Dynamics of Modernity: Berman Canclini

Dynamics of Modernity: Berman Canclini Compare and contrast Marshall Bermans and Nestor Garcia Canclinis account of the dynamics of Modernity To be modern is to live a life of paradox and contradiction. It is to be overpowered by the immense bureaucratic organizations that have the power to control and often to destroy all communities, values, lives; and yet to be undeterred in our determination to face these forces, to fight to change their world and make it our own. (Berman:1983:13-14) Modernity has long been hailed as one of the most powerful forces to have emerged in the world, with the capacity, according to Marx, to move mountains, and to ensure that all that is solid melts into air. Within the statement by Berman that begins this essay, we can see one of the dynamics that has created this impression. Modernity, despite its deeper roots, begins to be talked about by a series of thinkers who combine a high degree of abstraction with a imperative to act. Thus Marx argues for huge motors of historical telos that exist outside of our will, and at the same time argues for an immanent need to change historical conditions. This relationship between abstraction and concreteness is perhaps the most fundamental dynamic of modernity. It gives rise to the planned economies of communism, and the controlled biopower of modern states that Foucault (1998) talks about, which attempt to rule over the function of life itself. At the same time is gives rise to what Badiou (2005:12 ) calls the passion for the real; the search for an authentic existence in the absence of the certainties with which previous epochs lived. What is crucial about these two movements is the way in which they inflect each other. The idea of authentic will becomes possible only with the collapse of grand narratives and the rise of administered life, and the administered life then uses the same notion of self-fulfilment within consumerism to further be able to administer biopower. It is this covalence that is fundamental to modernity, and which this essay will argue is entirely misunderstood by Berman. One of the reasons for this is that, as Braudel (1995:14) notes, â€Å"each civilisation tends to overestimate its own objectivity.† Likewise, each age tends to see itself as more unique than the last. However, this is particularly a problem with the period called modernity because during this period it was thought reason could break with the past, and a utopia of the state was possible. We can see this legacy in both the Communist economies and in the artistic movements such as Marinettis futurism, which had as its mot to: â€Å"make it new.† It is precisely this trap that Berman falls into: confusing the ideas of modernity with the effects of modernisation. In fact, Bermans fetishished notions of will and authenticity, played out in the ahistorical telos of his modernist planar development, resemble nothing as much as a 19c treatise on the movement of history. Perhaps part of the reason for this is the combination of Bermans European sources with his background in the strong individualist tradition of American pragmatism, as we can see in his first book (1970). Canclini stands just south of Berman, but from the perspective of Mexico, modernity is a not a finished project to be talked about nostalgically in the way Berman does. Because this project is unfinished, Canclini is much better placed to understand the complex and intertwined relationship between what is constructed as tradition and what is constructed as modernity. His notion of hybridity, placed in the context of a heavy reliance on Gramscis theory of hegemony, allows one to understand that supreme category of modernity: tradition. For instance, Canclini notes (1995a:53) that there is no clear line between popular and hegemonic culture, because (ibid:75) peasant culture is necessary for capitalism as a symbol of national identity and because (ibid:83) it offers the construction o f a hegemony through the management of cultural fragmentation.† Thus modernity can be seen here as a hybrid form whereby old identities are mobilised rather than changed and uprooted. Canclini understands that modernity, if it means anything, means a change in underlying structure rather than the type of cultural universalism which lies as the undertone of the work of Berman. This essay will consider how Berman sets up the dynamics of modernity within this ahistorical schema, and argue, as previously alluded to, that he misses the important aspects of the relation. It will also be argued that Canclini, within his much more modest project, understands the underlying dynamics of the abstract and the concrete to a far greater degree. Perhaps Bermans problems begin with his tripartite division of modernity into modernity, modernisation and the modern, without every looking at how these categories are mutually constitutive of each other. Modernity, Berman explains is (1983:15): â€Å"a mode of vital experience – experience of space and time, of the self and others, of lifes possibilities and perils.