagery of the others. All the above examples conclude that aspects of human nature in the world alter us to our possibility to descend from law and order to chaos, good to evil and civilization to savagery. Lord of the Flies showed that the evil residing within everyone could be unleashed. It proved the dark side of human nature could be really brutal and even the most innocent of us are vulnerable to it. Bibliography â€Å"Lord of the Flies†, William Golding, The Berkley Publishing Group, New York, 1954

Everyday Life - 1085 Words

Everyday life can be a difficult and amorphous concept to grapple with. This essay will consider the various aspects of Scotts definition of what Everyday life is and to what extent I agree with it. In its most simplistic and stripped down form, Scotts suggests that its a study of people doing little things in local places or more succinctly the wider picture (Scott, 2009, p1). Everyday life can also be viewed as a person seeking solace in the familiarity of repetitive and rhythmic routines (Scott, 2009). Scotts final assertion is that everyday life exists in the realm of a persons individual and private choices, which have a bearing on that persons patterns of behaviour (Scott, 2009). Scott specifically touches on seven†¦show more content†¦Scott also makes the point that a persons so called private life, has an impact on everyday life and should be studied to find linkages in a broader sense, on larger public issues (Scott, 2009). The distinction which Scott makes here and I agree with, is that mundane things people do in the privacy of their own homes, while obviously having no social connotations, are still reflective upon that persons everyday life (Scott, 2009). This is reflected by Moran, perhaps spuriously as; everyone coming home after work, nuking a TV dinner, brainlessly watching the idiot box and tucking themselves into bed (Moran, 2008). Maybe a more scandalous example is that of sexual betrayals, and what can be a rapid expansion from a micro issue in a persons private life to a broader issue that impacts on families and broader society (Bennett, 1994). Jacobsen briefly touches on this in support of Scott, by describing everyday life in terms of having; a place, space, location, domain connotation, a temporal dimension i.e. relating to time and as having an attitude, mentality or state of consciousness, so when deconstructed it speaks to where everyday life happens, with what regularity and the scrutinization that takes places (Jacobsen, 2009, p14). To conclude, I premised this essay on everyday life being an almost intangible concept, in Scotts wordsShow MoreRelatedThe Presentation of Self in Everyday Life by Erving Goffman955 Words   |  4 PagesDramaturgical Perspective In his book, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Goffman (1959) focuses on the self as a staged production in which people actively present themselves to different audiences one encounters. To bolster his conceptualization, Goffman used an interesting metaphor of â€Å"all the world’s a stage† (1959, 254). 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