Hitler and Mussolini Essay Example for Free

Hitler and Mussolini Essay Benito Mussolini during his rule from 1922 to 1943 faced many domestic problems within Italy that he had to deal with. Mainly the internal problems had to do with economic policies and struggle, which Mussolini attempted to deal with through his autarky policy. He also had to deal with political problems, which were derived from the interference of the church. Finally Mussolini also had to contend with social problems such as unification, and increase of popularity. Through his rule Mussolini had to deal with economic, social and political problems, however he was to a great extent not successful in dealing with these problems. One of Mussolinis greatest internal problems was his economic problem. Mussolini wanted to make Italy a great economy, one that could compete with the great economies of World War I such as Britain and France. In order to this Mussolini wanted an autarky, which was economic self-sufficiency in food and raw materials. He wanted Italy through autarky to become a powerful and large empire. In order to achieve this Mussolini instigated what historians such as MacDonald refer to as a series of battles. These battles were a struggle for the economy that Mussolini envisioned. A series of four battles were fought however only one can be regarded as a partial success while the other three were seen by most historians as failed attempts. The first battle was known as the Battle for Grain, which was to a great extent a failure. This battle started in 1925 because there was a poor harvest that year, and the grain for the most part was being imported. In order to become a self-sufficient economy Mussolini wanted Italy to be able to produce the grain on its own. By the 1930s Italy was able to become a self-sufficient grain growing economy by controlling imports and increasing the production of cereal crops. However despite being able to achieve grain production, Italy as a whole suffered due to this battle. By encouraging the production of grain, farmers had to stop growing fruits and vegetables, which were cheaper to produce. Therefore exports of fruits and vegetables also decreased, which caused the economy to become weaker because revenue from exports decreased. Also due to an emphasis on making grain the use of sheeps and cattle decreased, causing the decline of these animals. It also caused the country to go into debt since the government had to give subsidies to farmers and there were huge tariffs associated with the production of grain. Also the price of grain in Italy rose causing the price of bread to increase. This affected the working class and poor since the core of their diet was made up of bread. The masses of Italy suffered especially the poor and the farmers, although the industrialists did not suffer as much. Since grain production increased the demand for fertilizers and tractors increased, which increased the business of the industrialists. However the industrialists are a smaller proportion of the population of Italy than the masses, therefore to the most part the Battle for Grain was a failure. The second battle was the Battle for Lira whose main aim was to reinstate the purchasing power of the currency. Sine Mussolini wanted a powerful Italy; he thought that the weak currency added to weakness of the economy. Therefore in 1926, Mussolini revalued the Lira so that one pound was 90 liras. This battle also proved to be a failure since the price of exports increased. Due to this unemployment increased and firms and industries were not able to sell their goods as efficiently. This also caused the aim to increase economic influence to decrease since it had a negative effect of exports and unemployment. The Battle for Land was the third battle fought in order to increase economic power. This battle had mixed responses and could be seen as a success and failure. The Battle for Land attempted to control the migration to cities from the countrysides, which helped control unemployment. The Battle for Land was a success because of the Pointe Marshe in 1935 which served as good propaganda, helped decrease unemployment and also allowed for the control of subsidies to farmers. Pointe Marshe provided small farms and also increased public work, which called for employment. However it was also known as a failure because small plots of land were inefficiently utilized for a lot of wheat production. Also it did not help decrease the poverty of poor people. The economic problems in Italy that Mussolini tried to deal with through autarky were mainly a failure due to the failures of the battles. Another internal problem that Mussolini had to deal with was political problems. Mussolini wanted to obtain totalitarianism, however in order to this Mussolini had to deal with the Roman Catholic Church. This to an extent was a success, however tension between the Church and the state was never completely eradicated. In order to make relations with the Church better Mussolini allowed religious studies in education and also allowed the crucifix to be displayed in courts and classrooms. Also in order to gain support from the Church Mussolini had his children baptized and also had a church wedding in 1925 in order too show that he believed in the Church. The Church also accepted Mussolinis policy on abortions and contraception, in order to increase population. Mussolini also officially ended the tension by forming the Latern Pacts, which made the Vatican state independent, made Catholism the official religion of the state and also made education of cat holism mandatory in schools. This pact decreased tension between the church and Mussolini and allowed Mussolini to gain more power of the state. However despite the pact and decreased tension, conflict always remained between the Church and Mussolinis state. Mussolinis continued interference in catholic education in schools continued to be a problem between the church and the state and the Pope threatened to censure fascism. Another conflict between the state and the Church was relations with Nazi Germany in 1938, having to do with the views on anti-Semitism. The continued tension with the Church never allowed Mussolini to have full control over Italy, which added to his internal problems. The last internal problem that Italy had to deal with was social problems. Mussolini attempted to unify Italy and increase his popularity through propaganda since he did not have full control and poulatiry over the Italian people. Mussolini was most successful in dealing with social problems through Linquadramento and the idea of a corporative state. Linqadramento was an illusion that Mussolini created in order to unify Italy. Through this movement Mussolini increased their popularity and membership by providing support and financial aid during after the Depression from 1931 to 1937. This recovery from the deep depression of the postwar was remarkable and greatly aided the Fascists in winning favor and in establishing power., was the view of historian Clough. They also increased employment by inflicting a forty-hour workweek and allowing family compensations. These helpful acts during the Depression helped Mussolini gain support from more people, and allowed him to control more of the state. Also schemes such as the Pointe Marshe helped increase employment, which also helped Mussolini, gain support. Mussolini used propaganda through a policy called Corporative state, which also helped him gain support. The Corporative state advertised a state where there was no class system and all labors worked together. It also strived to make working conditions better and sought to help all laborers when they were in trouble by allowing them to share their concerns with their employers representatives who then shared them with Mussolini.

