Plato on Justice Essay Example for Free

Plato on Justice Essay Platos interpretation of justice as seen in ? The Republic is a vastly different one when compared to what we and even the philosophers of his own time are accustomed to. Plato would say justice is the act of carrying out ones duties as he is fitted with. Moreover, if ones duties require one to lie or commit something else that is not traditionally viewed along with justice; that too is considered just by Platos accounts in ? The Republic. I believe Platos account of justice, and his likely defense against objections are both clear and logical, thus I will endeavor to argue his views as best as I can. Platos view of justice ties in with his view of a perfect world. In Platos ideal world, the society would be a wise one, wise in understanding that their own position in society is just. This society in turn, must carry out their duties fitted to them by their position. Unfortunately the real world does not function in that manner, Plato understanding that ? fault with society tells us that if the society is lacking wisdom, the most wise ones would be philosophers, (473d) and society should consider them to be the authority. Plato believes that being just is so innately important that everyone is better off being just than unjust, no matter the situation. Plato in 360e-362d uses Glaucon to make this point, Glaucon asks who is better off? The just or the unjust, given the premises that the unjust man is rich, famous, respected, and powerful and that the just man is poor, defamed, and lives a life of suffering. Platos only real way to answer this is to prove that justice is innately good and that injustice is innately evil; simply prove the poor, defamed man happy and the rich, respected unjust man unhappy. Plato goes about this by explaining what justice is; justice has to do with doing what is right, and there exists some specific virtue in everything, which enables it to work well. If it is deprived of that nature, in contrast it would suffer. It is much the same with the soul, the soul must also perform its specific virtue. The more virtuous, or ? just a soul is, the happier the soul is. The happier the soul is, the happier the person is. Therefore a just man lives happily and well, whereas an unjust man would not. This argument follows the a=b b=c therefore a=c argument form. Another objection, brought about by a radical and different theory of Justice is brought up by Plato in a conversation between Socrates and Thrasymachus. In this argument Thrasymachus defines justice as in the interest of the stronger. This basically means that justice belongs in the hands of the rulers, and that the rulers are whoever is stronger, therefore getting to a ruling position. Laws are then made, based on the ruling partys interest, and only theirs. Those who violate such created laws, will get punished for breaking the law and so on and so forth. Socrates completely disagrees with this theory of justice and gives the analogy of a physician who is studying and exercising his power is in fact doing so in the interest of his patients, not himself. In the same manner, the government will do what is in the interest of the people, and not of itself. Some unanswered objections that may come up against Platos idea of justice may target the part where he believes that philosophers are the only qualified individuals to run his ideal society. Plato believes that philosophers have knowledge, I pose a scenario where there are no more philosophers, perhaps because of a philosopher massacre, or one where there is simply nobody wise enough. One can easily make the argument that since philosophy is dealing with the same questions for the past 2500 years, that we are actually not wise, and in fact quite the opposite. I believe that for the most part, Plato has a successful account of justice. Platos criticism of then present theories of justice and his defense against the xxxxxx theories make sense logically. Furthermore, Plato was ages ahead of his time by arguing for equal rights among men and woman when concerning the guardians, unlike Aristotle who got almost everything wrong and most likely set philosophy and other sciences back centuries, I believe Plato was ages ahead of his time in understand that men and women are equal in at least the ? capacity to understand reality and make reasonable judgments about it. (454d) However; just that fact does not lead to a proper defense against arguments. One thing a reader may have a problem is that Plato seems to be showing a little Heidegger by alluding to a dictatorship which are ruled by the wise, namely, philosophers. Even if such a Nazi and Communist-esque dictatorship were to be implemented, I fear it would hit the same brick wall that other dictatorships face, the people will not sit idly by while they are told what to do. I believe that leads to a larger problem. Plato seemingly wants to hint more and more at an innate knowledge which includes justice, or if the person does not have this innate knowledge he can be taught in society: knowledge and the just thing to do. I believe this poses a problem for Plato, if society innately knows the correct thing to do, but does not do it, then this is contradictory with the definition of justice Plato wants for us. And if there is one thing philosophers have insisted upon over time is that there are no contradictions. In its defense; I do not know of any philosophical questions that have a complete answer, otherwise there would be no more philosophy. Even with the possible shortcomings, Plato argues his justice logically, and uses Glaucon and Adeimentus well, to show the strengths of his arguments.

