Hi everyone,
I have to write and 1800 word essay and the question is:
Should the prospect of more powerful organizations be feared?
I am currently in the preparation stage and thinking along the lines of...
- The instability in todays markets has been caused by several occurrences but the overwhelming theme in many of the European markets and American market is that the bigger the organisations are the harder they along with many other people will fall. So the power of these organisations should be feared.
If someone can provide me with somemore ideas as to why they should be feared..
Thanks
...is that the bigger the organisations are, the harder they (along with many other people) will fall.
Yes, it's like putting all our eggs in a couple of big baskets! What kinds of organizations are you talking about? It makes me think of Wal-Mart; in capitalism, it's like a jungle where the fittest survive. Wal-Mart is like a giant dinosaur that eats up all the little animals. That should be feared! Capitalism is survival of the fittest, so big, powerful organizations should be feared for their sheer power.
Furthermore, organizations that influence national policy should be feared for their greater influence. Organizations that approach monopolistic control of a market should be feared for their ability to exploit it.
I hope these give you ideas about how to proceed with research. It will all become clear as you continue to read one article after another.
Hello, you could also consider researching corruption amongst these powerful organizations. If you are talking about companies you could talk about how huge companies use questionable methods to ensure financial stability.
A book I am reading now is called "Confessions of an Economic Hitman." In it the author tells about how he was an "Economic Hitman" meaning that he was an agent for a major company that would travel around and use bribery, intimidation, and extortion in order to keep minor governments and other companies around the world in the pocket of the company he was working for. It is almost like he was a CIA agent who used silent and covert manipulation to benifit his employers. Of course the company denies all of his allegations but it is still a fascinating read.
btw: Kevin, I love how of all the giant ferocious animals that you could have chosen from to describe Wal-Mart you chose a dinosaur! As if Wal-Mart is getting ready to go extinct to make room for some of those "little animals" to evolve into something better! :D
Hah, not likely. The little ones go extinct.
Alternatively, you could focus on the power of governments, which are really far more to be feared than companies. A company cannot force you to buy its products, the vast majority of which are products and services mankind lived without quite nicely for thousands of years in any event. The government can force you to give up your money, or your property, or your rights, and is backed up by the full might of the military. Or, you could focus on the power of international organizations, such as the U.N. Admittedly, the U.N. is a bit of joke at the moment, but if it actually had the power to enforce its ridiculous rulings on the world, it would clearly be a horrible threat to everyone. Or, you could talk about the power of NGOs and other lobby groups, institutions that exist purely to lobby government on single issues.
If you are going to center your analysis around the current economic mess, you might want to look at how powerful organizations often have influence beyond their competence. So, the sub-prime mortgage meltdown is often described in the media as the result of greedy banks being deregulated, but in fact the sub-prime mortgage trend started when the government essentially forced Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to lend to poor credit risks in order to help poor and minority applicants for mortgages to become homeowners. Other banks followed suit for fear that the government, in its pursuit of its latest social engineering scheme, would force them to do so if they didn't start lowering their credit standards voluntarily. The point here is that the American government didn't set out to wreck the economy. It's stated goals were ones that most Americans would support -- helping the poor and downtrodden to better their circumstances. But, while the government had the power to pursue those goals by dictating banking policy, it didn't have the basic understanding of economics necessary to realize how devastating those policies would be in the long term. Thus, its power outstripped its competence.
If you're going to focus on an organization that should really be feared, why not choose AIPAC, the Israeli lobby that pretty much vets any and every politician and has more influence over US foreign policy at times than Americans themselves.