Government Surveillance From Perspective Of Utilitarianism - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1119 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2019/08/08 Category Ethics Essay Level High school Tags: Utilitarianism Essay Did you like this example? Utilitarianism is a moral philosophy where the moral justification of a course of action is established based on its ability to accord tangible benefits to a more significant number of beneficiaries than those who lose out. Therefore, utilitarianism justifies its decisions based on establishing the amount of benefits against that of losses. If the former exceeds the latter, then the course of action was warranted. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Government Surveillance From Perspective Of Utilitarianism" essay for you Create order Such decision-making processes that pit morality and the balance between benefits and harm have long been a source of great scholastic and social contention. This short essay uses the practical method of making moral decisions to analyse the justification in government surveillance over its citizens. The utilitarian method of making moral decisions is a unique process that involves establishing the possible benefits and harms of each course of action associated with the same decision. This process includes first identifying all possible courses of action that are directly applicable to the issue in need of attention (Bia?‚ek and De Neys 634). In this scenario, all possible courses of action are listed down and established as feasible solutions based on both merit and outcome. Afterwards, each of these possible solutions is analyzed individually and its benefits and harms identified. Lastly, the course of action that offers the highest number of advantages as opposed to harming its subjects is chosen. Many governments have adopted the much-criticised approach of surveillance on their citizens to identify terrorists, public enemies, and significant criminal activity before they become a reality. However, there is a moral dilemma in doing so because although these governments are intent on keeping their citizens safe, these methods also constitute a breach of privacy and espionage on the citizenry. Every citizen that is not under investigation for criminal activity is entitled to their rights to privacy. Therefore, the argument on whether this method of establishing public safety and curbing major crime or terrorism is justified seems to be a perfect scenario for the utilitarian approach of moral decision making (Ferrin 71). The value applicable in this scenario is the right to privacy and be free from espionage, which is also highly desirable in the currently connected world. Breach of the peoples rights to confidentiality usually causes enormous scandals and mass unhappiness. Another value that becomes evident in the course of analyzing the case scenario is trust in government systems. Although governments are tasked with the safety and welfare of their citizens, spying and collecting information from them breach the same trust these beneficiaries have for their leadership (Day 34). While the government could be interested in maintaining peace and avoiding significant attacks and crime, their processes could also end up eroding the trust that their beneficiaries have in them. The moral dilemma pitting an overzealous government keen to protect its citizens and the citizenry concerned about their privacy could benefit from three possible solutions. First, the government could cease surveillance on its people altogether and seek for alternatives of identifying potential threats to the people and government. Another possible solution would be to establish specific criteria for continued surveillance to prevent even obviously innocent citizens from suffering the breach of rights (Dunn Cavelty 704). One such approach would involve people with known connections to terror groups, gangs, or threats to the government. If such suspects and their immediate families are identified, court warrants could be sought to begin surveillance on them and their networks. The third possible solution to this moral dilemma is continued surveillance on the people as a discrete process. Although this solution offers benefits for both citizens and their government, it would aggravate the already dire situation. The second solution is perhaps the most beneficial regarding all parties involved. Creating an exclusive criterion for continued government surveillance based on past criminal behaviour, links to terror and criminal groups, or extreme views against the government seems to be a fair justification. This solution would protect innocent citizens from scrutiny into their lives and the attached breach of their rights to privacy. Consequently, the citizens would be happy that their right to privacy is protected and the welfare of society is still very much a priority to the government based on its targeted surveillance (Ferrin 80). Such circumstances would create the most happiness in modern society given its attachment to privacy rights and the growing concern over safety and security. Another solution whose impact on global happiness elicits interest is the last one where the government continues surveillance albeit in a more discrete manner. It is not a secret that governments such as the United States, China and Russia continuously monitor their peoples lives online and offline without telling anyone about it. This government surveillance elicits a lot negative sentiment from people, especially those in more liberal countries such as the United States (Day 37). However, the same activity also assists in identifying possible threats to security such as terrorist groups meaning there are distinct benefits too. Therefore, this solution has the most negative impact on global happiness based on its effect on peoples rights to privacy. The last resolution, which was a complete closure of all government surveillance on its people, would also have its own outcome regarding global happiness. When the United States was exposed through turned intelligence operatives such as Edward Snowden, it ceased its blanket policy of surveillance after the uproar these revelations caused. However, the government had to seek alternative forms of intelligence gathering and surveillance processes leaving it exposed to extremists and domestic terrorist attacks (Dunn Cavelty 708). This solution may have a two-fold effect on global happiness. The first reaction is happiness because the government has been exposed and ceased all surveillance activities thus upholding citizens rights. However, once a major criminal or terror attack occurs due to the governments shortcomings in intelligence gathering and surveillance, that happiness turns to anger and disappointment. Based on these considerations, the most beneficial way of solving the moral dilemma of a government involved in surveillance targeting its people is the second solution. When a government creates a unique set of requirements that justify its continued monitoring on the subjects, it is principally involved in a utilitarian method of decision making. This solution would involve identifying possible suspects based on past criminal records, links to known gangs and extremist groups, and extreme views on government and society (Ferrin 83). Additionally, the suspects friends, family members, and all known associates would also be placed under surveillance. The rest of society would be free of all forms of supervision or investigation. This solution benefits the government by providing it with a reliable source of intelligence, reducing intelligence-gathering costs, and speeding up crime prevention. It also helps people by protecting their rights to privacy while keeping them safe through e ffective crime prevention processes.