Morality and Obligation Essay Example for Free

Morality and Obligation Essay 1. Two preliminary steps taken, that may be necessary, before one can intuitively appreciate the rightness of an action are thinking fully about the consequences of an action. In other words, think before you act. Also give thought (consideration) to the persons involved in said action or your relation(ship) with the persons involved. 2. An action is considered morally good in addition to being right when it is the right thing to do, while also stemming from a good place. When the person or agent performs said act because it is right, from a feeling of obligation, a morally good act is also right. 3. According to Prichard, an action done from a sense of obligation, there is no purpose consisting either in the action itself or in anything which it will produce. A motive, being something that moves one to act, can be the sense of obligation, an action done from a sense of obligation can indeed have a motive. 4. Avirtuous act is done from a desire that is intrinsically good. A moral act may be done from obligation. There cant be an obligation to act virtuously, because we can only feel an obligation to act or do something. We cannot, however, feel an obligation to act from a certain desire 5. It is a mistake to expect moral philosophy to prove through argumentation that we ought to fulfill our obligations, because moral rightness cannot be demonstrated, only apprehended directly by an act of moral thinking. The sense of obligation is a result of a moral thought or thoughts. Moral philosophy can provide reflection on the immediacy of our knowledge of moral rightness and the intuitive recognition of the goodness of the virtues.

Comparison of Stalin and Hitler

Comparison of Stalin and Hitler Even though some people may argue this, its a common fact that Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler are one of the two worst villains in history. Stalin murdered millions of people and Hitler murdered millions of people. They both tortured innocent people. They both threatened violence towards the rest of the world. Hitler started the worst war in history. Stalin spread Communism to other countries. Hitler almost wiped out a human race. Stalin slaughtered his own people. Whos the most hideous person? Stalin was a more hideous person than Hitler. Hitler was born to an overprotective mother and an overbearing father. While his mother would shower him with affection, his father barely even acknowledged his existence. His love for Germany started when he was very young. His love for Germany awakened when he moved to Germany and started to play with German children. This love for Germany would never die (Ayer 16). His independence started when he was six when he walked to and from school and dealing with mischievous boys. It was around this time when Hitlers father was starting to come home drunk every day. He was abused daily by his father because Hitler refused to give in to his fathers demands. In school, he was a leader. One boy quoted We all liked him, at desk and at play. He had guts. He wasnt a hothead, he was a quiet fanatic (Ayer 19). At thirteen his father passed away suddenly and Hitler became the male head of the house. Hitler was very charismatic. His words go like an arrow to their target, he touches each private wo und on the raw, expressing [peoples] intermost [hopes], telling [them] what [they] most want to hear (Strasser 65). When at school he took a particular liking to Professor Leopold Potsch. Potsch was a follower of the Volkisch Movement. The movement was a group that believed that the German people were superior to everyone else especially the Jews (Ayer 21). Hitler saw the opera Rienzi and it changed his life forever. His friend, Kubizek, said: Now he aspired to something higher, something I could not yet fully understand. All this surprised me, because I believed that the [life] of an artist was for him the highest of all goals, the one most striving for. But now he was speaking of an [order] he would one day receive from the people, to lead them out of [slavery] to the heights of freedom. (Ayers 23) Hitler blamed his own poverty and humiliation on the Jews. It was during World War 1 when he finally did something with his life. He enlisted. War was brilliant to him. He was at home in the trenches. He received the greatest award Germany had to offer. When Germany lost he was completely devastated. It was at this time when he finally got into politics. Hitler became interested and joined the German Workers Party. Soon later he changed the name of the party to the NAZI Party. He silenced any high ranking official within the party that didnt agree with him. He blamed the Jews on all the bad problems in Germany. Hitler was eventually arrested. While he was in jail he wrote Mein Kampf. This would later be the Nazi Bible. Once out of jail he reformed the Nazi Party into something far greater than it ever was. In 1933, Hitler was appointed chancellor. Soon later he became the sole dictator of Germany. This was only the beginning for Hitler. Stalins childhood was marked with hate. His father would beat him savagely for no reason. This made Stalin grim and heartless. His mother on the other hand spoiled him and always gave excuses for his bad behavior. This made Stalin think at a young age that everything he did was alright. When Stalin was in school he tried to dominate his