...Occupy Wall Street Movement Brenda Bryant Dr. Obi. Iwuanyanwu BUS309 Business Ethics October 5, 2012 Discuss the moral and economic implications involved in the movement. The Occupy movement was a protest that gathered local organizers, students, and activists in response to the economic disparity of countries around the world. The protest gained momentum after a continuous series of protests took place in Zuccotti Park in New York City's Wall Street financial district (Manhattan) on September 17th, 2011, where it was named Occupy Wall Street (OWS). This is an international protest movement where the moral foundation of the OWS Movement appears to be focused around fairness, care, and liberty from oppression. The main moral issues are against social and economic inequality, greed, corruption, and the undue influence of corporations on government—particularly from the financial services sector. The OWS primary goal is to make the economic structure and power relations in society fairer. The majority view of the protesters and moral implications is to fight for more government involvement and concern for the 99 percent that are not rich. OWS protesters believe the economic system is not fair and is set up in way such that now only the rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer. The rich--those on Wall Street (“the “1 percent”) got rich by taking without giving. OWS protesters view the rich as cheaters who often exploited their way to the top. They further...
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...Occupy Wall Street Movement Business Ethics 309 Discuss the moral and economic implications involved in the movement. September 17, 2011 is the day the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement began in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City. The main issues include social and economic inequality, greed, corruption and the undue influence of corporations on government according to The New York Times. The mix of moral foundations based on ideas from the anthropologist Richard Shweder, outline six clusters of moral concern - care, fairness, liberty, loyalty, authority, or sanctity. OWS main moral issues include: fairness, care, and liberty. Fairness – the rich (the “1” percent) got rich by taking without giving. OWS protesters viewed the rich as cheaters who exploited their way to the top. They further suggested that the taxpayers had to bail them out after they crashed the economy. Care and liberty were the next moral foundations at OWS (Haidt, 2011). Analyze each of the implications identified above against the utilitarian, Kantian, and virtue ethics to determine which theory best applies to the movement. Utilitarian looks at consequences, or the greatest good for the greatest number. Utilitarianism is generally held to be the view that morally right action is the action that produces the most good. We believe that we are all individuals and that society is only the net result of our individual choices. The sociologist Emile Durkheim understood that utilitarianism is...
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...Occupy Wall Street Movement Liz Croutch Annette Redmon Bus309 May 8, 2013 Discuss the moral and economic implications involved in the movement According to Occupywallst.org, The Movement Occupy Wall Street is a leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors, genders and political persuasions. The one thing we all have in common is that “We Are The 99%” that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%. We are using the revolutionary Arab Spring tactic to achieve our ends and encourage the use of nonviolence to maximize the safety of all participants. (Occupywallst.org) The movement began out of frustration in the growing inequality between the wealthy 1% and the rest of the population. Greed, corruption and the perceived undue influence of corporations on government especially in the financial services sector produced this momentous uprising. This movement is the embodiment of all of the frustrations that Americans have dealt with particularly; economically. The rich are getting richer and the poorer getting poorer. This has been the downward spiral for the last forty years. This movement gives a voice to the grievances of the people. According to newpol.org “Occupy is a kind of a party, not a party with a formal structure, but potential peoples party in formation, the party of working people, the party of the poor, the party of the dispossessed, the oppressed, and the exploited. The Occupy movement excoriates the banks...
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...Occupy Wall Street Professor Sanjib Guha Business Ethics November 12, 2012 Occupy Wall Street Many Americans have wanted to take a stand against the corruption that occurs within big business, banks, and Wall Street. It was not until September 2011 that people band together to take a stand in Liberty Square, which is located in Manhattan’s Financial District (2012). This movement started with many passionate people that would no longer hold their silence. Having to deal with an economy that tanked and a high unemployment rate brought this to a head. The message was clear – a change was needed. It is said that the collective worker in America does not have a voice (About, 2012). Many are told to just deal with the outlined terms of employment or find another job. Union workers would say that they have choices, and their representatives fight for them. The union workers also have a higher salary than non-union workers in the same field of work. Occupy Wall Street (OWS) provided a springboard for a joint voice that was loud enough for some to hear. Many that were out of work and many that needed to speak up band together to focus on this inequality. Moral that was once low, soon increased as the movement took form. The movement had some setbacks a few months after it started which included protestors being faced with arrest. Looking from the outside into the movement, one would wonder if all involved had the same goals as the movement, or were they there to simply...
