Multiculturalism Is America s Unresolved Race Problem

Therefore, as Christian Joppke aptly points out, â€Å"the direct origin of multiculturalism is America’s unresolved race problem† (Joppke 2011, 36). Indeed, in light of the aforementioned historical processes, multiculturalism began (and developed into the official multiculturalism of the 80s and 90s) as something quite similar to a â€Å"racial project† a la Omi and Winant. Seen as an integral step in guiding racial formation, Michael Omi and Howard Winant defines a racial project as following (Omi and Winant 1994,56): â€Å"A racial project is simultaneously an interpretation, representation, or explanation of racial dynamics, and an effort to reorganize and redistribute resources along particular racial lines. Racial projects connect what race means in a particular discursive practice and the ways in which both social structures and everyday experience are racially organized, based upon that meaning†. Much like that of color-blind policies touted by Omi and Winant as an exemplary racial project and which provides the backdrop for multicultural rhetoric (Omi and Winant 1994L 55-56), official multiculturalism (and other forms of it) in the United States works to interpret, represent or explain the racial dynamics in the United States. But rather than focusing on quintessential ideologies for race by attempting to reorganize and redistribute resources along particular old racial lines, multiculturalism in the most basic form focuses on reorganizing and redistributing resources alongShow MoreRelatedRacism on College Campuses4582 Words   |  19 PagesAbstract: The main aim of this research paper is to directly observe and examine the way American College students perceive the notion of race on college campuses and how they believe it can be used to a persons advantage or disadvantage. I used two different kinds of research in this paper; interviews among 4 students from 4 different universities across the United States to provide a deep and personal understanding of the topic and by surveying in an open-ended questionnaire 10 American studentsRead MoreChildrens Literature13219 Words   |  53 Pagesâ€Å"literature for children†? If it is â€Å"for† children, is it still a children’s book if it is read by adults or if it is an â€Å"adult† book also read by children? Indeed, one of the key problems of defining â€Å"children’s literature† is that adult and children’s literature constantly slip into each other. If these two terms present a problem, then â€Å"children† alone proves to be equally problematic. Childhood changes from place and time and can be radically different in non-Western counties. If Karin Lesnik-OlbersteinRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 PagesTiffany Ruby Patterson, Zora Neale Hurston and a History of Southern Life Lisa M. Fine, The Story of Reo Joe: Work, Kin, and Community in Autotown, U.S.A. Van Gosse and Richard Moser, eds., The World the Sixties Made: Politics and Culture in Recent America Joanne Meyerowitz, ed., History and September 11th John McMillian and Paul Buhle, eds., The New Left Revisited David M. Scobey, Empire City: The Making and Meaning of the New York City Landscape Gerda Lerner, Fireweed: A Political Autobiography

The Spiritual Awakening - 1265 Words

The idea of salvation or having an awakening moment of one’s spirit is something that is different for every individual. Flannery O’Connor’s â€Å"Good Country People† and â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† demonstrates how a person can be brought to their redemption by unlikely characters. Hulga, from â€Å"Good Country People,† goes from being a woman who states to believe in nothing, to a woman who loses everything and is left at a place of confusion. The grandmother from â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† is similar to Hulga in that she also loses everything in order to find her faith. Although both Hulga and the grandmother seem to have their own strong belief systems, they each go through different experiences and eventually find their salvation in the characters they were least expecting. Hulga, the protagonist of â€Å"Good Country People,† is presented as an intelligent woman with a troubled, weak heart, who is also f acing many personal challenges. When Hulga was a young girl, her leg was shot off in a hunting accident, resulting in Hulga being very attached to her artificial, wooden leg. Hulga, formerly named Joy, changed her name to what her mother considered to be â€Å"the ugliest name in any language† (â€Å"Good Country† 440). However, by doing so, Hulga removed any hope of her finding her own sense of joy or happiness. Hulga went to college and received a Ph. D. in Philosophy which has lead her into her nihilistic beliefs and the false concept that she knows everything. She has a veryShow MoreRelatedMeditation On The Spiritual Awakening Essay724 Words   |  3 Pagesthe negative effects of stress, but also leads to a better sense of well-being by uniting mind and body. this fact has been proven scientifically many years ago. Meditation is helpful to get the spiritual awakening, which led to the end of all kinds of evil situations. For achieving spiritual awakening and its initiative results of eliminating depression and stress, people now have access to an ideal meditation course because they are throughout the world. Qualified and experienced leaders conductRead MoreThe Spiritual Movement : The Great Awakening1468 Words   |  6 PagesThe spiritual movement called The Great Awakening, beginning in 1734, depicts the reality of the Holy Spirit: that He