classmates in everything they did. He studied his classmates weaknesses and acted upon their weaknesses to force the other children to accept his leadership. Stalin saw the illiterate tribes of the towering Caucasus Mountains as romantic heroes. They were fierce and stopped at nothing until they got what they want. When he was thirteen he was exposed to scientific thought for the first time. These books made Stalin believe that there was no god. At the age of sixteen, Stalin went to a seminary. While at the seminary he secretly joined a new revolutionary party. He smuggles illegal books into the seminary. It was in these books that Stalin first learne d what Communism is by Marx. He was so much against the idea of god he wasnt able to fake it anymore. His grades went from best to worst in the class and four months before graduation he was expelled. Even though he hated the seminary, it did leave its mark on him. It hardened for the life of a professional revolutionary. He also applied the religious fanaticism to Communism (Archer 19). The seminarys spy system was the inspiration for his own secret police. On May 1, 1901, Stalin led two thousand railway workers into a bloody clash against the Tsars forces. He fled being arrested. He began an outlaws life taking on false names and always slipping away from the police. Stalin looked up to and inspired Lenin for having to fill his life with great purpose (Archer 23). On April 5, 1902, he was finally arrested. He viewed this setback as a positive. He began recruiting prisoners into the Social Democratic Party. On January 21, 1905, Stalin announced that the revolution has begun. In 190 7, he wife died. This made Stalin even more sarcastic, cold, and vengeful than ever before (Archer 35). It wasnt until World War I that the revolution won and took over the government of Russia. In 1924 Lenin had died and there was a struggle on who should now rule Russia. After the dust has settled it was the Man of Steel, Joseph Stalin, which began his role of being one of the best rulers in Russias history. There are many people who Hitler hated and wanted to annihilate. Hitler wanted a pure Aryan race. This means he wanted only perfect people. The people must be tall, slender, physically fit, and free of any disability, deformity, abnormality, mental illness, and homosexuality. Above all people Hitler hated he hated the Jews the most. He firmly believed that the Jews were the inferior race. He blamed the Jews for Germanys defeat in World War I. He believed that Germany would have never lost the war if it wasnt for the Jews stabbing Germany in the back. In Europe at the time, Jews were known as Communists and to some people Germany was known as a Jewish Country. This was the last thing Hitler wanted his country called. Stalin hated everyone who was against him and Communism. He always feared for his position in power and for Communism. It didnt matter if they were political enemies or just civilians who didnt like communism, Stalin hated them all. Stalin did everything in his power to instill fear into his enemies. He wanted to make sure whoever was against him know that that was a grave and deadly mistake. In 1939, Hitler started the worst war in history. Hitler wanted to make a German Empire all throughout Europe and evidentially the world. World War II had over sixty nations involved in it. He wanted superiority over everyone in the world. Hitler wanted to wipe out an entire race. He put Jews in concentration camps. In concentration camps, Jews were tortured, gassed, used as sick experiments, shot, starved, and hung. He wasnt going to stop until he wiped every single Jew off the face of the world. To Hitler, the Jewish race was nothing but little, annoying animals. What Stalin did to his own people is sickening. Stalin was a huge fanatic of being patriotic for the motherland. He killed anyone he expected to be a traitor. During World War II, if a soldier took one step backwards to retreat then an officer would shoot them on the spot declaring they were traitors even though in reality they werent really traitors. After World War II, Stalin reopened some of the concentration camps and put German civilians in them. Stalin killed anyone that disagreed with him. He executed over forty thousand polish prisoners. If Stalin had a political enemy then the enemy would be taken to a labor and be never seen from again. Conditions in the labor camps have been said are worst then some of the concentration camps Hitler put the Jews in. Stalin wasnt only ruthless to foreign people he was ruthless towards his own people making them fear him so much they were forced to love him. Hitler killed six million people. Most of those people were Jews while some were other minorities. Stalin killed over forty thousand polish prisoners and also killed two hundred thousand Georgian civilians. In all Stalin murdered roughly twenty to forty-five million people. Hitler and Stalin were both extremely evil men who stopped at nothing to achieve what they wanted. They both grew up in hateful homes. They lied and killed to make their way to the top. They both killed millions of people. In all, Stalin was the most hideous one. Even Hitler did many bad things in his life, Stalin definitely out did him. Stalin hated more people, he killed millions and millions of more people then Hitler, and he was more ruthless than the Nazi leader. Stalin was the essence of the devil himself.

