Liberalism

Introduction The Syrian Arab Republic is an Arab country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the North, Iraq to the East, Jordan to the South, and Israel to the Southwest. In March 2011, the Syria conflict has begun due to various reasons and is still going on today. This outbreak is one of the key factors which resulted the Arab Spring (Arab Uprising). Arab Spring refers to the democratic uprisings that arose independently and spread across the Arab world in 2011.

The protest originated in Tunisia in December 2010 and quickly took hold in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. In these countries, the citizens intiatied the protests as the ruling families have been keeping the power for too long (Arab Spring, 2012). In Syria, the conflict goes up to its peak as the revolution against the rule of Syria President Bashar Al-Assad’s (Mr Assad). According to the latest report of the Human Right Organization, more than 36,000 people were killed in this civil war (Khera, 2012).

In this essay, the roots of the conflict will be traced and analysed using the International relation (IR) theories. Literature Review A literature review has been conducted to investigate the causes of the conflict by applying IR theories. The traditional core of IR relates to issues concerning the development and change of sovereign statehood, in the context of the larger system or society of state. In general, there are four (4) major theoretical traditions in IR and will be covered as part of the study scope: •Realism; •Liberalism; International Society; and •International Political Economy (IPE). Realism Several general realist ideas and assumptions were discussed (Jackson, 2010). These are related to different aspects such as pessimistic view of human nature; international conflicts that are ultimately resolved by war, high regard for the values of national security and state survival and basic scepticism that there can be progress in international politics that is comparable to that in domestic political life. In summary, with realist, states are the most important factor.

All states tend to pursue self-interested and their primary concern is survival (Wikipedia). Liberalism The other theory is Liberalism, which started by John Locke in the seventeenth (17th) century. He believed that as the development of technologies and people can master the nature, there are great potential that people could flourish in states that guaranteed individual liberty. Liberals, differ from realist, take a positive view of human nature. And for them, conflict and war are avoidable.

According to John Locke, the core concern of Liberalism is the happiness and contentment of individual human beings. A country is in a state of liberalism when a citizen within that country can live their lives and pursue their happiness without other people interference. (Jackson, 2010) There is a major debate between idealist Liberalism and pessimist Realism. A main point in this debate is concerned about “human nature”, as Liberalism takes a positive view of human nature while Realism holds a negative view. (Jackson, 2010) (Arab Spring, 21) International Society

Unlike Realism and Liberalism International Society is one of classical IR approach which tries to avoid the stark choice between state egotism and conflict and human goodwill and cooperation. Instead of adopting the classical Realist pessimistic view or classical Liberalism optimistic view, it occupies a position between those two and develops that into a separate IR approach. (Jackson, 2010) International Political Economy International Political Economy (IPE) is the debate where they claimed that there is a link between politics and economics as well as the nature and extent of economic globalization.

IPE is ultimately concerned with the ways in which political forces (states, institutions, individual actors, etc. ) shape the systems through which economic interactions are expressed, and conversely the effect that economic interactions (including the power of collective markets and individuals acting both within and outside them) have upon political structures and outcomes. (Jackson, 2010) Syrian Confliction review The first protest erupted on March 2011 in Deraa after the arrest and torture of some teenagers who were painted with revolutionary slogans on a school wall.

In order to manage the uncontrollable chaotic situation, minimum military forces were suitably in place to minimise the protest through the use of checkpoint road blocks. As the protest continued and spread widely over the country the citizens demanded for the President Bashar Al-Assad’s resignation. By July 2011 hundreds of thousand people taking to streets, town and cities across the countries such as Alepo, Hama, Homs and Deraa (BBC, 2012). As the act of protest has become uncontrollable, the government applied the military forces to crush the dissent and sending tanks to Deraa in late March 2011.

Rockets and mortars were also used to hit the rebel stronghold (See Appendix 1. 1 – Homs Feb 2012). After a month of bombardment, the rebels retreated with an estimate of more than 700 people were killed. People within the country have to flee to neighboring countries such as Turkey up to several months. According to the statistics recorded by the United Nations refugee agency, there are more than 200,000 Syrians who have registered with the agency fled to Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey. There was also an unofficial estimate of the refugees which puts the number much higher and those figures are expected to rise.

The Government in Jordan as well as other countries permitted the stay of Syrians within the countries, provided with minimum necessities and protection such as food and security guards. All the refugees were instructed to assemble in one common area, allowing the government to take care and control the crowds easily. In this Syria crisis, number of bomb blasts took place in different cities. Many people were killed in the civil war due to the bomb strikes. Apart from causing deaths most of the facilities in the cities were destroyed.