is alive, active and moving within the church. Said to be started by Johnathan Edwards and George Whitefield, this movement began, then took hold of Massachusetts, then Connecticut. In all, thirteen of the colonies would be impacted by the zeal of this movement. Sermons focusing on conversion and being born-again gave way to many having a relationship with Jesus Christ. In theirRead MoreSpiritual Awakening Essay examples1553 Words   |  7 PagesI’d like to state the most obvious observation that I’ve made about spiritual formation; that is tha t I will always need to be seeking for ways to nurture my personal spirituality throughout my life. I know that to most people this may sound like a â€Å"duh† statement, but for me it has truly become a reality and one that I must admit I have been struggling to embrace. I was brought up in a church that, like most traditional churches, stayed happy living in the â€Å"comfort zone† of their Christianity. TheyRead MoreSpiritual Awakening By Flannery O Connor1479 Words   |  6 Pages Spiritual Awakening in Flannery O’Connor: â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† In the story â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† by Flannery O’Connor, spirituality and grace is the underlying theme as much of her works reveals. Without this premise most of her work would be impossible to interpret and understand. With her Christian background at the forefront, the reader can interpret and synthesis her story out rightly. In life’s spiritual journey it often takes a personal crisis to awaken the spiritual sensesRead MoreThe Case For Reparations : A Moral And Spiritual Awakening1684 Words   |  7 Pagesa monetary basis will not suffice, and is stripping from it the aspect of humanity. Their freedom to live was snatched with slavery and socioeconomic mobility was taken from them with the advent of laws that imposed segregation. A moral and spiritual awakening must occur in the United States, where we stop hiding from our tarnished past and actually make the effort to learn from the mistakes of our past. The underlying issue is that there is a n eed for a cultural shift in society today. While we allRead MoreEssay on The Death of Ivan Ilyich: Spiritual Awakening861 Words   |  4 Pages The Death of Ivan Ilyich:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Spiritual Awakeningnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp; He went to his study, lay down, and once again was left alone with it. Face to face with It, unable to do anything with It. Simply look at It and grow numb with horror (Tolstoy, 97). Death takes on an insidious persona as it eats away at Ivan Ilyich, a man horrified at the prospect of losing his life. Even more horrifying is the realization that despite his prominence and prosperity asRead More7 Signs You May Be Experiencing a Spiritual Awakening800 Words   |  4 Pages 7 Signs You May Be Experiencing a Spiritual Awakening The Signs of Spiritual Awakening the Importance of Self-knowledge Metamorphosis. Like a caterpillar changing into a colourful butterfly, a person who is going through the stages of an awakening will have a colourful and more meaningful life. As a person going through a spiritual awakening, you will undergo a deeper and higher level of self-knowledge and self-awareness. You will become more mindful of your life experiences and the lessonsRead MoreThe Impact Of Kundalini Energy On The Body Responsible For The Process Of Spiritual Awakening1137 Words   |  5 Pagesresponsible for the process of spiritual awakening itself. In India, the name used for this discovery was â€Å"Kundalini.† On the physical level, Kundalini exists as a metabolic system whose purpose is to upgrade the brain and to elevate it to higher forms of consciousness. Kundalini energy is an accompaniment to psychic changes – that is, to new perspectives and patterns of consciousness (Clarke, 2014). Bonnie Greenwell a 35 years old Ph.D. that have followed spiritual practices, and since 1983 I haveRead MoreThe First Great Awakening By George Whitefield1709 Words   |  7 PagesThe First Great Awakening As stated by one of the fathers of the First Great Awakening, George Whitefield â€Å"True conversion means turning not only from sin but also from depending on self-made righteousness. Those who trust in their own righteousness for conversion hide behind their own good works. This is the reason that self-righteous people are so angry with gospel preachers, because the gospel does not spare those who will not submit to the righteousness of Jesus Christ!† (AZQuotes.com). TheRead MoreThe Great Awakening : A Revitalization Of Religious Piety That Swept Through American Colonies1102 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"The Great Awakening† A revitalization of religious piety that swept through American colonies during the 1730-1770 was known as the Great Awakening. Christian life was of real importance to the North American colonists. And yet, during the eighteenth century, the Great Awakening can be described in several areas of religious revivals history. This was a schism that was made more acute by the enormous Pietistic wave. While reviewing the Great Awakening, if understanding correctly, it focuses

Islamic Finance UK

