Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Racism in the Adventure of Huckleberry Finn Free Essays

Huckleberry Finn is a wonderful book that captures the heart of the reader in its brilliance and innocence. Despite many critics have attacked its racist perspective;the piece merely represents a reality that occurred during antebellum America,the setting of the novel. Twain’s literary devices in capturing the focal of excitement,adventure,and human sympathy is a wonderful novel that should be recognized,not for bigotry, but that it is the candid viewpoint of a boy that grew up in that era. We will write a custom essay sample on Racism in the Adventure of Huckleberry Finn or any similar topic only for you Order Now And even then,the protagonist does overcome some social prejudices of slavery because he is concerned with the well-being of his runaway slave friend Jim. That the mockery of the slave race in the end allowed by Huck is more about fulfilling the awes of Huck towards Tom. The novel is a success because it does not fail to capture the one singular point of growing up for Huck:boyhood. Mark Twain definitely characterizes the protagonist,the intelligent and sympathetic Huckleberry Finn,by the direct candid manner of writing as though through the actual voice of Huck. Every word,thought, and speech by Huck is so precise it reflects even the racism and black stereotypes typical of the era. And this has lead to many conflicting battles by various readers since the first print of the novel,though inspiring some. Says John H. Wallace,outraged by Twain’s constant use of the degrading and white supremacist word‘nigger’,†[The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is]the most grotesque example of racist trash ever written†(Mark Twain Journal by Thadious Davis,Fall 1984 and Spring 1985). Yet,again to counter that is a quote by the great American writer Ernest Hemingway,†All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn†¦it’s the best book we’ve had†¦There has been nothing as good since†(The Green Hills of Africa [Scribner’s. 1953]22). The controversy behind the novel has been and will always remain the crux of any readers is still truly racism. Twain surely does use the word‘nigger’often,both as a referral to the slave Jim and any African-American that Huck comes across and as the epitome of insult and inferiority. However,the reader must also not fail to recognize that this style of racism,this malicious treatment of African- Americans,this degrading attitude towards them is all stylized of the pre- Civil War tradition. Racism is only mentioned in the novel as an object of natural course and a precision to the actual views of the setting then. Huckleberry Finn still stands as a powerful portrayal of experience through the newfound eyes of an innocent boy. Huck only says and treats the African-American culture accordingly with the society that he was raised in. To say anything different would truly be out of place and setting of the era.Twain’s literary style in capturing the novel,Huck’s casual attitude and candid position,and Jim’s undoubted acceptance of the oppression by the names all signifies this. The thesis has three chapters. Chapter one is introduction of the whole work. Chapter two give some information about the criticism literature. Chapter three give a deep look at the research about the racial problems in the book Huck Finn. Chapter four is the conclusion part. 1 Literature Review Literary criticism is an attempt to evaluate and understand the creative writing,the literature of an author.Literature includes plays, essays,novels,poetry,and short stories. Literary criticism is a description,analysis,evaluation,or interpretation of a particular literary work or an author’s writings as a whole. Literary criticism is usually expressed in the form of a critical essay. In-depth book reviews are also sometimes viewed as literary criticism. Controversial in death as he was in life,Mark Twain has been seriously accused by some of being a†racist writer,†whose writing is offensive to black readers,perpetuates cheap slave-era stereotypes,and deserves no place on today’s bookshelves.To those of us who have drunk gratefully of Twain’s wisdom and humanity,such accusations are ludicrous. But for some people they clearly touch a raw nerve,and for that reason they deserve a serious answer. Let’s look at the book that is most commonly singled out for this criticism,the novel that Ernest Hemingway identified as the source of all American literature:The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. For Twain’s critics,the novel is racist on the face of it,and for the most obvious reason:many characters use the word†nigger†throughout.But since the action of the book takes place in the south twenty years before the Civil War,it would be amazing if they didn’t use that word. A closer reading also reveals Twain’s serious satiric intent. In one scene,for instance,Aunt Sally hears of a steamboat explosion. â€Å"Good gracious! anybody hurt? â€Å"she asks. â€Å"No’m,†comes the answer. â€Å"Killed a nigger. † But anyone who imagines that Mark Twain meant this literally is 580 SCIENCE;TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION2010 5? missing the point.Rather,Twain is using this casual dialogue ironically, as a way to underscore the chilling truth about the old south,that it was a society where perfectly†nice†people didn’t consider the death of a black person worth their notice. To drive the point home,Twain has the lady continue: â€Å"Well,it’s lucky,because sometimes people do get hurt. † That’s a small case in point. But what is the book really about? It’s about nothing less than freedom and the quest for freedom. It’s about a slave who breaks the law and risks his life to win his freedom and be reunited with his family,and a white boy who becomes his friend and helps him escape.Because of his upbringing,the boy starts out believing that slavery is part of the natural order;but as the story unfolds he wrestles with his conscience,and when the crucial moment comes he decides he will be damned to the flames of hell rather than betray his black friend. And Jim,as Twain presents him,is hardly a caricature. Rather,he is the moral center of the book,a man of courage and nobility,who risks his freedom–risks his life–for the sake of his friend Huck. Note,too,that it is not just white critics who make this point. Booker T. Washington noted how Twain†succeeded in making his eaders feel a genuine respect for’Jim,'†and pointed out that Twain,in creating Jim’s character,had†exhibited his sympathy and interest in the masses of the negro people. † The great black novelist Ralph Ellison,too,noted how Twain allows Jim’s†dignity and human capacity†to emerge in the novel. â€Å"Huckleberry Finn knew,as did Mark Twain[Ellison wrote],that Jim was not only a slave but a human being[and]a symbol of humanity†¦ and in freeing Jim,Huck makes a bid to free himself of the conventionalized evil taken for civilization by the town†Ã¢â‚¬â€œin other words,of the abomination of slavery itself. In fact,you can search through all of Twain’s writings,not just the thirty-plus volumes of novels,stories,essays,and letters,but also his private correspondence,his posthumous autobiography and his intimate journals,and you’ll be hard put to find a derogatory remark about the black race–and this at a time when crude racial stereotypes were the basic coin of popular fiction,stage comedy,and popular songs. What you find in Twain is the opposite:a lively affection and admiration for black Americans that began when he was still a boy and grew steadily through the years.In a widely praised post-Civil War sketch titled†A True Story,†for example,he wrenchingly evoked the pain of an ex-slave as she recalls being separated from her young son on the auction block, and her joy at discovering him in a black regiment at war’s end. And on those occasions when Twain does venture to compare blacks and whites,the comparison is not conspicuously flattering to the whites. Things like: ?†One of my theories is that the hearts of men are about alike,all over the world,whatever their skin-complexions may be. † ?†Nearly all black and brown skins are beautiful,but a beautiful white skin is rare. ?†There are many humorous things in the world;among them is the white man’s notion that he is less savage than all the other savages. † 2 Methods/Research Design The null hypothesis for this research is that half of the university students study literature will think that there are racial discrimination in the book Huck Finn and others won’t. 1000 students in their third and forth years of university will be the subject. They must never see the book or the movie of Huck Finn. They come from both big cities and rural area. They are divided into four groups.The first two groups(each has 250 students)include the students from big cities,part of them students from rural areas. First,all of them will hear the story of Huck Finn. Then they wi answer relevant questions about the images of Huck Finn in th questionnaires and during the interviews. The questions are about th using method of language,the plot design and the thinking of Huck,et Finally,the movie of Huck Finn will be shown. Students will describe th image of Huck and their views about racial problems in this book According to their answers,different answers will be divided into differen groups.After these works,comes the analyses of the statistics and dat After comparing the answers of the four groups,gives the conclusio whether literary students from big cities and from rural areas have th same opinion of the racial discrimination in this book. As expected,half o them will have the same opinion and half of them won’t. 3 Anticipated Results 3. 1 Time-Table My studies will last more than two years. I decide to spend about 5 hours per month on my studies. I plan to spend the first six month developing my proposal and methodology and completing the literatur review.During this period,I will also attend some relevant courses abou reader’s response theory. Then I will spend about six months i questionnaires and interviews. After that,I plan to spend eight months i analyzing the statistics and data. Finally,four month will be used mainl on the thesis. February 2008–Aug. 2008 *Develop proposal and methodology and complete the literatur review *Attend some relevant courses about reader’s response theory Aug. 2008–Feb. 2009 *Design the questionnaires Collection of official and unofficia statistic Feb. 2009-October 2009 INTERVIEWS October 2009–Feb. 2008 *Analysis the statistics and data *Mainly work on the thesis 3. 2 Anticipated result University students from different countries will have differen opinion on the same thing. As expected,half of them will have the sam opinion and half of them won’t. However,if the result doesn’t suppo my anticipated result,I will try to find the weakness of my researc design,and improve it. Then do the research again and again. If I als can not get the anticipated result,I will accept the result with a scientifi attitude. How to cite Racism in the Adventure of Huckleberry Finn, Papers