Essay --

During the slavery period, Muslims were distinct in how they were dressed, even though there were restrictions to how slaves dressed. They did not wear as the western people did because physical appearance was dictated by their religious distinctiveness. Although their dress code was handed over by their holders, they still tried to maintain their traditional way of dressing. The 19th century drawings realized in Brazil showed Islamic headgear display: men with turbans or skull caps, women with veils, and others wore fabric that covered their heads as well as the shoulders in a Muslim fashion way. The importance of dress was also observed during the Bahia Muslim revolt in the year 1835. An eyewitness is recorded to have seen African groups with white skullcaps and smocks over the pants they were wearing. Another testified to have seen African groups with swords and white tunics. This dressing indicated their mission to be sacred and holy. They believed that they would go to heaven if they died in battle, and white was the symbolic color. Muslims recreated the exact accessories and clothes they had before they were deported. Their dressing was very different from their European fashion. Other slave did not attempt to preserve their traditional and distinct accessories and attire. This shows that Muslim of African descent symbol of faith was of a great importance. It showed their acculturation rejection and depiction of accomplishments in their religion. They sought to retain their dress code to be their recognition sign among them. Another challenge that proved to be a difficult task to the Muslim community, was the naming system provided by their holders. Names were giv... ...ns and them was religion and not their skin color. The culture of those who enslaved them did not appeal to them and may have made them despair. Muslims expressed views that were rooted to their religions on the conduct of Christians and Jews. These African Muslims experienced Christians at their worst times. They saw the Americans as Christians and not as whites as they did not have a class or race consciousness. Christians claimed that African Muslims were superior to the other slaves. They were taken to be superior as they were capable of writing and reading Arabic, which they owed to the influence of the Arabs. This superiority was perceived to be of foreign blood and not their genes. There is evidence showing that, African Muslims used their social and cultural background as a means of survival, and a way to cope with the new environment in America.

Subversion of Class and Gender Roles in Jane Austens Persuasion Essay

Subversion of Class and Gender Roles in Jane Austen's Persuasion      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Jane Austen's Persuasion, Mrs. Croft makes but few appearances and delivers little dialogue.   Nevertheless, Austen gives her significant narrative and thematic importance.   Mrs. Croft provides a foil for several of the Elliots, while developing a commonality with the frequently ostracized Anne.   This bond between Mrs. Croft and Austen's heroine valorizes Mrs. Croft's radical views concerning feminism and marriage.   Beyond signifying a paradigm shift in such social morals, though, the roles of Admiral and Mrs. Croft allow Austen to subvert the dominant upper class culture.   By exhibiting superior but genuine manners, by demonstrating the complacency of the dominant culture, and by exerting their own counterculture, Admiral and Mrs. Croft expose both the foolishness and the artifice of their upper class acquaintances.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Austen clearly contrasts Mrs. Croft with Sir Walter, Elizabeth and Mary, and therein reveals the selfish and impractical nature of luxury, saying, "none of us expect to be in smooth water all our days" (50).   She admits to the confinement of a frigate, but notes that "any reasonable woman may be perfectly happy in one" (50, italics mine).   Meanwhile, Sir Walter cannot imagine life without "[journeys], London, servants, horses . . ." (10), and, for Elizabeth, "the sacrifice of one pair of horses would be hardly less painful than of both" (10).   Mrs. Croft thus highlights the Elliots' frivolousness.   The Crofts also illustrate Sir Walter's vanity, by moving his several looking glasses into storage, since Admiral Croft requires only one.   Similarly, Mrs. Croft exposes Mary's self pity, allowing us to co... ...ne Elliot as worthy not only of the noble relations of their family, but also of the superior culture of the Crofts.    Works Cited and Consulted Austen, Jane.   Persuasion.   1993.   Ware, Herts:   Wordsworth, 1996. Craik, W. A. Jane Austen in her Time. London: Nelson, 1969. DaDundo, Laura. "Jane Austen" Concise Dictionary of British Literary Biography. Vol. III. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1992. Harmon, William, and C. Hugh Holman. Handbook to Literature. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1986. Magill, Frank N., ed. English Novel: Richardson to Hardy. Pasadena: Salem Softbacks, 1980. Southam, Brian. "Jane Austen." British Writers. Vol. IV. Ed. Ian Scott-Kilvert. New York: Scribners, 1981. Tanner, Tony. "In Between: Persuasion." Persuasion. By Jane Austen. Ed. Patricia Meyers Spacks. New York: Norton and Co., 1995.   