The war has deniably resulted various negative implications to Syria in terms of people, environment and asset. The Syrian government has put the blame of these activities to the terrorists which linked to the al-Qeada as well as a shadowy group called al-Nusa Front. The al-Nusa Front has said to be one who controlled and manipulated all the attacks and bombing activities. Based on the latest figures provided by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the number of deaths reported has been increased to 21067 and 5980 people were killed due to the security forces.

Therefore the United Nations has charged the Syrian government and security forces for the violation of international humanitarian law. A peace plan was suggested and conducted by the UN envoy, Kofi Annan and the negotiation mission started in April 2012. However as violence escalated, Mr. Annan resigned and withrew from the country. At the same time Mr. Assad still shows no sign of leaving his power and there seems to be no end to the crisis. Trace down the root of the problem. As mentioned in the previous sections, the outbreak of the civil war has brought many negative implications to the country.

There appears to have no solution for the civil war. Thus various researches were conducted to investigate and analyse the causes of the problem. In most recent research, Manfreda has pointed critical points which has led to the Syrian uprising (Manfreda, 2012): •Political Repression; •Unstable Economy; •Media influence; and •Fear of state power. The political repression is one of the main reasons which causes the outbreak of Syrian war. Since 1950s, there was not any peaceful transfer of power, as the change appears to happen through a military coup or an uprising (Manfreda, 2012).

For instance as soon as the President Bashar al-Assad has inherited the power in 2000, he quickly rushed into the process of reformation while the power remains concentrated in the ruling family. Besides political repression, the unstability of economy in Syria is believed to be one of the causes which led to the uprising. The economy in Syria has become unsustainable due to the quick expansion of the population. At present the population in Syria is estimated to be 20 million, with an average growth rate of 2. 4 percents. Based on the statistical review this figure stays among one of the world’s highest growth rate.

A Syrian economist, Nail Sukkar has agreed that Syria is currently having a problem with the oversizing of population. It is difficult for the government to sustain the citizens by providing sufficient welfares and healthcares. The unemployment rate has increased because the government is not able to create sufficient job opportunities to the people. An official figure was reported by the governmnet stating that the unemployment rate is estimated to be 10 percents. However with the combination of other independent estimates the rate of unemployment is believed to be approximately 25 percents.

In addition, the natural disaster such as persistent drought struck north-eastern of Syria. This has caused a severe devastation to the farming communities and affected more than a million of people since 2008. Due to the negligence of the government, thousands of farmer families were suffered from poverty. These people from the farming communities have vented their angers and frustrations through participation of the protest activities. Furthermore due to the cautious reform of the remnants of socialism, it opened the door to private investment which in turn triggered an explosion of consumerism among the urban upper-middle classes.

However, privatization has favored families with personal links to Assad, which made the jobs remained scarce for people within the country (Manfreda, 2012). Apart from that the awareness was raised by different means of media. The advancement in technology has exposed the people to the world issues throguh various approaches for instance internet. Previously the government tried to refrain the youths from exposing to more information by limiting the means of media. However the attempt was failed since the state media is no longer the main channel to the citizens.

The use of the new media is critical to the activist networks that underpin the uprising in Syria (Manfreda, 2012). Although the fear of state of the citizens has existed for a very long time since the ruling of Assad family, the brutal responses to the people in the peaceful protest in Spring 2011 has outraged the people. As a result of the snowball effect, more citizens joined the protest. Additionally, many Syrians resent the fact that so much power is monopolised by the Alawi families, a Shiite religious minority to which the Assad family belong.

Although this is not considered as the driving force of the uprising in Syria, the combination of a majority Sunni pretest movement and an Alawi-dominated military has added to the tension in religiously mixed areas, such as city of Homs (Manfreda, 2012). Analysis the problem using IR theoretical. The causes led to the outbreak of the Syrian war were discussed in the former section. In this section the problems will be analysed using the IR theory. Irrefutably, the brutal and aggressive way of ruling in Syria by Assad family triggered the anger of the people in the country.

The Realism theory can be accounted for the approach adopted by the Assad family in ruling the country. As stated in the Realism theory, as a human character, people always desire to be in driver’s seat. Thucydides (1972:406) also stated that the standard of justice depends on the equality to compel and that in act the strong do what they have to power to do and the weak accept what they have to accept Also, Machiavelli (1984:66) indicated the main responsibility of the ruler is always to seek the advantages and to defend the interests of their state and thus ensure the survival.