† Bermans book is more of an evocation than a scholarly argument, but nonetheless is seems pertinent to insist on some evidence for such a claim: did other ages not experience space and time? The problem here is not simply that Bermans generalisations do not tell us anything about modernity, but that they conceal the real dynamics of the process. For instance, Berman often insists on the sense of newness, of authentic experience, within modernity. Yet understood as what Berman construes it to be, the sense of the new is not an experience particular to modernity at all. What is important here about the dynam ics of modernity is the way in which the experience of the new, what Berman calls modernity, is an essential part of the process of modernisation. This has been argued well by one of Bermans claimed inspirations, Walter Benjamin, whose Arcades Project (2002) traces the way in which a sense of wonder was used to create the consumer sensibility. This is also laid out in the work of Canclini, who chronicles the powerful political effect created by constructing modernity as something to come – around which one can mobilise people towards new identities and on new political projects. However, this is a discursive effect, rather than a fundamentally new ontological possibility for the modern subject, and Berman asserts the latter as a property of the former without giving a single argument. Instead, Berman (1983:15) gives us evocation and adjective, one strung after the other. The underlying dynamic of modernity for him is: â€Å"modernity is a paradoxical unity, a unity of disunity: it pours us all into a maelstrom of perpetual disintegration, of struggle and contradiction, of ambiguity and anguish.† Underlying all this purple prose is Marxs statement, that inspires the books title, that all that is solid melts into air. Yet what Marx is talking about is the ability of capital to undermine use-value and create a world of people alienated from their labour and extracted of surplus value. Now one can take issue with Marxs account, (as Baudrillard (1983) most usefully does by pointing out that use-value is also a fetishisation, this time of authenticity, and that the original alienation occurs with the construction of value) but what he draws attention to is the way people see the imaginaries of capitalism as real: capital is perceived by people in Marx as somethin g actually existing, rather than a maelstrom of perpetual disintegration. Here, Berman fails to give proper account of why he diverges from Marx. What can we salvage from Bermans account of the dynamics of modernity? It is true to say that the political subject in modernity was thought of as massively flexible and capable of continual reinvention. Though it must be added that this notion has much broader historical roots that Berman gives credit for: one can already see it in Machiavellis (2004) notion that people are capable of masking their intentions and this constitutes the basis for politics. However, this continual possibility for reinvention led to some of the most firm sets of continuities the world has seen for some time: the idea of class war, the tradition of the French bourgeoisie, and the modern state. Berman writes off in a few lines most of the great thinkers who have analysed this mutually constitutive relationships, Adorno here meriting a line. Canclini, in contrast, is alert to the way the supposed newness of modernity function to preserve power, and in his account of modernity in Mexico draws attention to th e the way newness is made a continuity of ritual and hegemonic power. Berman then separates out modernization as the social process that brings this maelstrom into being. In doing so he outlines some clear divisions between the phases of modernity. These phases resemble nothing so much as the clear evolutionary steps of early modern thinkers like Morgan. In doing so he makes a mockery of the patient work of people like Arrighi (1994), who have worked to uncover all the continuities that exist between different periods. Furthermore, his account is not even internally consistent. There is insufficient clarity in his work as to the difference between the 19C and 20C: Pushkin and Biely are made manifestations of the same movement, despite the widely different impulses that inform their work. What Canclinis work manages to do very well is to understand the way in which modernity, more than any other epoch (for it is the epoch of men who make history themselves without reliance on religious narratives) is complicit in its own construction of history. He trac es the way in which history is used as a political tool, and that the function of the type of planar divisions Berman uses is to extract a continuity from a succession. Which is to say that such divisions function as a political tool to extract a notion of destiny and objective