Question Write a phd research proposal on Islamic Finance based on uk. Answer: Introduction (Research Topic) Islamic banking is a subject which many non-Muslims have rarely known and understand even less. However, several UK businesses have recognized the importance of Islamic banking and finance during the trading process (Hanif 2014). The growing demand of the Islamic finance has now received full support by many countries and thus results the global development of the Islamic economy and finance in the world of commercial dealings. With decades of experience of Islamic banking and finance, the institutes have developed several products that play an instrumental role and contributed in raising their share in the market. Thus the Islamic banking products has received the global acceptance especially trade between Islamic countries. On the other part, the non-Muslim countries are likely to have indirect interaction with an Islamic bank or financial institution when an importer in an Islamic country arranges credit for the global purchase through such an institution. According to Naser, Al S alem and Nuseibeh (2013), the principles of Islamic finance are quite capable of responding towards the need of international trade financing. This paper will explore the usefulness of the Islamic banking products in the context of international trade. With this research, the researcher will provide a brief literature review for the understanding of the importance of Islamic finance and its emerging role in the international business. After developing the research questions, the researcher will facilitate the methodology for conducting the research with the help of the several tools and techniques. Problem statement: It is difficult for the non-Islamic countries to adopt the Islamic law for the need of modern commerce (Abedifar, Molyneux and Tarazi 2013). It is problematic to follow the Islamic finance to that financial institute who has already followed the guidelines of the national legislation. To attain the competitiveness, Islamic financial institutions have developed several products. However, it is imperative that services and financial instruments need to develop on a regular basis. In the development process, majority of the institute are facing challenges in compliance with Sharia. Research Aim and Objectives The aim of the research is to explore the prominent role of the Islamic Banking Products which are directly influence on the international trade in different countries. Thus the objectives of the research are as follows: To identify the salient characteristics of Islamic finance To identify the beneficial aspects of Islamic banking activities over the conventional bank To understand the role of the Islamic financial products in the context of the international finance Research Questions To meet the research objectives, the researcher need to address the couple of questions of the research: What are salient characteristics of Islamic finance? How does the Islamic banking activity beneficial over the conventional bank? How do Islamic financial products help to the international trade? Literature review Based on the conventional Islamic laws, the Islamic finance was first conceptualized in the early 1890s (Iqbal and Molyneux 2016). Later the several principles of the Islamic finance have been following in different financial institutions such as bank, capital markets and many other financial institutions. By 1977, the emerging number of Islamic banks has made formulation with the International Association of Islamic Banks for the facilitating cooperation between banks from different parts of the world. Now the system of the Islamic bank has been acquired assets of US$55-$90 billion (Abedifa et al.2015). There are more than hundred interest free Islamic banks presently active in the international market such as countries like Malaysia, Singapore, India, China and many other countries (Venardos 2012). By following the guidelines of Syariah, Islamic banking system has followed the legal and ethical rules in their different banking activities. The main product used in the contemporary cross-border Islamic trade finance is the murabaha contract (Hassan, Kayed and Oseni 2013). This product is normally defined as the process by which the bank buys goods on the request of client which are sold at the negotiated price to them (Uppal and Mangla 2014). Generally, all the payments are made through the installments following the deferred payment basis. This arrangement is called cost-plus-profit contract where the financial institute no longer shares the revenues, rather it assumes capacity of a classic financial intermediary. Istisna, another type of forward sale contract of Islamic finance instruments, generally buy a project that is under construction and will be accomplished and delivered on the future date (Abdul-Rahman 2014). It was previously assumed that Murabaha contract would play an active role in the field of corporate financing. However, evidence suggests that most funds of Islamic banks are in fact employed in several businesses, rent and leasing (ijara) activities which offer fixed returns for the bank (Hoggarth 2016). The modern murabaha contract experiments number of possible Islamic alternatives to Western trade financing using interest-based letters of credit (Imam and Kpodar 2013). On the other hand, the Islamic financial institution on behalf of the buyers pays for goods in full in advance and Salam, the forward contract is delivered in future. The biggest advantage of the trade settlement for Islamic bank is that the cash or security movement can occur in several ways such as cash in advance or prepayments, documentary credits, documentary collections and open account( Hossain 2016). Moreover, the Islamic banks are often used contracts which provides the global safety and security which helps to establish the global client base. In order to secure the financial liability, the Islamic bank