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Concept & Debates in Political Theory Unit 5 Debates in Political Theory
Concept & Debates in Political Theory Unit 5 Debates in Political Theory Notes cover all the exercise questions in UGC Syllabus. Concept & Debates in Political Theory Unit 5 Debates in Political Theory provided here ensures a smooth and easy understanding of all the concepts. Understand the concepts behind every Unit and score well in the board exams.
Debates in Political Theory
| VERY SHORT TYPES QUESTION & ANSWERS |
1. What is the meaning of the term political theory?
Ans : Political theory refers to the study of political events and ideas as well as the topics that influence them. This includes the study of law, justice, civil rights, and government.
2. How many types of political theory are there?
Ans : Political culture differs from political ideology in that two people can share a political culture but have different ideologies, such as Democrats and Republicans. According to Almond and Verba’s 1963 study, there are three basic types of political culture: parochial, subject, and participatory.
3. What does political theory deal with?
Ans : Political Theory deals with ideals and principles that shape constitutions, governments and social life in a systematic manner. It clarifies the meaning to concepts such as Freedom, Equality, Justice, Democracy, Secularism. Political Theory is a Theory of Science and philosophy of what is “politics”.
4. Why should we study political theory?
Ans : Defenders of the study of political theory would point to several reasons why it should be studied. One is that political theory deals on one level with ideal types.
5. What is the nature of political science?
Ans : Political science is an academic discipline. Its focus is the theory and practice of politics at every level of governance. One is political theory. Since the ancient Greeks, philosopher have thought hard about the best ways to organise societies, the nature of political behaviour, and other important questions.
7. What is empirical political theory?
Ans : Empirical political theory focuses on the observation and explanation of political phenomena and involves formulating and testing hypotheses through experimentation. Normative political theory focuses on what ought to be and explores the values and ideals of a political system.
8. What is democracy theory?
Ans : Democratic theory is an established subfield of political theory that is primarily concerned with examining the definition and meaning of the concept of democracy, as well as the moral foundations, obligations, challenges, and overall desirability of democratic governance.
9. What are the three theories of democracy?
Ans : The three theories of democracy are:
(a) Republicanism.
(b) Pluralism.
(c) Elitism.
10. What is classical democratic theory?
Ans : Normative democratic theory deals with the moral foundations of democracy and democratic institutions. A large body of opinion has it that most classical normative democratic theory is incompatible with what we can reasonably expect from citizens.
11. What is the relationship between economic development and democracy?
Ans : The casual relationship between economic development and democracy. Some politicians claimed that there is a casual relationship between economic development and democracy. However, India is a democratic society but their economic development is extremely poor.
12. What is the role of democracy in economic development?
Ans : The role of Governance and Democracy in Development. Democracy has an important role to play in promoting sustainable development. Free and fair elections, independent media, accountable government, as well as other basic democratic principles, are all critical components of an environment conducive to growth.
13. Is democracy good for economic growth?
Ans : A belief democracy is bad for economic growth is common in both academic political economy as well as the popular press. Our results show a robust and sizeable effect of democracy on economic growth.
14. What are the 4 factors that lead to a country’s economic growth?
Ans : There are 4 main factors that influence economic growth within a country are:
(a) Land (natural resources) available.
(b) Investment in Human Capital.
(c) Investment in Physical Capital.
(d) Entrepreneurship.
15. What are the main sources of economic growth?
Ans : There are three main factors that drive economic growth.
These are:
Accumulation of capital stock, Increases in labour inputs, such as workers or hours worked and Technological advancement.
16. What determines economic growth?
Ans : Economic growth is the increase in the inflation adjusted market value of the goods and services produced by an economy over time. It is conventionally measured as the percent rate of increase in real gross domestic product, or real GDP.
17. What is needed to achieve economic growth?
Ans : Economic growth is measured by an increase in gross domestic product (GDP), which is defined as the combined value of all goods and services produced within a country in a year.
18. How does natural resources contribute to economic growth?
Ans : The natural resources of a country can contribute significantly to its economic development through increasing production and manufacturing, securing energy supply, increasing export revenues and reducing costs for local businesses and households. The extraction of natural resources can be done on a number of scales.
19. How can the government increase economic growth?
Ans : Change the interest rate and affecting the supply of money (e.g. through quantitative easing). To increase spending in the economy and encourage economic growth, the government may lower interest rates and increase the supply of money however this can cause an increase in inflation.
20. What is the purpose of censorship?
Ans : In modern times, censorship refers to the examination of books, periodicals, plays, films, television and radio programs, news reports, and other communication media for the purpose of altering or suppressing parts thought to be objectionable or offensive.”
21. What are censorship laws?
Ans : Generally, the term “censorship,” when applied to American laws, refers to the government’s act of banning or altering media, speech, or performances. This is generally based on the presumption that such materials are, or will be, offensive or dangerous to the public.
