History of Unemployment in America - Research Paper Example
It has not always, however, been the wealthy and pretentious country it has been portrayed to be. Throughout its history, unemployment has been a figure of great concern. There have been periods of extremely low unemployment, followed by some alarmingly high periods of unemployment where even the most experienced and educated among us have struggled to find work. To progressively move towards a more free and prosperous country in the future, it is important to understand the historical trends of unemployment in America, the people affected, and the overall impact on American society in general. Historical Unemployment Trends in America Actual unemployment figures in the United States are only available from the 1940s onward, but we do know that American has went through cyclical trends of employment throughout its formation. As recently as 2009, the unemployment rate was over 10% and continuing to rise (Beyers, 2013). While many in the younger generation believe this was as bad as it has ever been, history certainly tells us otherwise. Interestingly enough, in the early days of America, employment was almost guaranteed. Simply considered the vast area of our land and couple that with the reality that the population of the country actually started off quite small, and America had the perfection economic and employment conditions under which to thrive (Closson, 1895). And, thrive the country did during those early years. There was so much to be done after the Revolutionary War that nearly anyone who wanted a job could have one. This was particularly true because of the agrarian nature of the early Republic. There were relatively few factories, so as soon as those were built and opened, much staff was needed. In addition, farming work in the late 1700s and 1800s was incredibly labor intensive, so the job that takes one person today required as many at 50 a few hundred years ago. As such, unemployment was basically unheard of and not even counted for nearly 180 years after America gained its independence (Closson, 1895). As America began to expand, the need for laborers expanded right along with it. Consider the Homestead Act of 1862. This government policy gave every adult American up to 160 acres of public land, with the one provision that they agreed to cultivate and put it to use within five years. This created a renewed vigor and America that was based on expansionary and visionary thinking (Closson, 1895). Because of this, once again, more people were needed to cultivate the land given out nationwide than there was actually available in the workforce. Even Americans who were considered down on their luck during this time period quickly discovered that they had more ‘job’ offers that they could imagine. The mood in the country was quite bright as employment was high, and the possibilities seemed limitless. Again, there was no perceived need to count unemployment due to the fact that everyone who desired a job had one. As the land began to become cultivated, however, and the industrial revolution began to sweep through America, changes were certainly on the horizon. It should be pointed out that farming work, and cultivating land, did not pay much and it became increasingly difficult to sustain a family on somebody else’s land. As such, as soon as factories began to be built in full force in the latter part of the 17th and salty 18th centuries, there was a mass migration
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Different Arguments Suggesting Violent Computer Games are Morally Wrong - Essay Example
Sicart ( 2009, p.35) reveals that the gaming world can itself modify the gameplay, dictating behaviours in various aspects. For instance in the game Burnout 3, the virtual world requires and encourages the player to crash into other nearby vehicles and structures such as bridges and tunnels in order to bag more scoring point and this endeavour enhances the game aggressiveness simultaneously. Likewise, Sicart ( 2009, p. 193) further reveals that in the game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, the player has to engage in sex, and then he is made to kill the computer character in order to snatch the money back. Such games inculcate unethical values in an individual, who is in need to develop values of good to become a virtuous and devoted person which is quite contrary to what these games teach the youth and furthermore, virtual environment rewards points for unethical acts (Sicart 2009, p.193). Floridi ( 2010, p.69) further reinforces the viewpoint that the ultra-violent games such as Grand Theft Auto, Zog’s Nightmare and Manhunt encourage the players to experience manslaughter, run extermination camps, murder for snuff movies and to drive over people in order to gain extra game points. This is causing parents moral concerns with respect to the learning development of their children. To add on, Stevens and Saldamarco (2008, p. 5) state that the game Defcon is designed to encourage a hostile approach amongst the players. The game’s main objective is to trigger nuclear wars and annihilations rewarding the player who lose the least. However, the most repugnant aspect of these computer games especially in god games, surfaces when certain very fundamental religious beliefs are questioned and exploited in designing a gameplay. For instance, Cogburn and Silcox (2009, p.77) depicts that in the game Left Behind it is explained that the adherence and devotion to Christianity is a matter of one’ s personal choice but on the contrary when the player ‘converts’ or recruits neutral citizens into his/ her ‘force’, they are required to adhere to his/her each and every command without any question. Moreover, the writers reveal that the ‘converts’ have to wear a purple coloured uniform and they are referred to as ‘units’ than ‘people’, which seems pretty odd since they were supposed to be free will agents who have achieved salvation by adopting Christianity. Another aspect of computer that needs to be shed light onto is the ‘Game Ego’; it is not a kind of a physical manifestation, but an entity that can exert force ( Pivec 2006, p.51). The writer further states that the Game Ego is connected to the player through a motor or kinesthetic link, which removes the barrier between the inside and the outside and the gamer is in oblivious of the fact that he is sinking deeper and more deeper into the realms of the game. If the Game Ego stops responding to the strategy of the game player, the player experiences loss of self control and the feeling of helplessness prevail ( Pivec 2006, p.52). |