Bruce Knauft and The Gebusi Religion - 1300 Words

As anthropologist Bruce Knauft described, the Gebusi clan had words that described many different aspects, examples included oil the Gebusi word for tomorrow and yesterday and owa for grandparents and grandchildren, but the most defining one was kogwayay, a catchfall marker to describe all of their cultural distinction. Because of kogwayay’s branching terminology, kogwayay is also the Gebusi’s word for ethnicity, the identification with a cultural group because of shared values customs and beliefs, while inversely excluded from different groups. One aspect that contributes to the Gebusi’s sense of kogwayay is religion. Through Knauft’s book we see their religious ways introduced and watch them change and adapt with the dynamics of cultural change over time. As defined above, ethnicity is the shared customs, values and beliefs that the cultural group shares that set them apart from other groups. The religion described within Knauft’s research is app licable to majority of those elements, making it a vital part of kogwayay. One of the Gebusi’s traditions is presented in the suicide description of chapter three. Dugawe, one of the men of tribe, was found after hanging himself, and in Gebusi tradition the women massage the body and cover themselves in the bodily fluids oozing from the decomposing body. While ethnocentrism may come out in a majority of people, this is part of the Gebusi beliefs and customs that set them apart from certain groups and bring individuals together.

Experience Brings Success Free Essays

Experience Brings Success Bonnie R. Humpherys Instructor: Carol Bartlo Daemen College April 24, 2012 Introduction After graduating college, many students are often confused about the next step in life. While the main goal is to achieve success, college students are faced with many different opportunities after graduation. We will write a custom essay sample on Experience Brings Success or any similar topic only for you Order Now Some of these opportunities include becoming and entrepreneur, pursuing more education or working for an existing business to gain experience. The cost of college tuition continues to rise and as a result we are asking ourselves whether it is really worth spending years working towards a degree when the same time could be spent earning money. Pursuing more education and working for an existing business promises and provides students with knowledge and experience needed to succeed. Generally, in this fast pace society both knowledge and experience are needed to succeed in the workforce. According to â€Å"Entrepreneurship and Development† Lazaer quotes â€Å"many college graduates are unemployed due to lack of experience in their field of study. Instead of thinking of different options many students automatically believe that they will obtain a high paying job as soon as they graduate college. Gaining experience in their field of study while acquiring more knowledge in graduate school can prepare students for career advancement. â€Å"As new social groups enter higher education, socially privileged groups, whose rep roduction was traditionally ensured by college degrees, increase their investments in education to stay ahead of newcomers. (Lazaer 2005) Being that more people are going to college every year the work force has become very competitive. Generally an undergraduate degree is no longer valued as an advanced degree in the work force. After conducting a survey of twenty-five college students and five professionals I was able to make inferences and draw statistical conclusions. Being that I surveyed a wide variety of majors and professions the results varied greatly. Generally 71% of the respondents, both graduates and undergraduates chose to â€Å"pursue more education† as a plan after graduation. In addition to pursuing more education 46% of respondents chose to â€Å"work for an existing business while pursuing more education. Though 71% of respondents chose to pursue more education it can be concluded that most undergraduate students do not have the financial ability to pursue an advanced degree. It can also be concluded that many college graduates do not pursue an advanced degree because they do not have the financial ability to attend. Being that many of the respondents who chose other graduation plans agree d to pursue an advanced degree if they had the financial ability, this conclusion can be deemed valid. Appendix A According to the results, many of the Undergraduate respondents that chose to work for an existing business want to gain experience. Being that 75% of the professionals responded to pursue more education while getting experience, it can be concluded that work experience is very important in your career. Along with gaining experience, over 75% of the professional respondents agreed that an advanced degree is very important to obtain a job and for career advancement. Being that many of these respondents are already in their career fields their opinion can be deemed valid because they have first hand experience in their daily lives. Over 50% of the student respondents agreed that there is a lot of competition to obtain job and an advanced degree is essential for career advancement. Overall, due to the results from the other questions and the charts below the overall conclusion of not having the financial ability is what limits students from pursuing an advanced degree. Appendix A Conclusions In the society that we live, having a college degree is very important. Most businesses and practically