22. What is censorship and why it is important?
Ans : Essay Censorship And Freedom Of Speech. Censorship not only restricts words, images, and ideas, but also inhibits an individual’s right to think freely. Censoring music, art, and literary works is meant to protect the conduct and morals of people, But in doing so, society is silencing an important voice.
23. Is censorship illegal?
Ans : Child pornography is illegal in the United States. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that it is not protected by the first Amendment, and even if not obscene, it is not considered protected speech, according to New York v. Ferber
24. Why does censorship happen?
Ans : Censorship is the suppression of ideas and information that certain persons-individuals, groups or government officials find objectionable or dangerous. Censorship also occurs when materials are restricted to particular audiences, based on their age or other characteristics.
25. What is censorship in history?
Ans : Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information, on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or “inconvenient” as determined by a government or private institution, for example, corporate censorship.
26. How did censorship start?
Ans : The Russian Empire had a long tradition of strict censorship and was slow to adopt the changes that central European countries had implemented a century before. Censorship reforms were started in a single decade of tolerance, from 1855 to 1865 during the region of Tsar Alexander II.
27. What is social media censorship?
Ans : Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information, on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or “inconvenient” as determined by a government or private institution, for example, corporate censorship.
28. What is school censorship?
Ans : Censorship is schools is a complicated situation because there are many variables involved that can impact the way children learn and the way schools serve to educate. Censorship in schools usually exists in the form of the removal or manipulation of materials or learning processes.
29. What is Protective discrimination?
Ans : Protective discrimination is the policy of granting special privileges to the downtrodden and the underprivileged sections of society, most commonly women.
30. What does the policy of protective discrimination involve?
Ans : Protective discrimination is the policy of granting special privileges to the downtrodden and the underprivileged sections of society, most commonly women. These are affirmative action programs, most visible in both the United States and India, where there has been a history of racial and cast discrimination.
31. Does protective discrimination violate principles of fairness?
Ans : There are various justification that the protective discrimination’s do not violate the principle of fairness or justice. Protective discrimination are based on this argument. The quality of opportunity is very feeble. As such it does not violate the principle of fairness.
32. What does the policy of protective discrimination involve?
Ans : Protective discrimination is the policy of granting special privileges to the downtrodden and the underprivileged sections of society, most commonly women. These are affirmative action programs, most visible in both the United States and India, where there has been a history of racial and cast discrimination.
33. What do you mean by principal of fairness?
Ans : Fairness is a normative principle. It is a principle used to suggest outcomes or actions that ought to, or should occur. To be fair is good; to be unfair is bad.
34. What are the principles of fairness?
Ans : It comprises two main principles of liberty and equality; the second is subdivided into Fair Equality of Opportunity and the Difference Principle. Rawls arranges the principles in ‘lexical priority’, prioritising in the order of the Liberty Principle, Fair Equality of Opportunity and the Difference Principle.
35. What is an example of fairness?
Ans : Fairness is defined as just and reasonable treatment in accordance with accepted rules or principles. Treating all people equally and applying reasonable punishments only when rules are broken is an example of fairness.
36. What does fairness mean in law?
Ans : Legal Definition of fundamental fairness are:
(a) the balance or impartiality (of a court proceeding) that is essential to due process.
(b) a subjective standard by which a court proceeding is deemed to have followed due process.
37. What does Justice and fairness mean?
Ans : Justice and fairness means different things in practice, who adopt fairness as a ‘conception of justice and who claim that although the concepts of justice and fairness may be distinct, a society can only be just if it is fair.
38. What is fairness in the workplace?
Ans : Fairness in the workplace is about respecting the rights of all those who work with us. Millions of people work in our operations and extended supply chain, helping us create the products used by billions more.
39. What’s another word for fairness?
Ans : Justice, impartiality, justness, decency, honesty, probity, rectitude, uprightness, truth, integrity, charity, charitableness, veracity, tolerance, right, candor, honour, balance, moderation, civility, consideration, good faith, propriety, courtesy, reasonableness, rationality, humanity, rightness, equality, equitableness.
40. Does fairness means treating everyone equally?
Ans : Equality means sameness. Under equality, every person gets exactly the same thing regardless of whether it is needed or not. Equality only works if everyone starts from the same place. Equality on the other hand means “Fairness.”
41. Why is it important to have fairness?
Ans : Our society is founded on the idea of fairness and equality. If everyone in our society was able to participate equally, crucially, a society that is fair and equal also helps improve all other public value outcomes.
42. What is society fairness?
Ans : Our society is founded on the idea of fairness and equality. Truly equal and fair societies are more likely to be prosperous and harmonious ones. Failure to tackle discrimination and to provide equal opportunities hurts individuals and families, negatively impact our society, and costs the economy.
43. What is the impact of democracy?
Ans : It has often been maintained that political democracy has a negative impact on economic growth, particularly in less developed countries.
| SHORT TYPE QUESTIONS & ANSWERS |
1. Is democracy good for economic growth?
Ans : A belief that democracy is bad for economic growth is common in both academic political economy as well as the popular press. Our results show a robust and sizeable effect of democracy on economic growth.