inevitability from a history which is contingent and uncertain. Bermans one-sided and simplistic reading of modernity reaches its apex in his account of the American city. His account is a one sided view of power, as if Le Corbusier had artfully created American cities and all the modern man needed to do was stand up against this bloody tyrant. Canclini (1995b: 743-755) charts the way in which the modern man is complicit in the spaces that he builds, and that the solution is to problems of alienation that occur in such spaces is not some type of revolt by a careful reworking of the practices and delimitations of space that occur in the city. It is working through the very dynamics of modernity that one resolves its problems, and to do so requires an understanding of their complex inter-relation. Such an understanding is accurately posed by Jameson (1992:335) in his understanding of how it was the very construction of space in Los Angeles that led to the possibility of that constructions overthrowing. Furthermore, Berman misunderstands how contest ed Le Corbusier is in architectural theory. He fails to see the varying currents that inform modernity and that produced a diverse and heterogeneous formation of space, even within Le Corbusiers own school (Rabinow: 1991). Theoretically, he also fails to see what De Certeau (2002:19) has persuasively argued for, which is that it was the very relationship of time and space in modernity that leads states to forget the possibility of space. He argues that the spatial organisation laid out by the modern state was predicated on a notion of time as mode of organisation (e.g. wage labour) and a possibility of reinvention which necessarily allowed the particularities of space (as somewhere one has a proper place and a tradition that cannot be reinvented) to left to the people. Thus the conditions for contesting the state in modernity emerges from the intertwining of the micro and macro processes. These complex processes are ignored by Berman, because he is looking for a will-to-power to set against what he sees as the large bureaucratic structures of modernity. This is why he is so against Foucault, who attempts to set out the co-relation between these things. In attempting to find human creativity outside of any sort of system (though without offering any kind of rigorous account of how that might be achieved) he gives to much credit to bureaucratic systems. Canclini, in understanding how the four divisions of modernity he sets out (the rationalising, renovating, emancipatory and democratising projects) are frequently in conflict and lead to a conflicting and contested legacy, is in a much better position to understand. Ultimately, Bermans work seems as if it was written with a long nostalgia to badly understood 19C authors. He uses a notion of freedom as fetishised will (where he deploys what one could reasonably call a notion at all) without understanding that the development of modernity has destroyed this very category. As Zizek (1999:389) artfully pointed out it is the search for the real, for fetishised will, that, when not placed in a grand narrative, ends up in indulging in its simulacrum; the real emptied of risk. Likewise, it is the bureaucratic form of government that has led to the globalisation and decentralisation of its own form. These processes are ignored by Berman, who sees modernity as a universalism, even if a contradictory one, issuing like a new beacon of hope from a centre in Europe. Canclini understands modernity as a hybrid formation that cannot be tied to Europe, and has begun to chart the complex ways that modernity brings to bear on itself, and construct it own legacy. Bibliography Arrighi, G. 1994: The Long Twentieth Century. London: Verso. Badiou, A. 2005: La Sià ¨cle. Paris: Seuil. Baudrillard, J. 1983: For a Critique of the Political Economy of the Sign. London: Telos. Benjamin, W. 2002: The Arcades Project. Harvard: HUP. Berman, M. 1983: All that is Solid Melts into Air: Experiences of Modernity. London: Verso. Berman, M. 1970: The Politics of Authenticity: Radical Individualism and the Emergence of Modern Society. New York: MacMillan. Braudel, F. 1995: A History of Civilisations. London: Penguin. Canclini, N. G. 1995a: Hybrid Cultures: Strategies for Entering and Leaving Modernity. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press. Canclini, N. 1995B: Mexico: Cultural Globalization in a disintegrating city. American Ethnologist. Vol. 22, No. 4: pp. 743-755. de Certeau, M. 2002: The Practice of Everyday Life. Berkeley: UCP. Foucault, M. 1998: The History of Sexuality: The Will to Knowledge. London: Penguin. Jameson, F. 1992: Postmodernism: Or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. London: Verso. Machiavelli, N. 2004: The Prince. Oxford: OUP. Rabinow, P. 1991: French Modern: Norms and Forms of the Social Environment. Mass: MIT. Zizek, S. 1999: The Ticklish Subject: The Absent Centre of Political Ontology. London: Verso.