What Makes Jack Welch an Effective Leader? Essay -- GCSE Business Mark

What Makes Jack Welch an Effective Leader? ---ideas from the article â€Å"Will Legacy Live On?† Before I talk about what makes Jack an effective leader, I want to explain briefly why I chose him as my study subject. Why do I like him? Jack Welch created a new model for business leaders everywhere. His genius leadership and management techniques are an example to anyone aspiring to a successful career. Why is he so famous? He became the youngest CEO and Chairman of one of America's biggest and most respected companies (General Electric) at age 44, and successfully rewrote the rules of what an incredibly profitable and successful company should be, and had fun in the process. What is leadership? To know what makes an effective leader, one must know what leadership is. According to our textbook, the definition of leadership is the ability to influence a group towards the achievement of goals. In this case, the group is General Electronic Corporation. For a big business empire like GE, obviously, the final goal is to make as much profit as it can to please its shareholders. Let’s see what the article describes about how Jack influences his team to achieve this goal: â€Å"Growing a company that was valued by the market at $13 billion when he took it over in 1981 to a behemoth worth more than $400 billion when he retired last year is what is called wealth creation – big time.† Without Jack, GE couldn’t have today’s accomplishment. What makes Jack be a leader? †¢ Personality According to the â€Å"trait theories of leadership† in the textbook, six traits have been identified as being consistently associated with leadership: 1) ambition and energy; 2) the desire to lead; 3) honesty and integrity; 4) self-confidence; ... ...world has become extremely fast and full of change. If the leader can’t adapt to changing conditions, it is very possible for his firm to be kicked out of the game. How can the firm change, though? The most effective way is to go through new ideas. Here, it reminders me Welch’s famous saying: "Change before you have to." †¢ Arts At last, I want to quote my favorite part in this article, which the following, Leadership is not a science. It’s not a recipe. It’s not the five rules about this or the six effective habits of that. It’s an art, and as Georges Braque wrote, the only thing that matters in art is the part that can’t be explained.† The only reason that I like this part is that I don’t need to apply any leadership theory here. My conclusion is that he is a very effective leader. If I were to become a successful CEO, I would follow his example.

Economic development in Saudi Arabia Essay

The topic about economic development has become contentious among many economists in the global scene. The paper focuses on economic development in Saudi Arabia. Discussion about the various concepts and theories about economic development has been introduced. An investigative approach has been applied in the analysis of the various factors affecting the economy of the country. All the theories and aspects of economic development identified have been integrated in the essay by providing a link between theory and practical aspects of the topic. The major emphasis is about the economy of Saudi Arabia (Bourland, para 5-9). Economic development is the establishment of new structures within an economy. Structural changes are brought about by the establishment of new infrastructures and programmes, for example; the condition of health and education in a country, population control policies, and many others. It is the expansion of both macroeconomic and microeconomic aspects of a country and does not focus only on the income of a country. Economic development is measured by the advancement of both private and public sectors in an economy (Arndt, pp. 457-466). Economic development is measured by the use of several parameters such as the improvement on the living standards of the people in a country, new infrastructures being introduced in an economy, increase in the national income and many other factors. Measuring economic growth by the use of one scale may become inefficient since there are many factors affecting the economy and its people. While assessing the aspects of economic development in a country, the main focus is on the long run status of the economy and the changes brought about by the government in a long period of time. Deviations are bound to happen in the short run; that is why the short run period is not adequate enough to measure the economic development of a country (Arndt, pp. 457-466). Background information about Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia covers a geographical area of 1,960,582 million sq. km. and has four cities; Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah and Dammam. The terrain of the country is mainly a desert with rugged mountains in the southwest. The country experiences an arid climate with extreme temperatures in the interior. At the coast there is high humidity and temperatures. The total population of the country is 28 million with an annual growth rate of 1. 