Sunday, May 3, 2020

Commercial Law of Freddy Foolish and Brilliant Real Estate’s

Question: Discuss about the Commercial Law Freddy Foolish and Brilliant Real Estates. Answer: Issue Based on the case study provided, the following issues can be drawn: Whether the employee Freddy Foolish is liable for the act of negligence? Whether the employer Brilliant Real Estates Management is vicariously liable for the negligence done by the employee? Law The term negligence in its ordinary senses means unable to take proper care of the given task. It could be due to carelessness or lack of care of the given person. Negligence causes harm and it could even lead to death at times. However, the application of negligence is not restricted to death it may also lead to injury (Burrows Burrows, 2016). The injury may be mental or physical in nature. Negligence is caused when someone is unable to take proper care of the said duty (Fletcher, 2015). Negligence in legal term means Breach of duty of taking care causing damages. A person is said to be negligent when he/she is unable to fulfill his/her duty properly. Negligence leads to permanent damages, temporary damages, even death (Rai, Acharya Dave, 2013). For instance, if person digs out a part of road just in front of the main road where some other person resides just to put a pipeline for his kitchen can be declared as an act of negligence. After completion of his work the person leaves the hole as it is without filling it. A child while crossing the road fell inside the whole causing serious injury. The person is liable for negligence in tort (Haripriya Haripriya, 2014). There are four basic elements for Negligence, viz, Duty Breach of duty Breach causing injury Damages Each of the elements are explained below: Duty: It is the relation between the Plaintiff and the Defendant. It is the duty of the Defendant towards the plaintiff. This duty is generated automatically once the law recognizes a relationship among the defendant and the plaintiff (Robertson, 2013). For example, if any person is working on the road, for example, cleaning the manholes it the duty of the authorized person to put a caution sign board for the safety of others. Is he fails to put it and due to that any harm is caused he is said to charge of negligence. Breach of duty: A defendant is legally responsible for negligence if he fails to complete his duty toward his plaintiff. He is said have done BREACH if he does not show reasonable care to the authorized task. He is even liable to be penalize for failure to fulfill his duty (Fulbrook, 2017). Breach causing injury: This could be stated once the negligence caused by the defendant actually causes injury to the plaintiff. The action of the defendant must cause injury to the plaintiff. For example while loading a truck with sacs of cotton a child was hurt causing injury to his face and head as a loaded sack fell upon him.This an act of negligence (Abraham, 2017). Damages: At certain situations when a person is found guilty of his negligence he is liable to pay damages for the injury is caused because of him. Damages leads to compensation depending upon the amount of injury (Zipursky, 2015). Application The law of tort in New Zealand is prepared in the court only in the court only. They do not follow the US law so they prefer to make their own laws. The natural law does not give any remedy to these facts so they have made their own laws for the betterment of the company (Osborne, 2015). Negligence in other words is the breach caused to the duty given. There are very common incidents related to the breach is vehicle accidents, civil cases, accidents caused to the visitors. The following situations can be held for negligence : A person recklessly driving in an busy street causing injury to many pedestrians A doctor negligently operation the left arm of a patient instead of right arm A car driver hits a pedestrian accidently while driving and caused damages to eggs that he was carrying with him. Almost 350 eggs got damaged. Both the car driver and owner are liable for the negligence caused and the owner is liable to pay damages. In the given case study as well, there has been many instances wherein Freddie was negligent as one of the employees of Brilliant Estate Ltd. As a man of ordinary prudence, he had the responsibility to take preventive measures from the happening of the accident. However, he failed to abide by his duty and he breached his duty of care. As a result of his negligent act, the driver of the car, Danny Dorito suffered a head injury. Freddie Foolish did not place any cones neither did he put up any safety barriers to block the area around where he was working. Thus, it can be said that he did not take any action for preventing the accident from happening. Intentional tort for employees includes the following: assault battery theft fraud Vicarious liability In tort vicarious liability means the employer is also responsible for any negligence done by the employee in the course of his employment causing serious injury to others. It is a strict liability. Vicarious liability means holding the responsibility of any act of negligence done by someone . It is the act done by any employee during the course of his employment. The element of vicarious liability is that the employee or the person who did the negligence need to show the agreement that he has been authorized by his employer for that act to be done during his course of employment. In the given case study as well, the employer of Freddie, that is Brilliant Estate Ltd will be held vicariously liable for his negligent action as the action took place during the course of his employment. Case references Donoghue v Stevenson (1932)AC562(HL) In this case the decision was held by the House of Lords. It was stated that one must be more careful toward other as it their duty to take care of it. This case is also known as snail in the bottle case. The fact of the case was that Ms. Donoghue bought a bottle of ginger beer . After she consumed the ginger beer a dead snail was found inside the bottle. So after consuming that drink she fell ill and sued the owner of the ginger beer mr. Stevenson. It was decided by the house of lords that it is the fault of the ginger beer company . It is their duty to check every production done by them. They are held for their negligence. Due to consumption of the ginger beer the consumer ms.donoghue fell ill, physical damage was caused to