all government agencies require at least a bachelor’s degree for an entry-level position. In order to obtain these entry-level positions it is very important to have experience. Gaining experience while pursuing an advanced degree is very essential to career advancement. As more people go to college each year undergraduate degrees are no longer as valuable for employment and advancement. Although many college students do not have the financial resources to attend, investing in an advanced degree opens up a vast amount of opportunities. Generally, pursuing more education while working for an existing business helps students gain the necessary knowledge and experience for employment and advancement. Refrences Lazaer, E. (2005). Entrepreneurship and development. Journal of Labor Economics23(4), 649-680. Retrieved from www. jstor. org. daeme. iii. com/stable/10. 1086/491605 Leibebstein, H. (1968). Entrepreneurship and development. The American Economic Review, 58(2), 72-83. Retrieved from http:/www. jstor. org. daeme. iii. com/stable/ Pringle, C. (n. d. ). Perceived fulfillment of organizational employment versus entrepreneurship: Work values and career intentions of business college graduates. Journal of Small Business Management, 29, 23-56. Zemke, R. (2001). Where do leaders come from? . Training, 38, 44-48. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/203413677? accountid=10399 Appendix A The Future for College Graduates The purpose of this survey is to gain insight into advanced degrees and professional employment. What is your undergraduate major? __________________________________________ What are your plans immediately after graduation? * Become an entrepreneur * Become an entrepreneur and pursue more education * Go to work for an existing business * Go to work for an existing business and pursue more education * Pursue more education Other, please specify ___________________________ Why do you feel your choice in the above question will be best for you? _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ Will your choice give you the immediate and future earnings potential you most desire? Definitely Most likely Not sure U nlikely What level of interest do you have for becoming an entrepreneur immediately after graduation? Much interest Some Interest Little interest No interest What level of interest do you have for pursuing an advanced degree immediately after graduation? Much interest Some Interest Little interest No interest Do you feel you have the financial ability to attend graduate school immediately after graduation? Yes No Page 1 of 2 If you did have the financial resources to attend graduate school immediately after graduation, would you then choose to go to graduate school? Yes No What level of interest do you have for going to work for an established business immediately after college? Much interest Some Interest Little interest No interest What is the value of an advanced degree for business professionals to obtain employment? Very valuable Valuable somewhat valuable Not very valuable What is the value of an advanced degree for business professionals for career advancement? Very valuable Valuable somewhat valuable Not very valuable What is the value of professional work experience for business professionals for career advancement? Very valuable Valuable somewhat valuable Not very valuable Do you feel you would be at a disadvantage entering the professional workplace without an advanced degree? Yes No How do you feel about the competition for obtaining employment? Very competitive Competitive Somewhat competitive Not competitive How much pressure do you feel about the amount of experience professional positions now require? Much Pressure Some pressure Little pressure No pressure Page 2 of 2 Appendix B The Future for College Graduates The purpose of this survey is to gain insight into advanced degrees and professional employment for college graduates. What should college graduates do immediately after graduation? * Become an entrepreneur * Become an entrepreneur and pursue more education * Go to work for an existing business * Go to work for an existing business and pursue more education * Pursue more education Other, please specify ___________________________ Why do you feel your choice in the above question is best for college graduates? _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ Will that choice give graduates the immediate and future earnings potential they desire? Definitely Most likely Not sure Unlikely Do you feel new graduates have the financial ability to attend graduate school immedi ately after graduation? Yes No If college graduates did have the financial resources to attend graduate school immediately after graduation, do you think they would then choose to go to graduate school? Yes No What is the value of an advanced degree for business professionals to obtain employment? Very valuable Valuable somewhat valuable Not very valuable What is the value of an advanced degree for business professionals for career advancement? Very valuable Valuable somewhat valuable Not very valuable What is the value of professional work experience for business professionals for career advancement? Very valuable Valuable somewhat valuable Not very valuable Do you feel workers would be at a disadvantage entering the professional workplace without an advanced degree? Yes No How do you feel about the competition for obtaining employment? Very competitive Competitive Somewhat competitive Not competitive How to cite Experience Brings Success, Essay examples