Jensen1

NoahJensen
Period6
HELA10
Lundstrom
January13,2016
Unit4ThePowerofFearArgumentativeResearchPaper
Theeternalmotivatorhasalwaysbeenfear.Ofanydriveofanykind,fearhasshapedthe
wayweliveandhavesurvived.Keepingthatinmind,wecannotassumethatfearhasmagically
leftusaloneinthisdayandage.Haveweevertrulyisolatedhowgenuinecapitalisteconomies
run?
Capitalisteconomiescontinuallyusefeartocontrolthehabitsandactionsofitscitizens.
Firstly,capitalisteconomiesuseinsecuritiestocreatefear,inturntocontrolitscitizens.
Thiscanbeseenatanypointinacapitalisteconomy.Peoplewillstruggletomakeendsmeet,
andconstantlyworry,wonderingwhetherorwherethenextpaycheckwillbecomingfrom.The
encumberinginsecuritiesthatcomewithacapitalisticeconomycanhaveextremelynegative
effects,especiallytominorities.Toexplaintheneedforsecurity,JackBendasays,
Humans
haveatendencytowantsecurity.Weconstantlytrytofindwaystoalignourselveswithothers,
findourplaceinsocietyandidentifyourselvesinordertofeelsecure.
Consequently,people
livingonedgeareopentomanipulationthesource,however,isnotusuallyidentified.Thereis
virtuallynobarrierbywhichthepowerofthiseconomyhastomanipulateoureverydaylives,
frombuyinggoodstoourverylifestyle.Bystrivingtokeepliving,youacceptthefearthat
comeswithconformingtoaneconomywherepeoplecandieofpoverty,orontheflipofacoin,
drowninwealth.


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Toillustrate,astudyontheeffectsofinsecuritiesandstressfoundthatitcontributed
heavilytoobesity.Economicinsecurity,alongwithadropinfoodpricesandourbodysnatural
tasteforhighcaloriefoodswheninstressfulsituations,haveallproducedtheobesityepidemic
thatwehavetoday(Newswise).
NewresearchbyJonD.WismanandKevinW.Capehartat
AmericanUniversityinWashington,D.C.,suggeststheobesityepidemicissubstantiallydueto
growinginsecurity,stress,andasenseofpowerlessnessinsocieties
(Newswise).Notonlyist
he
obesityepidemicomnipresent,butitisgrowingrapidlyatasteadypace.Thepressureofthis
economyhaveleadmanydownthepathofunhealthyliving.
Secondly,capitalisteconomiesuseinadequacytocreatefear,inturntocontrolthe
people.Tieinginwithinadequacy,insignificanceisanothercreatedfear.Thenotiontoaspireto
besomeone,iscloselyrelatedtothedeeplyrootedinsignificanceofself,whichcultureisbeing
forceduponus(Benda).Withtheconstantfightingaspectofacapitalisteconomy,theneedtobe
pristine,comfortable,andwithholdingofyoursocietalposition,thefearofinadequacyisa
commoneffect.Conformingtosocietyisasafeguardagainsttheunknown,whichpairswiththe
totalandutterconfusionofacapitalisteconomy.Inhisbook,Misesexplains,capitalistswantto
enjoypermanentlyanincomewhichisnotsubjecttothevicissitudesofchanginghuman
conditions,whichmeansthatcapitalistswantsomethingtoanexact.Sadly,thatisnothowit
usuallyplaysout.Themirageofthissituationisthatyouraspirationstobecomeorupholdyour
adequacyisillogical.Tryingtopresentyourselfasthemostgeneric,genuinepersontothe
societyisonlynatural,giventhatfromasurvivalstandpoint,ifyouareseenasgenuineor
normalyouwonthaveverymanyrepercussions.Althoughthismayberedundanttoyourgoal
ofbeingashiningstar,itstillproducesthedesiredeffectofsocialsafety.


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Inaddition,capitalisteconomiesusegovernmentalpowertocreatefeartocontrolthe
people.Forexample,U.S.citizensareveryindividualisticsoagovernmentwithlotsofpower
sitsveryuneasily.Fearcanbecreatedbymassiveamountsofpowernomatterwhat,butthe
individualisticU.S.economymagnifiesthiseffect.ThispointisexactlywhytheU.S.ishaving
severecivilissuesaboutguncontrolandthelike.Consequently,fearofthegovernmentis
createdwhenanyonetriestoquestionitwithanythingbesideswriting(bringingtheissuetothe
NationalGovt.).ThesheerpowerthattheU.S.governmenthasisnearlyunmatched,whichis
exactlywhycitizensnowdonotwanttostepinitsway.Toillustratethisfear
Legend has it that an old dictator, when he knew that he would soon die,
picked two men whom he felt he could trust as potential successors to his
throne. As he lay on his deathbed, he summoned the two men and asked his
servant to bring him two birds. When the two men came to his deathbed, he
said, I have called you here to see which one of you is worthy to be the heir
to my throne. In order to prove yourself, you must take one of these birds
and make it remain in the palm of your hand for five minutes without killing
it. One of the men took a bird from its cage, but he held it so tightly, he
suffocated it. The other man, determined not to make the same mistake,
took out the other bird and held it firmly but made no attempt to restrain it.
Therefore, it quickly flew away through one of the room's windows. Fools!
I will show you how to do it properly, said the dictator. Bring me a bird!
he ordered his servant. When the servant came back, the dictator took the
bird, plucked out all of its feathers, then held the bird in his hands. The bird
was now shivering without its feathers to warm him, and although he was
unmistakably terrified, he did not fly away. "Do you see it? It is now
helpless. It is terrified. It is freezing. It is vulnerable. I have stripped it of
everything, and now it is thankful for the warmth I am giving it in the
palms of my hands," the dictator said. The legend ends here, but the
assumption is that this is how the dictator controlled his peopleby taking
everything away from them, then making them feel thankful for his
protection. He essentially got those people to play frozen, just as the bird
was playing frozen in his hands.
-John Williams