has provided a complete safeguard by the use of the contracts like Wadia, Hiwala, Kafala and Rahn. It has been observed that the nominal legal basis may be the conventional contract of murabaha in the conte xt of import-export financing (Gundogdu and Gundogdu 2016). However, the complexity of the international activities involved lies in fresh interpretations of the basic texts of Shariah in place of the establishing economic and social climate. Research Methodology and Techniques To conduct this research in a systematic manner, the researcher will follow a conventional research framework where different techniques and tools have been used in this section. Generally, the researcher approaches several techniques to gather information related to the research topic such as surveys, interviews, public research and many other research techniques (O'Leary 2013). Thus the selection of the appropriate research technique is indeed a significant mater which certainly helps to address the research objectives. In this research, the researcher will choose the exploratory research method where the focus will be given on the discovery of unique insights and ideas as opposed to collecting accurate data (Yin et al. 2016). By this research method, the researcher will explore the role of the Islamic Banking Product and highlight the contribution in the international trade activities. Furthermore, the researcher will follow the deductive approach where the researcher will test theories, concepts and the fundamental ideas about the research topic. Gantt chart Activities 1-2weeks 3-4 weeks 5-6 weeks 7-8 weeks Selection of area of the research Formulating research aim, objectives and questions Conducting a brief literature review Collection of data analysis Conclusion of the research Research Process: It is important to accomplish the research within the schedules time frame (O'Leary 2013). After accomplishing the fundamental steps, the researcher will get the comprehensive outcome of the research. The research topic is primarily selected at the initial stage of the research. After this, the researcher will formulate the aim and objectives of the researcher. Based on the objective of the researcher, the research will construct a couple of questions which needs to be articulate during the process. In the second part of the researcher explores the detail analysis to understand the impacts of the Islamic banking products in the context of the international trade. After the detailed literature review, the researcher will follow the systematic research method in the methodology section of the research. However, more data will be needed for detailed analysis. Thus the brief data analysis will be conducted in the data analysis chapter of the research. In this chapter, the secondary resea rch method will be followed for analyzing and evaluating the gathered information of the research. After the analysis, the research will complete the task and the objectives of the research will be addressed. In this way, the researcher will follow the systematic process to conduct the research successfully. Data Collection and Analysis method According to Ciarocco (2016), Success of conducting research depends over the outcomes that are gained by the researcher at the end of the research. Thus the researcher needs to collect and analysis adequate data and information in the section of the research. The research will follow the mixed data collection method. The data related to the research topic will be accumulated or gathered by following the observing methods and in-depth interviews. All these approach will be incorporated under the primary data collection method. This method will help to establish direct communication with the key respondents and can observe different opinion about the significance of the Islamic finance and related products of the Islamic financial institutions (Palinkas et al. 2015). On the other hand, the prior history of Islamic finance can be explored by the secondary data collection method. In this research, the researcher will analysis both primary and secondary information in order to evaluate the prominent role of Islamic Banking Products to help the international Trade. In the primary data collection method, the researcher will conduct the in-depth interviews and survey questionnaires to the Islamic banking professionals associated members of International Association of Islamic Banks. On the other hand, the data will analysis by the researcher which are already gathered from the research publications, books, financial reports, articles in the secondary research section. Expected Research Outcomes By the end of the research, the researcher will gather information about the role of the contemporary Islamic banking products in the context of the international business. After the completion, the researcher will get knowledge about the several products of Islamic banking which are played a significant role in the cross-border transactions in the context of the international business. References Abdul-Rahman, Y., 2014. The Art of RF (Riba-Free) Islamic Banking and Finance: Tools and Techniques for Community-Based Banking. John Wiley Sons. Abedifar, P., Ebrahim, S.M., Molyneux, P. and Tarazi, A., 2015. Islamic banking and finance: recent empirical literature and directions for future research. Journal of Economic Surveys, 29(4), pp.637-670. Abedifar, P., Molyneux, P. and Tarazi, A., 2013. Risk in Islamic banking. Review of Finance, 17(6), pp.2035-2096. Ciarocco, N.J., 2016. of Resource Assignment: Presenting a Research Proposal. Gundogdu, A.S. and Gundogdu, A.S., 2016. Exploring novel Islamic finance methods in support of OIC exports. Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research, 7(2), pp.78-92. Hanif, D., 2014. Differences and similarities in Islamic and conventional banking. International Journal of Business and Social Sciences, 2(2). Hassan, M.K., Kayed, R.N. and Oseni, U.A., 2013. Introduction to Islamic banking and finance: principles and practice. Pearson Education Limited. Hoggarth, D., 2016. The rise of Islamic finance: postà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ colonial marketà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ building in central Asia and Russia. International Affairs, 92(1), pp.115-136. Hossain, A.A., 2016. Inflationary shocks and real output growth in nine Muslim-majority countries: Implications for Islamic banking and finance. Journal of Asian Economics, 45, pp.56-73. Imam, P. and Kpodar, K., 2013. Islamic banking: how has it expanded?. Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, 49(6), pp.112-137. Iqbal, M. and Molyneux, P., 2016. Thirty years of Islamic banking: History, performance and prospects. Springer. Naser, K., Al Salem, A. and Nuseibeh, R., 2013. Customers Awareness and Satisfaction of Islamic Banking Products and Services: Evidence from the Kuwait Finance House (Note 1). International Journal of Marketing Studies, 5(6), p.185. O'Leary, Z., 2013. The essential guide to doing your research project. Sage. Palinkas, L.A., Horwitz, S.M., Green, C.A., Wisdom, J.P., Duan, N. and Hoagwood, K., 2015. Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed method implementation research. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 42(5), pp.533-544. Uppal, J.Y. and Mangla, I.U., 2014. Islamic Banking and Finance Revisited after Forty Years: Some Global Challenges. Journal of Finance. Venardos, A.M., 2012. Islamic Banking and Finance in South-East Asia: Its Development Future (Vol. 6). World Scientific. Yin, Z., Valdez, A., Mata Jr, A.G. and Kaplan, C., 2016. Developing a field-intensive methodology for generating a randomized sample for gang research. Free Inquiry in Creative Sociology, 28(1), pp.81-90.

To What Extent Was The French Revolution Caused By Economic Depression Essay Example For Students

To What Extent Was The French Revolution Caused By Economic Depression Essay In June 1789 the French revolution had begun. For the next five years there would be bloodshed throughout France, the country was going through a radical change, the change in sovereignty and the failure of the constitutional monarchy being two examples of this. But to what extent was all this caused by economic distress? Before being able to answer the question, one would have to establish the definition of ‘economic distress’ it could be defined as the misery people (especially the peasantry) faced due to low income and tax inflation or the misery that the entire country was in due to the enormous debts, which had accumulated due to the wars, which were fought. The economic situation was only one of the elements that caused the people to question the monarchy in pre-revolutionary France. France was in great debt and almost bankrupt but this did not stop them from fighting wars. The debt – an economic problem – turned into a social one, when the peasants w ere taxed heavily in order to pay for the debt, this caused them to question greatly their position in society and the effectiveness of their monarchy. Drought and other natural disasters ruined crop production, causing food prices to rise dramatically. With taxes rising and prices too, peasants were living in famine and in poor living conditions. The enlightenment was able to inspire revolutionary thoughts within the people. People began to abandon their beliefs in divine right and focused more on the thoughts of equality and society being run for the benefit of all. The economic situation only made people realize other problems concerning politics and society. A revolution (The complete overthrow of an established government or social order by those previously subject to it) would mean complete reform of political, ideological and economical beliefs, so for such a drastic change to be necessary there would need to be problems in all of these areas to begin with. We will write a custom essay on To What Extent Was The French Revolution Caused By Economic Depression specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now In Pre-revolutionary France there were three estates the first estate (clergy), the second estate (nobles) and the third estate (bourgeoisie, peasantry and urban workers). Most of the clergy came from noble backgrounds, as it was usual for the youngest sons of wealthy families to join the church in order to share its wealth. The church’s wealth came from tithes (a proportion or the each year’s crop paid to the church by landowners) and the vast amount of land that it owned. They clergy were exempt from taxes; instead they negotiated a don gratuit with the king. The don gratuit was an annual payment to the crown and was always much less than what would have to be paid in normal taxation. The church had a great deal of power too as the state religion was Catholicism, it was their duty to spread to ideas of divine right. The second estate was by far, the wealthiest and most powerful. They were exempt from paying direct taxes (until the 1749 vingtieme when they still paid less than they would have done if they were from the third estate) and doing military service such as the corvee (forced labour on roads) and made their money through the land they owned (between 15% and 