Women's Rights in voting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Women's Rights in voting - Essay Example Women have enough intellect to decide the kind of leader they want, one that will stand for this country. Denying women the right to vote is discriminatory. It is stealing away their voice, hushing them to the realities they face. However, I believe that one day; women will celebrate their victory in this. I believe that soon, liberation is coming for the womenfolk of this country. Men have chained women, and dominated over them today. Women attempting to vote are arrested, while men vote freely. I refuse to believe that men alone are capable of choosing good leaders. I stand up to challenge fellow women to stand up for their rights, and not languish under this psychological oppression. It is time for women to rise above male dominance today, and be advocates of their own rights. I believe in the future. Although voting is a crime for women today, I challenge all women not to despair, one day we will be smiling our way to the ballot box. One day, our daughters will choose the leaders of their choice. One day, women will rise above male chauvinism, taking up great leadership positions in this important country. No matter what, I believe, and see a day when this nation state will put the needs of women first. This is the day, manipulation of women and gender inequality will be history. This day, women will be heroes for the many challenges and oppressions of the past, which they have withstood. A little more patience and advocacy will bring us this

Democracy Is A Political System Politics Essay

Democracy Is A Political System Politics Essay Nowadays we can always hear the word democracy in everywhere. What is actually democracy. Democracy is a political system which involves multiparty elections, representative government and also freedom of speech. In other words, we can say that it is a form of government that the citizens are directly or indirectly participate in the state ruling. The citizens in democratic countries have the equality and freedom in social, religion, culture and economic. They are also allowed to elect the state representatives whom they more preferable through elections. Origins of democracy can be traced back to the Greek of sixth century B.C. The word originated from the combination of two Greek words, demos which means the people and kratein means to rule. This system was first appeared in the Greeks politics in the city state of Athens. Cleisthenes was the one who started this democratic system. He was known as the father of Athenian democracy. The Greeks seen dictatorship as the worst form of government, so they evolved to a totally opposite system which is democracy. The political system in Greek was the true perfect democracy in our worlds history. The Greeks civilization was broken down into smaller city-states with small population. The citizens were directly involved in the state government. The citizens were selected randomly to occupy the seats in government, judiciary offices and legislative assembly. They voted on all issues through regular assembly which means that they actually controlled the entire politics of their state. Although t his was a total democracy system, women and slaves were excluded from the system. They were not considered as the citizens and not allowed to vote. Male below 20 and foreigners were also not counted. The idea of democracy was implemented in the politics of Roman but with some different extent. The Roman Empire took the democracy concept from the Greeks government but they were representative democracy. Their system actually worked in the way which had representatives from the wealthy and noble families in the Senate and representatives from the commoners in the Assembly. The Roman Statesman, Cicero was one of the politicians who fond of democracy. In Athens, the right for individual was not secured by the Greeks constitution. In the ancient Greeks, there was no word for right. They were just enjoyed the liberties which not opposed to the government but also not subject themselves to the rules of another person. Cicero suggested that all people have certain rights that should be preserved. He and other political philosophers of the time taught that governmental and political power should come from the people. After the trend of democracy was started by the Greeks and carried on by the Romans, it has been seen in many later governmental systems throughout history. Today modern democracy imitates the Roman model more than the Greeks model as the people believe that there has to be an elected leader or representative. The democratic ideas in the Middle Ages were started to be understood by the people and instituted through Christian. Christianity taught the people that men are all equal. This thinking was deeply ingrained into the society of Middle Ages. In 1215 , the Magna Carta started a more democratic system in England. English Parliament was created, the written laws held a higher power than the king, thereby limiting the power of the Royal family and giving some of that power to the people. The power of Parliament increased in stages over the succeeding centuries. Parliament gradually gained more power until the monarch became largely a figurehead. In North America, the English Puritans who migrated from colonies in New England whose governance was democratic contributed to the democratic development of the United States. (Barr, Rankin, Baird) Most of the countries tend to be democratic due to several reasons. On the path to modern democracy, the American Revolution and the French Revolution were some of the major events. In America, the pursue of democracy was the Declaration of Independence in 1776 which was written by Thomas Jefferson. While in France, the people overthrew the king and set their right to liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression. In the following years, revolution began to rise up against monarchy and the democracy government started to develop all around the world. With the growing success of democracy in the United States and in other countries throughout the world, democracy became more and more popular. In this 21st century, there are 25 countries listed as full democracy according to Democracy Index 2011. The examples are United Kingdom, United States, New Zealand and so on. While there are another 53 countries are categorized under Flawed democracy such as Malaysia, Thailand, Slovakia and many others. Although democracy is said to be the best political system, there are still countries which practice authoritarianism or even totalitarianism due to the conditions of their countries. Many forms of Government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time, said by Winston Churchill during the speech in the House of Commons on 11th November 1947. One of the issues of democracy is freedom of assembly. Freedom of assembly is forming of associations and organizations gather together peacefully in order to protect their human right. Freedom of assembly is usually occurs as there are some displeasure among the people which have mutual interest and goals. There are some country like Canada, France, India, and United States allows their citizen have freedom of assembly. Under freedom of assembly, people have the right to having public meetings as it does not influence public safety and usually some fees is need in order to get the permits. By having the right to assembly, people can gather in a group sharing and debating on certain issue and exchanging their opinion as long as there are not create any disturbance to the society. (Smith) However, there also still have communist countries such as China, Laos, and North Korea except from given their citizen freedom of assembly. The political system in China is totally different from de mocracy as they are strongly emphasis on total control to their people. Therefore, there was group of people wishing to organize demonstration during the 2008 Summer Olympics. (Gammon, 2012) We have choose freedom of assembly to be discuss in our assignment as this topic seems to become one of the hot political issues discuss by the citizens and the same goes to politicians in our country as well as other countries. Our fourth prime minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad also gave his own opinion to the issue. There are few points to support his opinion. Government must liable to a minority group and same goes to majority group. When there is full freedom given to people will form issues on other will lose their freedom as they are encroached by the freedom one. Government will loss control their citizen as they are given fully freedom. Although it is good to giving the right for people assembly but it cannot use as a force to the government as it will influence the quality of decision they make. (Freedom of assembly should have limits, says Dr Mahathir, 2012) Although the citizens have the rights to assemble freely, there is also a law to restrict them. The Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 (PAA) is the law introduced on year 2012 in order to handle the demonstrations or public protest in Malaysia. (Lim, 2012). This Act contains 27 Sections and 4 Schedules to provide restrictions deemed necessary or expedient relating to the right to assemble peacefully and without arms in the interest of the security of the Federation or public order. This act has replaced the Section 27 of Police Act. The permit of police for mass assemblies is no longer needed. (Gathering in Peace, 2011) Maina Kiai, a Kenyan lawyer who is a United Nations of special rappoteur said that it is important to have freedom of assembly to give chance for the citizens to voice out their opinion. However, he criticized that the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) is more toward control instead of facilitating the assembly. (UN special rapporteur pans Peaceful Assembly Act, 2012). Besides, thi s PAA is being opposed by the Bar council, civil leaders and also the opposition. In Malaysia, there are few cases such as LYNAS and BERSIH relevant to the freedom of assembly. Same goes to other country like United States and Taiwan. In United States, there are thousands of people gathered in Wall Street, New York in order to oppose their government to protect their own economic interest as their government just support system reward for rich class people. Besides, there are demonstrations named Million Voices against Corruption, President Chen Must Go led by Taiwan politician, Shih Ming Te. The purpose of the protest is pressured the President Chen Shui Bian to resign due to the corruption. These cases will be further discuss in the following parts. 