Is China still communist or has it turned into a totalitarian capitalist country?
Back when Mao Zedong was ruler of China, he turned it into a communist country. He thought that it would be best if everybody owned everything, and that no one could obtain private ownership of anything. But as years went on, things started to change in China. China started opening up to more Capitalist ideas once Mao Zedong passed away.
China is no longer the country that it used to be. Chinese people can now own businesses to make money for them selves and not just for the government. Before, Peasants could not get a good education, but now they can receive the proper schooling that they need. People can watch their own movies and go to the places that they want to go. They can watch TV and access the Internet whenever they want. Citizens are even able to criticize the government! Steps like these keep leading towards China drifting farther and farther from their original communist ways. What would Mao do if he found out that this was going on in his country?
It is hard to find reasons that point to China still being a communist country. China’s government still calls itself communist, but where are all of the communist ideas in China during modern time? There are no basic communist ideas of sharing in the Chinese society now. Chinese leaders have invested in capitalism because they realize how it is more productive and profitable in the long run. Also it is proven to bring people’s standard of living up and has more opportunities for the citizens. China realizes that their old form of government does not work. They know that communism and socialism has either failed or is failing in every example in history. It’s like the Ponzi scheme. “As long as more is going in at the bottom, it works just fine. But when the people at the bottom can no longer carry the people at the top, it fails.” Historically, China is a communist country, but they don’t want to give up the fact that they are turning capitalist because they worked too hard to gain the communist title.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Friday, April 30, 2010
Nuclear Arms Race
Was the World’s reaction to the nuclear arms race between Russia and the United States positive or negative?
The nuclear arms race consisted of the United States, the Soviet Union, and their allies. The nuclear arms race was a competition for world domination. (This is one of the fights that the United States and the Soviet Union had gotten into. The other fight was the space race.) Who ever obtained the most nuclear weapons was considered the most powerful. They would try to manufacture as many nuclear warheads as possible. Soon they had enough nukes to destroy the world by doing nothing more than pushing a button. The tension was getting stronger and stronger, and very dangerous. The Soviet Union and the United States were far more advanced with technology then the rest of the world; this is why the race was primarily between them. Other countries also produced nuclear stockpiles, however none compared to that of the two superpowers.
During this nuclear arms race, smaller and less powerful countries could not compete as well as the major superpowers, so they were forced to pick a side. Countries felt two different opinions; they either didn’t mind that they were not involved, or they were aggravated that they could not compete with the rest of the world.
The smaller and less powerful countries that did not want to compete for many reasons. One of the reasons why was because nuclear weapons are very expensive to manufacture. They needed to save their money for other things such as their military. The countries also only had to worry about their allies, not just themselves. There were also countries that were disappointed that could not compete, because they wanted to feel like they were part of the world. They want to feel dominate and want their county to be the greatest.
The Worlds reaction to the nuclear arms race was both positive and negative. The arms race was the race that definitely impacted the most people. Even though the government ultimately made the decision of whether to participate in the arms race or which countries to ally themselves with, the people had no so say on what they wanted. The citizens of the country were scared of the decisions that their government could make at any moment. For example, say they were allied with Russia, and the United States decided to detonate their nuclear weapons against them. Who is to say that Russia would come to their aid? A positive side to having nuclear warheads is the fact that people feel protected from the enemy countries.
It is possible that the power and fear of these weapons made the nuclear war stop. Since the nuclear arms race, the United Nations has attempted to have the nuclear weapons banned from the world. This conflict has yet to be resolved. Still today, there is a threat of countries secretly developing nuclear weapons. This crisis has been continuing for decades and unfortunately the world may never come to a peaceful solution. 504
The nuclear arms race consisted of the United States, the Soviet Union, and their allies. The nuclear arms race was a competition for world domination. (This is one of the fights that the United States and the Soviet Union had gotten into. The other fight was the space race.) Who ever obtained the most nuclear weapons was considered the most powerful. They would try to manufacture as many nuclear warheads as possible. Soon they had enough nukes to destroy the world by doing nothing more than pushing a button. The tension was getting stronger and stronger, and very dangerous. The Soviet Union and the United States were far more advanced with technology then the rest of the world; this is why the race was primarily between them. Other countries also produced nuclear stockpiles, however none compared to that of the two superpowers.