9 percent. The main religion is Islam and the official language is Arabic. The country is known to be the home place of Islam. the culture of the country is conservative and strict Wahhabi interpretations of the laws of Islam are adhered to by the Muslims. The literacy levels have been estimated to be at an average of 78. 8 percent with a great difference between men and women (male 84. 7 percent while female 70. 8 percent). The workforce is composed of 6. 49 million people with 35 percent being foreign workers. Monarchy is the system of government in the country and the constitution is based on the Holy Qur’an (Bureau of Public Affairs, para. 1-4). The kings are selected from the royal family. The king then establishes the government and the ministers to serve in the government. Saudi Arabia has joined World Trade Organization recently to promote trade in the country. The country is also a member of OPEC (Bourland, para 41). Economic development of Saudi Arabia As per the 2008 statistics the economy of Saudi Arabia had a gross domestic product of $527 billion with an annual growth rate of 6. 1 percent. The natural resources of the country are â€Å"Hydrocarbons, gold, uranium, bauxite, coal, iron, phosphate, tungsten, zinc, silver, and copper† (Bureau of Public Affairs, para. 5). Agriculture accounts for a small percent of the economy of the country. The main industries in the country are â€Å"crude oil production, petroleum refining, basic petrochemicals, ammonia, industrial gases, sodium hydroxide (caustic soda), cement, fertilizer, plastics, metals, commercial ship repair, commercial aircraft repair, and construction. † According to Bureau of Public Affairs (para. 5) the exports of the country in 2008 were valued at $364 billion while the imports where valued at $103 billion. In 2009 the exports were worth $180. 5 billion; petroleum and petroleum products accounted for 90 percent of the total exports. The government has established international relations with many countries in the world (Bourland, para 17). U. S. is the leading importer of oil products from Saudi Arabia. In 2008 oil exports were sold as follows â€Å"US 17. 2%, Japan 15. 3%, South Korea 10. 2%, China 9. 4%, India 5. 9%, Taiwan 4. 6%, Singapore 4. 4%. † the country made imports worth $86. 61 billion in 2009. The main imports are machines, equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, automobiles, and textile products. As per the data collected in 2008 the import partners are â€Å"US 12%, China 10. 4%, Japan 7. 6%, Germany 7. 3%, South Korea 5. 1%, Italy 4. 7%, India 4. 5%, UK 4%† (Bourland, para 29). Oil is the dominant economic product produced by the country for local use and export. It accounts for more than 90 percent of the exports of the country and 75 percent of the revenues collected by the government. Oil was discovered in the 1930s and large scale exploitation of the resource was done after World War II. The economic development of the country has been achieved through the sale of oil products to many countries in the world. Saudi Arabia has the largest oil reserves in the world and is the leading producer and exporter in the world. The government has control over all the oil produced in the country (Bureau of Public Affairs, para. 14). The increasing oil prices have made Saudi Arabia achieve fast economic growth and development. The country has enjoyed surplus balance of deficit in trade with other countries. The revenues collected from trade in oil are used to strengthen the defense of the country, carry out development programmes and to assist other Arab and Islamic countries. Saudi Arabia has influenced OPEC to raise the oil prices. This increasing demand for petroleum products is creating a lot of revenues to the country and there have been many expansions in the industries in the country (Bureau of Public Affairs, para. 16). To increase access to many foreign markets the country joined World Trade Organization in 2005. The government has encouraged foreign direct investment in the country to expand most of its industries. The living standards of many people in the country have been uplifted by the income from the sale of oil and its products. The government plans to expand the economy while maintaining its traditional Islamic values and customs (Bureau of Public Affairs, para. 31). The surplus budget of the country has enabled the government improve the education system and job training to its citizens. The infrastructure of the country has been developed to improve the economic activities. The government provides good wages and salaries to its employees to promote the living standards of the people (Bourland, para 13). Saudi Arabia has successfully entered the business world. According to World Bank Group (para, 1-6) â€Å"the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been rated as the 13th most economically competitive country in the world, according to the International Finance Corporation (IFC)-World Bank annual â€Å"Doing Business† report issued for 2010. † The government has enacted several reforms in many sectors of the economy to open up the market of the country to external investors. This has attracted many investors and the country is experiencing rapid growth in the business sector. The country has been ranked as the best in terms of business activities in the entire Middle East as well as in the