2. How does democracy deal with the economy? Does democracy lead to development?
Ans : Economic democracy is a socio-economic philosophy that proposes to shift decision making power from corporate managers and corporate shareholders to a larger group of public stakeholders that includes workers, customers, suppliers, neighbours and the broader public.
As for democracy, it is a process that goes beyond free and fair elections and includes political and civil rights, as well as accountability of the state towards its citizens. However, democracy does not lead to socio-economic development by default.
3. What do you mean by democracy? Is democracy the best setting for strong economic growth?
Ans : Democracy doesn’t strongly predict economic growth, at least not in the short run. Education is wonderful for many reasons. And democracy is not perfect as a political system, but it is the best we have. It has also been extremely successful in very low-education countries.
4. What type of economy is found in a democracy? What is the relationship between economic development and democracy?
Ans : Command Economies. A command economy is also known as a centrally planned economy because the central, or national, government plans the economy. Generally, communist states have command economies, although China has been moving recently towards a capitalist economy.
The casual relationship between economic development and democracy. Some politicians claimed that there is a casual relationship between economic development and democracy. However, India is a democratic society but their economic development is extremely poor.
5. What are the main four factors that lead to a country’s economic growth? How can we increase economic growth?
Ans : There are four main factors that influence economic growth within a country: Land available, Investment in Human Capital, Investment in Physical Capital and Entrepreneurship.
To increase economic growth we can take following steps:
(a) Lower interest rates: reduce cost of borrowing and increase consumer spending and investment.
(b) Increased real wages: if nominal wages grow above inflation.
(c) Higher global growth: leading to increased export spending.
(d) Devolution, making exports cheaper and imports more expensive, increasing domestic demand.
6. What are the 3 main determinants of economic growth? How is economic growth measured?
Ans : There are six major factors that determine growth with for of them been grouped under supply determinants and the other two are efficiency and demand. The four supply factors are natural resources, capital goods, human resources and technology and they have a direct effect on the value of good and services supplied.
Economists use many different methods to measure how fast the economy is growing. The most common way to measure the economy is real gross domestic product, or real GDP. GDP is the total value of everything – goods and services produced in our economy.
7. What do you mean by censorship? On what grounds censorship is justified?
Ans : Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information, on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or “inconvenient”. Censorship can be conducted by a government or private institution, for example, corporate censorship.
The main reason is that censorship is not properly imposed or there is a need of censorship in the society. Censorship is the suppression of ideas and information that certain people, individual, groups or government officials find it objectionable, offensive or dangerous on others.
8. What is the purpose of censorship? What is the most common form of censorship and why?
Ans : The purpose of censorship is to restrict freedom of speech to maintain the status quo. Censorship is often used by fragile regimes that lack a legitimacy to govern or acquired political power through illegal means. Usually, the reason governments give for censorship is to protect citizens from harm.
Moral censorship is the suppression of materials that the public considers obscene or offensive. Child pornography is restricted in many countries because it is seen as being morally wrong. This is the most common type of censorship, but it is the most problematic as well.
9. Write a brief note on Self-censorship.
Ans : Self-censorship: Self-censorship is the act of censoring or classifying one’s own blog, book, film, or other forms of media. This is done our of fear of, or deference to, the sensibilities or preferences (actual or perceived) of other and without overt pressure from any specific part of institution of authority. Self-censorship is often practiced by film producers, film directors, publishers, news anchors, journalists, musicians, and other kinds of authors including individuals who use social media.
According to a Pew Research Center and the Columbia Journalism Review survey, “About one-quarter of the local and national journalists say they have purposely avoided newsworthy stories, while nearly as many acknowledge they have softened the tone of stories to benefit the interests of their news organization.
Threats to media freedom have shown a significant increase in Europe in recent years, according to a study published in April 2017 by the Council of Europe. This results in a fear of physical or psychological violence, and the ultimate result is self-censorship by journalists.
10. How is censorship defined? Why are things censored?
Ans : Censorship, the suppression of words, images, or ideas that are “offensive,” happens whenever some people succeed in imposing their personal political or moral values on others. Censorship can be carried out by the government as well as private pressure groups. Censorship by the government is unconstitutional.
Certain facts are changed or removed on purpose. This may be done because it is considered wrong, harmful, sensitive, or inconvenient to the government or other authority. This can be done for different reasons. A censor is a person whose job is to look at all types of media and remove material.
11. Why does censorship happen? Is censorship illegal?
Ans : Certain facts are changed or removed on purpose. This may be done because it is considered wrong, harmful, sensitive, or inconvenient to the government or other authority. This can be done for different reasons. A censor is a person whose job is to look at all types of media and remove material.
Child pornography is illegal in the United States. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that it is not protected by the First Amendment, and even if not obscene, it is not considered protected speech, according to New York v. Ferber.
12. What is social media censorship? How does censorship affect society?
Ans : Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information, On the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or “inconvenient” as determined by a government or private institution, for example, corporate censorship.
