Monday, December 8, 2008
One Last Hurrah
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
Final Reflection
(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
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Overall Class Reflection…it’s over, so what did I learn?
Friday, December 5, 2008
Final post
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.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Human Nature
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.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
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)