One Last Hurrah

In our class-after-penultimate-class on Friday, each of our groups posed as nations and debated a common framework for development in conjunction with the World Bank. As a representative of the McFatherland, my positions, as well as those of my group, were steadfastly pro-trade and privatization. As such, I was pleased to see that the dominant arguments presented by all sides fell on the pro-business side. It made my job a whole lot easier. I hadn’t expected that defending the free market would be so effortless, but this class has a way of surprising me.

More important, however, was the reason why nearly everyone fell on the pro-business side. As PTJ noted at the end of class, one group tends to get thrown out of every session, usually either McDonalds or Venezuela. This is to be expected; Venezuela represents a semi-socialist system built on government regulation and popular sovereignty, while McDonalds represents complete free-market values and a transnational drive for the aggregation of capital. They represent radically different sides, while Japan, India, and the European Union present far more moderate voices. That being said, everyone eventually takes a side, and among moderates, it tends to be in line with the popular consensus at the time.

Here, I must compliment the European Union. They devised and presented a clear-cut set of economic policies, giving everyone a basis on which to work off of. To our luck, they happened to be more favorable to business growth than government assistance, and so that viewpoint was adopted by all of the other groups save Venezuela, who had no wiggle room to adapt such policies. I have no doubt that if the European Union hadn’t come down on the side of business, it would have been our group, and not Venezuela, who would have been marginalized by the rest.

So three cheers for the Dollar Menu!

And sadly, it seems that our World Politics class has come to a close. It’s been a memorable experience dictating my opinions to you all, and I shall continue to do so next semester. On behalf of all the contributors to this blog, I bid you adieu.

Thomas Cole, "The Consummation of Empire", 1835.

Time to Celebrate

I have a reason to celebrate! Not only is today my 19^th birthday, but it is also the final blog post of the semester, meaning that it is also the end of World Politics class. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that I am happy about the conclusion of our class – I will miss it in all it’s quirky and intimidating glory. Rather, I wish to celebrate my completion of a course in which I highly doubted my success. My initial reaction to our World Politics class, especially after reading the syllabus and hearing some of my fellow classmates regurgitate ancient and obscure world politics history, was of utter terror; I felt that my failure was inevitable. But look at me now! I made it through all of the confusing and complex debates, read text that I would have otherwise never touched, spoke my mind despite how simple my arguments may have sounded compared to others, and even learned a little! I must admit that I did not speak in class as much as I wish I had – but, someone would always end up saying what was on my mind in a more eloquent was than I could have, anyway. I look up to my fellow UC-ers. Throughout the entirety of the semester my respect for their seemingly endless cache of knowledge never ceased to amaze me. While many others entered the class already possessing the knowledge about IR theories, I did not, and I am proud to say that I now have a strong handle on such concepts. My experience in this class was entirely different than for other students, but was still just as valuable. Furthermore, this class was much more demanding and difficult for me than it was for others. In class I often found myself struggling to understand the context of an argument for it would be referring to some past event of which I had never heard. However, I learned to deal with this and power through my initial frustration. We still have one more final essay to complete and I have no idea what I am going to write about. You would think that spending an entire semester in a World Politics class would provide a specific answer to such a question as, “What is the most important issue in World Politics?” but, it has not. Rather, I am more confused than I was at the beginning of the class for I now know more about the subject and, therefore, have more conflicting ideas to sort out. Then again, I see this as a good thing because it means I actually conquered some of the material that, at first, seemed menacing. I congratulate myself and all my fellow floor and classmates for job well done =)

Final Reflection

Y'all--we've been through.
(Or in none TX speak: You guys, we have accomplished an arduous task)
I'll admit this blogging thing worried me when I first looked at the syllabus. I'd put money on the claim that I'm the least technologically savvy among the group. But, I've come to have a love-hate relationship with this whole blog-o-sphere thing. I hate hate hate it until I finally suck up and start it. I rather quite enjoy getting my thoughts down on virtual paper.

