Western civilization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 7

Western civilization - Essay Example This paper seeks to explore the shifts in concepts and ideologies that occurred leading to western civilization. Renaissance illustrates a period of cultural movement and its spread to the rest of Europe whereas Italy is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, which saw the outlook and institutions of the middle ages merge. Therefore, during this period radical change would be experienced at all levels of the society, giving rise to the European civilization, which later transformed to the modern western civilization. The central government within the political organization grew stronger in the wake of the rebirth but at the expense of feudalism. Feudalism was an arrangement in which persons regarded as nobles exercised public power, formerly held by kings since the existing monarchs could not guarantee the safety of their subjects. The notion that those regarded as the wellborn can influence policies and rule over others behind closed doors is still among the western civilization where stakeholders are involved in the decision-making process. Commercial and industrial activities expanded significantly, which introduced new and more efficient products to the society. As a result, capitalism in most city-states replaced most primitive forms of economic organization (Perry et al 293). This is a defining characteristic of the modern western civilization whose commercial activities are based on capitalism. The adoption of capitalism by the earlier civilizations enhanced pre-existing social inequalities, which for instance widened the gap between the rich and poor. At the height of the booming commercial activities, people in the middle-class level of the society increased in number as they amassed wealth, which played a crucial role in the economic and cultural life. In addition, religious reforms were introduced following the fragmentation of unity in

Formal Assignment #4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Formal Assignment #4 - Essay Example These changes relate to US demographics, including age, gender and ethnic composition. The changes in the labor market can affect both the native and immigrant populations. This paper discusses changes in the US labor market over the past few decades. The paper assumes that the same changes were in New York since it is part of US. One of the most important changes in New York and U.S. labor market is the increased labor force participation of women (Ricardo, Kristie and Michael 50). The past several decades recorded a steady increase in the number of women participating in the labor market. Since 1999, the labor-force participation rate of these women remained steady. Another important demographic change that is affecting the labor force is the evolution of the population’s age distribution. Over the past several years, age is playing an important role in determining labor force participation in New York as well the U.S. most of the working population belongs to the baby-boom generation (Ricardo, Kristie and Michael 53). These are people born between 1946 and 1964. However, this may have negative effects on the overall labor force participation rate since most of these people are growing older. The effect of age on the national economy may result from a reduction in the labor-force participation rate c aused by aging of the baby-boom generation. Racial and ethnic diversity of the U.S. population is another important demographic change that affects labor force participation. Ethnic diversity may be because of social, economic, or political factors. However, it is clear that this diversity affects the labor market in one way or another. Over the past two decades, there is a significant difference in labor force participation among different races. Between 1980 and 1990, the number of immigrant populations in the US labor market increased. The number of immigrant population employed was also very high. The number grew by about 50 percent during that