Multinational Corporations Compliance with Host Countries Laws

Introduction The success of multinational corporations depends on their strategic plans and moral practices that they put into consideration. It is also dependent on how well they are armed to maintain appropriate social responsibility ethics in their host countries.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Multinational Corporations Compliance with Host Countries’ Laws specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Additionally, the corporations are not only founded on their home country policies, but also on those of the host countries into which they operate. It is also essential to note that, since every country around the globe usually has a set of rules that govern its people as well as its existence, these corporations must comply with these laws with no compromise. Falkenberg (23) addressed this idea in the article â€Å"When in Rome† to portray the seriousness of the matter, since it is not possible for one to go into a neighbor‘s premise and become the ruler, but has to respect him in order to promote peace. At the same time, philosophers, ideologists, and researchers have seconded the various criticisms that have been put forward about the multinational corporations. They are said to have impacted negatively on the host countries due to their lack of respect for the rights of the counties’ citizens, and that they are always out to please their stakeholders. Falkenberg suggests that appropriate business ethics and morals are a key to the success of multinational corporations in their host countries. More over, the corporations must play a role in promoting social welfare of the host countries, for their own advantage, as well as for the purpose of fostering change in the host country (Falkenberg, 22). This paper seeks to establish the fact that corporations operating in the global context have a responsibility to comply with the laws of their host countries. Additionally, it w ill also give an overview of some of these obligations that host countries have put in place that require compliance by the corporations. More over, the paper will seek to find out the social responsibilities that these corporations operating in the global context have in the host countries. Furthermore, it is essential to provide an argument comparing the distinct conceptions that different commentators have put across in the years concerning business ethics of these corporations in the host countries as they conduct their activities. Finally, the paper will briefly explain the concept of Multinational Corporations’ compliance with the host countries laws (Carroll, 37). Multinational corporations A variety of definitions have been put forward to explain the meaning of multinational corporations, but in my opinion, multinational corporations are those that have successfully expanded to provide their services to more than one country in the world.Advertising Looking for e ssay on business corporate law? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More They may also be multinational in their responsibility to run production or manufacture of certain goods in various countries. Mainly, the headquarters of such organizations are usually located in their home country, i.e., the country of inception of a corporation, plus other sub-units in several other countries, referred to as hosts. Some multinational companies have expanded to operate globally when supplying their good or services. Therefore, these large corporations often have great impacts in both their mother and the host countries. For instance, some have the ability to influence the economies of the local country, or even the economy of the whole world due to their large sizes. More over, they are well known for having a great influence on globalization and in some way enhance international relations in their countries of operation. However, as the corporation s operate across the globe, appropriate business and relationships ethics have to be applied under all circumstances to overpower the numerous criticisms that have brought down their operations in some cases. The criticisms emanate from the fact that proper business ethics have not been maintained on various occasions, human rights have been at times violated and small and medium enterprises have been observed slowly diminish on the emergence of multinational corporations. Host country’s obligations and laws Host countries in the context of the multinational corporations are those into which branches and sub-branches of the multinational corporation are located. Obligations are a requirement that have been put across by the government in order that whoever comes into that country has to observe carefully. Laws are a set of regulations that are usually documented in a country by its government, such that everyone, whether a citizen or a visitor of any kind must comply with. Th us, every country in the world has its laws that it requires complied with, regardless of a person’s status or class. In their operations, most corporations that operate globally have a tendency to neglect some of these laws as critics have suggested. A number of common laws are in operation in most of the host countries. First, as Donaldson (Para 2) points out in his context of â€Å"Rights in the global market†, multinational corporations are merely obligated to respect and take part in protecting the human rights in their areas of operation.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Multinational Corporations Compliance with Host Countries’ Laws specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, sometimes this has been like a nightmare, since the same corporations have been found to paralyze these fundamental human rights, which is very wrong. Additionally, Falkenberg (19) has pointed out that multinational corporations must comply with the business rules and ethics that have been documented in a country’s laws, when he uses the analogy of â€Å"When you go to Rome.† In my opinion, he was out to say that one should obey the business culture and ethics of a host country, and not trying to change them to fit their interests, since this has resulted in a total change of many countries’ direction. More over, the ethical theory of business proposed by Beauchamp and Norman (3) identifies the extent to which a corporation should relate with a host country in terms of ethics and at the same time, take care of the laws of the country. Many countries do document their laws, to an extent that any person who goes against them should be subjected to a court of law to answer the misconduct. More important, the corporations must always be keen to safeguard the corporate social responsibility in the host countries, to leave it a better place than they found it (Beauchamp and Norm an, 13). Nevertheless, other East African countries have documented strict laws that the multinational corporations cannot be able to meet. Secondly, the cultures of different countries differs distinctly, a factor that sometimes makes it hard for global relations to work properly. Therefore, it is considered essential if the host countries and the corporations should device a suitable framework that is ample to enhance social relations. Frederick Robert in his article about† finding the middle ground† argues about appropriate moral ideals, which would be acquired through building appropriate moral frameworks across the globe. More over, he suggests the construction of pluralistic relativism as an ample moral ground for enhancing good social relations. Social responsibilities of multinational corporations operating in a global context The multinational corporations are always valued as vehicles for social responsibility that is corporate in all ways. The article of Arnol d addresses on the issues of corporate responsibility and capitalism. In order for a positive move of a corporation, the idea of caring for the society in terms of its rights should be put into consideration. One, the corporations should maintain transparency as much as possible in order that the society of the host country may trust them. Many corporations as Ensign (56) suggests have all along ruined their relations with the host countries because of operating in corrupt manners just for self-gain.Advertising Looking for essay on business corporate law? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Donaldson (Para 3) in his literature expresses his feelings to those corporations that are out to involve themselves in corrupt deals in order to carry out successful business operations. A number of researchers have always considered transparency as a key to business success in all aspects. Transparency is essential for a successful business operation since it promotes the sense of accountability, not only within the organization, but also in the global context. Moreover, the multinational corporations have a social responsibility to promote global human rights. Human rights are a key concept in the globalization and international relations, thus, the multinational corporations should be in the forefront to fight against the violation of human rights. Along the business operations of the multinational corporations, the management of multinational corporations should lay down strategies that would spearhead in campaigning for respectable human rights in their host countries. However , at the same time, the host countries should also regulate their laws strategically in order that all multinational companies can be able to fulfill the required laws (Donaldson, Para 2). On the other hand, multinational corporations’ management should develop a caring heart towards other primary and small enterprises in the host countries. Many corporations have always been out for self-gain and in the willingness to suppress other small enterprises in order to build their own fame. Beauchamp’s theory of ethical global operations suggests that failure in small and medium enterprises in most countries emanates from lack of support by the multinational corporations. Thus, the corporations need to embark on promoting other small enterprises, in order to foster a spirit of unity among business organizations (Ensign, 45). A comparison of different conceptions about multinational companies’ social responsibility There have been different conceptions about the social responsibility of multinational organizations in their host countries. Arguments have been put across suggesting that the corporations have a responsibility to comply with the rules that govern a particular country. Other critics have considered it better if the corporations are obligated to promote human rights across the globe, while others still feel that the best thing for them to do is to promote other small businesses that are in the host countries. Donaldson (Para 7) strongly feels that the human rights have been solely violated in all aspects, and therefore, rules should be put in place concerning violation of human rights by the corporations as they conduct business. However, in all of the articles herein discusses by various personnel, the conception of the compliance with the laws of host countries is highly valued. Carroll (125) writes about ethical considerations in business and suggests that we should consider the present and the future challenges. The conception surp asses the other two in the fact that, if a corporation would stand the challenge of complying with the laws of a host country, it is easy for it to respect the human rights. At the same time, it is possible for multinational corporations to support small business if a law is documented for them to do so in the host countries. Thus, the corporations should be ready to comply with laws that have been set in the host country (Beauchamp, 73). Conclusion Multinational corporations have tremendously increased in numbers over the years, and have at all times been successful. However, it is needful at such a time to think critically about how well their relations have been with their host countries. The issue is not how they conduct their businesses or how much profits they make over time, but what their social impacts in both their home and host countries are. Are they just out for personal gain without considering their neighbors? Such have been the questions put by critics who have stron gly felt that the corporations have neglected the social roles that they are supposed to carry out but to no avail. In my opinion, some corporations are always out for personal gain as well as to maximize the available opportunities for maximum profits, and do not care their reputation in their host countries. This is the reason why many theorists have to tire putting forward theories that explain why multinational corporations do not comply with countries’ laws. More over, most of them have a very great influence in the government policy in many countries, a factor that contributes to them frustrating many citizens, who in the end develop a negative attitude. Donaldson on his writing is concerned about human rights, where he ends up listing them one by one. As other critics, he argues that the multinational corporations have neglected the human rights issue which should be one of their major area of concern, thus it is important that the corporations’ management retra ce their lost steps in order to comply with some facts that are more meaningful than business itself. Furthermore, the moral grounds that are considered right should be constructed to enhance good social relations. The conception of the corporations being obligated to comply with the host countries’ laws surpasses the others, since compliance to the laws will entail complying with every other item. The objective of the paper was achieved and therefore, â€Å"the multinational corporations should be urged to comply with host countries’ laws,† both for their sustainability in business and to ensure their participation in promoting social responsibility as well as pluralistic relativism. Works Cited Beauchamp, Tom and Bowie, Norman. Ethical Theory and Business. NY: Prentice Hall Humanities/Social Science publishers. 1997. Carroll, Archie. Managing ethically with global stakeholders: A present and Future challenge. Academy of Management Executive. 2004. Web. Donalds on, Thomas. Rights in the Global Market: Ethics and multinational corporations. NY: Sterling Publishing Company. 1990. Web. Ensign, Prescott. International Business Gestion International. Volume 27. Ottawa: University of Ottawa books center. 2006. Falkenberg, Andreas. â€Å"When in Rome: Moral Maturity and Ethics for International Economic Organizations.† Journal of Business Ethics, Volume 54. Kluwer academic publishers, Netherland. 2004. Web. This essay on Multinational Corporations Compliance with Host Countries’ Laws was written and submitted by user Jenn1ferSm1th to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