World Politics has probably asked more of us than any of our other geneds ever will, but it is a serendipitous nuisance. My arguing skills have grown this semester more than they have in the last two years of high school, and my writing skills have been critiqued fiercer than in any writing or history class I have taken ever. I've learned time budgeting skills that will help me until I develop even better ones. I've learned how much it costs to take the metro anywhere, and that I need to remember to save $1.45 on my smarttrip so I can get there and back. I learned a few things about baseball, star wars, all american things I suppose. I've realized that I'm a control freak, but that I'm a pacifisct more. I greatly lack a sense of anxiety, which I suppose appears to be a good thing, but I'm starting to wonder why I'm really the only one who isn't stressed out about this, that, and the third. I hope most of all that I've helped y'all (you guys) learn and develop new skills just as much as y'all have helped me. Congrats guys, we're 1/8th of the way done.

Mags

Overall Class Reflection…it’s over, so what did I learn?

Well I definitely didn’t learn what I expected from this class, which was a greater idea of international organizations, and current issues. But now I think that these things are what one follows in one’s own time. Filling the mind with facts, and “being aware” is no good, if you can’t do anything with that knowledge. This is why PTJ focused our class on debate, and discussion. My favorite classes have always been class discussion based. Why? I would say because of that whole “critical thinking” skill that discussion and argument teaches and hones. I though PTJ’s description of our class of Friday was interesting. World Politics was simply the context of the subject we were focusing on, analytical argumentation. With this perspective in mind, I think our class was successful. The blogging component of the class kept us reading, analyzing and thinking outside of class. Blogging is definitely a new mode of discussion for me, one that I am just beginning to feel comfortable. However, being able to read and comment on everyone else’s thoughts exposed the vast and varying ways we all reason through and find conclusions to different issues. Even if most of us reached the same conclusion to a question, we did not always support that conclusion with the same reasons. To me this was the most interesting part of our class, seeing how and why other people think and act. I also appreciated the common thread that PTJ managed to pull through our in and outside class discussions, readings and lab visits. This class was difficult at times for me, because it touched many times on the issues to which there are no easy answers or which can seem too large to grasp at times. We were given questions that were tricky in their simplicity, Should we? Is it right that? Most of the time I didn’t even want to begin thinking about the questions, and I definitely did not want to think about what might constitute an answer. This class forced me past my unwillingness to struggle with unanswerable questions and for that I am most grateful.

Final post

Today was our final world politics class. My group was tasked to defend the economic development policy of Venezuela, which was difficult to do, considering Venezuelan government thrives off irrational economic policies. Overall, although difficult, I feel my group defended Venezuela’s interests against a group of hostile interests pretty well.
But never mind today's class, I’ve been very pleased with the University College World Politics program as a whole. I feel quite blessed to be able to discuss and debate people with different points of view from all over the United States. I have also enjoyed being able to continue these discussions outside of class back on Leonard 7. I feel that we have read a wide array of literature and have covered many theories that will serve as a foundation for later SIS courses. My favorite book was How Soccer Explains the World, and I enjoyed these alternative means of approaching world politics as opposed to a simple history of some historical event. I appreciated Snow Crash for similar reasons, and I plan to continue to looking for books that explain world politics through abstract means after class ends.
This class gave me the opportunity to think critically and develop opinions regarding relations between states and pressing international issues. While I still am uncertain which area of the world I plan to concentrate my studies in, I now have a framework to apply to any area of international relations I intend to further my studies. I’d like to thank Professor Jackson and Jacquelyn for an excellent class that has been very informative as well as a lot of fun.
To my classmates, I enjoyed talking with you all about international events and I look forward to our next semester together.

Human Nature

Do you find Stephenson’s view of the future (world politics) plausible?

I agree with Stephenson that businesses, in particular corporations, will increase their political influence. Stephenson’s view was of a completely capitalist oriented political system, without any sort of non-business oriented influential interest groups. This seems very unlikely to me given the prevalence of socialist institutions and goals that would certainly not support a political sphere ruled by franchises. I do not think that sovereign states will disappear because culture and identity will remain important. Stephenson addresses this issue with different ethnic franchises, but I think these oversimplify cultural diversity and would not be an acceptable alternative. The emphasis on technology and its manipulation as directly related to power and influence seems historically accurate. What was missing for me in Stephenson’s forecast was the humanitarian aspect of society. His book seemed to say that in the future human life will not be sacred and protecting it will not be a priority. I simply do not see this happening. Looking through American history at least, as time has passed people have become more concerned in involved with the human and political concerns of other nations. Overall I would say that I do not find Stephenson’s view of the future plausible.