In this , President Bashar Al-Assad’s ways of ruling the country is understandable, as he wants to lead the country to the new path of development, which can secure the country state and position amongst the Arab countries (Robert, 2010). However, these action moves created a massive conflict between the citizens and Assad family as the security of the citizens is being abused. This has directly caused he citizens losing their senses of security with the ruling family and consequently the rebellion arose.

According to Thomas Hobbes , he believes that Sovereign states are the principal factor in international system. States are inherently always obsessed with security which might lead to “security dilemima” whereby increasing one’s security power can bring along even greater instability as an opposing power builds up its own arms in response. Since ruling Syria, the Assad family had built up a very strong security power through various means such as developing the massive destruction weapons.

This has indeed intimidated the safety of the neighbouring Arab countie and it is now understandable why certain countries such as Turkey and Isarel supported the rebel by providing armors and weapons for the people to go against the government. At the same time, Mr. Assad was assisted by Russia with the supply of weapons to continue fighting in the war. Therefore the situation has gone worse due to the supports from other countries in the war. With Liberalism theory, liberals believe that monopoly in power must be avoided.

With the Republican liberalism theory, it is believed that democary states do not go against each other as they share the same moral values, and to their mutually benifical tie of economic cooperation and interdependence. However, for the Arab countries in general and Syria in specific, the monarchy system has been adopted by these countries over the centuries. Based on the findings in the previous section, it was identified that there is no peaceful power transfer in Syria since 1970. The prolonged imbalanced situation has resulted in the rise of the awareness among the citizens.

Besides the issues of wealth and porverty mentioned by IPE are critical in the world of politic. Violent conflicts nowadays can even take place inside the states due to the unstable economy, especially the weak states where the conflict can be bonded up with the development and underdevelopment. Since 1970, the Assad family has been tightly manipulated the economy. All the privileges of ecocomy went to the family and thus creating an imbalanced condition between the ruler and citizens. In addition, due to the overgrowth of population, there were no adequate job opportunities provided by the government to the citizens.

As a result the unemployment rate has increased causing the people to suffer from poverty. Conclusion In a nutshell, the revolution in Syria is inevitable due to the number of reasons such as the adoption of monarchy system and unstability of economy. It is believed that the only way to terminate the civil war is through the assistance of external forces to suppress the furious citizens and introduce a fair and transparent political process for the selection of new ruler in the country for instance through the adoptation of democracy system.

Bibliography Wikipedia. (n. d. ). Realism (international relations). Retrieved 11 17, 2012, from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Realism_(international_relations) Arab Spring. (2012, 09 21). Retrieved 11 20, 2012, from Sourcewatch: http://www. sourcewatch. org/index. php? title=Arab_Spring BBC. (2012, 08 30). Syria: The story of the conflict. Retrieved 11 04, 2012, from BBC news: http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/world-middle-east-19331551 Jackson, R. (2010). Introduction to International relations Throries and approaches.

Oxford University Press. Khera, J. (2012, 05 29). Syria crisis: Counting the victims. Retrieved 11 04, 2012, from BBC News: http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/world-middle-east-18093967 Manfreda, P. (2012). Syrian Uprising : Top ten reasons for the uprising in Syria. Retrieved 11 5, 2012, from middleeast. about. com: http://middleeast. about. com/od/syria/tp/Syrian-Uprising. htm Robert, G. (2010). Realism. In Introduction to International Relations (pp. 59-94). Oxfords: Oxfords Univerity Press.

Wealthy nations are morally obliged to assist poorer nations, with regards to assisting their economic development. I have come to this conclusion based on the ideals of American philosopher John Rawls. Distributive justice is Rawls’ theory that basically augments the equal distribution of goods throughout society.

This philosophy relies on fluent interaction between nations, which is often complicated by the bias inherent in many national cultures.  Rawls argues that his Law of Peoples is the perfect solution for this gap in communication between nations.  I agree that his constitution is a start, but it lacks a clear understanding of how deeply intertwined terrorism is within the political structure of society.

Skin color and religion should not be influential on the distribution of goods throughout the world, but the reality is that they are a major cause for social unrest.  This coincides with the theory of relative deprivation which acknowledges that there is a sense of injustice aroused when individuals grow to believe that the conditions of their lives is not compatible with those of the people like them in similar situations.

