Saturday, October 26, 2019

THE CAUSES OF PUBLIC PROTESTS


Public protests have always existed, and the reasons are universally known. They are usually a way of drawing attention to a perceived wrong and demanding change. Never have they been so widespread as in the autumn of 2019, which is when this task was prepared. Below, you will find the main causes of public protests and examples from the afore mentioned period. You will need to research each case in order to be able to do justice to the writing task. It is hoped that while doing so, you will develop a keen interest in world events and continue to follow what is happening globally. Should you attempt this task in the years to come, you will need to scour the press to discover appropriate examples. It is suggested you give yourself free rein and allow this writing task to be as long as it needs to be.
Refer to my second blog, The Essay Archive, for sample essays: https://theessayarchive.blogspot.com/
Here are the main causes of public protests and the names of the countries where they occurred in October 2019:
·         Political: London , Barcelona
·         Erosion of human rights: Hong Kong
·         Fraudulent elections: Bolivia
·         Economic inequality, cost of living: Chile
·         Corruption: Iraq
When writing cause and effect essays, it is customary to suggest solutions in the conclusion so here are some suggestions:
·         Social and economic reforms (Diversifying the economy and the like)

·         Young and innovative leaders

Thursday, October 24, 2019

ARE WE ON THE ROAD TO CIVILIZATION COLLAPSE?



By Luke Kemp
Level of difficulty: ***
 BEFORE YOU READ
NOW WATCH AND LISTEN
·         Joseph Tainter talks Energy, Collapse, and Society  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KeY1dIPi8k

QUESTIONS
1.       The case of The Roman Empire is presented as an example of…
2.       All the civilizations listed in the graphic are examples of civilizations which crumbled due to…
3.       How would you replace “they are” in the sentence “I would argue that they are.” ?
4.       Watch the following to be able to understand the text: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVJmHDUgUIs What conclusion can be reached concerning civilizations based on this video?
5.       Why is “Our tightly-coupled, globalised economic system more likely to make crisis spread”? Refer to the video you watched for question 4.
6.       How can we prevent our civilizations from collapsing? By…
7.       The cases of the Anazai, the Tiwanaku civilisation, the Akkadians, the Mayan, the Roman Empire all prove that……
8.       Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEp8qesTVg0  The story of Easter Island Proved that…
9.       How would you replace the phrase “This inequality” in the following sentence: “This inequality undermines collective solidarity and political turbulence follows.”?Write the sentence out in full.
10.   How can the section titled “Complexity” best be summarized? What is it precisely that causes society to collapse?
11.   The collapse of the Byzantine Empire is an example of an empire which collapsed due to …
12.   Study the chart titled “Danger Signs”. Which of the following could be added to the discussion of this chart: In short, the overall picture doesn’t look too gloomy/ presents a grim outlook / is not as bad as we may expect/ is worse than we may have expected.
13.   Watch: https://news.cgtn.com/news/3d516a4e336b7a4d/share_p.html Why did Saudi Arabia launch its “Vision 2030” initiative? Why can’t Saudi Arabia continue as it is? Because if it did, it would collapse due to lack of…
14.   Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-fgsUE42IE The innovations described in the video could protect against collapse because they can…
15.   Look at the answer you gave to question 12. Would you revise your answer now? If so how?
16.   It is stated in the text that “Any collapse – any fall from the ladder – risks being permanent” in the case of modern civilization. Why is this the case? Because…
17.   How is the situation modern civilization finds its self in described in the text? It is described as…
18.   What is the take home point made in the text?
WRITING TASK
Use all the information you have acquired to write an essay describing the reasons why modern society could collapse.

ARE WE ON THE ROAD TO CIVILIZATION COLLAPSE; KEY AND TEACHERS’ NOTES
This highly topical text draws on history to outline the dangers faced my modern civilization and the reasons why its fall might be much more catastrophic than that of previous civilizations. All the points that are made are supported with examples. I have added videos to some of the questions both to make that section of the text easier to follow and to add variety.
1.       A civilization that took its own life
2.        A rapid and enduring loss of population, identity and socio-economic complexity
3.       I would argue that the lessons of agrarian empires are applicable to our post-18th Century period of industrial capitalism
4.       Collapse may be a normal phenomenon for civilisations, regardless of their size and stage
5.       As any technical system grows in complexity and connectedness, the probability of cascading failure increases
6.       By examining the trends that preceded historic collapses and see how they are unfolding today.
7.       When climatic stability changes, the results can be disastrous.
8.       Collapse can occur when societies overshoot the carrying capacity of their environment.
9.       Cheap workers and a top heavy society undermines collective solidarity and political turbulence follows.
10.   Societies eventually collapse under the weight of their own accumulated complexity and bureaucracy/ the weight of their own accumulated complexity and bureaucracy
11.   An external shock OR war
12.   Presents a grim outlook
13.   To restructure its economy to turn the biggest oil producer in the world into a global industrial conglomerate/ economic diversity
14.   mitigate against pressures such as climate change
15.   Yes, there are some reasons to be optimistic, thanks to our ability to innovate and diversify away from disaster.
16.   The higher you climb, the larger the fall
17.   A progress trap
18.   We will only march into collapse if we advance blindly. We are only doomed if we are unwilling to listen to the past