Arab World (Bureau of Public Affairs, para. 51). International relationship with other countries has been improved to maintain peace in the region and to avoid conflicts which may affect the economy of the country. The government has established several embassies with foreign countries. Saudi Arabia has maintained good relationship with US for a long period of time. The two countries have been trade partners and they exchange products as well as other resources. U. S. has been the major importer of oil products from the country. Europe and Japan have also been good trade partners with Saudi Arabia and trade has been facilitated through establishment of agreements and negotiations. To maintain peace in the region, the Saudia government funds security agents to keep peace in the neighboring countries as well as other Arab countries (Bureau of Public Affairs, para. 19-25). The good relationship between U. S. and Saudia government has promoted security in the country. For example, â€Å"the United States has sold Saudi Arabia military aircraft (F-15s, AWACS, and UH-60 Blackhawks), air defense weaponry (Patriot and Hawk missiles), armored vehicles (M1A2 Abrams tanks and M-2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles), and other equipment† (Bureau of Public Affairs, para 33-41). The Saudia armed forces is supported with weapons and training facilities by the U. S. government. The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers were used in the construction of military and civilian structures in the country. U. S. has promised to sell advanced defense military equipment to members of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). This is a strategy to improve self-defense of the members of GCC (Bureau of Public Affairs, para. 26-31). The economic development of Saudia continues to be affected by poor policies about human rights practices. Discrimination against women has remained a great challenge to the government. Ethnic and religious minorities are also not favored by the policies of the country. There are restrictions on freedom of speech and this has caused a global concern over the rights of the people to express themselves freely in the country. The press has been closely monitored by the government and strict rules have been placed to hinder spread of some information about the government. Several cases of abuse of prisoners have been reported as well as detention to citizens who are not guilty. Other human rights issues affecting the country are suppression of the rights of the workers, and the denial to change the government by the citizens. Since economic development is not only measured in terms of the GDP; the country is still lagging behind towards achieving success in the promotion of the economy (Bureau of Public Affairs, para. 32-40). The increasing population in the country is creating a great threat to the economy of the country. As the population increases more strain is placed upon the resources of the country. If the trend is not reversed the country will have inadequate resources to cater for the needs of its people. The excess control of the government to the private sector is creating threat to expansion of the private investments in the country. Foreign investors fear the strict policies established by the government upon the private investment. The system of the government also restricts growth and development of the economy since the kings come from the royal family. A democratic system of government is better since it encourages competition and good performance. Such a system increases the freedom of the people to express themselves and also provides rights to the citizens (Bourland, para 34). The global economic recession of 2007-2009 and its impacts on Saudi Arabia The economy of Saudi Arabia was affected by the global recession experienced by the world economies in 2007-2009. An estimated growth rate of -0. 6 percent in 2009 was achieved due to the poor performance of the global economies. 5 percent inflation rate was registered in the year 2009. Unemployment in the FY 2009 was estimated to be 11. 6 percent among Saudi males. The public debt of the country increased to 20. 3 percent in 2009 while the revenues declined to $167. 7 billion the same year. The public expenditure increased to $164. 3 billion in 2009. The economic recession can be traced from the subprime mortgages of the US. The banking sector in US issued many loans to subprime mortgage intermediaries. Due to the expanding market in the sub prime mortgage markets, many banks issued unsecured loans to the intermediaries. The climax of the boom was reached in 2007 when the prices of products started to increase and many subprime mortgage lenders were unable to repay their loans. This led to massive default of debts and banks registered huge losses. This reduced the lending capacity of many banks. The resulting effect was lack of credit in the economy and the collapse of many companies (Stapledon, pp. 29). Sub prime mortgages are policies which have a high risk of default. Subprime borrowers are the people with low incomes and have a poor credit history. They have higher risk of default compared to the prime borrowers. The US government had deregulated the real estate mortgages leading to