This feeling of disadvantage is thought to be the cause of social dissent and challenges posed to the status quo.  The most immediate circumstance that would drive a person or group to challenge their ruling system would be if their fundamental needs were not being met.  This is why distributive Justice is such an important, and much needed concept within society.

The universal equality that can result from Rawls method and the statement it makes on political standards is credited by Michael Walzer as a Communitarian Critique on Liberalism.  Through what Walzer refers to as Spheres of Justice, he bridges many disagreements between liberals and communists, pointing out that the communist critique on liberal society will forever resurge throughout history.

The core drive behind both Walzer and Rawls’ theories is the immorality that stems from unequal and unjust disbursement of goods.  Though, their pursuit of equality is very valiant, there are some valid hurdles that threaten the adoption of Rawl’s theories into society

There are many arguments that can be made for and against Rawls theory.  According to one of his positions, people have the right of self-defense but no right to instigate war for reasons other than self-defense (Rawl).  This can be seen as the specific policy applied to the U.S.’s initial declaration of war on Iraq.  After the attack in 9/11, The Law of Peoples enforces the grounds that the U.S. was morally ethical in their attempt for retaliation.

But, now that this war has ended, many critics find it hard to justify the United State’s continual deployment overseas.  Rawl also states that, People have a duty to assist other peoples living under unfavorable conditions that prevent their having a just or decent political and social regime.  This concept is easily contrasted by political theorists who argue that funding to uplift the dire conditions in Iraq are inadvertently funding further terrorism.

The concept of the U.S. funding a country’s economic stability and then having it turn around and use that contribution against them is a tradition with international interactions.  It can be seen in the gradual change in Germany’s relationship with the United States.  This is just one of the major hurdles for Distributive justice and poses a political threat to the affectivity of what Rawls proclaims as the solution to injustice between nations.

In sum, though more affluent nations are morally responsible for the wellbeing of other neighboring and distant struggling countries, they should still be wary of potential terrorist attacks that might result from their generosity.  There are moral implications at stake, but sacrificing the affluence of a country’s economy should not result in the sacrificing of that country’s safety as well.  This fault in Rawl’s theory will have to be assessed before it can work as a valid solution to inequality.

Neoliberalism simplifies trade between nations. It involves uncontrolled exchange and movement of goods, services, resources and activities with the aim of acquiring profit leverage with efficiency through cheap resources (Shah, 2007). Neoliberalism espouses the removal of the free trade barriers. These barriers include tariffs, regulations, laws and legislation, and investment restrictions. Neoliberalism is the intensification and expansion of the market through the increase in quantity, frequency, recurrence and formalization of transactions (Treanor). The goal of Neoliberalism is to enhance market competition in every transaction process.

These transactions tend to be more competitive if they occur repeatedly for short periods of time. This way the dynamism of the cycle of cost and profit remains active. The basic principles of Neoliberalism include the freedom of trade in goods and services, limitless circulation of capital and, investment capacity and opportunities. The concept of Neoliberalism involves several vital points mainly in reference to the economy. The five points include the rule of the market, reducing public expenditure for social services, privatization, deregulation, and the concept of individual responsibility against public good (Martinez & Garcia, 2000).

The rule of the market means limitless freedom of the flow and exchange of goods, services and capital. It sustains that the market regulates and balances itself through the dynamics of market demand. The government has a hands-free policy when it comes to the dealings of the private enterprises like the freedom to determine prices of commodities. International trade and investment are likewise encouraged. The next point is the reduction of public expenditure for social services. Social Services comprise health, education and infrastructure development among others.

Privatization is a main aspect of Neoliberalism in that it espouses the transfer of the previously state-owned enterprises or businesses like banks, schools and hospitals to private investors. There are two opposing views on privatization. On one hand, it increases efficiency of the enterprise under the ownership of a specialized private group. On the other hand, privatization results to a concentration of wealth and power to a few groups. Deregulation is another aspect of Neoliberalism. It refers to a reduction in the regulating power of the government. Instead, the market is allowed to regulate itself with the aim of maximizing profits.

The last point is the concept of individual responsibility versus public good. Each individual is responsible for his or her conditions in life. The decrease in government support to the community for education, health care and social security should be compensated by the individuals themselves. What are the justifications of Neoliberalism? Is it an underlying theory for most of the economic successes of a nation? Neoliberalism promotes the idea of a free market without government interventions in order for resources to be more efficiently distributed to groups in society who can better handle businesses.