The Great Gatsby Quotes Example

The Great Gatsby Quotes Example The Great Gatsby Quotes – Coursework Example The Great Gatsby Quotes and My Interpretation of Its Meaning â€Å"I hope she’ll be a fool- that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool. â€Å" This dialogue was spoken by Daisy in description of her newborn daughter. The social environment that the child was destined to grow up in did not believe that women were capable of any intelligence and the women grew up believing it. I found it quite sad that Daisy made such a comment. Mostly because it solidified the sadness and boredom she felt in her life. Even sadder was that she never tried to challenge the norm of the time even though she had the potential to. It pained me to read how she had to convince herself that she should be happy with the way her life was going and that she was pretending to be what she was not in order to fit in with the societal norm of the time. â€Å"That’s my Middle West . . . the street lamps and sleigh bells in the frosty dark. . . . I see now that this has been a story of the West, after all- Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life. â€Å" The use of places to embody themes, characters, and values in The Great Gatsby is a constant method the author used to depict the lifestyle of the characters. While the east is known for the high social life, the midwest, was known for more traditional moral values. This was the moment in the story when Nick realized that he would never fit in where he was because of the differences in values. A realizatin that eventually sent him back to the midwest. â€Å"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter- tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And then one fine morning- So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the pa st. â€Å" As the final words spoken in the novel, this paragraph brough the novel full circle to the theme of significance of the past to dreams of the future. The green light represents the future and the struggle of people to achieve their goals by changing who they are. The problem, is that the past and present tend to draw them back into their past lives. Which the characters in the story then use to try and help them create a better future for themselves. The green light is their desire to continue to keep their optism and the hope that they will never lose it when looking to their future, even if it becomes harder and harder to achieve their personal goals that would fulfill their great American dream.

Financial Accounting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financial Accounting - Assignment Example Although the companys liquidity position has improved from 2010 to 2012, the company should take further measures to improve its liquidity positions so that the short term obligations can be paid of whenever they are due. The profitability ratios are used to gauge the overall profitability of a company relative to its level of sales. The operating profit margin of the company registered an increase from 27.47% in 2010 to 31.98% in 2012. The operating profit increased on account of considerable decrease in the unusual expenses of the company. This shows that the overall operational efficiency of the company has not improved and the increase in operating margin is the result of a decrease in unusual expenses of the company. Profit margin of the company witnessed a considerable increase from 11.09% in 2010 to 18.22% in 2012. The increase in operating profits of the company translated into better net profit of the company. Return on assets and return on equity of the company also showed signs of improvement on the back of an increase in the companys overall net income. BEP ratio remained relatively stable in 2012 at 10.37% as compared to 10.49% in 2011. The debt management ratios helps in assessing the mix of companys debt relative to equity. Higher amount of debt on the balance sheet can be risky for the company as it has to make the fixed interest payments to the debt holders. InBevs total debt to total assets fell from 50.45% in 2010 to 48.25% in 2011 and increased slightly to 48.41% in 2012. The companys total debt increased in 2012, however subsequent increase in total assets led to a stable total debt to total assets ratio. The asset management ratios helps in determining the efficiency of the assets in generating a companys revenues. The inventory turnover ratio of the company has shown slight improvement from 2010 to 2012. A steady increase in companys revenues along with subsequent increase in total inventory has led to a stable inventory ratio. This