The Great Gatsby : The American Dream :: essays research papers

The Great Gatsby and the 'American Dream' In Francis Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby the concept of the 'American Dream' appears in two ways. On the one hand Fitzgerald's view and imagination of the American Dream and on the other and, within the plot, Gatsby as the 'possible' personified American Dream come true.

Government Funding Stem Cell Research Essay

Stem cell research is a relatively new science that is the source of much medical promise yet much controversy as well. The type of stem cells required, embryonic stem cells, are only obtainable one way: through the destruction of human embryos. In 1996, the Dickey-Wicker Amendment was passed, making the government unable to fund any research where human embryos are created or destroyed. At first the amendment was a minor obstacle the government had to work around to still get the stem cell scientists the money they needed. It wasn’t until August 23, 2010 that Judge Lamberth’s ruling halted all government funding for stem cell research. Today, stem cell research does not receive government funds as the research, though potentially life-saving, crosses moral and religious barriers that inhibit its growth as a science and as a gateway towards future medical breakthroughs. With the opposing arguments in mind, I feel the government should fund stem cell research as doing so will help speed up the research process and get us closer to saving lives and ending human suffering. There are two types of stem cells, adult stem cells (found in adults) and embryonic stem cells (found in embryos). Although both possess at least some ability to replicate and develop into mature specialized cells, such as skin cells, heart cells, or nerve cells, the adult stem cells are much less numerous than embryonic and generally much more limited in the types of cells they can form. Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent, meaning that they can form any kind of tissue and any type of cell. Embryonic stem cells are currently not used for medical treatments yet are the source of much medical promise in the near future. Obtainable only through the destruction of human embryos, embryonic stem cells can be viewed as life savers or the products of life destruction. A type of adult stem cell, the hematopoietic stem cell, is already widely used to treat leukemia; in fact, they are the only kind of stem cells currently used to treat diseases. Though past and current applications of stem cell therapy with humans may seem a bit underwhelming, scientists around the globe agree that stem cell research is worth the attention and will bring much relief to victims of many diseases. The main reason for government not to fund stem cell research is that it funds or at least encourages the destruction of human embryos. Judge Lamberth severed the government’s loophole used to fund stem cell research, appealing to the numerous United States citizens who do not want their tax dollars going towards the destruction of human embryos. Judge Lamberth concludes that â€Å"the fact that embryonic-stem-cell research ‘involves multiple steps does not mean that each step is a separate ‘piece of research’ that may be federally funded, provided the step does not result in the destruction of an embryo’† (Keiper). The issue here arises from the belief that human embryos are potential humans, and therefore, the destruction of human embryos should be considered the destruction of human life. Adam Keiper, the editor of the New Atlantis, states that â€Å"presuming the incalculable moral significance of human life, was certainly the intent of the Dickey-Wicker Amendment, and should be the aim of any decent society† (Keiper). He believes that the government should not fund stem cell research regardless of which part of the research it is funding; such funding of any research that involves the process of the destruction of human embryos, or potential human beings (as some may see them), incentivizes just that. With that in mind, one’s position on the stem cell research may be decided on simply weighing the potential lives saved by conducting the research with the potential lives saved by not conducting the research. That decision relies heavily on one’s morals, religious beliefs, and whether or not human embryos should be considered potential humans beings. Many embryos created through in-virto fertilization (IVF), a process that replicates conception, are never used by the patients of the IVF banks; they are spares and would never become humans without the consent of the parents of the embryo, or embryos. To answer the question of â€Å"whether or not human embryos should be considered potential human beings†, one must first answer the question: What makes a human? A simple answer to the question would be â€Å"anything that, under the right conditions, could become a human. † However, the crucial step in the development of a human is the decision of the parent; without parental consent, those spare embryos will never become humans. Thus, the embryos have no future as a person and should not be seen as potential life. The parents of the unneeded embryos have the option to donate the spare embryos to stem cell research or have them discarded. Laura Bothwell is a doctoral candidate in the history and ethics of public health and medicine in the Department of Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University. She believes that â€Å"it is a great gift to humanity that the embryos left over from the assisted reproduction cycles can be used for research that has the potential to alleviate human suffering† (Bothwell). Hundreds of thousands of spare embryos in IVF banks have no future as humans, making it unwise to not use them for stem cell research. In which case, the argument that the government is funding the destruction of potential human life is fundamentally flawed. We need to stop worrying about the lives of those who will never live and begin focusing on the lives of those already living. In the novel â€Å"Brave New World† by Aldous Huxley, the world has