It likewise supports the idea that privatization of enterprises takes away the inefficiency or incompetency of the public sector in running businesses. Neoliberalism believes that the best way to achieve progress is through continued economic growth and the inevitable road to success is economic globalization. Economic globalization pertains to trade and financial movement as the factors which increase the integration of world economies (IMF Staff, 2000). It is also referred to as the transfer and exchange of knowledge and labor beyond the national boundaries and into the international field.

The term Globalization is most often interchangeably used with Neoliberalism because of the similar principles that both concept advocates. Both support free trade as the ultimate means to achieve economic growth. Globalization leans more towards the weakening of national borders and the increase in the assimilation of global policies and trends in the national level. The aspects of Globalization include trade, movement of capital, movement of people and information dissemination and exchange through technology.

Information exchange has been significantly globalized due to the proliferation of the internet. The global financial market run on a very fast pace due to the internet where transaction can be done with just one click. Movement of capital involves foreign investment and movement of people refers to employment opportunities outside the home country. These employment opportunities give way to an increasing trend of migration from developing countries to countries with more advanced economies.

On the other hand, Neoliberalism is more focused on the nationwide aspect of trade with major effects from the international trade community. Other policies supported by Neoliberalism include the maintenance of competitive exchange rates where market-determined exchange rates are followed instead of government-fixed exchange rates (Neoliberalism). Another policy is fiscal rectitude where expenditures are reduced and taxes are increased to sustain a budget surplus. II. The Neoliberal Revolution in Great Britain

Prior to the Neoliberal Revolution, the dominant principle in both Western and most parts of the Third World economies is the Keynesian concept (Ambrose). John Meynard Keynes was an advocate of the idea that government interventions are needed to lead markets in endeavors which would benefit the most number of people. This idea was put to a halt when Neoliberalism began to take shape. In 1975, Margaret Thatcher became opposition Conservative Party head and was elected as Prime Minister in 1979 (Scott, 1997).

She was determined to alleviate the condition of the British people from recession to economic greatness. The Neoliberal Revolution started in 1980 with Margaret Thatcher as the main proponent. The proposal of the revolution included decrease in corporate taxes, corporate regulation reduction, public services privatization and abolition of international trade barriers (Moore, 1998). At this time, privatization was a major practice and the primary force of Neoliberalism, as power, assets, rights and responsibilities along with a great deal of autonomy were afforded to private enterprises.

Thatcher’s principle of Neoliberalism was supported by her TINA or There Is No Alternative campaign (George, 1999). The significance of Thatcher’s neoliberal policy lies in the idea of competition as an essential part of growth. Nations, regions, companies and individuals compete with each other. This competition makes the market more effective as it maintains only those who survive or those who won against the others. Thus, only the best resources, may it be natural, human, physical or financial, are included in the final market competition.

It is the belief of Thatcher that people by nature are unequal so there are no worries about issues of social inequality as a hindrance to economic success. Those who are the strongest, more intelligent and well-educated can contribute best to the welfare of the country and its people. On the other side of the fence, the weak and the poorly educated are only responsible for themselves and have themselves to blame for their status. The Neoliberal Revolution introduced changes in policies which brought about the negative effects to the public sector.

The budget for the health sector was reduced which meant less free health services for the people and the privatization of health services was started resulting to the charging of fees and introduction of insurance policies (Navarro, 2006). A very important factor in the Neoliberal Revolution is not only the promotion by the U. K. and U. S. governments, but the support it got from international organizations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO).

III. Effects of Neoliberalism on British Citizenship The main goal of citizenship is equality among the people. There are three forms of citizenship: civil, political and social citizenship. Civil Citizenship comprises employment, private property and contract protection, and market access. Political Citizenship involve the right to vote and hold public office, while Social Citizenship means the right to the provision of education, health benefits and other social services (Sparke).

The rights of the citizens are mainly dependent on the policies of the government. Neoliberalism had a great impact on the government policies in that citizenship was largely affected to its detriment. It is important to note the social policy of Neoliberalism before we move further into a discourse of its negative effects on citizenship. In Neoliberalism, social policy means the provision of equal opportunities available in the market and equal legal treatment to all citizens (Rosch). This is also the measure of social justice.