During this nuclear arms race, smaller and less powerful countries could not compete as well as the major superpowers, so they were forced to pick a side. Countries felt two different opinions; they either didn’t mind that they were not involved, or they were aggravated that they could not compete with the rest of the world.
The smaller and less powerful countries that did not want to compete for many reasons. One of the reasons why was because nuclear weapons are very expensive to manufacture. They needed to save their money for other things such as their military. The countries also only had to worry about their allies, not just themselves. There were also countries that were disappointed that could not compete, because they wanted to feel like they were part of the world. They want to feel dominate and want their county to be the greatest.
The Worlds reaction to the nuclear arms race was both positive and negative. The arms race was the race that definitely impacted the most people. Even though the government ultimately made the decision of whether to participate in the arms race or which countries to ally themselves with, the people had no so say on what they wanted. The citizens of the country were scared of the decisions that their government could make at any moment. For example, say they were allied with Russia, and the United States decided to detonate their nuclear weapons against them. Who is to say that Russia would come to their aid? A positive side to having nuclear warheads is the fact that people feel protected from the enemy countries.
It is possible that the power and fear of these weapons made the nuclear war stop. Since the nuclear arms race, the United Nations has attempted to have the nuclear weapons banned from the world. This conflict has yet to be resolved. Still today, there is a threat of countries secretly developing nuclear weapons. This crisis has been continuing for decades and unfortunately the world may never come to a peaceful solution. 504
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Was it right for the Japanese to start using germ warfare towards China?
During the Second World War, the Japanese began using a new form of fighting towards the Chinese. This new form of fighting is known as Biological Warfare or Germ Warfare. According to Webster’s Dictionary, Germ Warfare is “the use of harmful microorganisms as weapons in war”. Instead of weapons that kill instantly such as a bullet or a bomb, germ warfare is brutal. Germs travel through the air and can be inhaled. They can be transported by a fleabite or transmitted by sexual contact. Once infected the victim may suffer for a long period of time before dying. And in the meantime infect others with his same disease. Germ warfare was so awful that there was an international law banning its use for war purposes. The Japanese officials saw this as an opportunity to gain power over other countries.
Japanese scientists would first experiment on Chinese POWs (prisoners of war) by injecting them with inoculations of disease, disguised as vaccines to study the effects on them. The POWs were infected with syphilis, gonorrhea, fleas and they even brought back the black plague. The harmful effects of these test cases proved to be a powerful weapon for the Japanese. Once infected the POWs were soon released then diseases reached the outside world and spread like wildfire, killing millions of people.
Soon the Japanese realized the powerful effects of these deadly germs. They used low flying planes to drop tons of plague-infested fleas (fleas carrying the black plague). These fleas would spread throughout the land by getting into the Chinese’s clothes, their food supply, and their homes and on their animals. The Black Plague killed thousands of innocent Chinese civilians during World War II.
Germ warfare is an uncontrollable form of weaponry. Civilians should not be hurt or killed during any form of war; only soldiers who are willing to fight for their county should have their lives at risk. With biological warfare it is difficult to only attack your enemy. So many outside people fall prey to the effects of germ warfare. For example, the scientists who concoct the infectious diseases are susceptible to obtaining these horrid germs as well. In addition, civilians in the wrong place at the wrong time can also fall victim to the toxic germs. Therefore this type of battle is inhumane.
Germ warfare was so horrid, that it was nationally banned and considered a war crime. The Japanese saw this as an opportunity and took advantage of its strength. People might think that using biological warfare is a brilliant idea; but they do not realize how out of hand this form of fighting can get. The only people’s lives that should be taken are the lives of the soldiers who are willing to fight. Innocent civilians should not be endangered of loosing their lives due to the spreading infectious diseases. Germ warfare is an inhumane weapon of war and should never be used again. (501)
During the Second World War, the Japanese began using a new form of fighting towards the Chinese. This new form of fighting is known as Biological Warfare or Germ Warfare. According to Webster’s Dictionary, Germ Warfare is “the use of harmful microorganisms as weapons in war”. Instead of weapons that kill instantly such as a bullet or a bomb, germ warfare is brutal. Germs travel through the air and can be inhaled. They can be transported by a fleabite or transmitted by sexual contact. Once infected the victim may suffer for a long period of time before dying. And in the meantime infect others with his same disease. Germ warfare was so awful that there was an international law banning its use for war purposes. The Japanese officials saw this as an opportunity to gain power over other countries.