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...Running Head: Occupy Wall Street Movement Occupy Wall Street By: Barbara Manley Business 309 Professor: Dr. Badowski January 29, 2013 Running Head: Occupy Wall Street Movement 1 Occupy Wall Street Movement The Occupy Wall Street Movement came about in September of 2011. This was a movement about corporate money ant the influences it has on the politics. Many supported this movement because they felt that politics” supported corporate greed, as well as financial and social inequality.” (Haidt, 2012). One moral view of this was focused on democracy, which must were lead to believe was controlled mostly money and not the people which is what a democracy is supposed to be focused on. Those who supported (OWS) Occupy Wall Street believed that if there was to be a change made in the country the focus must took of the money and placed back on the resources our country has to offer. This movement set out prove that we were throwing money at the issues and problems instead of really dealing with them and finding ways to fix them. Occupy Wall Street also brought out that America wasn’t setting an example of a united nation but that of a nation controlled by politics and money The (OWS) showed how more money was being spent on the military which many questions if this was really of necessity. Occupy Wall Street also places some of it focus on the nature, they showed that although we talking about preserving our world we continued to use harmful chemicals and drill. (Lakeoff, 2012) “A...
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...capitalism is needed to solve these production decision such as what and how to produce the goods and services and distribution decision such as for whom to produce the goods and services. Capitalism is an economic system in which the major portion of production and distribution is in private hands, operating under what is termed a profit or market system. In the country which works on capitalism system, the production and distribution decisions are made by private individuals who are free to pursue their self-interest and their decisions are coordinated and communicated through price signals which also means by profit motive in the market. I believe that the morality of capitalism is debatable, whether the capitalism is moral or immoral have to view it from different sides of perspective. Utilitarianism said that an action is judged as right, good, or wrong on the basis of its consequences. It emphasizes that greatest good for the greatest number of people. In other words, the goods have to be maximized for everyone affected by the decision (Weiss J.W., 2008). When all the costs are added and compared with the results, if the benefits outweigh the costs, then the action may be considered ethical. In a capitalist economic system, individuals have natural rights to property. They can possess, use and dispose the means of production or distribution such as equipment, machines, and ideas. This enables the accumulation of wealth. Moreover, all businesses are motivated by profit and been...
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...CHAPTER 7 – DEVIANCE, CRIME, AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM MULTIPLE CHOICE 1. Devance- Viewing deviance as a violation of social norms, sociologists have characterized it as "any thought, feeling, or action that members of a social group judge to be a violation of their values or rules "or group" 2. Stimga- stigma refers to the concept of people being 'marked' as different, specifically in a negative manner, based on some characteristic that separates them from the rest of the society. Some are based on inherent characteristic such as mental illness where people cannot change. 3. What is the difference between formal and informal deviance Formal deviance is behqavior that violates laws. Major crimes etc, informal is behavior that disregards accepted social norms like picking ones nose 4. What are the major sources of crime statistics? FBI’s uniform Crime report(UCR) and victimization surveys 5. Crime differs from deviance because- with a crime comes punishment 6. What are the shortcoming of the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report (UCR)? The data doesn’t offer accurate measures on the extent of “crime” 7. What are examples of victimless crimes include Acts that violate laws but involve individuals who don’t consider themselves victems, offenses that are the least likely to be reported 8. Sanctions are rewards or punishments for obeying or violating a norm 9. ____functionalist/ strain theory___ believe that crime occurs when people experience blocked...