How do sociologists define, explain, understand race Essay

How do sociologists define, explain, understand race - Essay Example This paper declares that the two terms race and ethnicity have been invariably used interchangably by laymen. Sociologists, though identify distinct variations in he usage of the two terms. Ethnic groups possess a common history, distinctive culture and perspective, which contribute to their individuality. These virtues like langugae, daily traditions, ancestry are not inherited biologically, but are rather learned culturally. Essentially, ethnicity is what the world teaches and inculcates in a human being, while race is the set of vritues he is born with. An ethnic group is marked by self-consciousness, in that its members see themselves as a people, and are seen as such by others. This essay stresses that the practice of racism manifests itself in various forms even in the present society, be it the discrimination against African American or even against foreign immigrants. The Ku Klux Klan, an organization propagating white supremacy in the United States of America, was probably the most extreme rendition of this racism. This group was involved in public lynching of many blacks. A research conducted by the University of Chicago demonstrated that there was widespread discrimination in the workplace against job applicants whose names were merely perceived as "sounding black". The Asian Americans are put under greater scrutiny and checks in their daily ife and have become the focus of ridicule and accusation. Their ethinicity often becomes the cause of their public humiliation and discrimination. The Americans, have generalised the blame to the whole of the Asian community.(more particularly the Muslim) community. This attitude often creates problems for these i mmigrants in their personal and professional life. In late October 2001, the State Department issued a classified cable imposing a twenty-day mandatory hold on all non-immigrant visa applications submitted by men aged eighteen to forty-five from twenty-six countries, most of them Arab or Muslim. All such applicants were to be subjected to special security clearances. There are many other, similar

Emergency Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Emergency Management - Assignment Example Some of these measures need proper training depending on the field of emergency management (McEntire, 2007). For instance, bomblast response tends to be totally different from football injury response. The magnitude of a problem calls for more time and a lot of aiding facilities to fasten the EM process. A large scale disaster tends to be very intensive in terms of management hence enough aiding facilities needed to accomplish the whole EM process. An intensive training and exercise is needed to catch up with such high magnitude disasters. All the needed aid facilities are supposed to be ready before a disaster to enhance effective control system. In any disaster or emergency management institution, employees must have the skills to operate machinery and basic knowledge to sport, understand, analyze and understand and respond to any kind of disaster within the institution scope. There are many institutions around the world that respond to different kinds of disasters. Specialization and employee training are vital factors in such institutions bearing the magnitude and high rate of daily catastrophes (McEntire, 2007). The training programs and exercises are meant to deepen employee understanding on proper measures to apply in dealing with different levels of disasters. Good strategies must also be employed to accomplish any EM activity successfully. According to the EM response of Luis Tapia and Matt Feryan, EM exercise and planning takes quite a long time depending on the time frame set by institutional managers or instructors (Dhillon etal, 2012). Minor exercise programs can take up to six months while major ones take close to one year. As per my perception, large scale disaster control programs should take more than one year to enhance proper preparation and catastrophe response tactics. Luis Tapia and Matt Feryan’s response to emergency management in the transcript shows that coordination among EM personnel is