Corporal Punishment :: essays research papers

Dear Sir, I am writing in reply to the recent publication of an item on the topic of corporal punishment. I do not agree that it is needed to bring discipline back into our schools. It is assumed that a child who has been caned would be less likely to commit another offence , but this was never proved and , in fact , one theory holds that severe corporal punishment increases the likelihood of future offences. There are better ways to discipline students than hitting them. Some parents may believe that spanking a child may be beneficial but apart from being potentially dangerous physically, it can lower their self esteem, hinder their academic abilities and may even contribute to disruptive and violent behaviour. Some pupils may feel so afraid to go to school that they are tempted to play truant. Over the past few years we have become more and more obsessive over bringing our lives into the twenty first century and now , here you are telling us that we should bring back corporal punis hment, a system which is looked upon as old fashioned ! Discipline should begin in the home . Parents have and should accept the task of instilling in their children respect for right and wrong, respect for others and all the other basic lessons of living, working, playing and learning with others. They should try to teach him to control himself and take responsibility for his actions and their consequences .Unfortunately, because some parents find it difficult to do this from infancy , the teachers role is all the more difficult. Still, restoring this rule is not the way to resolve theses difficulties. Get to children in infancy and their early years and their lives will be shaped more fully for future growth. Restoring their teachers’ power to hit them across the bottom or knuckles doesn’t fit that picture. Forget corporal punishment. Roald Dahl’s book entitled â€Å"Boy† tells about the times when corporal punishment was allowed to take place in all sc hools. A passage from the book tells of how , aged nine, Dahl was caned six times for talking during prep. Even though he had had a perfectly good excuse he got the same punishment another child would probably have got for defacing school property or stealing. I think that this reinforces my earlier suggestion that teachers may take advantage of their authority and harass pupils they may have taken a dislike to.

The Green Table Kurt Jooss

Paulina Milewska Kurt Jooss’ The Green Table Expressionism can be described as a movement in the fine arts that emphasized the expression of inner experience rather than realistic portrayal, looking to obtain not objective reality, but the subjective emotions and responses that objects and events arouse in the artist. Several characteristics of expressionism are distortion, exaggeration, primitivism, and fantasy. The Green Table,† a ballet by Kurt Jooss, 1932, is an ideal example of expressionism because it depicts the choreographer’s personal interpretation of war through the use of movement, music by Fritz Cohen and lighting by Hermann Mankard. The Green Table is a piece of performance created mostly by Kurt Jooss, the piece lasts thirty minutes in which different episodes of war. The first scene shows the diplomats called The Gentlemen in Black, the second scene The Farewells which show the divide between the loved ones and the soldiers that go off to the war.T he third scene is The Battle in which the battle begins and the character Death is taking each of the soldiers one by one, Death is a big part in this scene as it creates a mental image for the audience showing the dreadful times where innocent males were dying due to a diplomatic argument that was created because of the gentlemen in black. The next scenes follow which are: The partisan, the refugees, the brothel and men in black once again to show the never-ending hypocritical nonsense of the government.The choreography for â€Å"The Green Table† cannot exactly be categorized as one thing or another. Jooss seems to employ two different types of dance: one being the traditional ballet, and the other being the modern technique. The use of traditional ballet can be seen in the dance of the soldiers with their light and graceful movements, particularly the one carrying the white flag. However, the heavier movements of dancers such as Death and the Partisan Woman illustrate moder n dance technique similar to movements choreographed by Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey.The fact that Jooss utilizes both of these dance forms demonstrates his unique theories and adds a personal touch to this show. However, movement is not his only means of self-expression. The music accompaniment to this piece comes from one or two pianos which works well with the dance so that neither one overshadows the other. There are no other instruments used, the melody of the piano changes from scene to scene in order to project Jooss’ emotional responses. During the