2.0 Rally In Malaysia 2.1 Case 1: Bersih 2.0 Bersih 2.0 also shows the individual right such as human right, political right and civil liberty. The  Bersih 2.0 rally was a demonstration that held at Kuala Lumpur on 9th July 2011 to protest for  free and fair elections. Bersih demonstration was agitated to build a better electoral system that will enable Malaysia to elect a better future leader. Bersih also known as Walk for Democracy. There were around 20,000 to 50,000 people attended the Bersih 20.0 rally. The rally was organised by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Election. Why did Bersih establish? What did they want and what were their objectives? There were 8 demands that claim by the Bersih. These demands have also become the objectives of Bersih that successfully injected into all Malaysians mindset. The 8 objectives were shown below: Clean the electoral roll The electoral roll is spoiled due to some irregularities such as deceased person or multiple persons registered under a single address. Therefore, the electoral roll must be updated from time to time. Next, Bersih 2.0 also demand that Election Commission (EC) to implement an automated voter registration system to prevent any irregularities. Reform postal ballot The current postal ballot has to be reformed to make sure that all nations are able to vote includes Malaysians citizen that living abroad, police, military and civil servants. Use indelible ink Indelible ink should be used in all elections to prevent voter fraud. In the past, voters may accidentally smudge the ballot paper with ink, and hence casing the ballot paper to be invalid. Other countries such as Afghanistan, Egypt and Iraq also practice using this kind of ink. Minimum 21 days campaign period A longer campaign are able to provide more time for voters to gather information, more time to consider and more time to vote. Free and fair excess to media Bersih 2.0 suggests that EC press on all media agencies such as radio, television, newspaper and magazine to promote the objectives for all parties. Strengthen public institution Public institutions must act independently, uphold laws and protect human rights as Malaysia is a democratic country. Stop corruption Bersih 2.0 insists to end corruption. The only way is serious action is taken against all allegation of corruption, such as vote buying. Stop dirty politics Bersih 2.0 demands to wipe out all dirty political parties and politicians in order to build a better society and country. 2.1.1 What were the governments views on this and what actions they have taken? On 2nd July 2011, Barisan Nasional government has announced that Bersih was an illegal organization because it is a convergence of Non-Government Organization (NGO) group whereby it formed by many registered group who come together and share the same agenda and purpose. Therefore, they were not allowed to do any demonstration. During that day, Malaysians polices claimed that they vowed to stop any illegal rallies in which without police permission. At first, Bersih planned to march through the streets of Kuala Lumpur with some propaganda such as Walk of democracy, We want fair democracy, We hate the Government, Say no to Corruption, Reformasi and others more, but then Bersih decided to congregate at Merdeka stadium to have a peaceful demonstration. No one was out to throw stones, burns cars and injuries which result in Bersih rally 1.0 in 2007. However, the protestors were still not able to gather successfully at Merdeka Stadium because many of the people were forced by the police who were heavily deployed throughout the city. Police act violently by arresting around 1,600 peaceful demonstrators, hurling tear gas and firing water canon directly towards protestors just to stop the Bersih 2.0 gathering in the stadium. There was a case that a 56-years-old man, which is a participant of Bersih 2.0 and also a protestor, collapsed near the Petronas Towel while fleeing tear gas and was announced dead later in hospital. Next, many protestors were beaten by the police and officers of the Federal Reserve Unit to suppress mass public assembly. It also found out that the police fired tear gas near the hospital compound which put the health of patient at risk. Bersih 2.0 results that almost all protestors arrested during 9th July 2011 now have been released without charge. But there are still 40 people facing prosecution. For those protestors who caught wearing Bersih T-shirts have been charged under Section 49 of the Societies Act for possession of illegal material. 2.1.2 Oppositions stand The opposition, Pakatan Rakyat which comprises Democratic Action Party (DAP), The Peoples Justice Party (PKR) and Parti Islam Malaysia (PAS) has expressed their approval to the Bersih 2.0. In their opinion, it is a new way for Malaysian to voice out their dissatisfaction on corruption and to tell the government not to rig the election again and again. Lim Guan Eng, the secretary-general of DAP said that DAP has reiterated its support to the Bersih 2.0s eight demands. Besides, DAP strongly condemned the actions and warnings by the government, especially Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur, to ban this peaceful sit-in protest by instilling fear of untoward incidents (Chooi, 2012). He also mentioned that it is time to ensure a bright and clean future for free from fear. Apart of this, PAS also gave their full support to the rallty. Their president, Datuk Seri Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang has urged all the party members to take part in the Bersih 2.0 for demanding a real free and fair election. Nearly all of the leaders from opposition parties joined the rally on 9th July but most of them were arrested on the spot. 2.1.3 NGOs stand Overall, there were 24 non-gvernment organizations (NGO) which expressed their objection towards Bersih because they felt that it may cause chaos. They also declared about the stubbornness of the organizer which backed by the opposition to involve in the demonstration. Some of the NGO that against Bersih include Yayasan Pendidikan Cheras (YPC), Persatuan Teksi Eksekutif Malaysia, Persatuan Penjaja Kuala Lumpur, Pertubuhan Suarakan Kehendak Rakyat Malaysia (Sedar) and Pertubuhan Gerakan Memartabat Pejuang Negara Malaysia. Next, the NGOs also submit a memorandum to the Home Ministry to act against the organizers who support Bersih. There is a case in Kampar, Perak where the president of Malaysian Youth Council (MYC) Mohamad Maliki Mohamed Rapiee claimed that the council would take action towards the members who take part in the gathering. We urge youths to guard against being influenced to participate in the gathering, he told the reporters. However, there are also some of the NGO which support Bersih. For example, All Womens Action Society (AWAM), Federation of Malaysian Indian Organisations (PRIMA), Persatuan hak asasi manusia (hakam) and Womens Aid Organisation.The participants that support Bersih are required to wear yellow clothes or yellow items. 2.1.4 The role of mainstream media The mainstream media which were controlled by the government have not focused their report on the rally. Like TV1, TV2 or TV3, it was very hard to find out the detail about the rally on their news, even the print media also hided some truths. It has made Malaysians disappointed and has felt the rate of media freedom was down-grading. 2.2 Case 2: anti-Lynas protest Another example which shows the individual right which includes human right, political right and civil liberty in Malaysia is Lynas cases. The Lynas Corporation Limited (LYC)  is a rare earth mining company from Australia. It mainly focused to become a global rare earths producer and supplier by focus on RED (Rare Earths Direct) branding. Their main asset is Mt Weld rare earths deposit in Western Australia. They digging the rare earth ore from ground at Mt Weld, then process a bit at Laverton and tricking to Fremantle. Lastly, it will be shipping to Gebeng Industrial Estate, Pahang, Malaysia. for the final process. The product, which means the rare earth oxides, will be selling to other country such as America. Why Malaysia has been chosen to be the destination to further process of the rare earth ore into rare earth oxide rather than in Australia? Actually, Lynas came to Malaysia is based on economic reasons and also its proximity to customers. The availability of cheap skilled and unskilled labour, chemicals and fresh water make the company choose Malaysia. It also makes better business sense to be close to global customer because they meet all the regulations and approval to build Lynas plant in Australia. 2.2.1 The reason of having rally Remove of radioactive element from the rare earth mineral by Lynas processing plant in Pahang can produce those electronics such as  iPhones, iPads, hybrid cars and wind turbines. In result, the remaining will become as a dangerous waste which resulting in a humongous amount of radioactive to be released in form of gas, liquid and solids. The bad effect all disposed in Malaysia, and cause nothing toward Australia country and thus make most of the Malaysian assemble to against the approval of government. This action makes a strong rebound from most of the Malaysia citizen. The trust of Malaysian towards government was spoiled and might cause political risk in Malaysia. Voters will tend to vote against the ruling party during election held every five years. Besides, Australians are becoming quietly  hated  by Malaysians. (Ryan, 2012) The aim of the anti-Lynas campaigns and demonstrations formed is most of the Malaysian want to expel Lynas out from Malaysia. On their opinion, this Lynas plant will bring a lot of bad effect which includes humans health and also destroy the environment. They stand out and assemble together to speak out their view and hope the government will be further consider about the built of a uncontrollable time bomb within the country. 2.2.2 Oppositions stand The Secretary-General of the Malaysian Democratic Action Party (DAP), Lim Guan Eng has opposed the build of Lynas. That the BN government has no hesitation to issue the TOL to Lynas even before the general election showed its commitment towards Lynas and profits over the peoples health, he said (Guan Eng: Vote out BN to shut Lynas plant, 2012). He claimed that the government did not concern about the bad effect for citizen that caused by this Lynas plant while just concern about the profit of the country gained. 2.2.3 The views of NGOs For some of the non-government organization which is involved in developing the states business and entrepreneurial sectors, they actually supported the approval of the government that allowed the Lynas built within the country (LYNAS PLANT: Study can silence opponents, 2011). It is because they were more concern about the economy of the country. They thought that the Lynas project did not have harmful health risks based on the evident from the feedback that have been received from local entrepreneurs which were involved in the plant from the start (Lim, 2012) . But for some other non-government organization, for example, Pusat Komunikasi Masyarakat (KOMAS), Center Policy Initiative (CPI) and Lawyers For Liberty (LFL), they opposed the Lynas by supporting the Save Malaysia Stop Lynas (SMSL) to immediately delay the license issued to Lynas and to limit any shipment of rare earth ore concentrate into Malaysia. 2.2.4 The governments actions The police usually use tear-gas grenade to deploy the protesters. The protesters really dissatisfied with the actions of the government that are trying to ignore and prevent them to resist the decision that they have made. They claimed that government has not listening to the people at all. 2.2.5 The effect of the rally As a result, the citizens have assembled for at least five times to oppose the build of Lynas plant. This create riot within Malaysia and it shows unstable of the country. But from other view, it shows that all the citizen have their right to oppose government decision. Citizens have their authority to evaluate the decision which make by the government. Is the Lynas plant will bring more advantages or disadvantages? This is an intricacy question for all of the Malaysian. Every people have their own view to make their decision. Citizen can speak out what they need, what they think and what they want. It is one of the characteristic of democracy country which strongly shows that the freedom of people. 3.0 Rally in foreign countries 3.1 Freedom of assemble in United States The right of the people peaceably to assemble for the purpose of petitioning Congress for a redress of grievances, or for anything else connected with the powers or the duties of the National Government, is an attribute of national citizenship, and, as such, under the protection of, and guaranteed by, the United States. The very idea of a government, republican in form, implies a right on the part of its citizens to meet peaceably for consultation in respect to public affairs and to petition for a redress of grievances.  (Supreme Court, United States v. Cruikshank, 1876) .In America, governments are accepting the people to have freedom of speech and religion; they have the rights or freedom of assembly to voice their opinion out to the government. They have rights to resist the commands of government they deem wrong or unreasonable. In United States, government officials cannot prohibit all demonstrations in public forums during controversial events. Police only can have a protecti on to avoid the violence happen during the event for the interest of public. The official cannot refuse the constitutional rights for protesting on public streets, public parks, and other public venue. People can have a demonstration outside a federal courthouse but the leader needs to discuss their plan with the U. S. Marshall. This shows US country is democratic to accept the view of citizen. The government may not restrict the actual content of speech place, and manner of speech. When the people face by law enforcement, they still need to obey their orders even people believe their action is improper. In large protest activity, people can have fair legal observers to be present. Legal observers cannot participate in the demonstration, but they only can go under some action by demonstrators and by law enforcement. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The right to peaceable assembly is a right cognate to those of free speech and free press and is equally fundamental. (Supreme Court,  De Jonge v. Stat e of Oregon, 1937). Assembly is a way that people show support for an idea or dispute from the government. America that support the democracy not only promote for people freedom or worker right, it also create a more stable and blooming arena which United State can get its national interest. Citizen creates a non-government organization (NGO) or interest group loyal to single issues. The NGO will be an effective way to focus people interest in the country. The group use to demand something and politicians generally listen. 3.1.1 Tea Party movement (USA) For example, tea party movement in United State is one of the organizations or parties represent the voice of people. They try to oppose the high taxation, immigration and government intervention in private sector. Speaking by the floor of Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Santelli heatedly stated that the bailout would subsidize the losers mortgages and proposed a Chicago Tea Party to protest government intervention in the housing market. Tea party uses the power of social media such as Facebook to coordinate the protest event. This prove that the country is under the free mass media, people can have their individual right to share the information or news about protest government. The first action of tea party movement was a nationwide series of assembly on April 15, 2009, more than 250,000 people take part this protest event. Tea means Taxed Enough Already. All the party members at congressional town hall meetings to protest the proposed reforms to the American health care system. 3.1.2 Occupy Wall Street American people are trying to against the financial mafia that taken their country and protect their own economic interest by taking people welfare and lives. They are fight for truth democracy, people empowerment, an equality and fair society. Citizen in United State voice the dissatisfied that they have keep in silence for long. Citizens hope their government can have a real change that they can believe in, the right of people are not trampled under the feet of money and power-wielding financial elite of the Wall Street silk. The movement, thousands of people gathered on September 17 in Wall Street, New York which is the centre of American banking and finance industry started the Occupy wall Street . The movement has now spread to other cities across the United States and inside the U.S. and across the world has got the attention of people. The system of government that unfair and unjust to the citizen cause they feel despair toward the government. In economics of US, the system an d government only support system reward the people in super rich class and ignore the middle class and the poor. The inequality of national wealth distribution and people income in United State are worse than other country. Since 2008, economic condition of USA has a sharp turn for worse. The middle class of American are stay in high rate of unemployment, rising cost of living and decreasing incomes. The political system of American increasingly failing short of challenge of the time and this cause the government cannot give an effective solution to the problem that face by American and America. For example, Obamas job creation plan which broke to pieces as a result of the Republican-Democrat animosity. The high unemployment level in United State cause destruction of people, families and some Americans who cannot even afford their daily food spend. American people against the financial mafia because the acknowledged fact is that the growth and rise in power of finance capital over the years particularly in the U.S. has meant that the whole economies and societies have been taken hostage by a predatory financial oligarchy. In Middle East, people are against their oppressive dictatorships. In United State, their government, economic, society and their very lives are taken as a hostage and this are now against by people. They are fight for individual right, social and economic equality. 3.1.3 Non- government organization stance toward the America protest activity U.S. and international NGOs (non-government organization) actually represent every conceivable political cause, religion, social issue, and interest group. About 1.5 million NGO operate in United State. NGO in America are engage in some activity such as election, women rights and economic development. NGOs always feel they cannot ignore the immediate practical problems of people in their policy domain. Human rights NGOs and womens NGOs will end up having programs to assist the victims of discrimination and injustice. Some of the NGO are support people to have rights of protest government activity. For example, the tea party government also involved the Occupy Walk Street to support the people fight for their economic interest. 3.1.4 Effect of media to protest activity Media is one of the things that can influence the democracy of America. Ask by a sociologist Herbert Gans, What can Journalists actually do for American Democracy? the point of journalism to journalist is an important thing to democracy. The role of democratic journalist is to inform citizen and allow more citizen participate politically because the more participate of citizen will come out a more democracy country. The journalist only can show the truth of politic to the citizen. But the tea party in the United State is criticizing the media of country try to coverage the Occupy Wall Street protest activity. Media are try to ignore negative point of the Occupy Wall Street protests while it play up suspicious charges against conservative activists last year. The co-founders of the Tea Party Patriots Mark Mecker say that when the tea party protest begins, they are ridicule, ignored and attack by the media. Media are using Astroturf, fringe, racists and Nazis word to describe them. Fro m this event, we can know that sometime United State also will have a limit freedom of media because they want to cover the bad image of America to other country or citizen. 3.2 The Million Voices against Corruption, President Chen Must Go protest in Taiwan In Taiwan, there was a protest named Million Voices against Corruption, President Chen Must Go in 2006 which led by Shih Ming Te, the former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman, to pressure President Chen Shui Bian to resign due to corruption. President Chen and the DPP came to power in 2000 promising reform and an end to money politics, or black gold, after more than half a century of one party rule by the Kuomintang (Gluck, 2006). However, lots of his supporters were disappointed as there are scandals that indicated his son-in-law, Chao Chien Ming, was accused of insider trading. The same year, his wife, Wu Shu Chen, was charged with corruption and forgery. It was proven that she had wired $21million in campaign funds to banks in Singapore, Switzerland and the Cayman Islands, There were charges that Chen himself had misused his authority as well (the Editors of Publications International, 2007). 3.2.1 Peoples responses The mass protest was obviously fully backed up by Taiwanese. It can be seen when Shih has decided to launch a fundraising campaign to finance for the rally, a lot of people gave their quick response and donated a symbolic NT$100 as requested. Within six working days, more than a million people signed up to support him (Gluck, 2006). The speed and scale are surprised to everybody, including Shih. On 9 September 2006, the rally started in front of the Presidential Building. The protesters dressed in red to highlight their anger, gestured thumb down and chanted Ah Bian step down! to show their disapproval and dissatisfaction. The organizers said that more than 200,000 people had joined the rally but the police put the number at 90,000. They also said that the protest was the first mass grassroots movement to remove a president that had not been organized by ma

War in Iraq :: Politics Political History Government Essays

War in Iraq Introduction In 1979, President Bakr resigned under pressure from Hussein, who then became president. Immediately after his succession, Hussein called a Baath Party meeting and had all of his opposition systematically murdered. As president, Hussein continued to reinforce his power base by enlarging security forces and employing family members in the government. One 1984 analysis indicated that 50 percent of Iraqis were either employed by the government or military or had a family member who was -- thus making the population intimately connected to and dominated by Hussein. For the past two decades, Hussein has tyrannically ruled Iraq. He started a war with Iran, and his invasion of Kuwait led to the Persian Gulf War. While his abuses are widespread, opposition groups receive little popular support, and uprisings have been minor and easily squelched. Fear of reprisals forced nearly unanimous positive votes for Hussein in the 1995 and 2002 referendums on the presidency. In addition, many in the Middle East seem to believe that if Hussein is deposed the country will break into pieces, leading to more problems in the already troubled region. Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) Gulf War I The Iran-Iraq War permanently altered the course of Iraqi history. It strained Iraqi political and social life, and led to severe economic dislocations. Viewed from a historical perspective, the outbreak of hostilities in 1980 was, in part, just another phase of the ancient Persian-Arab conflict that had been fueled by twentieth-century border disputes. Many observers, however, believe that Saddam Hussein's decision to invade Iran was a personal miscalculation based on ambition and a sense of vulnerability. Saddam Hussein, despite having made significant strides in forging an Iraqi nation-state, feared that Iran's new revolutionary leadership would threaten Iraq's delicate SunniShia balance and would exploit Iraq's geostrategic vulnerabilities--Iraq's minimal access to the Persian Gulf, for example. In this respect, Saddam Hussein's decision to invade Iran has historical precedent; the ancient rulers of Mesopotamia, fearing internal strife and foreign conquest, also engaged in freque nt battles with the peoples of the highlands. Iraq and Iran had engaged in border clashes for many years and had revived the dormant Shatt al Arab waterway dispute in 1979. Iraq claimed the 200-kilometer channel up to the Iranian shore as its territory, while Iran insisted that the thalweg--a line running down the middle of the waterway--negotiated last in 1975, was the official border. The Iraqis, especially the Baath leadership, regarded the 1975 treaty as merely a truce, not a definitive settlement.