her. Other case references: In the case of Limpus V. London General Omnibus Company, he was working according to his employer. His duty was to deliver milk and that is what he was doing only. It was not his fault , his employer employed him for that work knowing the drawbacks of it. In the case of Blyth V Birmingham Waterworks it was held that negligence is a act of doing any work with or without the guidance of a second or more person or persons. It is basically the behavior and conduct of the person. Negligence is something a man can not do with out the instigation of others. It depends upon the human behavior. Conclusion: Thus going through the applicable law it can be concluded that both Freddy Foolish and the Brilliant Real Estates Management are liable the damages they caused and they are bound to pay damages. References: Abraham, K. (2017).The forms and functions of tort law. West Academic. Burrows, A. S., Burrows, J. H. (2016). A SHOCKING REQUIREMENT IN THE LAW ON NEGLIGENCE LIABILITY FOR PSYCHIATRIC ILLNESS: LIVERPOOL WOMEN'S HOSPITAL NHS FOUNDATION TRUST V RONAYNE [2015] EWCA CIV 588.Medical law review,24(2), 278-285. Campbell, I. D. (2016). The absence of negligence in Hedley Byrne v Heller.Law Quarterly Review,132(2), 266-277. Fletcher, S. (2015). Who Are We Trying to Protect?The Role of Vulnerability Analysis in New Zealand's Law of Negligence. Fulbrook, J. (2017).Outdoor activities, negligence and the law. Routledge. Haripriya, A., Haripriya, V. (2014). Knowledge about medical law and its negligence among doctors: A cross-sectional study.Int J Sci Res Publ,4, 1-3. Osborne, P. (2015).The law of torts. Irwin Law. Rai, J. J., Acharya, R. V., Dave, D. (2013). Knowledge and awareness among interns and residents about medical law and negligence in a medical college in VadodaraA questionnaire study.Journal of Dental and Medical Sciences,3(4), 32-8. Robertson, A. (2013). On the Function of the Law of Negligence.Oxford Journal of Legal Studies,33(1), 31-57. Zipursky, B. C. (2015). Reasonableness in and out of Negligence Law.

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

On How Hallucinations and Vision Assisted in Macbeths Mental Deterioration free essay sample

Hallucinations and visions are often noted as signs of mental instability. This means the person is losing touch with reality. The causes can be guilt, nerves, or simply a mental disorder. In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare the hallucinations and visions all contribute to the growing mental instability in Macbeth’s character. The image of a dagger with blood, the voices when killing Duncan and the ghost of Banquo all play key roles in the deterioration of Macbeth’s mental state. In Act 2 Macbeth and Lady Macbeth compose a plan to murder King Duncan. As Macbeth approaches Duncan’s room he notices a dagger floating in front of him â€Å"Is this a dagger I see before me? The handle towards my hand? Come, let me clutch thee: I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.† (2.1.33-35) Macbeth looks at the dagger in front of him that is pointing towards Duncan’s room and tries to grab it but he cannot. We will write a custom essay sample on On How Hallucinations and Vision Assisted in Macbeths Mental Deterioration or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This frustrates Macbeth and then he begins to notice something else â€Å"And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood, Which was not so before. There’s no such thing: It is the bloody business which informs â€Å"(2.1.46-48). Macbeth has realized that blood was not oozing out of the dagger and he acknowledges that it is his nerves getting to his head and projecting this image. This incident shows Macbeth starting to display signs of mental instability. Secondly, Macbeth hears voices talking to him while he is killing Duncan. Macbeth explains to Lady Macbeth â€Å"Methought I heard a voice cry, ‘sleep no more Macbeth does murder sleep’, the innocent sleep,† (2.2.38-39). Macbeth is shaken by the event that just passed and tells Lady Macbeth that he believes he was cursed not to sleep again. This makes Macbeth feel regret right away for killing Duncan. Macbeth truly believes he has been cursed and this begins a mental barrier for Macbeth. As a result, later in the book Macbeth becomes restless and states †¦Better be with dead Whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace Than on the torture of the mind to lie In restless ecstasy. Duncan is in his grave. After life’s fitful fever, he sleeps well; (3.2.19-23) Macbeth is sleepless and having nightmares. He says that he would rather be dead than alive with a tortured mind. He is stating he knows he is not mentally and physically okay. He refers back to Duncan’s murder and comes across as almost jealous of Duncan for being able to sleep, yet this indicates that Duncan’s murder is still on his mind. Macbeth’s guilt leads to the result of voices in his head and his restlessness. Lastly, in Act 3 Macbeth hires murderers to ambush and kill Banquo and his son Fleance. While the murder is happening Macbeth is having a dinner party in which Banquo and Fleance should be at. As the banquet begins Macbeth see’s Banquo in his seat â€Å"†¦The time has been That when the brains were out, the man would die, And there end. But now they rise again† Macbeth speaks aloud about the murder and even though he gives no indication that it is Banquos murder he talks about he is in a state where he is so scared he doesn’t realize there is anyone else in the room. â€Å"Avant and quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee! Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold; Thou hast no speculation in those eyes† (3.4.93-95). At this point Macbeth is so disturbed he does not realize he is speaking aloud. His has been mentally drained by lack of sleep and emotionally drained by the guilt of murders that he has come to a breaking point where he is mentally unstable. In conclusion the hallucinations and visions in Macbeth all contribute to the growing mental instability in Macbeth’s character. The image of the dagger with blood, the voices when killing Duncan, and the ghost of Banquo are all proof that Macbeth’s grasp on reality gets less and less throughout the play. Shakespeare used these methods to display Imagery and foreshadowing throughout the play. These methods are still used in today’s writing to display a mental instability or spiritual encounter.

