When
asked what the largest issue is facing the US in 2013 and beyond, the majority
of people would say it is the state of the current economy. While this most
certainly true, what some don’t realize is that the state of the economy is
closely intertwined with rising social issues, such as abortion and gun
control. The negative economic climate can be linked with the upward trend of
women getting abortions, since some simply cannot afford to raise children,
while the fear of gun control causes consumers to buy more guns, resulting in a
rise of tax revenues that the government gains. These issues boil down to the fundamental
question: what is the role of the American government in those specific situations?
This question relating to America’s current social and economic climate can be
explored through Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince, and Lao Tzu’s Tao-te Ching.
Lao-Tzu favors a Taoist view, where one lives passively under a nearly
“invisible” leader, while Machiavelli is more pragmatic, espousing a strong
central leader who has an effective ruling persona. Both Machiavelli and Lao
Tzu would disagree with the US government’s methods to solve the debt crisis;
however, Machiavelli would be pro-choice and support the right to bear arms
while Lao-Tzu would be pro-life and advocate gun control.
Aleksandra,
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting and complex. I'll have to see the rest of the paper and how well you prove your claims about the link between economics, gun control, and abortion. The three seem wildly disparate and unrelated to me on the surface, but if you can prove the relationship between them, as well as their relationship to Lao-Tzu and Machiavelli's philosophies, this might work.
The other thing I'd suggest is that the thesis should be more argumentative. Okay, you're theorizing that Machiavelli would be pro-choice and pro-gun, Lao-Tzu pro-life and anti-gun. That's fine, but you should probably go a step further and tell us why this matters or which you think is preferable. In other words, what goes in the "because ____________" blank? What is your "so what?" idea?
That being said, if you can address the two issues I've raised here, this has great potential.