Precepts of the Ibm Essay

Theory Getting the Best From all Team Members (Also known as LMX or Vertical Dyad Linkage Theory) Meaning of LMX This situation is at the heart of the Leader-Member Exchange Theory. This theory, also known as LMX or the Vertical Dyad Linkage Theory, explores how leaders and managers develop relationships with team members; and it explains how those relationships can either contribute to growth or hold people back. Intro to LMX Understanding the Theory The Leader-Member Exchange Theory first emerged in the 1970s. It focuses on the relationship that develops between managers and members of their teams. The theory states that all relationships between managers and subordinates go through three stages. These are: Role-Taking. Role-Making. â€Å"Routinization. † Let’s look at each stage in greater detail. 1. Role-Taking Role-taking occurs when team members first join the group. Managers use this time to assess new members’ skills and abilities. 2. Role-Making New team members then begin to work on projects and tasks as part of the team. In this stage, managers generally expect that new team members will work hard, be loyal and prove trustworthy as they get used to their new role. The theory says that, during this stage, managers sort new team members (often subconsciously) into one of two groups. In-Group – if team members prove themselves loyal, trustworthy and skilled, they’re put into the In-Group. This group is made up of the team members that the manager trusts the most. Managers give this group most of their attention, providing challenging and interesting work, and offering opportunities for additional training and advancement. This group also gets more one-to-one time with the manager. Often, people in this group have a similar personality and work-ethic to their manager. Out-Group – if team members betray the trust of the manager, or prove that they’re unmotivated or incompetent, they’re put into the Out-Group. This group’s work is often restricted and unchallenging. Out-Group members tend to have less access to the manager, and often don’t receive opportunities for growth or advancement. . Routinization During this last phase, routines between team members and their managers are established. In-Group team members work hard to maintain the good opinion of their managers, by showing trust, respect, empathy, patience, and persistence. ##can be used for outcome that effect the organization Out-Group members may sta rt to dislike or distrust their managers. Because it’s so hard to move out of the Out-Group once the perception has been established, Out-Group members may have to change departments or organizations in order to â€Å"start over. Once team members have been classified, even subconsciously, as In-Group or Out-Group, that classification affects how their managers relate to them from then on, and it can become self-fulfilling. For instance, In-Group team members are often seen as rising stars and the manager trusts them to work and perform at a high level. This is also the group that the manager talks to most, offering support and advice, and they’re given the best opportunities to test their skills and grow. So, of course, they’re more likely to develop in their roles. This also holds true for the Out-Group. The manager spends little, if any, time trying to support and develop this group. They receive few challenging assignments or opportunities for training and advancement. And, because they’re never tested, they have little chance to change the manager’s opinion. Using the Theory You can use the Leader-Member Exchange Theory to be aware of how you perceive members of your own team. To do this, follow these steps: 1. Identify Your Out-Group Chances are, you know who’s in your Out-Group already. Take a moment to note their names down. Next, analyze why these people have fallen â€Å"out of favor. † Did they do something specifically to lose your trust? Do they exhibit bad behavior at work? Are they truly incompetent, or do they have low motivation? Analyze what they’ve actually done, and compare the facts with your perceptions. Do these match, or have you (perhaps subconsciously) blown things out of proportion? 2. Reestablish the Relationship It’s important that, as the leader, you make a reasonable effort to reestablish a relationship with Out-Group team members. Research published in the Leadership Quarterly journal in 1995 showed that team members who have high quality relationships with their leader have higher morale, and are more productive than those who don’t. So you, and your organization, can benefit from creating a better relationship. Keep in mind that this group will likely be wary of any attention or support from you; after all, they may not have had it in the past. First, meet each team member one-on-one. Take the time to find out if they’re happy with their job. What are their career goals? What can you do to make their work more challenging or engaging? A one-on-one meeting can also help you identify that person’s psychological contract with you – that is, the unspoken benefits they expect from you, as their leader. If they’re in the Out-Group, they may feel that the psychological contract has been broken. You also need to discover what truly motivates them. Use McClelland’s Human Motivation Theory or Herzberg’s Motivators and Hygiene Factor Theory to find out what drives them to succeed. Once you’ve had a chance to reconnect with your team members through one-on-one meetings, do what you sensibly can to continue to touch base with them. Practice management by walking around, or drop by their office to see if they need help on projects or tasks. Work on getting to know these team members on a personal level. 3. Provide Training and Development Opportunities Remember, the biggest advantage to the Leader-Member Exchange Theory is that it alerts you to the preference you might unconsciously – and possibly unfairly – be showing some team members; this allows you to offer all of your team members appropriate opportunities for training, development, and advancement. Your Out-Group team members may benefit from a mentoring or coaching relationship with you. You may also want to provide them with low risk opportunities to test and grow their skills. Use task allocation strategies to make sure you’re assigning the right task to the right person. Also, take our Bite-Sized Training session, Setting Goals for Your Team, to learn how to set effective and realistic goals for these team members. You can also use the Nine-Box Grid for Talent Management to re-assess their potential from time to time, and to give them the right development opportunities. LMX Theory ;amp; Organizational Effectiveness: ##from http://www. technofunc. com/index. php/leadership-skills/leadership-theories/item/leader-member-exchange-theory-lmx-theory LMX theory is directly related to organizational effectiveness as the quality of leader–member exchanges relate to positive outcomes for leaders, followers, groups, and the organization in general. More In-Group members means high-quality leader–member exchanges and that results in less employee turnover, more positive performance evaluations, higher frequency of promotions and greater organizational commitment. – Learn more at www. technofunc. com. Your online source for free professional tutorials. Info from†¦pdf The relationship Between Leader-member Exchange(LMX) motivated to support rather than resist the influence attempt. Conversely, employees in low LMX relationships are accustomed to antagonistic behaviors and may view consultation tactics as insincere and motivated by opportunistic intentions. For example, leaders with poor reputations who engage in supportive behaviors are viewed as self- serving and insincere. Similarly, for employees in low LMX relationships, a manager’s use of consultation tactics may be perceived as self-serving attempts to gain employee favor, or even to highjack employee ideas, rather than as an attempt to improve the change initiative. Such perceptions would likely cause these influence attempts to backfire and prompt employees to resist the influence attempt. It is likely that the contribution aspect of the leader–member relationship (which reflects the amount of effort expended toward mutual goals) will be a stronger predictor of citizenship behavior than will loyalty and professional respect, in part because citizenship behavior reflects effort expended beyond one’s normal role requirements (Illes, Nahrgana, and Morgeson, 2007). iffers from other leadership theories by its focus on the dyadic relationship and the unique relationships leaders develop with each follower (Gerstner ;amp; Day, 1997; Liden, Sparrowe, ;amp; Wayne, 1997). Strong LMX relationships are characterized by support, mutual trust, respect, and liking (Graen ;amp; Uhl-Bien, 1995). Interactions between employees and managers in strong LMX relationships typically reinforce positive affect and strengthen the relationship bond (Fairhur st, 1993). Such relationships include the exchange of material and nonmaterial goods that extend beyond what is specified in the formal job description (Liden et al. , 1997; Liden ;amp; Graen, 1980). This relationship has important implications for Biomedical Informatics technicians and vendors because at high levels of relationships, there is less resistance to change and use of sanctions also seems inconsistent with past behavior (Frust ;amp; Cable, 2008). The LMX model suggests that leaders do not use the same style or set of behaviors uniformly across all members. Instead, unique relationships or exchanges develop with each member. These exchanges range from low to high quality. In addition, the theory contends that a supervisor will develop different quality exchange relationships with each of his or her subordinates which remain relatively stable over time. Employees with high-quality exchanges have been referred to as in the â€Å"in-group† and those with low-quality exchanges as in the â€Å"out-group. In strong LMX relationships, employees are more likely to be involved and provide information needed for task accomplishment. These employees should be LMX and CMX Theory 6 An alternative approach to understanding a leaders’ influence on individual follower or subordinate effectiveness is through the focus on dyadic relationships between leaders and each of their subordinates (Dansereau et al. , 1975). Originally ter med vertical dyad linkage (Dansereau et al. , 1975), leader–member exchange theory LMX and CMX Theory 5

Definition of Middle Income Trap Essay

As the name implies, the middle income trap is an economic development situation, where a country which attains a certain income (due to given advantages) will get stuck at that level. Part of this concept was firstly discussed in the 2006 World Bank report ‘Equity and development’ as the ‘inequity trap’. But this report does not state very clearly on the definitions, classifications and measures to avoid it, etc. Then in the famous 2007 World Bank report ‘An east Asian Renaissance’, this economic phenomenon was officially addressed. According to the latest definition of The International Monetary Fund in 2013, the ‘middle-income trap’ is the phenomenon of hitherto rapidly growing economies stagnating at middle-income levels and failing to graduate into the ranks of high-income countries (2013 The International Monetary Fund Working Paper: Growth Slowdowns and the Middle Income Trap). From the publications and journal articles, it seems there has not been universal and very concrete understanding on the details of this issue yet. For example, different researchers and even different journalist may have different classifications on it based on various standards. However, the principles applied are similar. The most recent World Bank classification with data for 2010 is as following: a country is classified as low-income if its GNI (Gross National Income) per capita is US$1,005 or less, lower-middle-income if its GNI per capita lies between US$1,006 and US$3,975, upper-middle-income if its GNI per capita lies between US$3,976 and US$12,275, and high income if its GNI per capita is US$12,276 or above. This classification was also used by The International Monetary Fund in its working paper in 2013: Growth Slowdowns and the Middle Income Trap. After the International Monetary Fund applies this classification to its sample of 138 countries in 2010, the result yields 24 low-income countries, 36 lower middleincome countries, 33 upper middle-income countries, and 45 high-income countries (2013 The International Monetary Fund Working Paper: Growth Slowdowns and the Middle Income Trap). It’s very clear that most of the countries are still in the situation of low income or middle income. In addition, middle income  countries are much more than low income countries, which ensure us that it is make sense to pay more attention to the countries in the middle income situation. In recent years the world turned to recognize the existence of a Middle Income Trap. The term Middle Income Trap is by now also being widely used in economic literature as well as businessoriented media. The Middle Income Trap occurs when the growth of an economy slows and eventually flattens after it reaches a middle income level. The problem usually arises when developing countries ï ¬ nd themselves stuck in between high and low income levels. On the one hand, with rising wages, middle income countries are less competitive compared to lessdeveloped, low-wage countries in terms of the cheap production of manufactured goods. On the other hand, they are unable to compete with developed cou ntries in terms of high-skill innovations. As the Asian Development Bank describes, these countries cannot â€Å"compete with low-income, low-wage economies in manufacturing† and similarly are disadvantaged against advanced economies in high-skill innovations†. In another word, these countries cannot continue to compete on cost for cheap goods, and they cannot yet compete on quality for more sophisticated items. Let us have a deeper look at this economic phenomenon. When low-income countries first begin to take off, they often do take the advantage of a low-wage. This allows the country’s manufacturers to offer competitive prices on the global market, since they have a lower cost base. However, as economic growth rates and productivity rise quickly, rapid wage increases tend to follow. Thus the trap is generally characterized by the fact that rising wages eventually begin to eat into the competitiveness that low-base wages originally offered. Once economies get closer to the development frontier, the growth model will become more complex. It is increasingly determined by innovation, investment in more sophisticated technologies and through the raising of the level and quality of education, notably secondary and higher education of the potential labor force. Among these factors, it must be noted that education dose matter. In addition, the second education is more important than the ge neral education. Lower level of education in the majority of the labor force definitely leads to insufficient qualified  workers. The risks of falling into the Middle Income Trap have increasingly become a focus of discussions in terms of the long-term economic and social development of developing economies. These risks, and how to minimize them, are being discussed at the highest levels of policy making in some of the fast growing emerging economies, even while these countries may still be sources