Friday, March 6, 2020

The Jungle By Upton Sinclair Essay Example

The Jungle By Upton Sinclair Essay Example The Jungle By Upton Sinclair Essay The Jungle By Upton Sinclair Essay Essay Topic: The Jungle The Jungle By Upton Sinclair The Jungle By Upton Sinclair The Jungle portrays the lower ranks of the industrial world as the scene of a naked struggle for survival. Where workers not only are forced to compete with each other but, if they falter, are hard pressed to keep starvation from their door and a roof over their heads. With unions weak and cheap labor plentiful, a social Darwinist state of the survival of the fittest exists. The real story revolves around the integration and eventual disintegration of Jurgis Rudkis and his family, Lithuanian immigrants who move to the Chicago stockyards in hopes of a better life. Unfortunately, their hopes quickly disintegrate; like thousands of other unskilled immigrants at the turn of the century, financial necessity forces them into virtual slave labor in order to survive. For Jurgis and his family, the slave master is the ruthless and greedy meat packing industry, whose leaders value their workers no more than the animals they slaughter. The Jungle shows the relation ship between the animals that were being slaughtered and the workers who were slaughtering them, from very early in the novel. It compares the workers to the animals who are penned up and killed every day in jurgis, jungle, family, each, pg, animals, work, own, out, workers, shows, life, hopes, even, came, 35, upon, stockyards, nothing, hogs, dreams, being, after, while, very, truly, town, survive, something, political, passage, packing, over, men, meaning, man

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Human Resource in action (Hospitality Industry) Essay

Human Resource in action (Hospitality Industry) - Essay Example An applicant searches for a job that matches his or her skills. The details of a job are specific for a particular opening. In each opening, there is a short introduction of the recruitment objective of the company regarding the position. The information here includes a short description of the company and the need for the position. The description also entails the qualities of a possible candidate to fill the position. The qualities expressed relates to the personal and professional attributes that are desirable for the vacant position. The websites also describe the nature of the jobs and the attributes that the company looks for in a person. The objective is to prepare the candidates to learn and appreciate the existing corporate identity and culture of the company. The academic requirements of a potential candidate are also outlined with a required level of experience. Consequently, the websites provide the benefits that successful candidates reap from working for the companies. The websites also assure candidates of equal employment chances for all persons regardless of ethnicity, religion, race and gender. The application and selection process is totally based on merit. The sites are very informative about the companies and the job particulars. The websites do well in dissipating the corporate culture and providing as much detail as possible regarding the opportunity. The details ensure that the posts are clear and only qualified candidate tender their application. Moreover, the websites are doing well in terms of presentability. The design of the websites is appealing and thus attracts potential applicants. They are also easy to navigate with clear links. The ease of searching a job vacancy on the site is simplified through a search tab. The ease of use attracts more applications, thus offering the companies a wider pool of talent. Despite the ease of use and clear descriptions, there are several recommendations that

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Individual Route - Chartered Engineer Self Assessment Essay

Individual Route - Chartered Engineer Self Assessment - Essay Example This shall be demonstrated through: Taking appropriate Engineering Council examinations until 2011 or Undertaking further qualifications approved by the EI, either in whole or in part, or Undertaking assessed work-based learning approved by the EI, or Submission of a Technical Report, or Any combination of these. Application Process Upon receipt of your application, the Membership Panel (MP) will conduct an initial review of your roles and responsibilities. You will also be required to submit the ICP information and supporting documentation for assessment by the ICP Panel (see page 2). Should the MP assessment and ICP assessment be successful you will be required to complete a Professional Development Review (PDR) Interview. A report from this interview will be made back to the MP. The MP will forward a recommendation to EI’s governing Council and you will be notified of the result. Should the MP concur, on the basis of your PDR and PDR interview, that your roles, responsibili ties and experiences satisfy those required by EI and the Engineering Council you will be elected into membership and registered with the EngC. The schematic diagram below outlines the process. Benchmark academic requirements for registration Education Formal education is the usual, though not the only, way of demonstrating the underpinning knowledge and understanding for professional competence. Underpinning knowledge and understanding The knowledge, understanding and skills to underpin performance are an essential component of competence. The requirements for Chartered Engineer registration shall be exemplified by particular educational qualifications, as follows: either an accredited Bachelors degree with honours in engineering or technology, plus either an appropriate Masters degree accredited or approved by a licensed professional engineering institution, or appropriate further learning to Masters level or an accredited integrated MEng degree. Requirements for assessment by the ICP panel When reviewing your application the ICP Panel will look at all the engineering-based qualifications that you have completed as well as your career history and training record. A profile of such qualifications is listed below to enable you to submit the appropriate information for assessment. The Professional Membership Manager will provide further information about this. In order to review your career history and qualifications against the requirements of an accredited academic programme, the ICP Panel will require: A module breakdown of your qualifications (undergraduate and postgraduate) A syllabus for the qualification(s) A copy of your final year dissertation, project or PhD etc. A completed self assessment form – please see appendix A copy of your membership application and PDR etc. Any other information you feel would support your application If you do not possess the module breakdown(s) and course syllabi for the course(s) you completed, you should obtain th em direct from your university or college. This information should be submitted to the Professional Membership Manager ideally with your application for membership of EI. Completing the self assessment form The academic learning outcomes, listed in the Annex, are taken from the Engineering Council requirements for an