So, censorship can help alleviate the society in some way. Censorship has its own disadvantages. Firstly, it infringes people’s rights in the most cases, especially freedom. But with censorship, even if you want to speak something, it cannot be heard by others, especially network.
13. What is meant by protective discrimination? What does the policy of protective discrimination involve?
Ans : Protective discrimination is the policy of granting special privileges to the, downtrodden and the underprivileged sections of society.
Protective discrimination is the policy of granting special privileges to the downtrodden and the underprivileged sections of society, most commonly women. These are affirmative action programs, most visible in both the United States and India, where there has been a history of racial and cast discrimination.
14. Protective Discrimination in Educational Institution-Briefly discuss.
Ans : Education plays a most important role in achieving rapid economic growth and technological advancement. It creating a social order founded on values of freedom. social justice and equal opportunity. Programmes are to be base of the efforts to forge the bonds of common citizenship. These help in to harnessing the energies of the people, and in developing the natural and human resources of the country. The social order, which has been created by the Constitution of India, is social order based on equality and social justice. The Preamble to the Constitution makes specific mention of “justice social.
Economic and political” and equality of status and of opportunity. It also lays down that the sovereign democratic republic has to promote among all citizens the dignity of individual and the unity of the Nation. These are the ideals which are fundamental for ensuring Rule of Law in our country. In fact all the branches of government have to work for the attainment these ideals which are an integral part of the governance of the country.
Though the Constitution emphasizes upon the ideal of equality and social justice, yet it has made specific provision for the weaker sections of the society. Since Constitution, if has to meet the aspirations of the people of the country. So it cannot be blind to the realities of life of the major population. The Indian society has many peculiar problems of its own. It has been divided into castes and sections of the society remained which has backward for no fault of their own. If the ideal of social justice has to be realized, it is necessary to pay special attention to the weaker sections of the society. India is a land of diversity of different castes peoples, communities, languages, religions and culture.
Although these people enjoy complete de jure political freedom, yet in reality a vast part of the population is illiterate and lives below the poverty line. It cannot be denied that the single most powerful tool for the upliftment and progress of such diverse illiterate communities is education. As the State, with its limited resources and slow moving machinery, has been unable to fully develop the genius of the Indian people. Though education very often the impersonal education that is imparted by the State, devoid of adequate material content that will make the student self reliant only succeeds in producing potential pen-pushers, as a result of which sufficient jobs are not available.
15. What is the concept of fairness? What is an example of fairness?
Ans : Fairness is the quality of making judgements that are free from discrimination. Judges, umpires, and teachers should all strive to practice fairness. Fairness comes from the old english, meaning “pleasing, attractive.” This makes sense given that the word is also used to describe physical beauty.
Fairness is defined as just and reasonable treatment in accordance with accepted rules or principles. Treating all people equally and applying reasonable punishments only when rules are broken is an example of fairness.
16. What does fairness and development mean? Why fairness is important in the workplace?
Ans : Students will explore identity, beliefs and values, personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health, human relationships including families, friends, communities and cultures; what it means to be human. Possible explorations to develop that : competition and cooperation, teams, affiliation and leadership
Specifically, it found that those who experienced more fairness on average reported better health. According to “The findings can help raise awareness among employees and authorities that fairness at work is important to increase satisfaction, well-being and productivity in the workplace and wider society”.
17. What does fairness and justice mean? What are the 3 principles of justice?
Ans: Justice means giving each person what he or she deserves or, in more traditional terms, giving each person his or her due. Justice and fairness are closely related terms that are often today used interchangeably. In any case, a notion of being treated as one deserves is crucial to both justice and fairness.
The three main principles of the legal system are fairness, equality before the law and justice. The legal system and lawmakers strive to achieve equal outcomes for all equal protection of its citizens by making fair and just decisions.
18. Is justice all about fairness explain? What is the difference between fairness and justice?
Ans : “Justice as Fairness: Political not Metaphysical” is an essay by John Rawls, published in 1985. In it he describes his conception of justice. It comprises two main principles of liberty and equality; the second is subdivided into Fair Equality of Opportunity and the Difference Principle.
Fairness is the quality of making judgements that are free from discrimination. Justice is an action that is morally right and fair. I think the difference is that fairness is about having a proper perspective and justice is about having the right thing done.
| LONG TYPE QUESTIONS & ANSWERS |
1. How does democracy affect economic growth? Discuss.
Ans : Democratisation of a country from a non-democratic regime is usually preceded by a fall in GDP and a volatile but, expected growth in the long run. While on the other hand authoritarian regimes experience significant growth at the beginning and decline in the long run. The cause of such behaviour is that non-democratic regimes, mainly authoritarian one’s, are more effective at implementing decisive policies and choices as well as solving ethnic and sub-national conflicts, but are unsustainable in the long run as there is more incentive to extract money from society which in turn leads to less prosperity. Democratic regimes revolve around institutions and policies which lay the foundations, through which principles of liberty and equality are designed and followed, thus directly or indirectly affecting firms or individuals who benefit from the directives and increase their growth, which in turn has a positive impact on economy.