massive investment in subprime mortgages. This caused the risky lending of subprime mortgages. The subprime mortgages were not popular initially but they became widely used in the 1990s. The climax of the sub prime mortgages was in 2006 when they accounted for more than 21 percent of all mortgages traded in the US market. The value of subprime mortgages in 2006 was valued at $600 billion. Many subprime mortgage intermediaries were established to reap the benefits of the expanding industry (Helleiner, pp. 44). Since the US is a major export partner to Saudi Arabia, a ripple effect of the economic crisis was felt in the country. Other economies were also affected and Saudi Arabia experienced declining exports for oil products. The imports purchased by the country were affected by global inflation and the country’s budget increased. Other economies declined since they had no market for their goods and Saudi Arabia reduced the oil exports. The entire world encountered economic crisis which resulted into failure by all sectors of the economy in the world (Stapledon, pp. 63). High levels of unemployment were experienced as industries closed down. International trade was affected by the economic crisis and this affected all sources of employment leading to high levels of unemployment. Poverty increased and the living standards of many people declined. Family incomes were low and the people barely survived through the hard economic period. The low incomes that people had could not buy the products in the market due to high rates of inflation. In the global economies, the crisis was at the peak in July 2008 but afterwards, it started to decline. The decline of the crisis started towards the beginning of 2009. The economy of Saudi Arabia has started to regain from the crisis. The economy has not yet recovered and a lot of investment is required to regain the normal economic situation as before. It will take a lot of time for the economy of the country to recover completely from the impacts of the crisis (Helleiner, pp. 35). Current strategies The government has introduced new strategies to promote economic recovery from the economic recession experienced in the recent past. The government of Saudi Arabia is encouraging private investors to extend investment in other sectors of the economy to avoid overdependence on oil. Only ten percent of the industries are non-oil manufacturing in Saudi Arabia. This sector provides employment to about six percent of the working population. This condition has been identified as risky and urgent measures have been adopted to reverse the trend especially after the global recession experienced in the country last year. The economic crisis affected the country due to over-dependence on oil as the main economic product. Other sectors have been neglected and this has created a major risk to the economy of the country. The government has permitted private and foreign investors to participate in telecom and power generation industries. Foreign direct investment has been encouraged by the government to increase the economic activities in the country as well as provide employment to more people (Bourland, para 38). Conclusion Economic development measures to changes in the structures, population, and the welfare of the people living in a country. The economy of Saudi Arabia has developed tremendously over the years due to the wealth of natural resources bestowed upon the country. Oil and other petroleum products are the main economic products produced and exported by the country. The country has established good relationship with other countries. It participates in trade with several countries. The government has offered assistance to neighboring countries and other Arab countries in terms of finances, peacekeeping and other aspects. The over-dependence on oil and petroleum products has placed the economy of the country at a great risk. Diversification in the economic activities has been encouraged to provide a better position in the turbulent global markets. Saudi Arabia has been adversely affected by the global economic crisis due to over-reliance on oil as the main economic product. The progress towards achieving success in economic development in the country has been hindered by the poor human rights practices experienced in the country. Work cited Arndt, H. W. Economic Development: A Semantic History. â€Å"Economic Development and Cultural Change. † Vol. 29, No. 3. (Apr. , 1981), pp. 457-466. Chicago: The Chicago University Press. Bourland, Brad. The Saudi Economy’s Golden Era: Phase Two. Saudi-US Relations Information Service. August 24, 2007. Brummer, A. â€Å"Turbulence Ahead; the Global Credit Crunch Has Hardly Begun to Bite: Much Worse Is to Come. Alex Brummer Predicts That 2008 Will Present Labor with by Far Its Sternest Economic Test†. New Statesman. Jan 7, 2008. Volume: 137. Issue: 4878. Bureau of Public Affairs. â€Å"Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. † Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. April 2010. Retrieved May 3, 2010 from; Stapledon, N. , â€Å"Housing and the Global Financial Crisis: US versus Australia. Economic and Labor Relations Review. July 2009Volume: 19. Issue: 2. World Bank Group, Doing Business. 2010. Retrieved May 3, 2010 from;