The social policy does not include concern for the social welfare of the people. Its premise lies in individual responsibility where each person is responsible for achieving his or her own social and ethical ideals. This responsibility is not to be shouldered by the government in any way. This social policy is deemed as leaning favorably to those with financial power and is discriminating and pushing those at the lower level of the economic ladder further down. Neoliberalism threw its strongest punch on the social form of citizenship.

Social services were privatized and budget cutbacks were enforced as part of the fiscal rectitude policy where expenditures are reduced to maintain a budget surplus. Education, health services, housing, transportation and other social services were stripped off their importance as part of the government’s responsibility to its citizens. Instead, the people are encouraged to strive on their own to meet these needs. The social services organizations were handed over to private institutions which now are to be dealt with if the people need the kinds of services they offer.

Since these private enterprises are now competing in an open market, the cost of availing their services becomes expensive and incomparable to the previous benefit that the citizens were receiving from the government. The negative impact is most felt by the underprivileged and advantage is savored by the wealthy and powerful. Civil Citizenship was likewise adversely affected by Neoliberalism in terms of the contract and employment terms. The most notable effect is the reduction, if not elimination of the trade unions which are primarily based in public enterprises.

Privatization meant abolishing of the existing systems as the policy making is transferred to the owners of the private companies. Protection of the employee was abandoned with the increasing short term contracts along with short duration of jobs. Employees now are offered shorter tenures which force them to undergo the tedious task of re-applying to companies. With private companies’ anti-union policies, the employees now have nowhere to go. They either sink or swim. Employment opportunities are now available to more competent and well educated individuals.

The name of the game became employability or the capacity of the individual to sell his or her services based on the acquired knowledge and skills. This now brings us back to the issue of the advantage of the more financially able citizens. Individuals with access to good education from schools which are now private enterprises and which are now able to charge high fees, has the advantage. The flow of trade money between enterprises, regions and even between nations on a wider scale as espoused by neoliberalism, has a tremendous effect on the electoral system or the political aspect of citizenship.

The exercise of electoral right is now deemed futile as doubts are cast upon the veracity of the election results because of the money generated inside the politics arena. Politics, as a powerful venue of pushing legislative programs or business leverage, is considered to be a channel used by some groups or enterprises in advancing their own personal agenda. Neoliberalism has in great part affected the entire nation including the people and how they function in society. Its effects are criticized left and right by different groups as to its advantages and disadvantages.

Critics and proponents both have their valid points. It has to be stressed though that for a concept or idea to be considered truly successful is to analyze if a great majority of the people has benefited from the underlying principles of the concept. The ultimate question now is: Has Neoliberalism created a healthy balance between the rich and the poor or has it been an instrument to push the rich to the topmost part of the economic ladder and to push the poor further down the pit? Bibliography Ambrose, S. (n. d. ). The Roots of Corporate Globalization in IMF/World Bank “Structural

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What is “Neo-Liberalism”? A Brief Definition. Global Exchange. [online] Available from: http://www. globalexchange. org/campaigns/econ101/neoliberalDefined. html [Accessed 25 June 2007] Moore, R. (1998, May). Absolute PowerThe Making of a new World Order. Third World Traveler. [online] Available from: http://www. thirdworldtraveler. com/New_Global_Economy/Absolute_Power. html [Accessed 25 June 2007] Navarro, V. (2006, Oct 23). What is happening at the World Health Organization? The coming election of the WHO Director-General. People’s Health Movement. [online] Available from: http://www.

phmovement. org/en/node/279 [Accessed 25 June 2007] Neoliberalism. (n. d. ). Wikipedia. [online] Available from: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Neoliberalism [Accessed 25 June 2007] Rosch, M. (n. d. ). What does neoliberalism mean? Internetseminar. [online] Available from: http://tiss. zdv. uni-tuebingen. de/webroot/sp/barrios/themeA2a. html [Accessed 25 June 2007] Scott, D. (1997). The Path from Old Labour to Tory Neoliberalism to New Labour. People’s News Agency. [online] Available from: http://www. prout. org/pna/uk-capitalism. html [Accessed 25 June 2007] Shah, A. (2007, March 5).