The positive changes of democracy to economic growth such as delegation of authority and regulations of social conflicts heavily outweigh the negative and restrictive effects, especially when compared to autocracy. One of the main reasons for this is that society, i. e. voters are able to support difficult trade offs and changes when there is no perceived alternative. This is primarily true in countries with a higher level of education. So it ties the development level of a country as one of the decisive factors to undergo positive democratic changes and reforms. Thus, countries that embark in democratization at higher levels of education are more likely than not to continue their development under democracy.
As mentioned before, all of these factors do not guarantee success. As for each such case, there is a failure. There is never a single formula for democracy. The processes in associations with peace, social stability and rapid socio-economic development are not yet fully understood, which may be the reason for a widespread opinion and many hypothesis.
A 2006 meta-analysis found that democracy has no direct effect on economic growth. However,it has strong and significant indirect effects which contribute to growth. Democracy is associated with higher human capital accumulation, lower inflation, lower political instability, and higher economic freedom. Democracy is closely tied with economic sources of growth, like education levels and lifespan through improvement of educative institutions as well as healthcare. “As democracy expands in developing countries, newly empowered workers are likely to demand better living conditions, health care, access to clean water, and so on-all conditions that contribute to increased life expectancy and, in turn, to increased productivity”. There is also some evidence that it is associated with larger governments and more restrictions on international trade.
If leaving out East Asia, then during the last forty-five years poor democracies have grown their economies 50% more rapidly than non-democracies. Poor democracies such as the Baltic countries, Bot-swana, Costa Rica, Ghana, and Senegal have grown more rapidly than non-democracies such as Angola, Syria, Uzbekistan, and Zimbabwe.
Of the eighty worst financial catastrophes during the last four decades, only five were in democracies. Similarly, poor democracies are half likely as non-democracies to experience a 10% decline in GDP Per capita over the course of a single year.
2. What are the differences between Economic growth and Economic development – Discuss.
Ans : Economic Growth is defined as the rise in the money value of goods and services produced by all the sectors of the economy per head during a particular period. It is a quantitative measure that shows the increase in the number of commercial transactions in an economy. Economic growth can be expressed in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) and gross national product (GNP), that helps in measuring the size of the economy. It let us compare in absolute and percentage change, i.e. how much an economy has progressed since last year. It is an outcome of the increase in the quality and quantity of resources and advancement of technology.
Economic Development is defined as the process of increase volume of production along with the improvement in technology, a rise in the level of living, institutional changes, etc. In short, it is the progress in the socio-economic structure of the economy. Human Development Index (HDI) is the appropriate tool to gauge the development in the economy. Based on the development, the HDI statistics rank countries. It considers the overall development in an economy regarding the standard of living. GDP, living conditions, technological advancement, improvement in self-esteem needs, the creation of opportunities, per capita income, infrastructural and industrial development and much more.
The fundamental differences between economic growth and development are explained in the points given below:
(a) Economic growth is the positive change in the real output of the country in a particular span of time economy. Economic Development involves a rise in the level of production in an economy along with the advancement of technology, improvement in living standards and so on.
(b) Economic growth is one of the features of economic development.
(c) Economic growth is an automatic process. Unlike economic development, which is the outcome of planned and result-oriented activities.
(d) Economic growth enables an increase in the indicators like GDP, Per capita income, etc. On the other hand, economic development enables improvement in the life expectancy rate, infant mortality rate, literacy rate and poverty rates.
(e) Economic growth can be measured when there is a positive change in the national income,whereas economic development can be seen when there is an increase in real national income.
(f) Economic growth is a short-term which takes into account yearly growth of the economy. But if we talk about economic development it is a long term process.
(g) Economic Growth applies to developed economies to gauge the quality of life, but as it is an essential condition for the development, it applies to developing countries also. In contrast to, economic development applies to developing countries to measure progress.
(h) Economic Growth results in quantitative changes, but economic development brings both quantitative and qualitative changes.
(i) Economic growth can be measured in a particular period. As opposed to economic development is a continuous process so that it can be seen in the long run.
3. Describe the types of Determinants (Factors) which influence the economic development of a country.
Ans : In a country’s economic development the role of economic factors is decisive. The stock of capital and the rate of capital accumulation in most cases settle the question whether at a juven point of time a country will grow or not. There are a few other economic factors which also have some bearing on development but their importance is hardly comparable to that of capital formation. The surplus of foodgrains output available to support urban population, foreign trade conditions and the nature of economic system are some such factors whose role in economic development has to be analysed.
Factors that influence the Economic Development of a Country as follows:
(i) Capital Formation: The strategic role of capital in raising the level of production has traditionally been acknowledged in economics. It is now universally admitted that a country which wants to accelerate the pace of growth has no choice but to save a high ratio of its income with the objective of raising the level of investment. Great reliance on foreign aid is highly risky and thus has to be avoided. Economists rightly assert that lack of capital is the principal obstacle to growth and no developmental plan will succeed unless adequate supply of capital is forthcoming. Whatever be the economic system, a country cannot hope to achieve economic progress unless a certain minimum rate of capital accumulation is realised. However, if some country wishes to make spectacular strides, it will have to raise its rate of capital formation still higher.