of envy to the rest of the world, such as China, Russia and India. Countries in the trap and how to avoid the middle income trap As we mentioned above, due to a variety of factors, many countries risk getting stuck in this trap. According to the International Monetary Fund, most notably, several Latin American economies, at least until recently, would seem to belong in this category, having failed to achieve highincome levels despite attaining middle-income status several decades ago (2013 The International Monetary Fund Working Paper: Growth Slowdowns and the Middle-Income Trap). Actually it has been well accepted that countries across Latin America as well as the several Middle East economies saw catch-up growth in the 1960s and 1970s but then they hit an invisible ceiling and have mostly stuck in the â€Å"middle income trap† ever since, with per capita incomes far behind the rare â€Å"break-out† countries. Most of the evidence on the middle-income trap comes from these economies of Latin America and the Middle East. These are regions abundant in land and natural resources. They have had growth during commodity booms, often followed by growth crashes when commodity prices drop sharply. In Eva Paus’s article about the Latin America’s middle-income trap, she points out that the accumulation of technological capabilities is at the heart of the development process. Technological capabilities refer to the resources and organizational abilities needed to generate and manage technological change. In a changing national and global context, accumulation those capabilities is the key to sustained productivity growth and high-end economic development. She also mentioned Policymakers should promote entrepreneurship and innovation to begin reaping the benefits of information networks and skilled labor before the gains from cheap labor and knowledge  spillovers are exhausted. Nowadays people are more studying on Asian countries with more both low income and middle income countries. Through the evidence from countries already stuck in middle income trap and the current research in Asia, people could not only forecast the future in terms of economic development, but also make the policy maker to develop the suitable measures to avoid the trap. We could take a look at the middle-income Asian economies for our further investigation. There are eight countries that stand out in East and South Asia: the ASEAN-5 (Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam), China, India and Sri Lanka. But they are at very different levels of development. They could be divided into ‘high middle-income’ and ‘low middleincome’ groups. Malaysia is at the top of the high middle-income group. Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, India and Sri Lanka are in the low middle-income group. China and Thailand are roughly in the middle. As we will discuss China in every detail later, let us take Indonesia as an example. According to the Asian Development Bank, Indonesia could be the case of the country in the middle-income trap. It became a middle-income economy in 2003. It actually attained middle-income status in 1993, but fell back after the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. It took six years to jump back to the middle income level. Now it needs to battle the â€Å"middle-income trap†. Indonesia is not unique to this problem. Regardless the different external international economic environment, many middle-income countries are without a viable high-growth strategy. They are faced with new challenges, including social cohesion, a large pool of young people in search of jobs, as well as millions who still live in misery and poverty. Typically, countries trapped at middle-income level have: (1) low investment ratios; (2) slow manufacturing growth; (3) limited industrial diversification; and (4) poor labor market conditions. The Asian Development Bank in its 2011 report ‘Asia 2050: Realizing the Asian Century’ raised the question that considering that the region has to face up to the daunting  opportunity that lies before it, how many countries will meet this challenge? The answer is still unclear. Given this reality and uncertainties about the future the report postulates two quantitative scenarios with very different outcomes. Most of the discussion in the report is based on the optimistic Asian Century scenario. This scenario assumes that the 11 economies (Armenia; Azerbaijan; Cambodia; P.R.China; Georgia; India; Indonesia; Kazakhstan; Malaysia; Thailand; and Viet Nam) with a demonstrated record of sustained convergence to best global practice over the past 30 years or so continue this trend over the next 40 years and that a number of modest-growth aspiring economies will become convergers by 2020. In this scenario, Asia will take its place among the ranks of the affluent on  par with those in Europe today; some3 billion additional Asians will become affluent by 2050. This is the desired or ideal scenario for Asia as a whole.  The Middle Income Trap scenario assumes that these fast-growing converging economies fall into that trap in the next 5 – 10 years, without any of the slow- or modest-growth aspiring economies improving their record; in other words, Asia follows the pattern of Latin Ameri ca over the past 30 years. This is the pessimistic scenario and could be taken as a wake-up call to Asian leaders. According to this report by the Asian Development Bank, there will be a huge difference in the outcomes of the two scenarios. The economic and social costs of missing the Asian Century are staggering. If today’s fast-growing converging economies become mired in the Middle Income Trap, Asia’s GDP in 2050 would reach only $65 trillion, not $174 trillion (at market exchange rates). GDP per capita would be only $20,600, not $40,800 (PPP). Such an outcome would deprive billions of Asians of a lifetime of affluence and well-being. The possibility of a â€Å"perfect storm† cannot be ruled out in thinking about Asia through 2050. A combination of bad macro policies, finance sector exuberance with lax supervision, conflict, climate change, natural disasters, changing demography, and weak governance could jeopardize Asian growth. In this worst case scenario, Asia could stumble into a  financial meltdown, major conflict, or region wide chaos well before 2050. It is impossible to quantify this scenario, but Asia’s leaders must be aware of the potential for such a catastrophe and avoid it at all costs. By contrast, several East Asian economies have in recent decades provided a template for success to get out of the trap and continue to grow rapidly after attaining middle-income status, and thereby attaining per capita income levels comparable to advanced countries (2013 the International Monetary Fund Working Paper: Growth Slowdowns and the Middle-Income Trap). So far, five Asian countries or regions have successfully escaped the middle-income trap, which are Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. What do we need to do to follow them? There is no uniform policy solution for avoiding the middle-income trap. South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore have made the transition to advanced ec onomies. As noted by the Economist 2013, even still little is known about why so few countries succeed in making the transition from middle-income to high-income status, however, it’s clear that their paths were different but they shared a willingness and ability to change course. To better understand this question ‘How did these east Asian countries escape the middle income trap’ and find the answer, it will be very useful for us to go back to the World Bank’s landmark report â€Å"The East Asian Miracle†, which was published in 1993. It has analyzed the catch-up growth of the several East Asian Tigers, and some of its conclusions are relevant to the middleincome trap. Its foremost conclusion was that it is vital to ‘get the basics right’: macroeconomic stability, relatively low distortions to domestic competition, openness to external trade, flexible labor markets, and investment in hard infrastructure as well as education. On the other hand, w e could analyze both low-income Asian countries and high-income Asian countries to further evaluate the situation in middle-income Asian economies which include China. For low income Asian countries like Cambodia, Nepal, etc., to get the basics right must still be the top – we may even include the less developed states in China and India. These countries and regions should be in the business of catch-up growth, which comes from maximum mobilization of capital and labor inputs, and large productivity gains from efficient resource reallocation. This is what Prof. Paul Krugman calls growth through ‘perspiration’. At the  other extreme, for high income Asian economies, from Japan down to Singapore, has to rely on ‘output-led,’ productivity- and innovation-based growth. This is what Prof. Paul Krugman calls growth through ‘inspiration’. To get the basics right is still important – note that Japan is hurtling in the opposite direction with wildly profligate fiscal and monetary policies. But this has to be complemented with more sophisticated structural and institutional reforms. These â€Å"second generation† reforms (sophisticated structural and institutional reforms) have to go beyond liberalization of product markets to encompass deregulation of factor markets (for land, labor and capital). They must also include opening up of services sectors, upgrading â€Å"soft infrastructure†, and improving the quality of public administration, regulatory agencies and judicial systems. Among them, being part of â€Å"soft infrastructure†, higher education and skills are of the most important factors. So what about middle income countries â€Å"in between†? They need a mix of getting the basics right and second generation reforms. But the balance should differ as between high middle income and low middle income countries. For example, high middle-income countries need to crack on with structural and institutional reforms for productivity-based growth. This also applies to China (especially its coastal provinces). Moreover, in a recent report of International Monetary Fund, economists suggest four ways to avoid that: 1. Invest in infrastructure. The International Monetary Fund analysis suggests that subpar infrastructure is a key factor that can check an emerging economy’s growth. India, the Philippines and Thailand are particularly exposed in this area and should focus on building new and upgrading existing public transit systems, freight channels, ports and energy infrastructure. 2. Guard against excessive capital inflows. Money flows from abroad can energize an economy and give domestic consumption a boost, but can send an economy south if investors retreat in a hurry. Policy makers should have macro-prudential controls in place to mitigate potential rapid outflows, according to the International Monetary Fund. 3. Boost spending on research and development and post-secondary education. Both are needed to foster the innovation that’s a hallmark of advanced economies. According to the International Monetary Fund data, Malaysia and Thailand have the highest college enrollment rates among emerging Asian countries. However, China is rapidly catching up. China far outstrips other developing Asian countries on R&D, with 2009 spending at more than 1.5% of GDP. 4. Get more women into the workforce and raise the retirement age. Aging population is a problem in a lot of Asian countries. Governments should take actions to reduce â€Å"dependency ratios† by raising the age when workers are eligible for pensions and encouraging girls to enter university and vocational training. Anyway, avoiding the Middle Income Trap entails identifying strategies to introduce new processes and find new markets to maintain export growth. Ramping up domestic demand is also important—an expanding middle class can use its increasing purchasing power to buy highquality, innovative products and help drive growth. The biggest challenge is moving from resource-driven growth that is dependent on cheap labor and capital to growth based on high productivity and innovation. This requires investments in infrastructure and education. As the several East Asian countries has proven, building a high-quality education system which encourages creativity and supports breakthroughs in science and technology is the key. As Asian countries have approached or are approaching the technological frontier, the role of education does matter a lot. Many Asian countries have noted for their commitment to improve the quality of their education, and already have some of the highest educational attainments in the world. Yet the fiscal and institutional challenges to lifting educational performance in the way that is needed to sustain economic growth is another thing altogether. The success or failure in that will be a major determinant of whether Asia fulfils the expectations of its long-term economic growth. Looking at China Many observers believe China’s amazing growth is nearing its limits. A joint report by the World Bank and China’s Development Research Centre has warned that the low-hanging fruit of statedriven industrialization is largely exhausted. According to this joint report, ‘If countries cannot increase  productivity through innovation, they find themselves trapped. China does not have to endure this fate’. This report emphasized that China has reached another turning point in its development path when a second strategic, and no less fundamental, shift is called for. For China, it can no longer rely on imported technology to keep up robust growth of averaging 9.9 percent since the economy was open in 1978. The report said China’s growth of economy will slow to 7 percent later this decade and even 5 percent by the late 2020s even if China does not perform deep reform. However, this report also point out, if everything goes smoothly, China will be a â€Å"high-income† economy by 2030 and perhaps as dominant as Britain in 1870 or the United States in 1945, or indeed as flourishing as the Qing Empire itself in 1820 before the onset of catastrophic decline. As Economists 2013 points out, for all problems of China, in the coming 10-15 years it is still likely to reach several symbolic milestones. The International Monetary Fund predicts that in 2016 it will become the world’s largest economy on a purchasing-power-parity basis. The Economist Intelligence Unit reckons that on the basis of market exchange rates China will attain that glory in 2020. By the end of this decade, according to Daiwa Securities, GDP per person in Shanghai, China’s richest city, could be almost the same as the average for America in 2009. Now, officials and experts discuss endlessly whether China is slowly heading towards a â€Å"middleincome trap†. According to Economists 2011, China was already a lower-middle-income country in 2010, with a GDP per person of around $4,400. The fear is that it might suffer the same stagnation and turbulence as Latin American economies in the 1980s and 1990s. Nevertheless, with trend GDP growth in China slowing to around 8% a year from as high as 11% previously, it’s no wonder economists are asking whether it and other fast-growing Asian economies will fall victim to the middle-income trap. Income inequality The relationship between equity and development was thoroughly illustrated in  the World Bank’s World Development Report 2006: Equity and development. According to this famous report, equity