been transformed from what it is today. Humans are grown in factories with specific traits to fill specific roles in the society. Obviously, this is not the case today, and most would agree that is a good thing. However, we are slowly beginning to see that it may be possible. The possibility of growing our own human beings is scary to think of. Looming deep in the minds of stem cell researchers and scientists and anyone educated about the science is the fear of what it may lead to. Could it lead us to becoming human engineers? Could it lead to our humanity slip away as we wander into a life where no one is special, where not God but we are the creators of human beings? It may not be a commonly heard question as most would label it farfetched. Therefore, as I support the government funding stem cell research, I also understand the need for it to be monitored. Going into the science of stem cells and still today we do not completely know what will become of it in the distant future. â€Å"President [Bush] declared his intention to name a President’s Council to monitor stem cell research, to recommend appropriate guidelines and regulations, and to consider medical and ethical ramifications of biomedical innovation† (President’s Council on Bioethics). Another reason for the government to not fund stem cell research is that doing so would speed up the research while many, including those of the President’s Council on Bioethics, think it should be monitored and restricted as to prevent it from getting out of hand. Stem cell research is like a fire, some people want to see it grow and prove itself a source of warmth, some people want to see it diminish until there is nothing left; most want to keep it under control and prevent it from becoming a raging inferno. Moral dilemmas and deep inner-looming fears aside, stem cell research has a promising potential that cannot be ignored. Researchers believe that stem cells can be used to treat a large variety of diseases and organ failure. They could be used to create organ transplants that will not be rejected by the patient. Stem cells have the ability to save countless lives across the world. They may be used in the treatment of neurological diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer’s disease. They may be important for delivering targeted gene therapy. They have the ability to treat liver diseases and metabolic disorders such as Gaucher’s disease. Hematopoietic stem cells are currently used in treating leukemia, a reasonable and well established and accepted method of treatment. Ruth Kirchstein, a former acting director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), notes that â€Å"the ability to use stem cells in disease treatments by simple transplantation makes them a feasible therapeutic approach†, and â€Å"with limited supply of organs for transplants, stem cells are increasingly viewed as an attractive alternative for treating failing organs† (Kirchstein). If the only cost of funding stem cell research were the loss of embryos that had no future human life possibility than the numerous possible benefits of the research should render the cost insignificant. Stem cell research holds much promise yet is deprived of the funding necessary to fulfill this promise. If funded, within years we could be making medical breakthroughs and saving more lives than ever before. Luckily, modern science has unlocked a new possibility, one that could put an end to moral and ethical disputes and put an end to much human suffering. In recent years scientists have made a new discovery, a new way to research stem cells, a way to reprogram skins cells to behave just as embryonic stem cells; they are called induced pluripotent stem cells. This new method of acquiring stem cells breaks no ethical barriers while still giving us access to the life-saving potential of stem cells. In November 2007 a research group in Japan and another in Wisconsin successfully created the induced luripotent stem cells. Initially, the induced pluripotent stem cells had a cancerous tendency that killed some of the mice in the first testing process. However, on November 30, 2007 Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University, the leader of the Japanese research groups, eliminated the cancerous tendency. â€Å"In the first process, six of the thirty-six mice injected with the cells died of tumors within 100 days, but in the second process, no mice died† (Lewis). Not long after that accomplishment, scientists at Harvard Medical School and Children’s Hospital in Boston created the induced pluripotent stem cells from a human volunteer, adding to the evidence that supports skin cell reprogramming as a promising means of acquiring the valuable stem cells. Andy Lewis, a research editor for the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, declares that â€Å"The breakthrough of inducing skin cells into pluripotent stem cells is an answer to prayer of pro-life advocates, who have long desired an ethical medical solution to combat debilitating diseases and illnesses in society† (Lewis). Induced pluripotent stem cells, being classified as stem cell research, should by all means be funded by the government as it poses no ethical issues and possesses the same potential as human embryonic stem cells do. It is a solution that makes everyone happy. The government should fund stem cell research. Spare embryos with no future as humans should be utilized to improve the lives of those already living. If anything, the government should fund and encourage the creation of induced pluripotent stem cells. Stem cell research has too much potential to not fund, even with taking ethical and moral barriers into consideration. However, we must prevent ourselves from getting carried away; we must monitor the research’s growth, keep it controlled, and, most importantly, maintain our humanity. We can tend to the fire, let it glow brighter than ever, let it provide warmth and comfort for society, but if we let our guard down, if we allow the fire to become bigger than us, a raging, untamable inferno, we may never be able to stomp it out. ?