scenes with the politicians, the air of the piano is light-hearted and almost comedic.The story begins with the politicians in masks that are arguing in a non-naturalistic way using their postures and gestures for example: standing up with masks facing the audience wearing white gloves reaching their hands out with open palms portraying careless emotion. The show ends the same way which gives an impression of Jooss tryi ng to say that there will always be arguments between higher statuses that don’t help the general public but they use their powers for their own entertainment. The purpose of this was to show the detachment of these men from the war.They are in a safe situation, unexposed to war and death. When the scene changes and we see what’s happening in the lives of citizens, this tune is transformed into a thunderous and eerie song that haunts the audience. The reason for this change is to reveal Jooss’ feelings about the unnecessary brutality and death that always comes with a war, and how politicians don’t understand the horror of it. In â€Å"The Green Table† Jooss has made almost full use of the dramatic, emotional and pictorial values of light. The most obvious of all contrasts was that between Death and all the other characters.While the entire dance seemed to be set in a dark light, it was particularly dark when shown on the character representing dea th. In fact, it had almost a bluish tint to it. During the scenes when death is not part of the immediate picture there is a large spotlight in the center of the stage where all the dancing takes place, however, the stage is never fully lit. This is in order to portray death, although not always immediately present, as being all around us in a time of war. The dancer of Death is always in the background as a constant reminder and, even when he becomes the main focus, is never illuminated.This represented Jooss’ unique view because he refuses to acknowledge any positive results that war brings and only sees it ending in death and destruction. The scene with the women of war using the proxemics in a clever way is portraying the other, vulnerable side of the war. The ladies are dancing lightly and swaying from side to side portraying sorrow and negative emotions. The most important character in that scene is the old lady who is struggling to walk and is leaning forward as well a s walking on her tiptoes very lightly showing a link with the Death character who is taking her life away.Her way of walking on tip of her toes is showing that she is not standing firmly on earth and living but she is already half way in the spiritual world. This scene shows a great contrast of importance in comparison to the first and last scene. Kurt Jooss’ piece, â€Å"The Green Table,† is antiwar ballet. It’s an example of expressionism because it is a one-sided, emotional performance that uses exaggerated gestures, primitivism, and distortion in order to convey Jooss’ view on war.

Should Cities Preserve Old Buildings

Should Cities Preserve Old Buildings The Importance of Keeping Old City Buildings Around Most cities try to move forward with the times, but keeping true to its past is another challenge altogether. There is also the debate, whenever a city wants to build new, exciting buildings that transform its skyline or business community, of what existing buildings should be torn down or kept. Some advocate for tearing down dilapidating historic buildings, while others call for the destruction of only ugly, non-important structures. But when it comes down to it, a city should preserve old buildings if these old buildings serve a very important purpose; these buildings should be kept if they are historically significant, aesthetically appealing and make up a considerable portion of a city’s skyline, and kept if these structures can be repurposed to house working organizations, businesses, and government offices. Historical Buildings Help People Remember the Past To begin with, cities should preserve old buildings of historical significance because seeing these buildings help modern-day people remember the past – as to not repeat it, or to be mindful of how a city or nation came to be, its heroes or armies that make sacrifices to create or keep a territory. For example, St. John’s Church still exists today in the Church Hill neighborhood in Richmond, Virginia. It is where Patrick Henry, speaking to the House of Burgesses, gave his famous â€Å"Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death† speech – which would convince the leaders of British America to wage war  against the oppressive British crown. The rest is history, of course: the colony became its own republic, its own nation. But this 270-plus-year-old church could have been torn down ages ago – but it was rather preserved to remind people today how the American nation was established, and what efforts our founding fathers went through, the risks they took, to bi rth a nation. Cities all around the globe should do the same