Monday, January 27, 2020

Public Goods In South African Agriculture Economics Essay

Public Goods In South African Agriculture Economics Essay Public goods are goods that are produced in order to serve communities, where all members of the community are served equally. This is possible since the consumption by one member of a community does not decrease the quantity or quality of the public good for another member of the community. In it pure form, public goods can therefore not be divided into pieces for every member of the community, but is a collective good, being indivisible. (Loehr Sandler, 1978, p. 12) To produce these public goods in a manner that will serve the communities that needs it and to allocate public goods efficient, policies are used to provide the structure. These policies are installed by government in order to correct the failure of the market. In order to understand this interrelation between market failure, government intervention, policies and private goods, one should start at the beginning, namely market failure. This should originally be the reason why there is government intervention by means of policies. In this paper market failure will be used to start the argument on policies on public goods in agriculture. Government intervention through policies to correct the malfunction of the market will be discussed after which there will be a discussion on public goods in agriculture as a result of the above mentioned and how these public goods are delivered in agriculture. Market Failure and Government Intervention 2.1 What Market Failure is Market failure exists when the market are unable to produce at a level which is Pareto optimal, Pareto optimality being a position in the market where one person in the market cannot be better off without at least one other person in the market being worse off. (Loehr Sandler, 1978, p. 11) According to Philip Black in Public Economics for South African students (2003, pp. 21-23) there are six reasons for market failures. Lack of Information A lack of information can cause market failure, since the information available to customers and producers are not necessarily at a level to equip them to make rational decisions. A possible solution to this problem is that governments should provide this information to society, but by definition private institutions are driven by profit, making them better at obtaining and distributing information than government agencies. (Black, Calitz, Steenekamp, 2003, pp. 21-22) Lags in Adjustments Lags in the adjustment of markets exist, even if lack of information is not the only reason. Time lagging can also occur if resources are not very mobile, meaning that it cannot adapt instantly to new information. Labour, for example, can only move from one job to another with some time passing, even though new job opportunities are available. Physical capital, like machinery, cannot be moved from one place to another at any moment, but can only happen at highly irregular time periods. (Black, Calitz, Steenekamp, 2003, p. 22) Incomplete Markets When supply of certain products cannot meet the demand for those products, incomplete markets arise. For these reason public goods, such as street lighting, defence security, etc. is installed. Markets can also not take full responsibility for the external cost and benefits that are associated with individual behaviour and therefore markets are incomplete. (Black, Calitz, Steenekamp, 2003, p. 22) Non-competitive Markets Markets fail when it is characterised by non-competitiveness. By this, which happens more often than not, is meant that the competitiveness is taken out of the market. These reasons are monopolies and oligopolies in commodity markets, minimum wage restrictions on labour, and many more. (Black, Calitz, Steenekamp, 2003, p. 22) Macroeconomic Instability Markets can fail because of instability in the economys macro environment. The macro environment includes attacks on the countrys currency and other factors. This macroeconomic instability can cause markets to take too long to adjust to the exogenous shocks and government intervention through policy might be needed to rescue the situation. (Black, Calitz, Steenekamp, 2003, pp. 22-23) Distribution of Income The distribution of income is and will probably never be reasonable and fair in a sense that it will be satisfactory to the wide community or government which represents that community. Therefore Pareto optimality in the allocation of resources will not happen, thus leading to classification of market failure. This issue of skew distribution of wealth has been addressed by governments by creating wealth in a growing population through policy. (Black, Calitz, Steenekamp, 2003, p. 23) Government Intervention Government intervention in the market can be done in three different ways, the approaches being an allocative function, distributive function, and stabilisation function. Allocative Function The allocative function of governments who are intervening in the market is to address the issues of incomplete markets and non-competitive markets, as discussed previously. Through direct intervention in the market, governments can correct incomplete markets, such as supplying street lights, etc. Through indirect government, also known as the regulatory function of the government, non-competitive markets are regulated, with policies such as the competition policy which is intended to prevent monopolies from acting abusive. (Black, Calitz, Steenekamp, 2003, pp. 24,26) Distributive Function This function of the government is especially angled at the market failure of income distribution. The government use a model to determine how it should spread wealth. This models outcome is positively correlated with the participants in the markets original distribution of labour and capital. This model, however, is does not determine how fair this distribution is. This distributive function of the government comes in the form of direct intervention in the market through taxes and as a regulatory function it makes use if subsidies and transfer payments. (Black, Calitz, Steenekamp, 2003, pp. 24-26) Stabilisation Function To correct the market failure of the inability of the economy to react adequately to macro environment factors, governments intervene by means of its stabilisation function. Stabilisation of the market to reach the macroeconomic objectives is also part of this function. The appropriate monetary and fiscal policy would be installed by government to keep the market from failing to accomplish price stability, an acceptable economic growth rate, sound balance of payments, etc. This can be done through direct intervention in the market as well as through a regulatory function where indirect taxes and subsidies help to achieve fiscal objectives indirectly. (Black, Calitz, Steenekamp, 2003, pp. 25-26) Public Goods in General Types of Goods There are two properties that indicate the type of goods, namely excludability and rivalry. These two properties can be used in a table form (see Table 1) in order to differentiate Private goods, Common goods, Club goods, and Public goods from each other. Table : Different types of goods (Solum, 2009) From Table 1 the following can be drawn: Private goods are goods where the benefits are fully rival and excludable, for example fuel. Common goods are goods where the benefits are rival but non-excludable, for example fish. Club goods are goods where the benefits are non-rivalry but excludable, for example cinemas. Public goods are goods where the benefits are non-rivalry and non-excludable, for example national defence. Common goods and Club goods are part of the larger impure public goods group, since in pure form they do not have