A Primer on Neoliberalism. Global Issues. [online] Available from: http://www. globalissues. org/TradeRelated/FreeTrade/Neoliberalism. asp [Accessed 25 June 2007] Sparke, M. (n. d. ). Center for Communication and Civic Engagement. University of Washington. [online] Available from: http://depts. washington. edu/ccce/assets/documents/pdf/Passportsintocreditcards. pdf [Accessed 25 June 2007] Treanor, P. (n. d. ). Neoliberalism: origins, theory, definition. InterNLnet. [online] Available from: http://web. inter. nl. net/users/Paul. Treanor/neoliberalism. html [Accessed 25 June 2007]

In this thesis paper I will be analyzing one of the most admired ‘Coming-of-the-Age’ novels, Bread Givers, written by Anzia Yezierska. This is a story of the clashes that every immigrant will have to endure – the invisible interior clashes and, as a direct consequence of them, the visible exterior conflicts. The story revolves around such cultural intricacies that, after completing the reading, it will engage us in a captivating debate on the very psychological infrastructure of human beings and the culture on which it is built.

I will subsequently prove that this captivating debate will lead us to one final conclusion – which is the central argument of this work – stated as above in the thesis title. } The fact that America has more number of immigrants than any other part of the world combined, speaks volumes about the kind of peculiarity with which it attracts millions of people from across the globe. In fact throughout the history of America we can observe that the waves of immigrants are closely associated with the evolution of this country from the States of America to the United States of America.

Since Bread Givers is a semi-autobiographical novel in nature, it becomes imperative that this paper begins the analysis from the author herself. Anzia Yezierska was born in Poland, sometime between 1880 and 1885. Her father was a religious scholar (Talmudic), and the large family, there were eight siblings to Anzia, was supported by the labors of her mother. This Yiddish family migrated to New York around 1890 taking a cue from Anzia’s elder brother Meyer who had migrated to America a few years before and had changed his name to Max Mayer.

Here the family changes its family name to Mayer and the young Anzia becomes Hattie Mayer. But later as she grows mature, in her late twenties, she sheds this fictitious name and re-possesses her original name and retains it throughout her life in America. What transpires in her life from now on forms the fundamental premise of this novel. Anzia tells the story through the main character Sara Smolinsky. She has three sisters: Bessie, Fania, and Mashah; Shenah is Sara’s mother and Moses (also called Reb Smolinsky) her father – an idle man who spends time by reading Jewish religious/traditional books.

Strained Parent-Child Relationships: Immigration Induced or Unfinished Business? The portrayal of strained relationships between parents and their children is one theme of this novel which must be paid due attention and diligent dissection since there exist a number of instances which make it esoteric to understand as to what causes what effect. In the novel the family head, Mr. Reb Smolinsky, is an idle man who never earns livelihood for his children and his wife Mrs. Smolinsky (Shenah) is a truly orthodox and docile woman who is in complete trepidation of her husband’s holy knowledge.

In between such parents we find these four daughters struggling every second of their life to attain happiness and to lead an independent life. Sara is un-equivocal about the harsh constraints that her father has placed on her elder sisters (and later on herself) and how ‘religiously’ he had crushed their dreams, and made them work harder and harder. The novel opens with a grim scene which Sara narrates thus: “I HAD just begun to peel the potatoes for dinner when my oldest sister Bessie came in, her eyes far away and very tired.

She dropped on the bench by the sink and turned her head to the wall. One look at her, and I knew she had not yet found work. I went on peeling the potatoes, but I no more knew what my hands were doing. I felt only the dark hurt of her weary eyes. ” (Anzia Yezierska; Bread Givers; Chapter I: Hester Street; Page 1) Even though it is quite convenient to assert that the immigration’s uprooting effects and impacts as the reasons behind such strained parent-children relations, but I do not agree with this.

Justifications for my dissent galore through the length and the breadth of the novel. For example consider the instances of Bessie and Mashah’s romantic aspirations and how her father destroys them without even paying slightest of slight respect to the innocent desires and the natural right of an individual. Read what a downhearted and flabbergasted Bessie says: “I know I’m a fool. But I cannot help it. I haven’t the courage to live for myself. My own life is knocked out of me. No wonder Father called me the burden bearer”.

(Anzia Yezierska; Bread Givers; Chapter-III: The Burden Bearer; Page 52, 53). As a consequence of these broken love affairs and their subsequent failed marriages (arranged by their father Mr. Smolinsky), these women suffer the bearings all along their life. Now, what’s the role of immigration here? Mr. Smolinsky would have confiscated his daughters in Poland as well because it is precisely in the pursuit of those sacred Jewish scriptures for which he devoted his life not even bothering to earn a livelihood for his family and then forcing his daughters to earn for him.