(ii) Natural Resources: The principal factor affecting the development of an economy is the natural resources. Among the natural resources, the land area and the quality of the soil, forest wealth, good river system, minerals and oil-resources, good and bracing climate, etc., are included. For economic growth, the existence of natural resources in abundance is essential. A country deficient in natural resources may not be in a position to develop rapidly. In fact, natural resources are a necessary condition for economic growth but not a sufficient one. Japan and India are the two contradictory examples. According to Lewis, “Other things being equal man can make better use of rich resources than they can of poor”. In less developed countries, natural resources are unutilized, under-utilized or mis utilized. This is one of the reasons of their backwardness. This is due to economic backwardness and lack of technological factors. According to Professor Lewis, “A country which is considered to be poor in resources may be considered very rich in resources some later time,not merely because unknown resources are discovered, but equally because new methods are discovered for the known resources”. Japan is one such country which is deficient in natural resources but it is one of the advanced countries of the world because it has been able to discover new use for limited resources.
(iii) Marketable Surplus of Agriculture: Increase in agricultural production accompanied by a rise in productivity is important from the point of view of the development of a country. But what is more important is that the marketable surplus of agriculture increases. The term ‘marketable surplus’ refers to the excess of output in the agri cultural sector over and above what is required to allow the rural population to subsist. The importance of the marketable surplus in a developing economy emanates from the fact that the urban industrial population subsists on it. With the development of an economy, the ratio of the urban population increases and increasing demands are made on agriculture for foodgrains. These demands must be met adequately otherwise the consequent scarcity of food in urban areas will arrest growth. In case a country fails to produce a sufficient marketable surplus, it will be left with no choice except to import foodgrains which may cause a balance of payments problem. Until 1976-77, India was faced with this problem precisely. In most of the years during the earlier planning period, market arrivals of foodgrains were not adequate to support the urban population. If some country wants to step-up the tempo of industrialization, it must not allow it’s agriculture to lag behind. The supply of the farm products particularly foodgrains, must increase, as the setting-up of industries in cities attracts a steady flow of population from the countryside.
(iv) Conditions in Foreign Trade: The classical theory of trade has been used by economists for a long time to argue that trade between nations is always beneficial to them. In the existing context, the theory suggest that the presently less developed countries should specialise in production of primary products as they have comparative cost advantage in their production. The developed countries, on the contrary, have a comparative cost advantage in manufactures including machines and equipment and should accordingly specialise in them. In the recent years, a powerful school has emerged under the leadership of Raul Prebisch which questions the merits of unrestricted trade between developed and under developed countries on both theoretical and empirical grounds.
Foreign trade has proved to be beneficial to countries which have been able to set-up industries in a relatively short period. These countries sooner or later captured international markets for their industrial products. Therefore, a developing country should not only try to become self-reliant in capital equipment as well as other industrial products as early as possible But it should also attempt to push the development of its industries to such a high level that in course of time manufactured goods replace the primary products as the country’s principal exports. In countries like India the macro-economic interconnections are crucial and the solutions of the problems of these economies cannot be found merely through the foreign trade sector or simple recipes associated with it.
(e) Economic System: The economic system and the historical setting of a country also decide the development prospects to a great extent. There was a time when a country could have a laissez faire economy and yet face no difficulty in making economic progress. In today’s entirely different world situation, a country would find it difficult to grow along the England’s path of development. The Third World countries of the present times will have to find their own path of development. They cannot hope to make much progress by adopting a laissez-faire economy. Further, these countries cannot raise necessary resources required for development either through colonial exploitation or by foreign trade. They now have only two choices before them.
Those are as follows:
(i) They can follow a capitalist path of development which will require an efficient market system supported by a rational interventionist role of the State.
(ii) The other course open to them is that of economic planning.
The latest experiments in economic planning in China have shown impressive results. Therefore from the failure of economic planning in the former Soviet Union and the erstwhile East European socialist countries it would be wrong to conclude that a planned economy has builtin inefficiencies which are bound to arrest economic growth.
4. Special Cases of Censorship. Explain.
Ans : Today free speech is a liberty right that we take for granted until a special issue of censorship arises, which then gains widespread media coverage and sparks public debate. There are a few areas where censorship is a recurring issue, and we will highlight some of these. Perhaps the most prominent one is book censorship. More than any other type of media, books have become symbols of free expression. This is partly because books have the capacity of recording our thoughts on every possible subject, from the most innocent idea to the most scandalous. Book publication holds open the possibility of reaching a wider audience than we could in most other ways, such as through public speaking engagements or local television appearances. Historically controversial books have been rounded up by governments and enraged citizens and even ceremonially burned in town squares.