means that individuals should have equal opportunities to pursue a life of their choosing and be spared from extreme deprivation in outcomes. The main message is that equity is complementary, in some fundamental respects, to the pursuit of long-term prosperity. Institutions and policies that promote a level playing field— where all members of society have similar chances to become socially active, politically influential, and economically productive— contribute to sustainable growth and development. Greater equity is thus doubly good for poverty reduction: through potential beneficial effects on aggregate long-run development and through greater opportunities for poorer groups within any society. The complementarities between equity and prosperity arise for two broad sets of reasons. First, there are many market failures in developing countries, notably in the markets for credit, insurance, land, and human capital. As a result, resources may not flow where returns are highest. The inequality of education is taken as an example in this report. Some highly capable children from poor family may fail to complete basic education even primary schooling, while others, who are less able, may finish university. When markets are missing or imperfect, the distributions of wealth and power affect the allocation of investment opportunities. Correcting the market failures is the ideal response; where this is not feasible, or far too costly, some forms of redistribution— of access to services, assets, or political influence—can increase economic efficiency. From the World Bank’s perspective, the second set of reasons why equity and long-term prosperity can be complementary arises from the fact that high levels of economic and political inequality tend to lead to economic institutions and social arrangements that systematically favor the interests of those with more influence. Such inequitable governments can generate economic costs. When personal and property rights are enforced only selectively, when budgetary allocations benefit mainly the politically influential, and when the distribution of public services favors the wealthy, both middle and poorer groups end up with unexploited talent. Society, as a whole, is then likely  to be more inefficient and to miss out on opportunities for innovation and investment, which will accordingly have negative impact on the economic development. At the global level, when developing countries have little or no voice in global governance, the rules can be inappropriate and costly for poorer countries. These adverse effects of unequal opportunities and political power on development are all the more damaging because economic, political, and social inequalities tend to reproduce themselves over time and across generations. Such phenomena was named by the economists of the World Bank as ‘â€Å"inequality traps’, as we mentioned in the very beginning. Disadvantaged children from families at the bottom of the wealth distribution do not have the same opportunities as children from wealthier families to receive quality education, which really does matter for a qualified labor force in the future. So these disadvantaged children can expect to earn less as adults. At the same time, because the poor have less voice in the political process, they—like their parents—will be less able to influence spending decisions to improve public schools for their children. And the cycle of underachievement continues. This report documents the persistence of these inequality traps by highlighting the interaction between different forms of inequality. It presents evidence that the inequality of opportunity that arises is wasteful and inimical to sustainable development and poverty reduction. It also derives policy implications that center on the broad concept of leveling the playing field— both politically and economically and in the domestic and the global arenas. If the opportunities faced by children from the poor families are so much more limited than those faced by children from wealthier families, and if this hurts development progress in the aggregate, then public action has a legitimate role in seeking to broaden the opportunities of those who face the most limited choices. Furthermore, this World Bank report addresses three considerations which are  important at the outset. First, while more even playing fields are likely to lead to lower observed inequalities in educational attainment, health status, and incomes, the policy aim is not equality in outcomes. Indeed, even with genuine equality of opportunities, one would always expect to observe some differences in outcomes owing to differences in preferences, talents, effort, and luck. This is consistent with the important role of income differences in providing incentives to invest in education and physical capital, to work, and to take risks. Of course outcomes matter, but we are concerned with them mainly for their influence on absolute deprivation and their role in shaping opportunities. Second, a concern with equality of opportunity implies that public action should focus on the distributions of assets, economic opportunities, and political voice, rather than directly on inequality in incomes. Policies can contribute to the move from an â€Å"inequality trap† to a virtuous circle of equity and growth by leveling the playing field—through greater investment in the human resources of the poorest; greater and more equal access to public services and information; guarantees on property rights for all; and greater fairness in markets. But policies to level the economic playing field face big challenges. There is unequal capacity to influence the policy agenda: the interests of the disenfranchised may never be voiced or represented. And when policies challenge privileges, powerful groups may seek to block reforms. Thus, equitable policies are more likely to be successful when leveling the economic playing field is accompanied by similar efforts to level the domestic political playing field and introduce greater fairness in global governance. Third, there may be various short-run, policy-level tradeoffs between equity and efficiency. These are well recognized and extensively documented. The point is that the (often implicit) cost-benefit calculus that policymakers use to assess the merits of various policies too often ignores the long-term, hard-to-measure but real benefits of greater equity. Greater equity implies more efficient economic functioning, reduced conflict, greater trust, and better institutions, with dynamic benefits for investment  and growth. To the extent that such benefits are ignored, policymakers may end up choosing too little equity. As emphasized by the World Bank, income inequality is not all. However, as a lot of people believe, the greatest challenge ahead is still income inequality. All attempts will fail if this greatest challenge is not tackled. As state redistributive mechanisms have been weakened in the transition toward a market-oriented economy, China has turned into one of the most unequal countries in the world. Inequality, if not reduced, will be a huge barrier of future growth as it undermines consumption, constrains development in poorer regions, and generates social tensions. Income redistribution policies and social safety nets need to be strengthened to close the inequality gap, through increased budget support and improved government’s transfers to poorer provinces and households. In China, the gap between the rich and the poor and between cities and countryside has continued to widen. Since 2003, absolute poverty has dropped remarkably. But at the same time, the number of people in relative poverty (with 50% or less of the median income) grew from 12.2% of the population to 14.6% between 2002 and 2007, according to research by Terry Sicular of the University of Western Ontario and Li Shi and Luo Chuliang of Beijing Normal University. In addition, in 1981, at least 77 per cent of Chinese were in absolute poverty (that is, with family incomes below $1.25 a day). By 2008 this figure had fallen to 13 per cent. But, the bank notes, a far, far smaller group of people have been able to rise above $2 a day, and hundreds of millions appear stuck in this awkward space between the end of starvation and the beginning of actual comfort and hope. Wang Xiaolu, the economist of national economic institution of China reform foundation, thoroughly elaborated the inequality and economic development in China in his 2006 report. Wang mentioned in his report that before China’s economic reforms, the income gap between urban residents was quite small due to the unified wage policy. On the other hand, in rural areas, the income  gap within one region was relatively small. But there was a very large urban rural income gap, as well as significant differences between different regions. To demonstrate the income gap, let us take a look at China’s Gini coefficient. This index is a measurement of the income distribution of a country’s residents. The number, which ranges between 0 and 1 and is based on residents’ net income, helps define the gap between the rich and the poor, with 0 representing perfect equality and 1 representing perfect inequality. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, in 1980 when wa s the very early stage of the economic reforms, China’s Gini coefficient stood at 0.320, which is quite low and indicates a more equal distribution of wealth. After the rural reforms in the early 1980s, farmers’ income significantly increased which led to the reduction of the urban-rural income gap. The Gini coefficient once dropped to 0.257 in 1984, which meant China had been into the more equal income countries ranks of the world. However, in the subsequent period of China economic reforms, the income gap between urban and rural areas, different regions, and different social strata is rapidly expanding regardless the acceleration of economic growth, the rapidly increasing of per capita income. Until 2001, the Gini coefficient reached 0.447, ranking 88 in the world’s 120 countries and regions in the order from low to high. Most of the countries behind China are those in Latin America and Africa with intense social conflicts, of which a considerable part is in a long-term economic stagnation (data from the World Bank, 2004; World Institute for Development Economics, 2004). In recent yearly the situation might be worse. This index has been retreating gradually since hitting a peak of 0.491 in 2008, slight ly dropping to 0.49 in 2009, 0.481 in 2010 and 0.477 in 2011, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Most recently, the Gini index reflecting the gap between rich and poor reached 0.474 in China in 2012, which is still higher than the warning level of 0.4 set by the United Nations. According to the data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in terms of the urban rural income gap in China, the urban per capita disposable income is 2.5 times of the rural per capita net income in 1980, 1.9 times in 1985 and 3.2 times in 2004. With the data mentioned above, if we use the average urban per capita income of each province to measure regional income gaps, we could find out that the figure of eastern regions is 1.3 times of that of western regions in 1980 and 1.5 times in 2004. The statistics are incomplete in terms of the income gap among different social strata, but the huge inequality is an indisputable fact. If we look at urban per capita income in 1985, the highest 10% of households in the income is 2.9 times of the lowest 10% of households in; while in 2004 the highest is 8.7 times of the lowest. If we look at rural per capita income in 1980, the highest 10% is about 7 times of the lowest 10% (rough estimate number), up to approximately 11 times in 2004 (rough estimate number). We should also take into account that household income and expenditure survey for the highest and the lowest income residents are more likely to be missed, as well as high income underreporting of cases. As a result, the actual income gap will be larger than the income gap based on surveys. More than likely the increasingly widen of income disparities between different classes has become the primary factor of income inequality. Growing gap in income distribution is seriously ch allenging the social justice, which easily leads to social instability and economic stagnation. In addition, we must pay great attention to the rich caused by corruption and other non- normal channels and the poor caused by unfair distribution of wealth (such as landless farmers and laid-off workers are not properly compensated, etc. ), which are the important reasons of the widening income gap and induction of social conflict. As we mentioned above, a lot of researchers and economists further noted that the distribution of income reversely has a very important impact to economic growth and severe income inequality will hinder economic growth (e.g. Galor and Zeira 1993and Bourguignon 2003). In a situation of economic stagnation, poverty and income inequality become more difficult to resolve, which turns to be an important reason of pushing many economies into Middle-Income Trap. In several studies of the World Bank in recent years, the economist point out that economic growth plays a decisive influence in reducing poverty, but its effect varies in different. Meanwhile, economic growth shows no significant role in reducing income gaps. In contrast, if the income gap is too large, it will indeed lead to frequent social conflict and accordingly directly affect economic growth. Therefore, for the eradication of poverty and reduction of the huge income gap, the economic growth is a necessary, but only economic growth is not enough (The World Bank reports, 2000, 2003 and 2004). In a research of Wang Xiaolu and Fan Gang in 2005, it was concluded that China’s urban residents’ income gap, rural residents’ income gap as well as the income gap between urban and rural areas have continued to widen with a clear trend, but data of their study does not confirm that the income gap will automatically have the tendency to shrink when per capita GDP reaches a certain level. If the income gap continues to expand, China’s Gini coefficient of income will soon break 0.5 (some articles have concluded that in fact it has exceeded 0.5), and China will become one of the world’s most unequal countries in terms of income. Generally, equality and efficiency may be alternative of each other. The increase of equality in the distribution of income will lead to a decline in economic efficiency, which in some cases exists. However, if several factors discussed below are adjusted, the economic efficiency will not be lost, and the wealth equality will c ontinue to be improved. First, social security is an important measure of reducing the income gap, as it can provide protection and assistance to residents to reduce their financial burden or increase their income when they are in the face of illness, unemployment, retirement and low income, etc. But this approach is constrained by the level of economic development. As Wang and Fan point out in their report, social security and transfer payments beyond the affordability will result in heavy social burden and negatively affect economic development, investment and employment initiative. At present, China’s pension insurance, basic pension insurance, unemployment insurance and minimum living security system are still running in a very low level, and only conditionally implemented in urban areas and a few rural