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Government involvement in business
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A set of individuals makes up the society as a whole, which lives in an environment that it needs to preserve in order to survive. Individual’s goal is to make his life better by being able to afford as many goods as possible. By pursuing profit, most successful individuals of our society establish profit-seeking structures called companies. Companies, aside from producing goods for individuals’ use and generating profit for their owners, create negative effects on the environment and therefore on the society. Government’s job is to protect the society and keep its environment healthy. If we simplify the structure of the world we live in, we might understand the motives that guide each of these subjects and what are the negative effects on the whole society, on their way to achieving their goal. Well-being of one of them shouldn’t exclude the other.
Consumers are usually led by “the more, the better” way of thinking. Striving toward satisfying that principle has led to the kind of consumer community we are today. We have become a society with an ever-growing rate of consumption and disposal of used products. By decreasing the demand for various kinds of goods that are not of the vital necessity, we might actually do good for the society as a whole. By reducing waste, we are preserving the environment.
Government’s main concern should be protection of society and setting laws and ground rules that would allow the market to operate freely. Government’s interventions in the market have proven to be faulty on several occasions. The reason for that might be that the government officials haven’t taken into consideration all the facts because of the scope or complexity of an issue, or they haven’t accurately predicted what the impact...
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...edge about the materials they are using, process of production and type of pollution they are producing, than a government does. Their profit being at stake is what gives them more motivation to use any available resource when finding the best possible solution.
Other types of non-profit organizations founded by individuals such as foundations should exist and should be allowed to operate without the burden of taxes. Whatever the motives of their owners were to found them in the first place, they should not get in the way of the much greater possibilities these foundations offer when it comes to helping society in numerous ways. Together with governments’ efforts to increase the average living standard, and companies’ effort when it comes to reducing pollution, we are on a good path of preserving our planet and securing a safer future for the future generations.
The current issues that have been created by the market have trapped our political system in a never-ending cycle that has no solution but remains salient. There is constant argument as to the right way to handle the market, the appropriate regulatory measures, and what steps should be taken to protect those that fail to be competitive in the market. As the ideological spectrum splits on the issue and refuses to come to a meaningful compromise, it gets trapped in the policy cycle and in turn traps the cycle. Other issues fail to be handled as officials drag the market into every issue area and forum as a tool to direct and control the discussion. Charles Lindblom sees this as an issue that any society that allows the market to control government will face from the outset of his work.
The amount of government regulation, restriction, and intervention in the economy is substantial. No free markets, and rapid innovations in technology and communications, the need for government intervention in the economy is necessary to correct abuses or to promote general welfare.
All markets may be affected by parts of the four criteria however, some markets are operationally reliant on on them, and these are the markets, Satz argues, are noxious markets, that need regulating. Satz focuses on “noxious markets” because they can restrain or undermine the development of desirable human qualities, shape preferences in undesirable ways or promote objectionable social relationships. Satz argues that the solution is not prohibition because the consequences of prohibition may be worse than the market itself. Satz instead states that markets need a greater r...
...ecome so reliable and dependats to their gadgets and materials than on people that if taken away, distress and unhappiness usually is an end result though theyr are just mere objects. However people may argue that consumers are the key to businesse success, they are also producers them selves though its true that without needs and wants, out world woudnt be that modernaized and advance as its today but consumers are just given mere importance for their loyalty to the products and play their part which is just to consume whatever is thrown at them despite any freedom in choices or decision making. Hence we consumers have been given importance as the’ public opnion’ and given the spotlight, but sadly unless we realize that this is all a game of manipulation we will continue to trapped in the shadows of the cave just like the prisoners in Plato’s Allegory of the cave.
Why waste money and material when people owning things they actually only need to use once or twice? The idea of ownership is shifting and becomes the idea of access or subscription instead of a one-time purchase. The innovation of technology made these ideas easy and fast by connecting consumers and created rating systems with the help of social networks and mobile technologies. Corporate America that contributed to over-consumption has raised global environmental and financial concerns. On the other hand, the rising trend of collaborative consumerism encourages eco-conscious ways to de-clutter over-consumption; it may have a negative impact on traditional corporate consumerism, but encourages ecofriendly entrepreneurships; it also improves human relationship by finding the power of community and connecting with each other; it is an optional lifestyle for individuals, and a major challenge for businesses and societies.
Consumerism has always been a big part of society back in the golden days. In today’s society, the ongoing debate of wants and needs are not justified by an individual’s wealth, but it is rather opinionated by the generalized public. Not only are the consumers getting caught in this mess, but many retailers are being sucked in as well. Retailers, have to stay up to date with the latest trends, to make sure they get their products across. Human identity is no longer determined by how much a person makes an hour, but by the commodities they possess. Consumers are so centralized on the materialistic items, that they forget what is more valuable and important. Unfortunately, the frivolous consumption has taken over the
This essay will examine the concept of market failure and the measures that governments take remedy the failure of the market.