One area where book censorship continually draws attention today is with libraries in public schools. Under pressure from parents and community groups, many school boards have mandated the removal of certain books from their libraries, and among these in recent decades are classics such as William Golding’s “The Lord of the Flies”, “Aldous Huxley’s”, “Brave New World”, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, George Orwell’s 1984, John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath”, Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five, and Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple”. Part of the motivation for school library censorship is to keep material from students that is not appropriate for their maturity level. Sometimes, though, the motivation is to prevent children from being exposed to material that challenges the value system of some parents or local community groups.
A second special area of censorship focuses on hate speech, which is a type of public expression that attacks, insults and intimidates people based on some distinguishing feature, such as their race, gender, religion, sextual orientation, or physical appearance. Common examples are asserting the inferiority of a race, displaying a Nazi flag, shouting an anti-gay slogan, or desecrating a religious symbol. Expressions like these risk promoting discrimination towards the affected groups and sometimes even result in violence towards them. Because of the harm that hate speech can inflict on the targeted groups, the question arises whether it should be restricted, and, in fact, most developed countries have enacted laws to that effect, including Britain, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and India. The United States almost uniquely stands alone in allowing such expression as a matter of free speech.
A third area of censorship concerns limitations on creative expression in film and music. For almost 40 years the U.S. film industry was governed by the Motion Picture Production Code, which banned nudity, drug use, religious ridicule, disrespect for the law and other depictions in films that would have the effect of lowering society’s moral standards. Romantic scenes were heavily scrutinized to uphold “the sanctity of the institution of marriage” and “excessive and lustful kissing, lustful embraces, suggestive postures and gestures, are not to be shown.” The Production Code was an effect at self-regulation by the motion picture industry, and technically speaking was not the instrument of any governmental agency. However, virtually all film distribution companies complied with the code and consequently, filmmakers who wanted their movies released were compelled to follow it। In 1966 the standards of the production code were relaxed, and two years later it was replaced with the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) film rating system, which, in modified form, we follow today।
In 1985, the wives of several U.S. Senators formed an organisation called the Parents’ Music Resource Center (PMRC) and lobbied Congress to help impose a rating system on music lyrics that paralleled that in the film industry. Under pressure from the PMRC and Congress, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) eventually instituted a system of placing parental advisory labels on albums that contain explicit lyrics.
A fourth area where free expression has routinely been restricted is with the visual arts, which includes drawing, painting, sculpture. By its very nature, visual art is a creative outlet of individual expression through which artists often offer critiques of contemporary society. Censorship of art occurs when a work is attacked or suppressed because of its controversial message, independently of its artistic merits. There is nothing wrong with people criticising, disliking or taking offence at a work of art, and, with controversial pieces, that is expected.
A fifth recurring issue of censorship is flag desecration. No other object or image symbolises a country more than its flag. While a country’s governments may come and go – good ones and bad ones – the flag usually stays the same, indicating that it represents a bond within a country’s culture and values that rises above the policies of a given government. While flag burners are often protesting against a particular governmental policy, such as an unpopular war or a violation of civil rights, the act of flag burning represents a broader contempt for the country itself.
A sixth area of censorship involves speech codes, particularly in school setting. Educational institutions have historically seen the free exchange of ideas as an integral part of the learning process, whereby students can vigorously debate even the most sensitive topics. Many school administrations, both at the K-12 and university levels, have enacted speech codes that restrict certain kinds of expression, particularly hate speech. An example would be a policy that explicitly prohibits insulting, teasing, or making inappropriate jokes about groups based on race, gender, or religion. The intent of these codes in to foster an atmosphere of tolerance and respect towards others, and to protect members of these groups from harassment and a hostile learning environment.
A seventh recently emerging area of censorship concerns the internet and what is commonly called internet neutrality. The central idea is that individual users should be in control of the content and applications that they use on the internet. Their use should not be restricted by local internet suppliers, such as cable television companies that might want to restrict access and content for their own financial gain. For example, one internet provider might try to restrict users from accessing the website of a rival internet provider. An internet provider might also allow faster internet access to some web sites, such as those of television networks who pay them fees; this will create a disadvantage for smaller websites that cannot afford those costs. The type of censorship involved here is motivated more by economic consideration, rather than by any harm or offense that the web pages themselves might produce. Interest in internet neutrality derives from the unique nature of the internet itself, since it’s inception it has allowed equal access and participation, without a regulatory body restricting its content. Traditional media outlets-newspapers, book publishers and television stations-all have stringent editorial policies that restrict their content based on space limitations, potential interest, controversy, ideology, and countless other factors. The internet is virtually the only major media outlet that doesn’t require going through such editorial scrutiny.
5. Under What Circumstances Can Censorship Be Justified? Discuss.
Ans : In any state, not all information is made public, as information flows that circulate in society are frequently regulated by censorship. Control can be established over the mass media, print and oral expression of view. Censorship may develop in a society regardless of institutions engage in censorship control and in a number of cases, does not involve authorities. This essay argues that censorship can be justified in terms of protecting society against extremism, alcohol and cigarette propaganda and false information that may question the credibility of the media. Firstly, the classical liberal and neo-liberal views on the freedom of speech will be examined in order to look at censorship as a negative measure.
