Critically explore the notion of revolution and its potential impacts Essay

Critically explore the notion of revolution and its potential impacts on social development - Essay Example The most well-known revolutions in the west history include The French Revolution (1789), the English Revolution (1640), the Russian Revolution (1917) and the American Revolution (1776) (Goldstone 1982, p.189). Social development, on the other hand, is the progressive and qualitative transformation of the social order within a society because of changes in ideologies. In this respect, social development is a function of social change; societies continuously undergo changes that result in improved institutional structures. Revolution and social development are thus closely related in that society progresses by evolutionary mechanisms; society’s reorganization through revolutions is the first step to social change, thus social development accordingly. Social development implies an improvement in social institutions that lead to improved quality of life in the society. Since time immemorial, many theorists have tried to explain the linkage between revolutions and social developme nt; specifically, a lot of attention has been drawn to the causal relationship between revolutions and social development. ... However, all these revolutions have instigated fundamental changes in cultures, economies and socio-political structures in those ancient societies. The notion of revolution has interested historians and political scientists for many years to the effect that the study of revolution has led to the evolution of two broad approaches; the historical and theoretical approaches (Lipsky 1976, p.495). The historical approach mainly focuses on the course of events of a given revolution in history, outlining its development and causal factors. The theoretical approach, on the other hand, is interested in formulating a general theory of revolution through examination of selected examples of revolutions in history; theorists in this approach focus on cause-effect relationships and classification of revolutions into various types. They are also interested in the dynamics of the revolutionary process and the long-term impact of revolutions on society. The causes of revolutions have been a focal po int in revolution studies; theorists have tried to explain the origin of revolutions as a two-step process; a sudden change in the existing order occurs creating the conditions for a revolution to occur. In such enabling socio-political environment, any unfortunate eventuality in a society such as a poor harvest can trigger a revolution. For instance, Marxism posits that revolution is a result of the inevitable conflict between classes for the means of production (Britannica.com, n.d). Tocqueville, another 19th century theorist, argues that revolutions in a society arise out of the demand for accelerated socio-economic progress (Lipsky 1976, p.496). However, modern approaches have linked revolutions to multiple

Economic Crisis in Europe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Economic Crisis in Europe - Essay Example This report will discuss the root causes of economic crisis in Greek and Spain followed by discussing some economic and financial strategies these countries have implemented to deal with the on-going economic and financial problems within its banking sector. Eventually, several lessons drawn from the public policies which aim to improve the performance of the banking industry in Greece and Spain including the broader economy in general will be tackled in details. Prior to conclusion, potential implications on other European economies and the U.S. will be identified if the on-going European economic crisis is left unmanaged. Root Causes of Economic Crisis in Greek and Spain The economic crisis in Greek started in mid-2000s when the country was adversely affected by the global financial crisis. Specifically the global financial crisis during the mid-2000s has triggered a significant impact on its tourism, banking, insurance, and shipping industry (Talebi, 2012). To keep its economy sus tainable, the Greek government went through a series of loan from the European Union (EU), the European Central Bank (ECB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and some major banks in France and Germany (Alderman & Ewing, 2012; The New York Times, 2012). Since the total government deficit of Greece has reached $400 billion, its interest rate increases while the Fitch downgraded its sovereign debt rating to â€Å"BB+ status† or â€Å"junk status† (Hurriyet Daily News, 2012; Kollewe & Neville, 2012; The New York Times, 2011). As a result of excessive government deficit, Europe’s economic recovery is now being threatened (The New York Times, 2012). The case of Spain is similar but totally different from Greece. Even though the Spanish government has incurred a high government deficit, this country managed to cut down its government deficit from 11.2% down to 9.2%, and 8.5% in 2009, 2010, and 2011 respectively (Weardan, 2012; Johnson, 2011). Due to high unemploym ent rate of 23.3% (Eurostat, 2012), Spain is unable to control its private mortgage debt (The Economist, 2012). Eventually, failure to manage the private mortgage debt can lead to economic problem related to housing bubble (Egan, 2012; Smyth, Callanan, & Doyle, 2012). Economic and Financial Strategies Implemented by Greek and Spain In general, government bailout is considered as a significant part of a country’s gross debt but not as a sovereign debt. For this reason, the Greek and Spanish governments are using government bailouts as a strategy to solve their economic and financial problems. Specifically the Greek government started requesting for a series of bailout loans to make its economy run under a normal economic condition. Back then, its first bailout loan worth $146.2 billion (â‚ ¬110 billion) happened on the 1st of May 2010 (BBC News, 2012) followed by its second bailout loan worth â‚ ¬130 billion in October 2011 (The New York Times, 2012). Using these bailout loans, the Greek government was able to reduce its primary government deficits even before it reaches the interest payments. As a result, the Greek government was able to cut down its deficit from â‚ ¬24.7billion in 2009 (Smith, 2012) to â‚ ¬5.2 in 2011 (Financial Info, 2012). There are several economic consequences with regards to Greek government’s decision to increase taxes on private sectors. First of all, its private sector and the overall economic growth of the country that is badly affected with the use of