25% of all land in France). They also receives seigneural (feudal) dues which were fees that the peasants were obligated to pay in order to use the lord’s mill, oven, wine press, breeding stock, death taxes, inheritance taxes and sale-of-property taxes. The third estate was made up of three parts; the bourgeoisie, who were the wealthiest and most educated part of the estate, many of them being financiers, landowners, doctors, writers and civil servants. It was also possible for wealthy bourgeoisie to buy venal offices to become nobles (however, most ennobling offices requires at least two generations of owners before nobility could be bought. The other part of the estate was the peasantry. It was the least wealthy and most numerous (85% of the French population lived in the c ountryside and most were peasants). Many of the peasants were laboureurs (people who grew enough food to feed themselves, these were the people who found it especially hard when the crop was damaged due to bad weather conditions in 1769-71, 1778-79, 1781-82, 1785-86 and above all 1788-89. Other peasants who were also greatly affected by this were the sharecroppers who had no capital and gave half their produce to their landlords. All peasants had to pay feudal dues such as the corvee, tithes to the church and also had to pay taxes such as the taille, vingtieme, capitation, and gabelle. Peasants also had to pay rents, which increased greatly between 1705 and 1789 to add to their expenses. The third part of the estate was the urban workers who were unskilled and poor. They were subjected to appalling living and working conditions and the famine hit them the hardest as they could not afford the bread which formed three quarters of the workers diet. Pre-revolutionary France was run unde r an autocratic regime. The monarchy was absolute, its powers consisted of: The National System of Justice, their role with the catholic church, the right to order taxation and leader of the military forces, a successful leader would need to be able to handle this power with confidence and good judgment. Louis XVI was too weak, far too indecisive and all in he was not the sort of person who should have held such responsibilities. The basis of the revolution was established when Louis XIV came to the throne. He was an absolute monarch who caused the nobles dislike of monarchy by reducing their power and taking them away from their land. In 1661 Louis spent $100 million to build the Versailles palace, his lavish spending left the country with a huge debt. He also spent a great deal of money fighting a series of wars in an attempt to dominate Europe. Louis XV was no more successful, he attempted to reform the unjust taxation by forcing the formerly exempt nobility and clergy to pay tax this was amended after his death. In 1771 the parlements were regrouped and stripped of their powers to obstruct royal decrees, this introduced the idea of the king being a despotic leader (a leader who acts illegally). Louis XV also spent vast amounts of money on 3 unsuccessful wars; the war of the Polish succession, the war of the Austrian Succession and the seven years war where France lost all of its overseas colonies to Britain, adding to the debt and causing the people to believe that the king was responsible for France’s loss of power. Louis XVI was weak foolish and extremely indecisive. His weakness was evident when instead of implementing tax reforms he avoided the nobility and just kept on borrowing money, creating a cycle of constant loans, by 1786 the debt totaled 3 billion livres and the deficit had come to 125 million livres. Another thing, which the French public hated about the monarchy, was that the queen was Marie Antoinette; to them she was the symbol of an unnatural alliance with Austria, which had led to France’s defeat in the seven years war. She greatly influenced the decisions of the king, for example the comptroller-general, Turgot, was sacked because she disliked him. Louis’ indecisiveness is shown in the way he dealt with extremely important matters, for example; it took six months to discuss the recall of the parlement in 1774, in 1778 the entry into the American war of independence took two years of deciding and the convocation of the assembly of notables in 1787 (where there was urgency) took five months. It was clear that Louis was not fit to be a king. .u12887faff266160c10247ac19089bb2d , .u12887faff266160c10247ac19089bb2d .postImageUrl , .u12887faff266160c10247ac19089bb2d .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u12887faff266160c10247ac19089bb2d , .u12887faff266160c10247ac19089bb2d:hover , .u12887faff266160c10247ac19089bb2d:visited , .u12887faff266160c10247ac19089bb2d:active { border:0!important; } .u12887faff266160c10247ac19089bb2d .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u12887faff266160c10247ac19089bb2d { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u12887faff266160c10247ac19089bb2d:active , .u12887faff266160c10247ac19089bb2d:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u12887faff266160c10247ac19089bb2d .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u12887faff266160c10247ac19089bb2d .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u12887faff266160c10247ac19089bb2d .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u12887faff266160c10247ac19089bb2d .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u12887faff266160c10247ac19089bb2d:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u12887faff266160c10247ac19089bb2d .