Tag: USA
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How Poor People Survive in America
Neoliberal policies in America over the last 30 years have led to massive economic inequalities. Policies such of tax cuts for the rich and restrictions in welfare spending mean that now even working people on relatively high incomes cannot afford rent in some of the more expensive areas of America, such as California. As a…
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What is a Likert Scale?
A Likert* scale is a multiple-indicator or multiple-item measure of a set of attitudes relating to a particular area. The goal of a Likert scale is to measure intensity of feelings about the area in question. A Likert scale about Likert scales! In its most common format, the Likert scale consists of a statement (e.g.…
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Trump’s Tax Bill: Another Neoliberal Policy.
In mid December 2017, The U.S. Senate voted through a tax-bill which will deliver a dramatic reduction in America’s corporate tax rate – from 35% to 20% – along with a reduction in inheritance tax which will allow the America’s wealthiest individuals to pass more tax-free money to their children (or other heirs). This Guardian…
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Forging the American Empire
Is it possible to perceive the making of modern America as a sort of colonial project? One in which the new American capitalist class colonizes the so called American wilderness for the benefit of Capitalism? This is the argument Andrew Brooks makes in his recent book – The End of Development: On 4 July 1776…
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What are the Most Useful Indicators of Development?
You need to use a range of economic and social indicators to get a full picture of how developed a country is….
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Right Wing American Media Bias
Identifying media bias through content analysis is a key skill in sociology. The American media is often accused of having a right-wing bias which means they will present a pro-capitalist, pro-business world view as normal and desirable and promote a neoliberal policy agenda. (1) Below I analyse one newspaper article (about why 66 million Americans…
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Does Globalisation mean the Decline of the Nation State?
In the early stages of Globalisation (1600 -1950s especially) Nation States were very powerful – Colonialism for example was led by European governments and monarchies and the most serious conflicts tended to be between nation states – culminating in World War 2. However, since then, many globalisation theorists argue that increasing global flows in trade…
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The US bombing of Afghanistan – A $16 million distraction from the harms of neoliberal policies at home?
America’s two latest attacks on Syria and Afghanisatan have been headline news in the last fortnight – in case you missed either of them… In Syria – the US launched 59 Tomahawk missiles to damage and air base in response to the claimed use of chemical weapons by Assad’s forces against civilians. In Afghanistan they…
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The United States Military: Some Recent Examples of Their War Crimes
This material is relevant to the topic of ‘State Crime’ and ‘War and Conflict’ as an aspect of development. The point of it is to illustrate that the United States is pretty much the biggest military aggressor in recent world history, and thus a good candidate for the country which commits the worst state-crimes. …