excludability or rivalry. Pure private goods are therefore goods of which the benefits are pure rival and excludable. Pure public goods are thus goods of which the benefits are pure non-rival and non-excludable. (Cornes Sandler, 1986, pp. 6-7) Characteristics of Public Goods There are 5 characteristics of public goods that will be discussed, two of which defines it from other type of goods, as mentioned above. Non-rival Public goods are non-rival, meaning that consumption by one person does not influence the consumption by another person. There is therefore no competition between consumers for the use of the specific product. (Moeti, Khalo, Mafunisa, Makondo, Nsingo, 2007, p. 24) Non-excludable Public goods are non-excludable, making it practically impossible to abstain it from one person if it is allowed for another. The problem that comes with non-excludability is the free-rider problem, where people who do not pay for the product still benefit from it, since they cannot get excluded from it. It is therefore necessary for governments to intervene and produce these products, since it cannot be produced profitably by the private sector. (Moeti, Khalo, Mafunisa, Makondo, Nsingo, 2007, p. 24) Non-apportionable Public goods are non-apportionable since it cannot be measured in order to provide it in units which can have a price attached to it and sold for that price. In this case, it is possible for water to be either a public good or not, since water can be made available to a whole community at no charge or it can be sold in bottles in a shop. (Moeti, Khalo, Mafunisa, Makondo, Nsingo, 2007, p. 24) Monopolistic Public goods can be monopolistic, making it products where there is only one role player in the market, namely the government. Governments can produce the goods that the public demand by making use of the structure of a natural monopoly. In a natural monopoly it is more efficient to have only one player (producer) in the market than more than one. (Moeti, Khalo, Mafunisa, Makondo, Nsingo, 2007, p. 25) No Direct Quid Pro Quo Quid pro quo is a Latin term which means something for something. Public goods are therefore goods with no direct quid pro quo, meaning no something for something, it this case a public good in return for money (quid pro quo is very much applicable for private goods). By paying taxes, tax payers do not receive public goods to the same value of the tax they paid, but receive whatever any other person receives, irrespective of the amount of tax they pay. Progressive scales for taxes and fiscal spending are installed in order to guide the receiving and spending of tax money of public goods. (Moeti, Khalo, Mafunisa, Makondo, Nsingo, 2007, p. 25) Public Policies Theory on Public Policy towards Externalities Externalities can cause markets to allocate resources in an insufficient way, externalities being the impact of one persons actions on a bystanders wellbeing without compensating the bystander for it. To correct the cause of externalities, governments can make use of command-and-control policies by which behaviour is directly regulated, or it can make use of market-based policies which is indirect and provides incentive to decision makers to correct the problem themselves. (Mankiw Taylor, 2006, pp. 198,464) Direct Regulation of Externalities By regulating the market directly, governments enforce certain boundaries or restrictions onto role players in the market in order to counter externalities. For example, by installing an upper limit on the amount of pollution that a factory is allowed, governments adopt a command-and-control policy. (Mankiw Taylor, 2006, p. 198) Indirect Regulation of Externalities By indirectly regulating the market, governments make use of market-based policies to counter an externality. In doing this, governments provide better alignment of private incentives with social efficiency at a lower cost to society. Pigovian taxes, named after Arthur Pigou, are taxes which are used to counter the effect of negative externalities. By this method of taxing, pollution, as the example is in the direct regulation of externalities, will be taxed per unit of pollution. The more the factory pollutes, the higher the tax payment and therefore this method creates an incentive to pollute less, since it decreases profit. (Mankiw Taylor, 2006, pp. 198-199) Policies on Public Goods Richard Cornes and Todd Sandler argues in their book, The Theory of Externalities, Public Goods, and Club Goods (1986, p. 69) that public goods in its pure form a special case of an externality is. This would mean that the policies on public goods should be aligned with the policies on externalities discussed in the previous section, namely command-and-control policies and market-based policies. In this section it will become clear whether that is the case as well as what exactly the policy methods are that are used for public goods. According to Leonard Champney (1988, p. 989)in his article, Public Goods and Policy Types, governments can either make use of regulation policies, where the incentives of the government are coercive, or of distribution policies, where the incentives of the government are economic. Coercive can be defined as intimidating people to comply. By further looking at the difference between productive indivisibilities and consumptive indivisibilities, it will be possible to describe the eight types of policies that Champney refers to in his paper. Champney describes productive indivisibilities as products that are produced for one, and because of the indivisibility of public goods, is therefore produced for all. An example of a productive indivisibility product produced by government is a light house. Consumptive indivisibility refers to the consumption of a product produced by government where the consumption by one has a positive influence on others, even though they are excluded from the direct consumption. An example of a consumptive indivisible product produced by government is education. The government can choose to whom education is made available to consume, but the whole society will benefit from it, being more politically stable, economically productive, and technologically advanced. Governments can decide to produc e productive indivisibilities or consumptive indivisibilities. (Champney, 1988, p. 988) Now the eight types of policies can be illustrated and discussed. Table : Government policies for individual targets Table : Government policies for group targets (Champney, 1988, p. 989) Type 1: Internal and External Security Products produced under Type 1 are productive indivisible products and is enforced through regulation onto individuals; the government thus make use of coercive powers as a monopoly and use taxation of individuals (compulsory) to pay for the public goods. Example: national defence. (Champney, 1988, pp. 989-990) Type 2: Compulsory Education Products produce under Type 2 are consumptive indivisible and is enforced through regulation onto individuals. Public goods, such as education which is forced onto young people, are type 2 public goods, since they (the young people) are forced to consume the product. Also, occupational licensure plays a role to ensure that an incompetent physician do not give medical care so that the whole community are forced to consume this product which have indivisible consequences. (Champney, 1988, p. 990) Type 3: Subsidies to Individuals Governments are able to move away from regulatory policies by making use of compulsory taxation in order to provide distributive policies which are more economically aligned. Direct subsidies to individuals, which are productive indivisible and distributive, are type 3 products. Example: soldiers get paid for their duty