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u12887faff266160c10247ac19089bb2d .u12887faff266160c10247ac19089bb2d-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u12887faff266160c10247ac19089bb2d:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Microsoft Essay ThesisThe biggest long-term problem next to the king and the extreme social inequality was tax. The main direct tax – the taille – that was a tax on land only applied to peasants, exemptions were granted to towns and nobles. Another tax was the capitation (poll tax) and the vingtieme (five per cent levy on all incomes). Along with the direct taxes, there were also indirect taxes such as the gabelle (salt tax), aides on food and drink and the octrois on goods entering the town. These posed more of a problem for the peasantry and the urban workers, as it did not take into account their low income. The tax therefore became a controversial issue a s it caused the peasants to question their role in society and wants to change it. It was intended for the money from taxes to cover the expenditure, but due to bad tax collection methods they rarely received as much money as they were supposed to. Indirect taxes were collected by the farmers-general who would pay a lump sum to the government in advance and keep any extra, direct taxes were collected by accountants (venal office holders who bought their positions and could not be dismissed), they often used the money for their own purposes. The lack of a central treasury meant that the comptroller-general could not track the fianc?s of the country; it was therefore difficult to judge how much money there was to spend. Due to the lack of money being received through taxes, the government had to borrow money, so payment of interest became a large part of government expenditure in the eighteenth century. The lack of fiscal equality and the circumstances under which taxation was issued (unsuccessful wars) caused great resentment among the third estate, it caused them to want change and to have a say in the way the country was run. These long-term problems caused a number of short-term problems, beginning with the summoning of the Estates-General. After Turgot was dismissed in 1776, the king appointed Necker who forced him to make all classes to pay tax. However, the 13 parlements (which had to vote for an act in order for it to be passed) opposed many of the royal edicts, which proposed change to the system of taxation and proclaimed that any change in the system of taxation ought to be voted on by the nation, so immediately an estates-general was set up. It was hoped that this would remedy the problem over taxation but this only caused more dislike for the monarchy and for the classes to firstly become hostile toward each other, and then united in the fight against the monarchy. When the first and second estates called for a vote on the matter of taxation, the third estate declared that they should have double representation and voting by head instead of order (each person’s vote counted instead of eac h estate). This was so that issues concerning inequality might not go unheard. On June 20th 1789, the members of the third estate went to the Hotel des menus for a meeting that had been called to sort out the conflict between the estates however, the door was locked in order to prepare for a royal session. They then went to a nearby tennis court where they made an oath: â€Å"Let us swear to God and our country that we will not disperse until we have established a sound and just constitution, as instructed by those who nominated us†. They then decided to call themselves the ‘National Assembly’ and following this, 151 clergy and 47 nobles joined the third estate, and the estates were now united – against the king. Another of the short-term problems was to do with agriculture. In the late 1700’s 20 million of the 26 million people in France lived from land. Many peasants were too poor to afford their own livestock to many of them were metayers or sharecroppers. This meant that the landlord provided the equipment and livestock in exchange for the labour and half of the produce of the peasants. Peasants with minimum income found it extremely difficult as they had to give up almost everything they had; half of produce to the lord, paid feudal dues (fees they had to pay to the lord to use his mill, oven, wine press, breeding stock, death taxes, inheritance taxes, and sale-of-property taxes) and also the taxes demanded by landlord, church and state. As the country edged more and more towards bankruptcy the peasants were faced with tax inflation, this caused great tension between second and third estates. A lot of the people from the third estates were the lords who were responsible for the gr owing burden of seigneural dues. Had the nobles paid taxes, the burden on the peasants would have been considerably less, as it would have been more spread out amongst the population. In the years of 1769-71, 1778-79, 1781-82, 1785-86 and 1788-89 there were repeated harvest failures due to drought and other natural disasters, causing there to be a shortage of food leaving the country in recession. This caused there to be less demand for manufactured goods, causing peasants and urban workers to become unemployed. This was disastrous for them because the food prices were going up and because they were now unemployed they had no income to pay for their food, this caused over 70% of the population to be in famine, while the other 30% were either just being able to get along or benefiting from the rise in prices. Normally, a worker would spend up to 50% of his earnings on bread, but between August 1788 and February 1789 prices had gone up by 50%. So