Japanese scientists would first experiment on Chinese POWs (prisoners of war) by injecting them with inoculations of disease, disguised as vaccines to study the effects on them. The POWs were infected with syphilis, gonorrhea, fleas and they even brought back the black plague. The harmful effects of these test cases proved to be a powerful weapon for the Japanese. Once infected the POWs were soon released then diseases reached the outside world and spread like wildfire, killing millions of people.
Soon the Japanese realized the powerful effects of these deadly germs. They used low flying planes to drop tons of plague-infested fleas (fleas carrying the black plague). These fleas would spread throughout the land by getting into the Chinese’s clothes, their food supply, and their homes and on their animals. The Black Plague killed thousands of innocent Chinese civilians during World War II.
Germ warfare is an uncontrollable form of weaponry. Civilians should not be hurt or killed during any form of war; only soldiers who are willing to fight for their county should have their lives at risk. With biological warfare it is difficult to only attack your enemy. So many outside people fall prey to the effects of germ warfare. For example, the scientists who concoct the infectious diseases are susceptible to obtaining these horrid germs as well. In addition, civilians in the wrong place at the wrong time can also fall victim to the toxic germs. Therefore this type of battle is inhumane.
Germ warfare was so horrid, that it was nationally banned and considered a war crime. The Japanese saw this as an opportunity and took advantage of its strength. People might think that using biological warfare is a brilliant idea; but they do not realize how out of hand this form of fighting can get. The only people’s lives that should be taken are the lives of the soldiers who are willing to fight. Innocent civilians should not be endangered of loosing their lives due to the spreading infectious diseases. Germ warfare is an inhumane weapon of war and should never be used again. (501)
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Why do people think that the early cinema in the Soviet Union was laced with propaganda towards totalitarianism? In the early 1900’s, the Soviet Union was a very strict nation that was very controlling over what information their people gather from the government and from the rest of the outside world. The leaders of the Soviet Union had to find every way in which they could get out government information in the citizen’s every day lives. At first, the government would use basic newspaper articles to brainwash their minds. The written word was the only media in which the government could get out their specific agenda. Then they needed to step it up and try a new tactic. Radio was another outlet but lacked visual content. Movies had just started being developed and were a great way to get to peoples thoughts and minds because so many people are enthralled with them. The nation’s film industry was mostly nationalized through most of the countries history with philosophies and laws created by the Soviet Communist Party. Because of the depletion of resources from World War I, Russian film schools would take copies of other films and re-cut them with what they call meaning, but is really propaganda. When the new communist rulers took over the nation, they cut off all of the other movies from the outside world to keep people focused and involved with Russia and Russia only. This is because there was a concern that foreign films exposed people to capitalist ideologies. Some western movies depicted the Soviet Union in a negative light. Thus putting these ideas into the minds of the viewers. Soon the Soviet Film Industry stopped relying on foreign technologies. During its industrial effort in the early 1930s, the USSR manufactured factories to supply the nation with its own cinema technologies. This movement gave Russia the opportunity to put what ever they wanted into their films because they do not need to have licenses from the west telling them what they can and can not put in their films, so propaganda was very common. Stalin believed that film would be the best form of propaganda for the Soviet Union because of the mass popularity among the citizens. Stalin even used film to change the nation’s history. If something embarrassing happened with Russia’s history, the filmmakers and producers could easily pretend that none of that ever happened. They would make up their own story and call it history. Sergei Eisenstein made a movie called; Ivan the Terrible Part II and was completed in 1945 but was not released until 1958 due to political censorship. This was 5 years after Stalin's death because Stalin was very strict about what was shown to his people. This movie described Ivan as less of a hero than the people were originally told. After the death of Stalin, Soviet filmmakers were somewhat free to film what they believed audiences would want to see, but the industry still remained part of the government, and any material found politically offensive was either removed, edited, re-shot, or shelved. 513
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