instead of being forced to enrol. (Champney, 1988, p. 990) Type 4: Subsidies to Individuals Type 4 subsidies to individuals are subsidies which are consumptive indivisible and distributive, therefore being promoting the consumption of a product by means of a subsidy. An example of this is grants for individuals to further their studies to a higher education level. (Champney, 1988, p. 990) Type 5: Environmental Regulations Groups are targeted with this type. Environmental regulations are regulative and productive indivisible by nature. Governments make use of this type of policy to attempt to make the environment better. As an example, corporations must comply with the limit that a government sets on pollution of air and water. (Champney, 1988, p. 990) Type 6: Regulation of Natural Monopoly Regulation of natural monopolies are done by governments in order to assure that provision of a good or service is reasonable and not subject to price setting, price discrimination, and other destructive activities. These types of consumptive indivisible and regulated products are often products which the economy cannot run properly without, such as communication services, and for which there are no substitutes readily available. (Champney, 1988, p. 990) Type 7: Subsidies to Corporations Type 7 subsidies are subsidies to corporations which are productive indivisible and are executed by the distribution function of the government. These subsidies are given to corporations directly or indirectly for leading activities which helps with the production of public goods. An example will be a subsidy to a corporation which produces weapons for usage in a public service, namely the military force. (Champney, 1988, p. 990) Type 8: Subsidies to Research Development Consumptive goods which are indivisible and promoted by distribution form the last of the eight types. By giving subsidies/grants, the government ensures that the necessary research and development is done in order to provide communication services and transportation in the economy. The objective is to give subsidies/grants to key strategic industries, which other sectors in the economy depend on, to do research and development. Through the subsidising of research and development, technical knowledge spreads throughout societies. An example will be subsidies for agricultural RD. (Champney, 1988, p. 990) South African agriculture Public goods in South African agriculture Public goods or services provided by the South African government include a list of 55 services under its Department of Agriculture (see Annexure A). These services are available under the five programmes of the Department of Agriculture (DoA), namely: Administration Livelihoods, Economics and Business Development Bio-security and Disaster Management Production and Resources Management Sector Services and Partnerships (DoA, 2009, pp. 18, 64-65) The purpose and budget of each of these programmes will be discussed. Administration The administration programme of the DoA provides the overall administrative as well as performance overview, with a focus on strategic leadership and management in die DoA. Capital investments are also managed under Administration. This programme had a budget of R 301 627 000 for the financial year 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009. (DoA, 2009, pp. 24, 29) Livelihoods, Economic and Business Development Food security for households, shared growth and commercial viability for emerging farmers are the objective of the programme. To achieve the objective, this programme makes use of targeted programmes and appropriate policies in the agricultural sector in order to support equitable access to this sector, which in return will make it possible to achieve its (the programmes) objective. This programme had a budget of R 751 451 000 for the financial year 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009. This money was allocated in the following manner to the subsections of this programme: Management R 1 208 000 Livelihoods Development Support R 604 056 000 Trade and Business Development R 92 461 000 Economic and Statistical Services R 31 267 000 National Agricultural Marketing Council R 22 459 000 (DoA, 2009, pp. 18, 80) Livelihoods Development Support as a sub-programme of Livelihoods, Economic and Business Development, contribute to communities by supporting them through public goods/services, which includes policies, norms, programmes, legislation and information in order to provide post-settlement support to emerging farmers, finance agricultural development, promote farmer cooperatives, start village banks and provide food security. The largest part of the budget for this sub-programme was spent on transfers to provinces and municipalities where they used this money, amongst other programmes, under the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme. (DoA, 2009, pp. 34, 81) Trade and Business Development aids the process of making international and domestic markets more accessible by South African products, promotes BEE in agriculture and interacts with National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC). The largest part of this budget goes towards transfers to public entities, such as the ArgiBEE Charter Council and NAMC. (DoA, 2009, pp. 8, 34) Economic and Statistical Services grant money in order to aid the process of collecting and analysing agricultural statistics as well as interact with Statistics South Africa. This sub-programme is also responsible for monitoring and evaluating the economic performance of the agricultural sector, with reports on the economic performance issued quarterly. (DoA, 2009, p. 34) NAMC as a part of the budget for Livelihoods, Economic and Business Development solely focus on statutory measures in agriculture. The changes to the constitutional measures are presented to the Minister of Agriculture and are done by NAMC. The application of these constitutional measures is also revised every two years and presented to the Minister of Agriculture. (DoA, 2009, p. 15) Bio-security and Disaster Management This programme of the DoA main functions are to manage the risks involved in animal diseases, plant pests and GMOs as well as to handle the registration of products that are used in the agricultural field. This is done to safeguard human health and to ensure food safety and security. Reducing the risks of natural disasters through management planning of agricultural risk and disasters is also part of the programme. This programme can be divided into two sub-programmes, excluding general management: Management R 1 551 000 Plant Health and Inspection Services R 138 225 000 Food, Animal Health and Disaster Management R 470 367 000 (DoA, 2009, pp. 43, 82) The Plant Health and Inspection Services sub-programme is responsible for the development of systems and policies in order to manage the risks involved with plant pests and diseases and GMOs. These systems and policies are also developed to enhance the trading of products of plant origin, to manage the movement of regulated articles and good quality control of regulated products. The largest part of this sub-programmes budget goes towards employee compensation and the goods and services provided. (DoA, 2009, pp. 43, 83) The management of food, health and disasters by this sub-programme consists of the reduction and management of risk with which animal diseases are associated. It also manages the promotion of trading in animal products of origin and ensures food safety. Lastly it entails the development of management strategies for agricultural risks and disasters. Disaster management is the most significant part of the transfers to provinces and municipalities as well as to households. (DoA, 