by the time it got to spring 1789, a w orker would find himself paying 88% of his wages on bread. This famine, which spread across the country, caused a number of riots from peasants. On April 28th the house and factory of a wallpaper manufacturer – Reveillon – was burned down because it was rumoured that he would reduce the wages of his workers, Also, some peasants in Versailles entered the kings palace and threatened to kill Marie Antoinette demanding that they give them bread it was clear to see that they were in desperation, and this just showed the lengths they were willing to go to. The peasantry, who, for centuries had remained completely content in their social position were now making sure that their voice was heard in the only way they could – through violence. The tension between the estates and the monarchy and against each other was becoming disastrous and changes had to be made. .u6581832deb0c1129d24cafc6738fa6fc , .u6581832deb0c1129d24cafc6738fa6fc .postImageUrl , .u6581832deb0c1129d24cafc6738fa6fc .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u6581832deb0c1129d24cafc6738fa6fc , .u6581832deb0c1129d24cafc6738fa6fc:hover , .u6581832deb0c1129d24cafc6738fa6fc:visited , .u6581832deb0c1129d24cafc6738fa6fc:active { border:0!important; } .u6581832deb0c1129d24cafc6738fa6fc .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u6581832deb0c1129d24cafc6738fa6fc { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u6581832deb0c1129d24cafc6738fa6fc:active , .u6581832deb0c1129d24cafc6738fa6fc:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u6581832deb0c1129d24cafc6738fa6fc .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u6581832deb0c1129d24cafc6738fa6fc .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u6581832deb0c1129d24cafc6738fa6fc .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u6581832deb0c1129d24cafc6738fa6fc .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u6581832deb0c1129d24cafc6738fa6fc:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u6581832deb0c1129d24cafc6738fa6fc .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u6581832deb0c1129d24cafc6738fa6fc .u6581832deb0c1129d24cafc6738fa6fc-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u6581832deb0c1129d24cafc6738fa6fc:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: â€Å"A Horse and Two Goats† by R.K Narayan Sample EssayPeasants started to listen to the ideas of the bourgeoisie, who had adopted revolutionary ideas from America (because a lot of them went to fight there). The peasants related to the hardships of the bourgeoisie but it seemed that although they were fighting to defend the rights of the third estate by establishing a constitution, they had lost track of what was really wrong – the famine. The peasants and the bourgeoisie started to become divided in their priorities. Before, they were united against the monarchy, but the problems with agriculture and inflation meant that the peasantry was much worse off, c ausing them to want different things, especially within the economy. The peasantry wanted a controlled economy with no free trade, while the bourgeoisie wanted free trade and a completely capitalist state. The ideas of the enlightenment evoked revolutionary ideas in both second and third estates although many of the ideas of the philosophes themselves were not entirely revolutionary. The ideas of such people as Montesquieu, Voltaire, Diderot and Rousseau were able to reach everyone, as there was a rise in literacy and publishing. The need for equality and freedom was reflected in the work of Rousseau and Voltaire and the concepts of general will was founded on the basis of Rousseau’s â€Å"Forcing Man to be Free†. The â€Å"Declaration des Droits de L’homme et du citroyen† (Declaration of the rights of man) caused people to question the ‘letters de cachet’ (the rights that the king had to imprison someone at his own will) however, it did not in any way mention a change in the way the peasants were able to have a say in the social or political aspects. Philosophical thinkers such as Overall, we cannot put the cause of the revolution completely down to the economic distress that the country was facing as this was only really aimed at the peasants. For a revolution to occur, there would need to be a swift, radical change in social, economical and ideological beliefs, so there must have been a huge problem in all three of these areas to begin with, not just one. Past problems with the wars (e.g. the seven years war) caused the country to be in debt as well as causing resentment amongst the people and for them to question how successful the monarchy was. It was left to the peasants to carry the load of the debts, which kept on increasing while the first and second estate did not have to pay any taxes, this made them aware of the unfairness of the social hierarchy. They became even more aware of this when they faced starvatio n and the wealthy landowners benefited in the high prices of grain causing them to want a change in the economical situation of the country (more controlled and less free trade). The nobility could hold as much blame for the revolution as the king as they were the people who made up the parlement and refused to accept any reform to taxes, which was what caused the most conflict. Although the monarchy and church blamed the philosophers of the enlightenment for spreading revolutionary ideas, their ideas were not actually revolutionary. The church was worried because their beliefs brought about an alternative to Christianity and the social hierarchy, which they had lived with for so longEuropean History