Therefore, rather than the impact of immigration, it is the ‘unfinished businesses’ (psychologically) which strain the relationship between the children and their parents. Sara’s Conflicts – Culture of America & Shtetl at the Turn of the 20th Century: The differences between American culture and that of the Shtetl at the turn of 20th century help us to understand the conflicts between Sara and her father Mr. Smolinsky. While Mr. Smolinsky is a representative of old, orthodox genus, Sara belongs to the new, liberal kind of genre.

Her father believes in the rule of the Jewish divine scriptures, but Sara discards his concerns for store decisions with utter disdain. She opposes him for his every authoritarian decisions and the ruthless way in which he used to enforce his thoughts and beliefs onto his daughters. Deeply immersed in his world of the exploration of Torah, Mr. Smolinsky contentiously disregards his outer world – a practical world of joys and sorrows. When Sara rejects the marriage proposal with Mr. Max Goldstein, the words in which her father Mr. Smolinsky slates her confirm his conformist view about life.

He says: “It says in the Torah: What’s a woman without a man? Less than nothing – A blotted out existence. No life on earth and no hope in heaven. ” (Anzia Yezierska; Bread Givers; Chapter-XV: On and On – Alone; Page 202). In deep contrast to such Jewish outlandish beliefs, the dawn of 20th century brought ‘classical liberalism’ with it which heralded the individual liberty as the ideal upon which the societies and governments must thrive. Sara clearly acts as a fitting envoy of this liberal living. These conflicts can be traced to the Shtetl Culture and the historical importance of them for Jews.

Joshua Rothenberg says: “I am, of course, suggesting that the larger Jewish communities and not the shtetlekh were in all periods the real centers of Jewish culture in Eastern Europe. It is relatively simple to classify the Jewish communities which became centers of Jewish culture: they were called Ir eo-Eim im Be-Yisroel (Town and Mother in Israel), and were so designated in documents and writings of the respective periods of history. The term “shtetl culture” is therefore used incorrectly; the correct term should be “Eastern European Jewish culture.

” (“Demythologizing the Shtetl” in Midstream (March 1981): 25-31). These words differentiate between the absolute nature of Shtetl Culture and its influence on the Jewish families. However, the up rise of liberalism in the US ensured that individual rights remain the prime concern for the society. Mr. Smolinsky’s Personality Traits/Values and Sara’s Quandaries: An interesting element of the novel is that despite being a loud opponent of her father’s beliefs, towards the end of the novel Sara starts feeling in a parallel direction as regards to his thoughts.

When she understands that she can’t be completely happy unless she finds a man, Sara equates this state of hers with what her father had told her when she declined to marry Mr. Goldstein. By the time Sara reaches a stage in life when everything she had dreamt has come true, she realizes that her once sturdy father has become fragile. Her mother is on the deathbed and she has one last wish that Sara should take care of her father who is alone and weak. By this time Sara has fallen in love with Hugo Seelig – a school principal.

The internal conflict of Sara makes her feel the guilt of failing her mother in life and this guilt brings about a major shift in her thoughts when she decides to take care of her once despotic father. It seems as though she has reached the point from where she started her voyage towards finding her own identity and freedom. She says in the last line of the novel: I felt the shadow still there, over me. It wasn’t just my father, but the generations who made my father whose weight was still upon me”. (Anzia Yezierska; Bread Givers; Chapter-XXI: Man Born of Woman; Page 281).

Hence the psychological quandaries of Sara propel her towards that state where she discovers, rather unwillingly, that she carries the same kind of flame which had kept her father aloof and immersed in exploring the Torah. Eventually, Sara realizes that her reconciliation with her father completes the unfinished business of the relation between a father and a daughter. We finally conclude that immigration has complex and deep cultural impacts and these impacts can’t be substituted by instant transition into the new culture. As we have seen in Sara’s life, she attained the state of completeness only after reconciling with her father.

In other words reuniting with her past culture, and only in that she found solace of her life, of all her rebellions and her adventures of life. With this point, it follows that my thesis statement declared above stands proven right. Works Cited Anzia Yezierska; Bread Givers; Chapter I: Hester Street; Page 1 Anzia Yezierska; Bread Givers; Chapter-III: The Burden Bearer; Page 52, 53 Anzia Yezierska; Bread Givers; Chapter-XV: On and On – Alone; Page 202 Joshua Rothenberg; “Demythologizing the Shtetl” in Midstream (March 1981): 25-31 Anzia Yezierska; Bread Givers; Chapter-XXI: Man Born of Woman; Page 281