2009, pp. 43, 83) Production and Resource Management The sustainable use and protection of water and land is important to this programme of the DoA. Through this programme this objectives are strived towards by the identification of opportunities and development of strategies for the agricultural sector to be profitable and to optimise agricultural productivity. The sub-programmes are Agricultural Production, and Engineering Services and Resource Management. The budget for are allocated as follows: Management R 1 525 000 Agricultural Production R 275 734 000 Engineering, Energy, Resource Use and Management R 202 778 000 (DoA, 2009, pp. 47, 84) Agricultural Production, as a sub-programme, focuses on assisting the process of improving agricultural productivity, especially in the field of sustainable aquaculture, animal, and plant systems. This sub-programme is also responsible for administrating various acts that apply to this field. The largest part of the budget for Agricultural Production goes towards provinces and municipalities for programmes in the different regions. (DoA, 2009, p. 47) The Engineering Services and Resource Management sub-programme has a treble focus, namely to assist infrastructure development in agriculture, to facilitate agricultural resource use, and to promote the community-based programme, LandCare. The facilitation of agricultural resource use includes the auditing of natural resources, the control of migratory pests, as well as agricultural land protection and rehabilitation. The largest single expense is the LandCare Programme. (DoA, 2009, pp. 47, 66) Sector Services and Partnerships This programme ultimately consists of two parts, the one focusing of services to the sector, the other on partnership with parties outside the sector. The purpose of this programme is therefore to execute the work set out for each of its sub-programmes, the sub-programmes being Sector Services, and International, Intergovernmental and Stakeholder Relations. Together with the management of this programme and the Agricultural Research Council, this above mentioned two sub-programmes forms the core around which the Sector Services and Partnerships budget is spent. Spending is allocated as follows: Management R 10 691 000 Sector Services R 196 518 000 International, Intergovernmental and Stakeholder Relations R 72 370 000 Agricultural Research Council (ARC) R 514 556 000 (DoA, 2009, pp. 51, 86) Sector services as a sub-programme provide direction and support to education, training, extension, research and advisory services in agriculture. The purpose of this service is to support the targeted groups. Managing of the funds transferred to the ARC is also part of Sector Services. The largest part of the budget for Agricultural Production goes towards provinces and municipalities for programmes in the different regions. (DoA, 2009, pp. 51, 86) International, Intergovernmental and Stakeholder Relations as a sub-programme supply leadership and coordination in agricultural international relations. Furthermore is the purpose to create an environment in which all stakeholders can have a positive relationship. Budget is mostly spent on compensation to employees, and foreign governments and international organisations. (DoA, 2009, pp. 51, ) Policy on public goods in South African agriculture The policies in place on public goods in the South African agriculture are policies which promote government spending on various programmes, goods, and services. The way in which this government spending is allocated is described in the previous section under the five programmes of the Department of Agriculture of the South African Government. Each of the five programmes has a very distinct role to play in order to execute the policies that are in place in agriculture. In this section the public goods and services which have the largest amount of money allocated to them will be discussed, as well as the five public entities which report directly to the Minister of Agriculture. From this discussion the policies for implementing the use of these public goods and services in South African agriculture will become clear. Policy types for the top 5 public goods and services in the DoA budget The different types of policies that are used to implement the top five items of highest spending in the DoA budget will be discussed. Two of them will be discussed together. See Annexure B for a complete list. Agricultural Research Council (ARC) R 514 556 000 was allocated to the ARC in the 1 April 2008 31 March 2009 financial year. This public service establishes and controls research, development, and the transfer of technology facilities in order to provide the private sector in agriculture with information. ARC is also promoting cooperation between other countries and South Africa with regards to the above mentioned. (DoA, 2009, pp. 15, 67) The type of policy that is used is a type 8 according to Champney, namely Subsidies to Research and Development, which are promoted by distribution (economic incentive) and are consumptive indivisible (consumption by one influence other in community positively). The ARC therefore plays an important role in providing facilities, such as research, development and transfer of technology in order to contribute to the agricultural sector. (Champney, 1988, p. 990) Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP) and CASP Extension Services During the 2008-2009 financial year R 438 124 000 was budgeted for CASP and R 100 000 000 for CASP Extension Services. These two budget items are spent together, thus R 538 124 000. CASP Extension Services are the fourth largest item in die DoA budget. By this programmes, the DoA primarily wants to support the targeted beneficiaries from the land and agrarian programmes implemented by the DoA. By granting money to CASP, the DoA wishes to install improvement in 6 areas, namely: The access to and quality of agricultural support services available to the targeted beneficiaries of land and agrarian programmes, such as advice and information, financial infrastructure, etc., The ability of the DoA to deliver the above mentioned agricultural support services, The number of beneficiaries to benefit from accessing agricultural support services, The timeliness of technical and market information available to resource-poor farmers, The infrastructure available to targeted beneficiaries, on and off the farm, e.g. dipping and fencing, The number of LRAD reform beneficiaries accessing market information, markets and training for markets. (DoA, 2009, pp. 27-28) The policy type that would suit the grants given to the above mentioned improvements can be categorised as type 4 Subsidies to Individuals according to Champney. These grants are targeting individuals, such as the beneficiaries from the land and agrarian programmes, and are consumptive indivisible, since the consumption (use) of these land and agrarian programmes is promoted by grants available to beneficiaries. (Champney, 1988, p. 990) Classical Swine Fever A budget of R 163 900 000 was allocated to the control of classical swine fever breakouts and the necessary compensation to households when animals are killed in order to remove classical swine fever from of area. (DoA, 2009, pp. 4, 67, 138) The type of policy that is used to implement this service to public is a type 4, according to Champneys model. Subsidies to Individuals as a type of policy suit this case, because the individuals whose pigs are slaughtered in order to restrict the spreading of the disease are compensated by means of payment, which is correlated with the number of pigs slaughtered. There is therefore an incentive for farmers who have infected pigs to have them slaughtered, since th