Saturday, February 15, 2020

What difference does it make that production is capitalist production Essay

What difference does it make that production is capitalist production - Essay Example The term "Capitalist" was first used in 1848 by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels in the Communist Manifesto in the famous sentence: "Modern Industry has converted the little workshop of the patriarchal master into the great factory of the industrial capitalist"1. According to the Houghton Mifflin Company, capitalism can be defined as follow: "An economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned and development is proportionate to the accumulation and reinvestment of profits gained in a free market."2 The capitalist production is a system where the owners of money capital - referred as capitalists - hire labor to work in the production process. The capitalists gather within a corporation where they own shares. The decision process can be made by only one of them - commonly the one that owns the largest amount of shares - or they can appoint a manager who will take the decisions regarding the production for them. The output produced as well as the fixed and circulating capital goods used in the production and the residual of the value of output over total costs, including labor costs belong to the capitalists. As the capitalist process is based on the amount of capital, if the capitalists need additional capital - more than what they own - they can borrow from lenders and retain a part of the profit from previous years to use it as capital this year. Cooperative Production Even though Karl Marx was historically the first opponent to capitalism, he's the one in the Capital3 who gave the best explanation of its mechanisms. He also provided an alternative to the capital based mode of production: cooperatives. He did not actually present this alternative as we know it today but gave the main grouds of its creation. It is why usually cooperatives are associated with socialist and communist regimes. It is Robert Owen, a Welshman, who is the known creator of the cooperative movement in the nineteenth century. The most common definition of a cooperative is an organization which is owned by and operated for the benefit of those using its services.4 In other words a group of workers gather in order to set up a production process. Each of them participates in the production process, has shares and voting rights. In a cooperative, workers make common decisions or choose a manager to take the decisions regarding the production process. As in the capitalist production, the members of a cooperative can borrow money from lenders if they can not provide a sufficient amount of capital to the production process or retain a part of the net income from previous years to use it as capital this year. The main difference between capitalist production and a cooperative one is that the owners of the cooperative participate in the production process. They are not separated from the activity which is the case in the capitalist model. And mainly, they benefit from the entire production. They are not only paid for their labor but

Sunday, February 2, 2020

International Environmental Management and Sustainability Assignment

International Environmental Management and Sustainability - Assignment Example It actually refers to the idea of being aware of one’s responsibilities towards one’s own surrounding environment so that, with the combination of individual efforts, the overall atmosphere of the planet may be improved greatly. There could never be a better platform for the start of such efforts other than a university which holds the interests of the majority of an area’s people. Anglia Ruskin University is one such educational institute that is actively participating and cooperating in the greening of the earth’s atmosphere. ... to be limited to its own energy resources so that to minimize waste and carbon emission for which it will also initiate â€Å"progressive waste management procedures† supported by recycling methods and less-fuel-consumption measures e.g., walk rather than car-driving for short distances (ARU, 2011). 3. For this purpose, awareness is to be raised through campaigns and posters among the staff and students; and such practices are to be monitored regularly through setting of ecological targets and evaluation of reports. The inclusion of such activities in curriculum is highly recommended. 4. One important step to be taken in this regard is to maintain cost-effective methods to ensure wildlife and biodiversity, and to avoid huge expenses in the name of futile luxuries (ARU, 2008). Green Impact Award This award is an initiative of the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges that is abbreviated as ‘eauc’. It invites the zealous individuals from each unive rsity department to participate in a number of practical activities which are recorded in a workbook i.e., â€Å"†¦a workbook with practical, easy to implement and no or low cost actions to complete† (eauc, 2011). Each of the workbooks is specially designed for the particular university that participates. Initially the participants are asked to complete 20 Bronze activities while Silver, Gold and Bonus are optional. Once completing a Bronze, the participating team can move to Silver also. After the completion of these workbooks, volunteers are sent to each department to verify the tasks done, and in the end, a celebration is held to â€Å"†¦promote the achievements of those departments taking part through an awards ceremony† (eauc, 2011). Thus, Green Impact Award is a bottom-up project that aims to support