Thesis Statement: Consumerism is destroying our planet through its excess, but with the help of reducing we may be able to slow the negative change happening in our environment.
Over all the appropriate role of government has always been an argument discussing whether it is actually helping our economy or is the government gaining too much power over the markets. However the economy could not prosper without the actions imposed to assist in diffusing the power over the markets and regulating as well as enforcing the law in order for things to done in a beneficial way to both the consumers and the markets.
At the present, it seems like that the technology, the medicine, the economic stability has been improved and consequently we have better life standards than our predecessors – we are able to have more, to wish for more and consequently to consume even more. But how far away are we from the Brave New World? – Unfortunately with every passing decade, we are getting closer and closer to the reality described by Aldous Huxley. As if Rene Descartes’ “I think, therefore I am” is transferring to “I consume, therefore I am.” I cannot say whether being consumers is good or bad but I do believe that our individualism and human values are somehow distorted by our pleasure seeking from consumerism. And although, our society may be able to survive at the expense of individual freedom, it is not worth the price.
When the problem became serious two main views formed: the “narrow” view and the “broader” view, based on different ideas. The “narrow” view is based on the proposition that corporations have no social responsibility and they have only one main purpose, to make a profit (Friedman, 1970). So corporations should remain socially independent and all conflicts must be solved through the individual responsibility concept. On the contrary the “broader” view states that corporations have social obligations as all existing participants of market, persons and entities are tied together and are mutually dependent. So corporations cannot ignore some serious events or problems, which take place, and must help society, as profit is not their single purpose.
The single most important environmental issue today is over-consumerism, which leads to excess waste. We buy too much. We think we always need new and better stuff. Will we ever be satisfied? There will always be something better or cooler on the market. Because we live in a capitalistic consumer culture, we have absorbed things like: “Get it while the getting’s good,” “Offer ends soon, buy while it lasts,” “For great deals, come on down…Sunday Sunday Sunday!” We, kids from 1 to 92, have become saturated with commercials like: Obey your thirst. How much of our consumption is compulsive buying, merely obeying our momentary thirst? Do we actually need all that we buy? Could we survive efficiently, even happily, without making so many shopping center runs? Once after I made a Target run with mom, I noticed that most of the bulkiness within my plastic bags with red targets symbols on them was made up of the products’ packaging. I then thought about all the bags that were piled on the floor near us…all of the bags piled on the floors of many homes throughout America daily.
Today the consumerism plays an extremely important role in contemporary societies; consumerism has carried a part of the planet to the edge of Ecological, social and economic abyss, and every day becomes more evident. But naturally, it goes against a process that has become common in the daily life of people, The consumers need to advise about nature of the products, the value and the consequences of the consumption of certain products in the environment. One of the most creative ways to solve this problem is to minimize consumption of newly manufactured products, either by buying items with a longer shelf life or buying used items, new resources are not used in the manufacturing and industrial pollution and carbon dioxide will be lower. We can Recycling and reusing, also make reasonable use of natural resources, energy, and water, this contribute to the mitigation of climate impacts, will require manufacturers to use more sustainable technologies.
People should know the negative impact throwing away a water bottle or newspaper, purchasing meat from the grocery store or consuming gasoline has on the environment, and many do not. By informing society about how their decisions affect the environment, we can help save our planet and change our attitude toward the land we live on, the water we drink and the air we breathe” and truly show respect for the stuff that we depend on. The United States produces “about 8.25 billion tons of solid waste each year” (Russell 1). People do not realize the impact they have on our planet and the environment. When people throw anything in the trashcan, they are contributing to the destruction of our planet.
“Many people want the government to protect the consumer. A much more urgent problem is to protect the consumer from the government”. Here Milton Friedman, American economist and a famous writer share his views about the society or government who is responsible for the protection of the people. Most of the people in this world are familiar with the word society. The term society describes a group of people as the members of certain communities for several events. We live in a society and without society we cannot develop our own individual behavior. In other words an ideal society can also be known as a perfect society which can provide basic needs to the people living within their respected communities. Different types of societies prevail in this world today. Some are religious, cultural, charitable, professional as well as economic. But there are advantages and disadvantages to these societies. For instance, being in a society will increase teamwork, cooperation, open to anyone, regardless of race, sex, religion and it is easy to form. On the other hand, it will limit your ability of working individually, problems arise when some families in the community fail to contribute money and the lack of secrecy since almost every matter is discussed openly in meetings. Authors such as Milton Friedman and Jane Jacobs describes about societies in detail and how it should be through their famous books, free to choose and the death and life of great American cities.