Power Struggles In Society Essays - Military-industrial Complex

Power Struggles in Society Mills, Schudson, and Gitlin show different approaches to society and the role of mass media. Each approach helps illustrate a different focus on society. They each hold special relevance in a discussion of the history of societal beliefs. The Mass Society refers to the overall belief C. Wright Mills held in relation to the type of society he believed we live in. Mills began The Power Elite with a bold statement saying, "The powers of ordinary men are circumscribed by the everyday words in which they live, yet even in these rounds of job, family, and neighborhood they often seem driven by forces they can neither understand nor govern" (Mills, 1956, p.3). This opening sentence helps describe the attitude and beliefs of the entire book. A "power elite" exists in a society that is made up of three spheres. They are divided into economy, political, and military, with the same group of people interchanging between the three. This large group of elite is at the top making all the decisions, while the masses are at the bottom, unaware of the process that molds public opinion. Masses within this view of society are irrelevant and do not have any type of influence. The media functions as an entertainment source, keeping the masses entertained while the elite is taking care of all the important matters. It helps keep the reality and truth of the world obscured from the masses. Mills explained what the media does for the masses as "they distract him and obscure his chance to understand himself or his world, by fastening his attention upon artificial frenzies that are revolved within the program framework, usually by violent action or by what is called humor" (Mills, p.315). This helps illuminate how the mass media guides, tries to control, and manipulates the masses. Mills describes the effect of mass media as "a sort of psychological illiteracy" to the extent that we "often do not believe what we see before us until we read about it in the paper or hear about it on the radio" (Mills, p.311). The masses "standards of credulity, standards of reality, tend to be set by these media rather than by 'the masses' own fragmentary experience" (Mills p.311 ). Mass media's role helps prevent the questioning of the elite. "Families and churches and schools adapt to modern life; governments and armies and corporations shape it; and, as they do so, they turn these lesser institutions into means for their ends" (Mills, p.6). The family into which someone was born or marries into helps improve or decrease their social status. The school where one is educated or the church where one worships also plays a major role in the social standing. Schools teach skills to the masses that enable them to function in society. Institutions shape life and the masses adapt to what institutions create. The masses in the theory are very disorganized and not connected to others. An excellent way to describe to masses can be shown by watching The Twilight Zone movie. It is a state of total confusion for everyone, with each doing their own thing. The elite enjoy the state of confusion with the masses, because they are able to control the major decisions that must be made. They determine the policies and the people enlist in them. In the mass society, the elite control the policies and ways of thinking for the confused masses. Schudson approaches the nature of society in a much different way, through the idea of the democratic society. In Discovering the News, he discussed "an even distribution of income" and described the 1800's as "more people acquired wealth and political power 'bringing' with them a zeal for equal opportunity that led to the expansion of public education" (Schudson, 1978, p.44). When looking at society as a whole, you have them socially, economically, and politically integrated. "Economic development was promoted and shared by many rather than few" (Schudson, p.45). The press does not cause, but picks up elements, reflects, and builds from a democratic society. "The democratization of economic life brought with it attitudes that stressed economic gain to the exclusion of social aims; business practice more regularly began to reward strictly economic

ESRM 100 Test 1 Essay Example

ESRM 100 Test 1 Essay Example ESRM 100 Test 1 Paper ESRM 100 Test 1 Paper How much has the population increased in the last 35 years? from 2.5 to 6.6 billion(more than doubled) Sustainability Use it, but dont use it up Carrying Capacity Maximum number of individuals of a species that can be sustained by a population by an environment over a long term Gaia Hypothesis global environment has been profoundly changed by life throughout the history of life on Earth, and that these changes have improved the chances that life on Earth will continue Principle of Environmental Unity Everything affects everything else Environmental Science Group of sciences that explain how life on earth is sustained, what leads to environmental problems, and how theyre solved. Ulitarian Justification Ecological Justification Aesthetic Justification Moral Justification 1 Economic/Survival 2 Value larger life suport functions of the environment 3 Beauty 4 Ones view of right and wrong System Set of parts that function together to act as a whole Things we need to understand to effectively manage natural systems Types of disturbances and changes that are likely to occur The time period which changes occur The importance of each change to the long-term productivity of the system Biota Biosphere 1)All living things within a given area 2)Region of earth where life exists Ecosystem A community of organisms and their local nonliving environment in which matter cycles and energy flows Ecological footprint the total area each person requires based on the resources used and the waste produced We may be consuming about 20% more of Earths biological productivity than is replaced each year Age structure proportion of the population in each age group Limiting factors to population growthshort-term intermediate termlong term 1) drought, energy supply, disease 2)desertification, pollutants,disruption of supply of unrenewable resources3) soil erosion, climate change, ground water Ways to create zero population growth Raising the first childbearing agesocial pressures to delay marriagebirth control and family planning Factors affecting carrying capacity food supplyland and soul resourcesWater resourcesPopulation densityTechnology Biochemical Cycle complete path a chemical takes through the earths four major reservoirs What are the earths four major reservoirs? atmospherehydrospherelithosphere(rocks and soils)biosphere(plants and animals) Flux amount that moves between sinks and sources How many elements are required for life? 24 Geological cycle Formation and change of Earths materials through physical,chemical and biological processes Consists of four sub-cycles -tectonic, hydrologic, rock, biogeochemical How much do plates move a year 1-12 inches a year What leads to plate movements? convection currents in earths mantle Tectonic subduction one plate being pulled under another Where is the earths water? 97% in the oceans, 2% in glaciers, 1% as landwater or atmosphere Drainage basin area contributing runoff to a stream or river How much of the earths water is freshwater? 2.4% What % of the earths atmosphere is nitrogen 80% Nitrogen fixation converts nitrogen to ammonia/nitrate Types of symbionts obligate symbionts absolutely necessaryfacultative symbionts helpful but not essential habitatniche habitat where it livesniche what it does for a living oldest fossils 3.5 billion years old ecosystem individuals of various species and their nonliving environment Ecosystems have 3 fundamentals characteristics structure(living and non living), proccesses and change gross production producing organic matter within the body net production storing some of the newly produced organic matter for future use what % of the land surface is occupied by agriculture 12% Biological diversity wealth of species that live on earth What four processes lead to evolution mutation, genetic drift, natural selection, migration Gene chemical information for a single characteristic genotype genetic makeup of an invidual or group Divergent Evolution single species evolving into two Ways in which extinction is caused hunting/harvestingdisrupting/destroying habitatsintroducing exotic speciespollution primary successionsecondary succession 1) initial establishment and development of an ecosystem where one did not exist2)reestablishment of an ecosystem following disturbances