in preserving old buildings that are culturally or historically important. You may also like these articles: Human Dignity: How Is It Valued? Learning Moral Values in College Movies The Value of Academic Debate Perspiration Is Nothing without a Little Bit of Inspiration The Bright Sides of Academic Intellectuals We Call Nerds Cities should also preserve old buildings if these structures are beautiful, aesthetically important and attractive to tourists; also buildings that make up a considerable portion of a city’s skyline should be preserved. As our society gets into the future, technology will be king – which means art and beauty will fall to the wayside. So it’s crucial to preserve old buildings that contain an undeniable amount of timeless beauty. People do not flock to a city to see the offices of new business; tourists come to cities to see beautifully sublime buildings – ones that may be old, of course. Also, if a structure – like Austin’s state capital building – has become an iconic part of a city’s identity or skyline, it should be preserved. New York City it not itself without the Empire State Building, just like Paris is not Paris without the Eiffel Tower. Buildings are more than just existing structures; they are the image of a city †“ and some, if beautiful and culturally important, should be preserved. Making Old Buildings Serve Modern Purposes Lastly, if old buildings in cities – if law-abiding and often renovated to maximize safety and usability – can be repurposed, then a housing city should make incredible efforts to preserve them. Many buildings in cities can be used as government buildings, business, and organizational offices. And if the buildings serve a modern-day purpose, and if they meet strict safety codes, they should be preserved for as long as possible. This is especially relevant to the older cities of the world, and even some of the more modern ones, too. If a building doesn’t need to be torn down, even if it could make room for a multi-billion-dollar business, a city should give extensive consideration in preserving it. It could not only save money for a municipality; preserving old buildings and turning them into new offices could also be enticing to a business looking to start over. To conclude, some cities around the globe are growing at an astounding rate, with an influx of newcomers and tourists alike. This is especially true with some American cities – like Austin, Texas, one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, who knows, maybe even the world – that want to make room for new businesses and large populations of people. It makes sense to tear down old buildings so new ones can be created. But when this happens in a particular area, a committee of good-minded people should be assembled to decide whether an existing – perhaps â€Å"old† –building should go or not, and they should go by the aforementioned points when doing so.

Napoleon Bonaparte - A slayer of the Revolution essays

Napoleon Bonaparte - A slayer of the Revolution essays The French Revolution was fought for the equality, liberty and fraternity of the third social class in France. These ideas were carried on into the post revolutionary era of Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon Bonaparte was a product of the Revolution, for if it were not for the revolution, he would not have gained any major military and political opportunities like he had been given. Liberty, equality and fraternity became some of the most important principles of the revolution. It may have seemed that Napoleon Bonaparte kept alive these principals of the revolution but in reality through his oppression of equality, consulate government, and raze of liberty and freedom, he became a slayer of the Revolution. Napoleon had appeared to the population of France to be a believer in equality, one of the principles of the revolution. The first task of Napoleons government was to draw up a new constitution. This constitution affirmed the equality of all citizens before the law, but it only concerned men because the husband was given absolute authority over the family. Women had no rights and were seen as inferior to men. Napoleon also had a legion of honor, which placed people in different rankings in the military according to what good they have done their country and what they have accomplished. If Napoleon believed in equality, he believed in imposing it from above. The thought of equality did not refer to Napoleon or his family, for he became Emperor and they princes and kings. Napoleon used certain tactics while he was in power to get what he wanted, even if that meant lying to the people of France. Napoleon created a constitution that gave the illusion of a representative government, while he was transforming himself into emperor. This worked for Napoleon because the French thought they had a representative government. In reality, the representative government had no real power and Napoleon always had the final say. When ...