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Moreover,capitalisteconomiesusemediatocreatethefearsofunconformity,
inadequacyandinsecurity.Allmediahasoneconnectingquality:itsveryexistence,originally,
wastoentertainitsviewers.Asputintoplayonsocialmedia,trendscanactuallyseriously
damagesomeonesinvestments.Onthecharacteristicsofamarketeconomy,Misesexplains

Pastachievementsdonotcountiftheyareobstaclestofurtherimprovement
.
Thismelancholy
factaddsontosaythatpiecesofhardworkorartcanbeejectedfromoursocietyasamoments
notice.
Allofthecelebrityfigureheads,alongwithhigherupsonthegovernmentalladder,are
beingbroadcastedwiththeaimtoentertain.Asnormal,thisoncesimpleindustryhasbeen
corruptedandnowseekstokeepviewers(Thistermisbeingusedcommutativelyfordifferent
intakeofallmedia:podcasts,music,videos,television,etc.)atanycostsnecessary.Byusing
underhandedtactics,themediausesthepoweroffeartokeeppullinginviewers.Coordinating
pompoussituationswiththemostpopularpeopleandplaces,themediaseekstoonlymake
money.Thisgreedisnowtakingawaythesocialaspectsofourlives,inadditiontoourown
senseofjudgement.Televisiontriestoimitaterealityinanentertainingway,butifbeinglooked
toforjudgement,itisapoisonoussourceofknowledge.Ittakesawayourfreedomtoliveour
lifethewaywewanttodoso.
Furthermore,capitalisteconomiesuseourabilitytosomewhatchangeeconomicsbased
lawstocreatefearfulregret.Assumingthatmostpeoplearenotliterateinhighleveleconomics
andlaw,itisveryinterestingthattheyshouldvoteonissuesthattheyprobablyhaveno
knowledgein.Nevertheless,averagecitizensareallowedtovoteonsomethings,likethe
electionofthePresident.Asanunknowledgablecitizen,watchingthemediaandgaining
informationfromunreliablesources,theycaneasilymakeabadchoice.Thefearfulregretcomes


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fromeithertheunknowledgablecitizenrealisinghismistake,orhimrealisingthatmostofhis
peershavenoknowledgeaswell.As*PlatoarguesinhisRepublicthatanidealsocietyshould
beruledbythewisest,anddenouncesdemocracy,thereisreasontohisstatement.Ifyouwantto
establishsecurityandnothavetoworryabouthigherlevelknowledge,thenbeingrulednotby
yourpeersbutbythebestandbrightestisnotabadwaytogo.
Ontheotherhand,capitalismmightbeabetteroptionconsideringthatothergovernments
haveoppressedtheirpeopletoanunmanageableextent,whichisnotagreatidea.Ifyouoppress
apeopleforlongenough,theywillfightbacknomatterhowmuchpoweragovernmenthas.
Thisphenomenonhasbeenseeninhistoricalrevolutions,includingtheAmericanRevolution
andtheFrenchRevolution.Bothhadveryhighcasualties,andwerecertainlynotefficientin
gettingthejobdone.Theonlyideathathadmatteredthenwasgettingthejobdone,andthats
exactlywhattheAmericansdid.Sadly,theFrenchwerefightingagainstallodds,anddidnot
completewhattheywerefightingfor.Continuingon,NorthKoreahasatotalitariandictatorship,
whichinalotofcasesdoesnotletitspeopleeveneathealthily,letalonehaveanindividualized
life.Inaddition,othereconomiessuchascommunismandfascismbothblatantlyusefearto
controltheircitizens.Unfortunately,capitalismgivesitscitizensafalsesenseofsecurity,which
insomecasesisworsethanbeingblatantlyobvious.
Inconclusion,capitalisteconomiesusefeartocontrolthehabitsandactionsofits
citizens.Itsincredibletocomprehendthatoureconomycontrolsusfromvirtuallyeveryaspect
ofourlife,withoutusevenknowingit.Toevenbeabletofindthisproblem,youhavetogo
moreindepththanusual.Usingthemedia,governmentalpower,personalstabilityandsafety,
andsocialmeans,capitalisteconomiescancontrolitscitizenstoanextremeandunsafeextent.


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Fearhascertainlybeenhidinginwait,foritisnowabundantinquantity.Indiscordwithsocietys
maingoal,whichistokeepthehumanracesafeandadvancing,capitalismistakingusinthe
wrongdirectionbycontrollinguswithfear.Capitalismusesfeartocontrolitsunknowing
citizens.

Bibliography

Magazine:
Benda,Jack."CapitalismMakesUsSexistandInsecure."
Tab
20Apr.2015:1.Web.
Book:
Mises,LudwigVon."Insecurity."
HumanAction
.Vol.1.1940.1300.Print.
Other:
*Plato.TheRepublic380B.C.E.Web.
Newspaper:
University,American."EconomicInsecurity&StressinaCapitalistSocietyContributeto
EpidemicObesityProblems."
Newswise
21Jan.2011:1.Web.

*PlatosRepublicisanancientclassicalpieceofliterature,andithelpedexplainapointin
myessay.