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...Review of Policy Document The Great Transition A tale of how it turned out right By nef is an independent think-and-do tank that inspires and demonstrates real economic well-being Abstract The paper ‘The great transition’ by the nef talks about the great transition that we as a humanity has to take in order to reverse the harm that have been caused to the environment by our actions. In this report I try to analyse the policy and look at what suggestions that have been suggested by the authors is adoptable and what potential implications can it have on the world economy and businesses in general, and also what potential positive impact this can have on global warming and climate change. At the end of the report I make a reflection on the ethical and moral dilemma that I might face in future at my workplace. Introduction Our crude dependence on oil and the complete disregard for the environment has led us to this path of irreversible destructive impact on the planet and there is no less that 60 months left beginning in 2008 that climate change in the form of a 4C rise in temperature by the end of the century becomes irreversible. Also with the current economic crisis it has become apparent that the path that we are going forward in terms of value creation in terms of wealth and GDP output has not been efficient enough to target the real problems that we face today and most governments have been ineffective enough to give an optimal result....
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... Parker and Bos (2005: 100) summarise the essence of this view as “markets good, governments bad”. Neoliberalism argues that free trade is beneficial to all nations, that governments create inefficiency and waste, and that the distribution of goods should therefore be left to individuals and firms competing in the market to maximise their utility (WHO 2010). To ensure an efficient allocation of resources, neoliberalists argue for widespread liberalisation i.e. the reduction of rules and restrictions, and the privatisation of public enterprises. However, the reality of Neoliberalism has been very different to the theory. Regulation provides the framework within which markets work and enables the moderation of the externalities they produce, thus deregulation was in fact limited and was quickly followed by regulation (Levi-Faur 2005: 13). Because of this, Polanyi (in Peck, 2010: 330) writes: “the road to a free market was opened and kept open by an enormous increase in continuous, centrally organized and controlled interventionism”. In this essay, I look at the impacts of Neoliberalism on World Politics, focusing on two in particular. Firstly I explain that the policies of liberalisation and privatisation, albeit supported by regulation, have led to increasing inequality and after this, I argue that Neoliberalism is partially to blame for the environmental issues we face today. It is widely known that inequality is rising in the modern world. The 2015 Global Wealth Report...
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...Additional Tools, Techniques and Dilemmas This document includes the cases and articles listed below in italics. You may find some of the principles described in the articles useful in doing your analysis of the cases. Velasquez, Distributive Justice Rich Dead, Poor Dead Kelo vs. City of New London _____________________________________________________________________________ Distributive Justice Manuel Velasquez Questions of distributive justice arise when different people put forth conflicting claims on society's benefits and burdens and all the claims cannot be satisfied. The central cases are those where there is a scarcity of benefits such as jobs, food, housing, medical care, income, and wealth-as compared to the numbers and the desires of the people who want these goods. Or (the other side of the coin) there may be too many burdens - unpleasant work, drudgery, substandard housing, health injuries of various sorts-and not enough people willing to shoulder them. If there were enough goods to satisfy everyone's desires and enough people willing to share society's burdens, then conflicts between people would not arise and distributive justice would not be needed. When people's desires and aversions exceed the adequacy of their resources, they are forced to develop principles for allocating scarce benefits and undesirable burdens in ways that are just and that resolve the conflicts in a fair way. The development of such principles is the concern of distributive...
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...Executive Summary The new version of globalization sees the trans- and multinational companies being the major players guided by the policies and treaties of the oversight international organizations and supported by technology. Given that the focus continues to be cross border trade, integration and investment, in the absence of any communal decision making process with defined criteria, it has been clear that globalization continues to be challenged with respect to ethical decision making for sustainable development. This paper summarizes the role and function of the major globalization oversight organizations and touches on the extent of the power that they wield. It briefly discusses the advantages and disadvantages of globalization and attempts to identify the goals of globalization and given these goals and the identification of the stakeholders and subsequently to evaluate whether or not it is a driver or barrier to ethical decision making and sustainable development. ‘Ethics is more than the right thing to do: it's the smart thing to do.’ Global Institute of Ethics 1.0 Introduction It appears to be no easy feat to get a precise definition for Globalization. The definition can range from that of Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz who defined it as “the closer integration of the countries and peoples of the world which has been brought about by the enormous reduction of costs of transportation and communication...