areas. Fully implementing these social securities in all rural areas will go beyond the current financial affordability. Even in cities and towns, the current  social security system does not play an active role in reducing the income gap. On the contrary, it has the effect of widening the income gap between urban residents. This is mainly because this social security system is still with a considerable degree of coverage limitations, particularly in the low income people and the mobile labor force. More importantly, the population without coverage is precisely the low income population which is most in need of social protection by these insurance systems. On the other hand, high income residents benefit from these social security systems significantly higher than low income residents. According to a survey of the National Economic Research Institute, the Medicare reimbursement for medical expenses in low income urban residents is much lower than that in high income urban residents. Moreover, the proportion of Medicare reimbursement for the former is lower than the latter, while the proportion of self-paid medical expense in the expenditure for the former is significantly higher than the latter. Therefore, how to ensure the current social security systems to cover urban workers not in the social security system yet as soon as possible will be a critical issue to be addressed. At the same time, social security issues of rural residents need certainly also be placed on the agenda as soon as possible. Long-term difference in treatment between urban and rural residents is not fair. However, this issue needs a longer period of time to gradually resolve due to limited financial resources. A few wealthy rural regions have already established a unified social security system conditions. For residents of most rural areas, although the conditions of establishment of a comprehensive social security system are not mutual, some pressing issues still need to be prioritized to solve, such as the problem of farmers have no money to see a doctor. The new rural cooperative medical care system needs to be quickly spread. Experiences of some rural areas have demonstrated that cooperative medical care system is very effective to protect the low income population. On the other hand, according to international experience, financial transfer payment is also one of the main approaches to eliminate the income gap and regional disparity. As Wang Xiaolu points out in his report in 2006, in this regard in China, in addition to financial support for agriculture, pension  and social welfare and supporting underdeveloped regions expenditures, tax return from central government to local government as well as the construction investment of key projects in the less developed regions, in fact, have been performed financial transfer payment function. The total amount of financial transfer payment is quite large. However, some studies have found that financial transfer payment did not play a significant role in reducing income disparities and regional development gaps. In Wang’s opinion, this is mainly caused by the following reasons, First, the transfer payments are lacking of a rigorous and standardized system as well as standards of implementation. Hence the transfer payments’ strongly subjective profile makes their role in reducing income disparities and regional development gaps greatly reduced. Second, the transfer payments do not have clear objectives and their structures are not reasonable. The proportion of the transfer payments for general investment projects and government expenditures is too high while that for alleviating poverty and decreasing the bottle neck of development of backward areas (such as insufficient education and other public expenditure, weak infrastructure, etc. All of those are impediments to economic development) underfunded. It makes the transfer payments difficult to play a critical role in reducing the income gap. Third, there are no strict and effective measures to oversee the usage as well as the effect of transfer payments. For example, in some poor areas, the government poverty alleviation and disaster relief funds were frequently misappropriated to cover office buildings, luxury cars and government staff bonuses. Due to lack of management and supervision, some of the earmarks turned into waste, and provided the chances for some rent-seeking and  corrupt government officials. Therefore, for transfer payments, the main problems now seem not to be the quantity, but rather setting up clear objectives and rationalization of the system to regulate the management and to strengthen supervision. These measures will reduce the income gap. At the same time, they will not reduce economic efficiency, but improve efficiency, reduce corruption and promote development. In addition to social security system and financial transfer payments, education and infrastructure also play the similarly important role in the relationship of equality and economic efficiency. According to Wang’s research, many domestic and foreign literatures have pointed out that education plays a crucial role in the promotion of economic development; moreover, education to the whole population helps to reduce the income gap. In 2004 the National Economic Research Institute conducted a survey on the income of mobile labor force. Across the country, 3,000 randomly selected migrant workers and self-employed persons from rural areas were classified according to the average monthly income. The results are as following: for those not graduated from primary school the average monthly income is 769 yuan, for primary school graduated 815 yuan, for junior high school graduated 960 yuan, for high school graduated 1268 yuan, for college and above 1554 yuan. This very clearly illustrates the level of education greatly impacts on income levels. Obviously, improving education is a fundamental way to improve the employability and income levels of low income population. On one hand, currently there are hundreds of millions of rural labor force migrates into cities and towns to work. On the other hand, there are three hundred million people who are still engaged in agriculture, with wages of a small fraction of the average urban per capita. They are waiting to continue to transfer to cities. But most of them are facing low level of education, lack of vocational skills and oversupply in the labor market. Meanwhile, a lot of city workers returned to the status of poverty due to layoffs and unemployment. It’s very difficult for them to get reemployment because of the lack of professional skills. However, the labor market needs workers with a higher level of education and professional skills but has to facing  the reality of supply shortage. Therefore, in order to narrowing the income gap, it is very critical to enhance the popularity of primary and secondary education and expanding vocational education. In Wang’s research, he found out that China’s per capita level of education exhibits unexpected negative impact on urban residents income gap. Surprisingly, higher level of education led to a widening income gap. This is a strong signal that China’s education -age population is facing unequal educational opportunities, and educational opportunities for high income groups are significantly greater than the low income population. As a result, the per capita level of education increases, while the income gap has not narrowed. Instead, the income inequality is expanding. If we look at the popularization of compulsory nine years education in China, you will find in recent years, pupils’ dropout rate in rural areas was significantly higher than that in urban areas, with many dropout of school due to poverty situation in rural areas. This point can also be reflected from the allocation of education funds. Especially a few key universities get large amount of fund s, while a great number of rural primary and secondary education underfunded. Compared the situation in 2003 with that in 1999, the state financial allocations to universities increased by 40.4 billion yuan (in another word, increase 85%), while state financial allocations to ordinary primary and junior high schools increased by 52.5 billion yuan (increase 79%) and 49.8 billion yuan (increase of 65%), respectively. Although the situation has improved to various degrees, but this increase did not exceed the revenue and expenditure growth rate (90% and 87%). Even so, in 2003 the national average education budget per 420,000 primary schools is only less than 30 million, of which the budget allocation in rural schools is far less than that of urban schools. Some individual prestigious university obtained an education funding up to ten billion. Excessively unbalanced distribution of educational resources not only will exacerbate income inequality, but also is not helpful for efficient allocation of education resources. Another educational problem to be solved is how to correctly handle the relationship of general education and vocational education. Although in China currently there’re more than 4million people each year go into  colleges for education, but there are also more than 17 million people directly get employment without higher education. For the labor market, each year the number of demand for workers with the level of secondary education as well as specialized skills far exceeds in number of the demand for college graduates. However, the current dominant position of general secondary education is still basically to provide students into college In another word, the main objective of general secondary schools is the examination-oriented education and does not pay attention to skills training. The dominant ideology of the entire education system is to measure the success of education by entering the university or not. Four out of five school-age youth entered the labor market as the losers of their education. This reality has incalculable negative impact on workers’ skills, work ethic and healthy psychology, according to Wang’s report. At the same time, secondary vocational and other professional education live in a subordinate position in the education system, with very limited quantity. Compared the situation in 2003 with that in 1999, the state financial allocations to secondary vocational schools increased by 300 million yuan (an increase of 2.5%), and state financial allocations to technical schools decreased by 400 million yuan (down 16% )and vocational schools increased by 3 billion (an increase of 42% increase ). These increases are negligible compared to the funding’s growth of universities and ordinary primary and secondary. Such education dislocation makes the most of new entrants to the labor market is lacking of professional skills, and their low level knowledge on employment helps rather limited. In addition, local education and vocational education system’s exclusion for migrant workers and their children is also need to be carefully addressed. Like South Korea, China needs to focus on creating a highly qualified workforce so that they can increase innovation. South Korea adopted a policy to intensify investments in education and innovation in preparation for this. This policy aided South Korea in developing a plan for long term growth as opposed to short term consumption driven growth. Meanwhile, the World Bank has just released its detailed report: China 2030: Building a Modern, Harmonious, and Creative High-Income Society. In this report the World Bank believes that the export-led model that has delivered the past  30-years of growth and development in China has now run its course. From the World Bank’s perspective, China can only succeed in becoming a modern, high income country if it implements a six-step series of reforms. Not surprisingly, to increase innovation and to reduce inequality are among these six reforms as following, ï‚ · Accelerate the pace of innovation and create an open innovation system in which competitive pressures encourage Chinese firms to engage in product and process innovation not only through their own research and development but also by participating in global research and development networks. Essentially, the World Bank recommends that China seek to move away from being an imitator to an innovator in its own right. Reducing inequality by expanding opportunities and promoting social security for all by facilitating equal access to jobs, finance, quality social services, and portable social security. With regard to infrastructure construction in recent years, transportation, communication and other conditions as well as the urban landscape have significantly improved. But we should note the imbalance in the allocation of resources. In many areas, much more emphasis and attentions were put on the facade construction, highway construction and urban centers transformation than that on rural infrastructure in remote areas. On the one hand, highways are vacant or rarely used in some less developed regions. On the other hand, there are 173 towns and more than 50,000 administrative villages still inaccessible by road, the latter accounting for 8% of the total number of administrative villages across the whole country, according to Wang’s research. For these remote areas, the weak infrastructure is an important cause leading to poverty and backwardness. In summary, China’s development level is still at the low level. Hoping to rely on transfer payments to drastically eliminate the income gap is unrealistic. What the governments should focus on is to provide more equal opportunities and conditions in education, infrastructure and other areas. Investment in these  areas will provide human resources and infrastructure supply better meeting the social and market needs. By doing them, it is entirely possible to improve residents’ economic situation. China is facing the continually widen income gap. If this critical issue could be reasonably resolved, Chinese social justice, harmony and long term economic development will be able to be ensured. . Otherwise, China may turn into a society with huge income gap, serious social conflict, power and money collusion, corruption and plunder prevailed, which will eventually result in economic stagnation. Middle-income trap will be impossible to avoid in this case. As we mentioned above, there are several factors leading to the current expansion of the income gap or blocking reduction of the income gap. These factors include that social security system is not sound, the financial transfer payment system is with flaw, educational opportunities are not fair enough, the education system is not conducive to the promotion of employment, weak infrastructure in rural and backward areas, lack of job opportunities as well as the irrational distribution of resources and corruption and other social in equities due to the not perfect system. To resolve these issues, it’s urgent to perform further reform and development. The following most crucial problems need to be addressed: to solve the fairness of education, to solve the disjointed issues between educations, economic development as well as employment, to create more job opportunities through economic development and urbanization, to correct government’s action, eventually eliminates the problem of corruption and unfair distribution through administrative reform. Resolving these problems not only will not affect economic efficiency, but also will ensure the impartiality of Chinese social harmony, economic efficiency and long-term sustainable development.

