Environment and Religion (blog #21)

The second half of this chapter focuses on the spread of religious ideologies and the negative impact humans started to have on the environment in light of the industrial revolution and the spread of industry that was reliant on burning fossil fuels around the globe. Personally the environment and religion have always been hot buttons for me; first because this is the only planet we have and it was intended for the survival of all species, not just humans, and second because people should have the right to believe in whatever god or religion they chose. Although religion is still a hot topic in the global community today, I feel like environmental degradation and protection presents a more immediate and intense focus within our local and global communities. Strayer illustrates that movements concerning the protection of natural resources and the use of alternative fuel products have become more common in the twentieth century, but they have not had as much impact as they would have liked. Many have started to criticize the idea of global warming because they argue that predictions made about when ice caps would melt and glaciers would disappear have not been entirely accurate; however, it is challenging to say if the original predictions were wrong or if policy changes and changes in behavior resulted in a slowing of the disappearance of ice caps and glaciers. Environmental degradation and protection have been a growing concern within America since the beginning of European colonization; though concerns were mostly voiced by natives the idea of sustainability did start to spread among the colonizers. Despite long-lasting concerns and controversies policy changes, regulation and behavior has changed very little over time and is still very far from where it needs to be.

It's all about the Benjamins! (Blog # 20)

This chapter was frustrating to me because it highlights one of, in my opinions, the worst side effects of capitalism, the pursuit of money at all costs. The chapter explains “reglobalization” in a post-WWII world; with the United States becoming the leader in the world capitalism quickly spread across the world. Reglobalization was characterized by the “the accelerating circulation of goods, capital, and people”, and it had many pros and cons. Some of the pros include, “life expectancies expanded almost everywhere, infant mortality declined, and literacy increased” (Strayer, 789). Unfortunately it also came with many cons, the worst in my opinion is the greed for more capital even at the expense of others. This greed is most demonstrated in the practice of “foreign direct investment” in which a company in one country sets up factories in another country to take advantage of cheaper resources and labor. “Rich countries sought to take advantage of cheap labor, tax breaks, and looser environmental regulations in developing countries” (Strayer, 786). The spread of capitalism led to a new type of domination and control over underdeveloped countries and furthered the gap between the rich and the poor; this had many considering the United States an “informal empire”. It is my belief that the practice of “foreign direct investment” is an immoral act that not only hurts vulnerable people in lesser developed countries, the environment and in return the country that is sending their factories to other countries. For example the United States has become too reliant on other countries for goods and resources with the majority of our goods being imported from other countries. Capitalism has the power to be a good system if it was combined with a sense of morality so that people and the environment wouldn’t suffer in the name of financial gain; money is not more valuable than life, not even money.

The end of the empire (Blog # 19)

Two things I found really interesting about this chapter. First was the idea that the British stated to set up policies in place that allowed the colonized countries to have more direct control over their politics and economics before nationalist uprisings occurred; this was done by “gradual political reforms; investments in railroads, ports, and telegraph lines; holding elections; and writing constitutions” (753-754). The book even says, “To some observers, it seemed as if independence was granted by colonial rulers rather than gained or seized by nationalist movements” (754). Obviously they didn’t enact these changes to willingly give up complete control of these colonies, if they had the transition wouldn’t have taken so long or so many lives. This concept is mentioned in detail at least twice in this chapter and it made me wonder how the decolonization would have taken place if the British hadn’t already started to make changes giving more power and involvement to the natives.

Second, this chapter mentions that independence and democracy were not automatically going to fulfill all of your expectations; the process was long hard and complicated. Most of the colonies that were trying to gain independence were faced with too many obstacles (economic, racial, ethnic, class) to make a peaceful and easy transition from a government that held all of the power to being a part of a new government and finding an equal ground for all citizens within a colony. It seemed to me like people were too quick to give up on democracy because within the first nine years they didn’t achieve everything they were hoping to, major social/political/economic changes take time to enact and enforce anywhere; especially when a government is facing major internal conflict.

Catholic Social Teaching 5 & 6 (blog #18)

I really enjoy reading this article about Catholic social teaching; I feel like they focus their teachings around very important factors of society life that are intended for the betterment of all members of a society. I completely agree with John XXIII’s idea of socialization, I believe we are all interconnected and have a moral obligation to help those around us that are in need. I am not surprised that his idea was met with such an uproar from his peers, as we have discussed in class nobody wants to have their “stuff” taken away from them to be “given” to someone else, but it’s not like John XXIII was saying that all private property is subject to be expropriated, there were certain conditions that had to be met, “if these tracts of land are “extensive, unused or poorly used” and if these ownership patterns “bring hardship to peoples or are detrimental to the interests of the country, the common good sometimes demands their expropriation” (no. 24)” (92). There is no reason to hoard land or property that you don’t need or use when it can be detrimental to the survival of someone else; it reminds me of a child who has a doll that it’s not playing with but as soon as another kid wants to play with it the first kid throws a tantrum because now all of a sudden they want it. I think this theology about private property is a legitimate way of thinking and it makes sense in society, especially in areas where resources are scarce, as long as it is used with reason.  I also didn’t realize that the Church was so adamant and concerned with labor unions and worker’s rights. I found section six to be very enlightening into why the Church believes proper and efficient workers unions are so vital to the society as a whole, “Work represents a positive opportunity to collaborate with others, to develop particular skills, and to contribute distinctive individual talents to the wider society” (97). I also liked how they compared labor and work to being co-creators with God, it just adds an extra benefit to working.

Communism (Blog # 17)

What was most interesting in this chapter, in my opinion, was the idea that communism came about as a solution to end suffering for the majority (peasants and women) of the population could not support themselves. This becomes even more apparent when communist and nationalist parties begin preaching equality, financial stability, prosperity, and freedoms to those who do not currently have any. I found it interesting that in every one of these movements rights were promised for women, a class of people who were used to having nothing, and to those living in rural areas. Though these parties openly preached these equalities and freedoms they were typically never upheld, even those rights that were enacted were eventually and usually quickly taken away. Communism was supposed to be the countries answer to the economic and political struggles these countries were facing at the time, instead it led to more destruction and death. I also found it interesting that the collapse of both China and the Soviet Unions communist parties were due to their own reforms rather than by outside, or Western, influence. It seemed to me while reading this chapter that they wanted some Western benefits and policies while staying strictly Communist; however this is a mix that cannot be made which was evident by the bloody and violent upheavals in the Soviet Union and the change to Capitalism in China.

World war, depression and the rebalancing of Global Power (blog #16)

What I found the most interesting in this chapter was that it showed how actions in one country directly effected another. First through war, and than through the great depression that plagued so many countries after the war. I never realized how closely the end of the war contributed to the depression that ravaged so many countries, nor did I realize that the depression was something that many countries around the world were facing at the same time. This chapter clearly defined and laid out causes of the depression and showed how they were all linked together. Most of the countries that faced a depression after the war were those who gained economic prosperity during the war; usually due to the high demand for certain goods during WWI. When the war ended many of the goods that were in demand lost their value and were no longer needed on the large scale that they were prior to the end of the war. This meant that entire factories were shut down, imports and exports were significantly reduced in several countries and thousands were left without a job. All of those who gained financial independence and security during this time lost it during the depression. What was even more interesting was that those countries who benefited from growing financial independence also lost the demand for luxury items like silk which than created a chain reaction around the globe. It was really interesting to me to see how we are all interconnected throughout the world and how what happens in one place can effect people half way around the globe.