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...everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement” (American Dream, 2014). For decades, people have lived by the promise that a strong work ethic, dedication, and honesty can lead to a better life. Unfortunately, today, many Americans find this is not the case. No longer does hard work guarantee that one can provide a comfortable lifestyle for their families, save for retirement, or afford to send their children to college. The dream of being able to send their children to college is fading for many Americans and is an example of societal inequality described in the conflict theory. Conflict theory does not view society as a system but as social groups experiencing unequal power, money, and unequal life chances. This leads to struggles and oppression for the lower classes while the upper class continues to prosper. According to Phil Oliff, a policy analyst with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “Higher education attainment is growing increasingly important. Getting a college degree is increasingly a prerequisite for success in the workforce and entry in the middle class” (Sherter, 2013). Statistics have shown that the level of education correlates with the level of earning and wealth over a lifetime (Odland, 2012). Despite the need for higher education to succeed, it seems that income is the determining factor in gaining access to higher education. In 2010, 55% of bachelor’s degrees were awarded to students from families earning over $98,000...
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...creation of the welfare state. First of all a process for the achievement of the basic needs of the citizens (questionable what are the basic needs), latterly equality, seen as same opportunities without racial or social influence, and lastly liberty, conceived as ‘negative’ liberty of coercive ‘redistribution’ in order to achieve a moral and social congruence between all the individuals. However, welfare state, even if based on ethic-philosophical findings, has many implications and effects in the economic field. As Briggs (1961) argued, the welfare state is an organization whose purpose is to modify the market forces in at least three directions: (I) ensure to the individuals and to the families minimum incomes; (II) decrease the level of insecurity; and (III) assure the best standard available of social services (Cittadini 2015). ***** Modern concept of welfare state originates from the extraordinary impact of industrialisation and capitalism on life conditions, income inequalities, and progressive awareness of the social rights. England is considered the birthplace of welfare. Back in 1601, the English Parliament enacted the so-called Poor Law, according to which landowners had to pay taxes devoted to poor people, in order to provide...
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...earth’s atmospheres in ways that affect all humans. We have become inter-connected in still other ways. Humans have migrated all over the earth. Vast numbers of people have moved from rural to urban areas, from continent to continent, in the process bringing with them parts of their varied cultures and traditions. Religiously humans are now more inter-mixed then ever. Christians and Muslim, especially, as well as Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jews are now found all over the world (1). Although humans enter the twenty first century more inter-connected than ever, we remain different in many ways. We remain deeply influenced by different cultural traditions. Even though there may well be common features among them, we follow multiple different ethics. Although...
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...JaQuess Wynn Jayantha Jayman GS101: Intro to Political Economy November 2, 2012 I. Title Shifting the Blame From the Poor to the Privileged: Global Poverty, World Hunger, Population Growth, and the Misappropriation of Wealth in Third World Countries I. Introduction At a broad level, globalization is an increase in the impact on human activities of forces that span national boundaries. These activities can be economic, social, cultural, political, technological, or even biological, as in the case of disease. Additionally, all of these realms are connected through capitalism. Globalization, as defined by McMichael is “integration on the basis of a project pursuing "market rule on a global scale.” Under McMichael’s definition of capitalism, the availability of food is becoming a major issue. And that is driven by a number of factors. Both the ability to grow enough food especially under a changing climate, as well as increases in population and greater demand for food from an increasing discerning population that wants more meat in their diet. This is driving up demand for food and that is basically pushing up prices which not only affects the ability to buy the diversity of food that we want to eat, but it particularly affects people in the developing world for whom food is a major cost in their finances. The evolution of food production plays a big role in its current role in the capitalist economy. Farmers no longer produce food for others to eat, but rather...
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