An Introduction to Erikson’s Stages of Development

An Introduction to Erikson’s Stages of Development Psychoanalyst Erik Eriksons stages of development articulated a psychosocial theory of human development made up of eight stages that cover the entirety of the human lifespan from birth to old age. Each stage is defined by a central crisis that the individual must grapple with in order to move on to the next stage. Erikson’s theory has been highly influential on scholars’ understanding of human development and identity formation. Key Takeaways: Erikson's Stages of Development Erik Eriksons stages of development consist of eight stages that cover the entire human lifespan. This structure makes the point that development does not end when an individual reaches adulthood; rather, it continues throughout the entire lifespan.Each stage of development revolves around a central crisis that the individual must contend with in order to move on to the next stage.The success at each stage is reliant upon success at previous stages. Individuals must go through the stages in the order laid out by Erikson. Stages of Psychosocial Development The stages of psychosocial development laid out by Erikson are as follows: 1.  Trust vs. Mistrust The first stage takes place in infancy and ends around age 1. Erikson said that infants first social achievement is to let their caretakers out of sight without becoming anxious. In other words, infants must develop a sense of trust in their caretakers and the people around them. When infants come into the world, they are vulnerable and dependent on others for survival. When a child’s caretakers successfully meet their needs- e.g. food, warmth, and safety- the child develops confidence that the world is a safe and secure place. If the child’s needs are not met, however, the child comes to believe the world is an inconsistent, untrustworthy place. This doesn’t mean that all mistrust is bad. According to Erikson, a certain amount of mistrust is necessary. Without some amount of mistrust, the child could become too trusting and consequently would not know when to be skeptical of people’s intentions. However, an individual should emerge from this stage with a greater sense of trust than mistrust. If the infant is successful in this endeavor, they will develop the virtue of hope: a belief that one’s desires are achievable despite the chaos of the world. 2.  Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt The second stage takes place when the child is around 2 or 3 years old. As children grow, they become more capable of doing things on their own. If children are supported in their bids at independence, they will learn to have confidence in their abilities. On the other hand, if children are too controlled or criticized, they will start to doubt their ability to take care of themselves. If the individual emerges from this stage with a greater sense of autonomy than shame or doubt, they will develop the virtue of will: the ability to make choices freely while also having self-control when appropriate. 3. Initiative vs. Guilt The third stage takes place between the ages of 3 and 6. Preschool age children start to take initiative in pursuing their own objectives. When they are successful, they develop a sense of competence in their ability to make and achieve goals. When those objectives meet resistance or become problematic in the social world, they will experience guilt. Too much guilt can lead to a lack of self-confidence. If the child emerges from this stage with more positive than negative experiences taking initiative, they will develop the virtue of purpose: the ability to determine what they want and go after it. 4. Industry vs. Inferiority The fourth stage takes place from 6 to 11 years old. This stage marks the child’s first forays into grade school and structured learning. It is therefore the first time the child must begin to understand and contend with the expectations of the wider culture. Children learn what it means to be a good member of society, both in terms of productivity and morality. If children come to believe they cannot function properly in society, they develop feelings of inferiority. Children who experience success at this stage will develop the virtue of competence. 5. Identity vs. Role Confusion The fifth stage takes place during adolescence and in some cases can extend into the 20s. With the onset of puberty, physical and cognitive changes cause adolescents to think about their futures for the first time. On the one hand, they are trying to determine who they are and what they want for their futures. On the other hand, they worry about making unwise commitments and are concerned about the way others, especially their peers, perceive them. While identity development is a lifelong process, the fifth stage a key time for identity, as adolescents start to choose and pursue the roles they wish to fulfill as adults. They also must begin to develop a worldview that gives them a sense of personal perspective. Success at this stage will result in a coherent sense of identity that leads to the virtue of fidelity: loyalty to one’s commitments. 6. Intimacy vs. Isolation The sixth stage takes place during young adulthood. Adolescents are often too preoccupied to truly be intimate with another person. However, during young adulthood, individuals who have established a sense of their own identity can achieve a genuine connection with someone else. At this stage, those whose relationships remain impersonal will experience isolation. People who achieve more intimacy than isolation at this stage will develop the virtue of mature love. 7. Generativity vs. Stagnation The seventh stage takes place during midlife. It is at this time that people turn their attention to what they can offer the next generation. Erikson called this â€Å"generativity.† While his focus was on raising children, adults who produce anything that contributes to the future, including creative works and ideas, are also being generative. Adults who are not successful at this stage become stagnant, self-absorbed, and bored. Generative adults who contribute to the next generation and avoid becoming overly self-indulgent develop the virtue of care. 8. Ego Integrity vs. Despair The eighth and final stage takes place during old age. At this point, people start to look back on their lives. If they can accept and find meaning in what they have done and accomplished throughout their lives, they will achieve integrity. If people look back and don’t like what they see, the realization that life is too short to try out alternatives and repair regrets will lead to despair. Finding meaning in one’s life in old age results in the virtue of wisdom. The Structure of the Stages Erikson was influenced by the work of Sigmund Freud, particularly Freuds stage theory of psychosexual development. Erikson expanded on the five stages outlined by Freud by assigning psychosocial tasks to each stage, then adding three additional stages for later periods of adulthood. Erikson’s stages rest on the epigenetic principle: the idea that each stage is dependent upon the previous stage and, therefore, individuals must go through the stages in a specific order. At each stage, the individual must wrestle with a central psychosocial conflict in order to progress to the next stage. Each stage has a particular conflict because, according to Erikson, individual growth and sociocultural context work together to bring that conflict to the individuals attention at a particular point in life. As individuals move through the psychosocial stages specified by Erikson, their success rests upon the outcomes of previous stages. For example, when infants develop more mistrust than trust in their caretakers during the first stage, they may experience role confusion during the fifth stage. Similarly, if an adolescent emerges from the fifth stage without having successfully developed a strong sense of identity, he or she may have difficulty developing intimacy during the sixth stage. As a result of these structural elements, Erikson’s theory communicates two key points: Development does not stop when one reaches adulthood. Rather, individuals continue to develop throughout their entire lifespan.Each stage of development hinges upon the individual’s interaction with the social world. Critiques Eriksons stage theory has faced some criticism for its limitations. Erikson was vague about the experiences an individual must undergo in order to successfully grapple with the conflict of each stage. He also wasn’t specific about how people move through the various stages. Erikson himself was aware that his work was unclear; he explained that he intended his theory to provide context and descriptive detail for development, not precise facts about developmental mechanisms. Nevertheless, Erikson’s theory can be credited with inspiring a great deal of research into human development, identity, and personality. Sources Crain, William. Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications. 5th ed., Pearson Prentice Hall. 2005.Dunkel, Curtis S., and Jon A. Sefcek. â€Å"Eriksonian Lifespan Theory and Life History Theory: An Integration Using the Example of Identity Formation.†Ã‚  Review of General Psychology, vol. 13, no. 1, 2009, pp. 13-23,  http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0013687Erikson, Erik H. Childhood and Society. W.W. Norton Company, 1963.Erikson, Erik H. Identity: Youth and Crisis. W.W. Norton Company, 1968.McAdams, Dan. The Person: An Introduction to the Science of Personality Psychology. 5th ed., Wiley, 2008.McLeod, Saul. â€Å"Erik Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development.† Simply Psychology, 2013. https://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html