Project on Micro Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Project on Micro Economy - Essay Example Opportunity cost refers to the best alternative forgone when Supa drinks decides to produce Thasta over other product lines. When the concept of opportunity cost is discussed it is critical to put into perspective issues such as implicit and explicit cots. Implicit cost is when an alternative if forgone but there is no actual cost included. Therefore, implicit cost refers to financial benefits forgone when one makes one decision over the other. On the hand, explicit costs refer to cost that is easy to account for owing to the fact that their effects are easily traceable (Hirschey112. They include cost such as wages, rent, material cost. In fact, in implicit costs, the management has to pay the money directly. By Supa Drinks deciding to start the production of Thasta, it is going to incur both implicit and explicit cost. The implicit cost incurred refers to the forgone profits that Supa Drink has not received because they opted to produce Thasta instead of the other alternative. Thast a was faced with several options, which include production of detergent, production of stationery, and production of electronics. Out of all the production choices, the one that had the best alternative to Thasta was a production of detergents. The company had estimated that it would record on average net cash flow of $ 200, 000 per annum. By deciding to produce Thasta over the Detergent, it has undergone an implicit cost of $200, 000. On the other hand, explicit costs that are incurred by the company include labor costs, input cost and general expenses. Production of Thasta is a costly affair; there is therefore, huge initial capital outlay that is required to start the production of Thasta. There is cost required to erect a plant for production of the drink, there is wages that will be incurred to pay workers, and general expenses such as electricity expenses among others. The explicit cost that will be incurred by the company is outlined below. Item no Expense item Cost per annum ($) 1. Labor cost 50000 2. Plant maintenance cost 40000 3. General cost 10000 4. Promotion costs 15000 5. Total cost 115000 It is worth noting that opportunity cost refers to both the implicit and explicit cost. Therefore, by management deciding to produce Thsata over the best alternative of the production of detergent will result to an opportunity cost of $ 215000. This is calculated by summing up the total implicit cost, which is $ 200000, and the total explicit Cost, which is $115000. It is also recommended that the company operate at economic profits so that there is both allocative and productive efficiency in production. Allocative efficiency refers to a situation in which the net profit is zero. This point of production would mean that the company is not under producing or overproducing the soft drink. Second Section: Trade Offs The company will produce two brands of Thasta, which is the orange flavored and the other is coke flavored. This means that the company must conside r the issue of trade off when deciding the units of the orange flavor and coke flavor to produce. It is worth noting that the company has a production capacity of up to 50000 units’ daily production. This production capacity must be divided between the two brands. This brings about the concept of trade off. As the company produces more and more of orange flavor, it will produce less of Coke flavor along the production possibility

Impact of EU membership on UK Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Impact of EU membership on UK Law - Essay Example European Union was formed to create an environment where all European nations could benefit from efficient use of factors of production to provide cost effective products and services for the European people.This entails all member nations to agree to common economic policies. This has far reaching effect not only on the economic policy making of the member countries but also on their political and legal systems. Common policy implementation requires great political integration of the various member states. For the above stated purpose, a European Community was formed which consisted of council of ministers and a setup of various institutions like European Parliament, The Council of European Union, European Commission, the Court of Justice and so on (actrav.itcilo.org). Among the various institutes, the European Commission plays the most important role in the process of policy making. Its main function includes the introduction or origination of the various legislations. It then acts as a â€Å"guardian of Treaties† as well as executes and manages the various Union policies along with those of â€Å"international trade relations† (actrav.itcilo.org). Thus, through the various institutes, the EC ensures that various legislations are created and followed throughout the European Union community. This has implications for the member states as the laws passed by the EU are binding on all the member countries (blurtit.com).... in were to consent to a particular treaty of the EU in conjunction with the other member states, the MPs of Britain will have no powers to overthrow it. The European Court has powers to overrule any motion passed by the British parliament to defeat any such treaty. The only way UK could then implement the motion of the British parliamentarians is to withdraw its membership from the EU. How much has been the influence of the EU membership on the laws of UK can be adjudged by looking at the number of legislations or directives that have been passed on account of EU regulations as compared to those initiated locally. It has been estimated that 50% of the UK laws are EU-originated (Johnston 2009). The research also showed that of the 2000 regulatory proposals studied, 72% of the cost of regulations was on account of EU regulations (Johnston 2009). The major worrisome feature of this is that the country is being run more by EU laws than by the local ones and topping on this is the fact th at these laws are not very well scrutinized and cannot be easily changed by the elected representatives of the British parliament. Delegated legislation brings another aspect into the UK law scene. Delegated legislation means that the government can make finer changes to a law without having to go through the parliamentary process (parliament.uk). The major advantages of this legislation are that it saves the time of the parliament especially where the MPs do not have specific technical knowledge about the field of the Act, it allows quick decision making especially in situations of national security or health and helps in enabling small changes (sixthformlaw.info). However, the major disadvantages lie in the fact that it is usually passed by the civil servants who are not the elected