Critical Analysis Of Happy Loman - 1261 Words

Is Happy Loman Truly Happy? â€Å"You’re a success, aren’t you? Are you content?†, is the question Biff asks his brother, Happy and he heedlessly responds with, â€Å"Hell, no!†. Throughout the Death of a Salesman, Happy Loman is seen as this tall and powerful man but, on the inside he is very unhappy with himself. It would seem elusive if he was happy with himself when he responded to Biff with a â€Å"no†, unless he is truly unhappy. From the first few pages of this play, it foreshadows the struggles Happy goes through in order to be happy. He is unsatisfied and lonely, seeks the approval/attention from his father, Willy Loman, and he is a mirror reflection of his father. Taking in consideration of these factors will shed light on why Happy Loman is†¦show more content†¦He needs to be able to look back on his life feeling like he has done everything to feel happy in the end. Along with that, Happy is really lonely, even if he is more successful than his older brothe r. He feels empty, lost like he is missing something that will eventually make him happy but, he doesn’t seem to stand out as much as Biff does to his parents, especially Willy. Ironically, Happy, himself acknowledges the fact that he is lonely on page 12, â€Å"Sometimes I just sit in my apartment- all alone. And think of the rent I’m paying. And it’s crazy. But then, it’s what I always wanted. My own apartment, a car, and plenty of women. And still, goddammit, I’m lonely.† Happy understands that after being super successful, he feels empty inside like nothing can fill up a void in his body. After everything he wanted to have, like he said he still feels lonely and doesn’t feel like he has done anything worthwhile to look back on. The weight of feeling unsatisfied and lonely is only a third of Happy’s unhappy lifestyle and it gets worse as the play continues to play out. Since Happy is unsatisfied and lonely, it would make sen se for him to seek attention, especially from his father, Willy. The audience can see this from Happy’s childhood on page 16 and 21, saying that he’s losing weight. From a book called, â€Å"The Unhappiness Syndrome† by Ryuho Okawa, it says on page 47, â€Å"Self-assertiveness arises from a desire to express our individuality.†, meaningShow MoreRelatedArthur Miller s Death Of A Salesman1027 Words   |  5 PagesAn Analysis of Tragic Heroism of Biff Loman in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller This literary study will define the tragic heroism of Biff Loman in Arthur Miller’s play The Death of a Salesman. Biff is initially a victim of Willy’s continual harassment to make more money and find a better career. In this family unit, Biff must endure the unrealistic and fantasy-based elusions of his father in his fanatical pursuit of the American Dream. 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