Marxist Thoughts and Its Application to Society Essay example -- Socio

Marxist thought and its application to society has shone much light on Man’s understanding of the role of religion within his society. The roots of Marxism finds its birth from the writings of Karl Marx (1818-83) and Fredrick Engels (1820-95). The publication and writings of Marx and Engels are â€Å"highly influential both on the political and theoretical understanding of society and the role of religion within society† (Kunin, 2003: 3). It is important to first underline (briefly and simply) Marx’s main theories which he used to critique religion as a product of Man. Marx (ultimately) did not see religion as central to Man’s oppression, but as a symptom of a cause which was much more detrimental, creating and feeding his alienation instead of advancing his journey to true happiness because of illusory factors that Man himself created; To abolish religion as the illusory happiness of the people is to demand their real happiness. The demand to give up illusions about the existing state of affairs is the demand to give up a state of affairs that needs illusions (MECW, 1975 (3): 175). The relationships between Man’s society and the institutions within it (such as religion, science and law) are described and perpetuated in Marx’s ‘Structure (or infrastructure) and Superstructure’ model. Marx places responsibility for the continued oppression of Mankind on the structure that underlies modern Capitalist societies namely, economy. All other elements of Man’s society to include institutions mentioned above are born out of, and made up by, the economic structure of society. Marx’s contribution to the study of religion highlights the negative aspects and means of Man’s self creation of religion, as an illusionary oppression, â€Å"the abolition of... ...otal happiness. Marx gave us a way of expressing more than just a negative attack on religion by trying to show humanity that taking control of your means of existence and moving away from the illusory word Man creates in order to cope with all the negative aspects modern capitalist societies place on the Proletarian Man. Marx’s connection of religion to economy is integral to the importance of his rhetoric, religion is not the cause but a symptom, which in turn reflects the oppressive state of the society. Marx’s distinctions on class and how the powerful (or Capitalist) can dictate the society through institutional mediums such as religion is also very important to how (after Marxism) the debate of Religion can be approached. How important he was to the debate of religion is exemplified in the amount theorising, criticism and sheer renown Marx still holds today.

Dealing with Office Politics

â€Å"There's too much wrangling and maneuvering going on – I just hate this office politicking†. â€Å"Joe, well he's a smart political mover – knows exactly how to get what he wants and how to get on. † Whether you hate it, admire it, practice it or avoid it, office politics is a fact of life in any organization. And, like it or not, it's something that you need to understand and master to be sure of your own success. â€Å"Office politics† are the strategies that people play to gain advantage, personally or for a cause they support. The term often has a negative connotation, in that it refers to strategies people use to seek advantage at the expense of others or the greater good. In this context, it often adversely affects the working environment and relationships within in. Good â€Å"office politics†, on the other hand, help you fairly promote yourself and your cause, and is more often called networking and stakeholder management. Perhaps due to the negative connotation, many people see office politics as something very much to be avoided. But the truth is, to ensure your own success and that of your projects, you must navigate the minefield of Office Politics. If you deny the ‘bad politics' that may be going on around you, and avoid dealing with them, you may needlessly suffer whilst others take unfair advantage. And if you avoid practicing ‘good politics', you miss the opportunities to properly further your own interests, and those of your team and your cause.

How Children Cope With Peer Provocation - 1413 Words

This research investigated children s understanding of their research rights in the context of an analysis of how children cope with peer provocation (Hurley Underwood, 2002, p.1). One hundred and seventy-eight (178; 54% girls and 46% boys) children who were randomly selected from grades six, four and second with average ages of 12, 10 and 8 correspondingly participated in the study (Hurley Underwood, 2002, p.1). Subsequent to their agreement on how kids get long together, as well as after debriefing, the perceptions of the children’s permission/assent, their understanding of their research responsibilities, and consequences and their belief in deliberate involvement and willingness and choice to opt out of the†¦show more content†¦Critique of the Research In the vigorous challenge of the concept of whether children can freely assent in research participations Hurley and Underwood (2002, p.2) indicated that â€Å"children’s competence to assent relied too h eavily on comprehensive developmental theories such as Piaget’s, which imply that the capacity to assent increases and risk of harm decrease with age.† In any case, it is more difficult for children to give free and meaningful assent† when they did not truly understand the research concepts (2002, p.2). Moreover, the viability of the study depended on the creation of a situation that was ecologically valid in that it was provoking for children and required elements of deception (the other person being an actor and the game being rigged such that participants would not win) and some risk of emotional distress. Personally, I believe that the second graders might not have clearly understood their participation responsibilities and accountabilities, in spite of the definitions given to them in the research study and their capacity to understand to freely give and freely withdraw their assent before and during the research process. The researchers could have used pe er tutoring to enhance understanding of the seemingly abstract research concepts to include risks, and effective meaning of voluntary