The foundation of classical liberal view on freedom of expression lies in Mills Magnum Opus that is called on liberty claims that prohibition of the expression of an opinion or sentiment cannot be legitimate. According to his theory, citizens rights are clearly defined and government intervention in the boundaries of individual freedom is unacceptable as long as people comply with their own and other peoples rights and freedom. Mill also saw the two main threats to freedom of the press. One of them comes from the government where as the another one issues from the people themselves. The governmental threat was proposed to be protected by monitoring the authorities attempts of restricting the freedom of publication. According to freedom of expression should be regulated by market mechanism and cannot be restricted by the government on the principle of freedom from coercion.
There is also a believe that to date, governments indirectly tend to restrict the freedom of speech. For example, from Zanuddin prospectus it is believed that the issue of government licences to broadcast on radio and television is the abuse of power of officials to regulate the market. It also represents a hidden censorship and violates the principle of freedom of the press. Thus, according to the research conducted on the ideology of classical liberalism by Mill and a number of neo-liberal principles, freedom of press is understood as a necessary condition for the development of individual rights in the society. It must be protected by the reliably functioning market mechanism and the absence of governmental intervention. Citizens should be free to publish their views and their rights must be protected against any attempts to restrict this right government. People must be endowed with the possibility to exchange their views in order to develop balance opinions. In this regards, the freedom of expression is necessary. However, currently, a number of threats to society exist that must be regulated by censorship publication of false information, extremism, alcohol and cigarette propaganda. These threats will be described and analysed in the next four paragraphs.
Firstly, censorship can and should be justified, because it is able to protect citizens from false. According to Gorman censorship that is directly involved in the regulation of information flows serves as the considerably important measure that can protect society of disinformation. However, it should not be used in order to hide veridical information that the government simply does not like. This is harmful to the interests of majority, because in the face of such censorship people are deprived of the opportunity to obtain the data that is necessary to make informed decisions. Thus censorship should be used in order to protect readers of erroneous and unfair publications. It can serve as a beneficial for the majority of citizens. Moreover, such censorship may be useful for journalists themselves.
Secondly, censorship should be used in order to protect political and moral principles of society। Cohen states that the government can use censorship on various reasons, including a protection from terrorism. Indeed, according to Hu censorship is an important measure which may be useful to prevent extremism spread. It is important to use censorship in this way, because extremism currently serves as a considerable threat to society.
6. Why does censorship happen? What are the good reasons for censorship? State yours views.
Ans : Censorship is the suppression of ideas and information that certain persons-individuals, groups or government officials find objectionable or dangerous. Censorship also occurs when materials are restricted to particular audiences, based on their age or other characteristics.
In some cases, the right to say absolutely anything at all is simply not a right, nor should it ever be. For example, if someone wants to make a claim about a product that is not true: “This product cures Cancer”.
If you haven’t proven that your product cures cancer (or worse, has been proven not to cure cancer), then it is right and proper for your “right to free speech” to be limited and censored. If you internationally seek to slander someone by making untrue claims about them that damage their, job, etc, then it is right and proper for your “right to free speech” to be limited and censored.
But it’s difficult line to define. For example, I fully support freedom of speech for racists. Because I do not think that you have a right to not be offended by someone else. People can hurt your feelings, make you feel disgusted, say things that offend you deeply.
I don’t think there is any exact, perfect answer. But I personally prefer to err on the side of allowing speech, than censoring it. For the simple reason that I believe censorship overall harms more people than allowing free speech. Only in those situations where it causes very obvious, direct, blatant harm to others should it be practised.
7. Does protective discrimination violate the principles of fairness?
Ans : The policy of giving favoured treatment through ‘protective discrimination’s to certain members of the deprived groups because such groups have suffered systematic discrimination in the past has generated a fierce philosophical debate in the contemporary political theory. Such favoured treatment include privileged access to jobs employment, admission in educational institutions etc. and the recipients can be lower castes, classes etc. These politicise of protective discrimination’s or rational discrimination’s or affirmative action are also called ‘reverse discrimination’s because they embody race class, caste or sex as the criteria for differential treatment just as overtly as it was used against them in the past. While the egalitarian and positive liberals support such discrimination’s in order to achieve adjust and fair society, the libertarians and legal positivists do not approve of such discrimination’s because this, in their opinion, affects the excellence, merit and the basic rights of freedom and property of the individuals. There are various justifications that the protective discrimination’s do not violate the principle of fairness or justice.
Protective discrimination are based on this argument:
(a) The equality of opportunity is very feeble.
(b) It does not really exist unless made more effective
(c) There is a caused connection between being unequal and hence poor, illiterate, socially and culturally backward underfed and undernourished.
(d) That something should be done to alter the distribution of goods and services in order to be fair to all.
(e) Protective discrimination is one of the various means to correct this imbalance in the distribution of good and services. As such it does not violate the principle of fairness.