Which franchulate would you like to live in?

Mr. Lees’s Greater Hong Kong because the Rat Things are amazing. The mafia, especially Uncle Enzo was cool but comes with a bit too much obligation and worry.

Power Outage & Snowcrash

So I was recently informed that there will be a power outage tonight, beginning in less than an hour. So basically, this blog entry is going to be pretty short and sweet until I can finish it!

I absolutely do think that Stephenson’s version of the future is plausible. Partly because we have no way of knowing what the future may bring, therefore anything can happen. Moreso because many of his visions of the future have already come true and are, no longer visions, but actual realities. Furthermore because his futuristic predictions seem to be a logical progression of what is already in our present world.

 

As I was being introduced to the role of computers in Stephenson’s future world, mainly the role of the metaverse, I kept thinking how uncanny the similarities are to the present computer world and generation. I’m not sure if it’s because I just lack the computer genius of a techie, but the metaverse seemed pretty realistic to me? I honestly can not figure out why we don’t have a metaverse thriving with digital pixel humanesque life right this moment.

“By drawing a slightly different image in front of each eye, the image can be made three-dimensional. By changing the image seventy-two times a second, it can be made to move. By drawing the moving three-dimensional image at a resolution of 2k pixels on a side, it can be as sharp as the eye can perceive, and by pumping stereo digital sound through the little earphones, the moving 3-D pictures can have a perfectly realistic soundtrack.” (p. 24)

See, now that (^^^^) seems perfectly realistic to me. Although it may not become the standard way of viewing the computer screen, I can definitely imagine specialty 3-D (even 4-D) glasses, headsets, and avatars coming soon to a store near you!

 

(THE END until I can finish … aka WHEN THE POWER comes back on. Grr)

Nationalism and the Critical Weakness of Man

On page 250, Todorov writes: "'The man who finds his country sweet is only a raw beginner; the man for whom each country is as his own is already strong; but only the man for whom the whole world is as a foreign country is perfect.'" Is he right?

Absolutely. It’s music to my ears.

This quote sums up a large part of my personal ideology. As I alluded to in a previous post, I have always taken steps to avoid identifying myself with any particular nation, and, I should add, any group or movement. To do so, I believe, would be tantamount to conceding one’s powers of observation and reasoning to a third party. As I see it, this leaves my options open; I am free to follow whatever course of action I deem most beneficial at the time. I won’t have to defend it from critics by framing it in a larger ideological context, nor can I be charged with hypocrisy. I also won’t be called on to defend ideals that aren’t mine, which is the persistent snare of nationalism.

Outside of an ideological context, the same holds true for human nationalist tendencies. Nationalism is nothing more than an evolved form of baseless sectarianism, fomented entirely by one’s circumstances of birth. It is a hollow ideology that somehow motivates men to give absolutely everything to further the will of their nation. I suppose this urge is rooted in the evolutionary clan-based defense mechanism, whereby humans instinctively felt the need to defend their property from outsiders simply because it was their property and livelihood. However, in today’s age of wealth and global interdependence, this need is not necessary for the immediate survival of the individual, though it does still exist as a collective. What should be said is that our relative prosperity and collective security is gained on the backs of these people, but the ideology that drives them is unnecessary for the individual and ultimately self-destructive.

This is exactly why I keep this knowledge from the plebeians.

We can’t all be perfect, of course. I’ll gladly admit that the relative safety and ease of my life has been borne of the sacrifice of many individuals towards their nation. But these are sacrifices that I myself would not make. I applaud the selflessness of those who came before me, and, to be honest, I’m entertained by the number of people who have purported and continue to purport their own nationalist identity. It’s fun to watch them bump heads, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t view myself as superior because I reject such notions. I am motivated entirely by self-interest, and in shedding my sectarian and ideological constraints, I am free to pursue my own satisfaction. While I may from time to time lend my services to a nation or a cause, my allegiance will always be to myself.