1. Rousseau says that “property is the most sacred of all the rights of citizenship.” What do you think he means by this? Why might property be the most important right of a citizen?
2. Why does Rousseau say the people cannot govern themselves without rulers?
3. Do you think it is true that “every government constantly tends to become lax,” meaning relaxed, inefficient, or lazy? Does your own attitude about the government match Rousseau’s observations?
4. Interpret the following line: “And it may justly be said that a government has reached the last stage of corruption, when it has ceased to have sinews [strengths] other than money.” What other government strengths might Rousseau be referring to?
5. Throughout the essay, Rousseau alludes to society’s confidence — or lack thereof — in its ruling government. According to the passage, what is the primary reason for citizen mistrust in a government? How might a government avoid losing the trust of its citizens?
6. What is the difference between progressive and regressive methods of taxation? Explain.
7. Identify actions a government can take to protect its domestic industries. Describe the effects that these actions have on domestic consumers.
8. Describe the difference between public goods and private goods. Explain why government action is necessary to ensure the provision of public goods.
9. What does the government do to protect competition in a free-market system? Explain why the government needs to take these actions.
10. How can censorship negatively affect economic activity?
11. Define comparative advantage, and explain how a country gets a comparative advantage in the production of a certain good.
12. Explain why globalization is increasing the gap in income, wealth, and economic growth that already exists between developed and developing countries.
13. What is the purpose of the WTO? Explain one positive effect and one negative effect the WTO’s operations can have on member countries.
14. Describe how the globalization of production leads to environmental damage.
15. Explain why the high-tech and textile industries in the United States are facing continued job losses.
16. What is included in a personal budget? Why is a personal budget a useful tool?
17. What are the main costs associated with higher education? Why might the financial burden of college actually be economically worthwhile?
18. Choose one type of insurance. Explain what it is and why it is useful or necessary.
19. How are debit and credit cards similar? How are they different?
20. What does it mean to be a socially responsible consumer? Use an example to support your explanation.
21. Describe the circular flow model of the free-market system.
22. How do consumers use cost-benefit analysis? Why do consumers make different decisions using this process?
23. Name two different market structures. Describe how and why they each have a different competitive situation.
24. What is the Law of Supply and Demand? Explain how increases and decreases in supply and demand affect prices.
25. What is the business cycle? What causes changes from one phase of the business cycle to another?
26. Explain the different investment options someone with a high level of risk aversion might choose. What are the possible investment goals for this person?
27. What are tariffs? What are some of the harmful effects of tariffs?
28. Give an example of a public good and describe why it’s a public good. Should the government provide this good? Why or why not?
29. What is globalization? Why does globalization benefit some countries more than others?
30. There are a number of organizations designed to regulate the global economy and assist individual nations in the global economy. List and describe two such organizations.
Sample Solution
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