The Development Of Modern Social Thought

The Development Of Modern Social Thought Karl Marx and Max Weber are two of the most influential thinkers in terms of modern social thought that there are. Both Marxs and Webers contribution to the development of social thought is in my opinion second to none. Marx and Weber wrote about modernity before it was in full swing, yet there works including such classics such as Marxs Communist Manifesto which is a familiar name to most, not only attempted to explain something near impossible to explain in such a way that most modern thinkers base their works on a criticism or celebration of their work. These two writers are of particular interest to because of how prolific they are and because they have both written so much on the subject, some of which is comparable and some of which is contrastable. Both Marx and Weber looked at similar themes including the reasons for modernity occurring, though their conclusions differ. Karl Marx leans towards the economic side of modernity whereas Max Weber, who writes after Marx with his fi ndings to improve on, believes that the impact of science, arts, and religion is a better explanation of modernity. Firstly, I will be looking at Karl Marxs contribution to modern social thought through his book The Communist Manifesto in which he looks at class struggle. In The Communist Manifesto, Marx explains how the friction between classes has always existed, as he remarks In ancient Rome we have patricians, knights, plebeians, slaves; in the Middle Ages, feudal lords, vassals, guild-masters, journeymen, apprentices, serfs; in almost all of these classes, again, subordinate gradations  [2]  . Marx goes on to put forward the idea that the bourgeoisie have always existed and do indeed exist today. He puts class struggle down to society itself which through its nature will have classes, an order. Marx explains todays class struggle as Society as a whole is more and more splitting up into two great hostile camps, into two great classes, directly facing each other: Bourgeoisie and Proletariat.  [3]  Marxs understanding of class divide in the Communist Manifesto is clearly true and therefo re key in understanding society today. Marxs take on class divide can be summarised as being that class divide has always existed and will exist today, as he predicted, rather than the classes changing, he believes that characteristics of the classes change. Where as in history, the bourgeoisie would have owned farm, they will own businesses today and whereas the proletariats would have worked in farms, today they work for businesses owned by the bourgeoisie. Marxs understanding of there being two main classes, those in power and those in not, is important in modern social thought as all Marxists will use it to argue that there is a lack of equality and too large a divide between the two classes. Marx does not distinguish between individual situations, rather is a big supporter of the belief that there is no real equality for the proletariat and his voice is therefore used today by anyone voicing such an opinion. It can be argued that Marxs prediction of an uprising by the working class has come true in modern times. The working class has never had as many rights as it does today, with measures such as minimum pay and benefits ensuring that an unreasonable amount of power is not held by the ruling class, and that the working class have enough rights and voice to be ensured a decent standard of life. There were plenty of revolutions between the 18thC and 19thC, which are evidence of Marxs prediction of an uprising against the ruling class. Marx believes that the proletariat alone is a really revolutionary class  [4]  . This can be seen as a contribution to the understanding of modern society as it is true today, no other classes are seen to be revolting nearly as much as the working class who have been working on their rights for the last few centuries. As Marx also states, the ruling class have all the power and it is in their nature to ensure power is kept for future generations. Marx sa ys that the working class only achieve things such as a minimum wage law because the ruling class allow them to do so, in order to keep them happy and therefore deter them from revolting more. A significant manner in which Marx contributed to the understanding of modern society is through his explanation of market expansion. Marxs argument was that for the bourgouise to remain in power, they must constantly work at creating links between themselves to ensure a global rule  [5]  . Marx argued in the Communist Manifesto that the future would see a capitalist market grow to operate on a global scale through the increase of technology and communication. This idea has perhaps been the most significant contribution to understanding modern society by Marx. It is clear that what Marx predicted has become reality, with a global economy that we have today, with transnational cooperation operating worldwide. The behaviour of the ruling class in modern society reflects Marxs theory on keeping wealth within the minority of the population. Businesses still work in a hierarchical structure whereby a few at the top benefit from many at the bottom of the hierarchy who do not benefit fr om increase in profit, rather receive a fixed low wage. Finally, i have chosen Marxs contribution to the understanding of modern society through his literature on technology. In the Communist Manifesto, Marx looks at the effects of an introduction of technology and how it effects the labour market. The introduction of technology such as machinery ultimately means that a humans job is done by a machine. Robert J.Antonio describes machines as something that ultimately does jobs that were formerly done by the workman with similar tools  [6]  . This will decrease the need for human labour, which will ultimately mean there are more people for fewer jobs. An increase in availability of market labour and a decrease in need for market labour results in the ruling class being at liberty to alter the wages of the workforce. This sees as the workforce become a commodity  [7]  . Linked with a need for fewer labourers, the type of work changed to less laborious, jobs were suddenly possible to carry out through the pushing of a button. This me ant that a new work force was available for the ruling class to be exploited, women and children. This availability of a new workforce meant that the ruling class were more powerful than ever, as the family of a working man had now become the work force of the ruling. An introduction of a new labour force means that the ruling class suddenly controlled everything that matters to a working man, i.e. increasing the divide but more importantly cementing the existing control. The reduction in labour intensity of jobs due to technological and mechanical improvements meant that working hours could be increased. This brought with it an increase in productivity and if anything a reduced cost. Max Weber was similar to Karl Marx in that he too looked at ancient Rome and the structure of the ancient economy which he, like Marx found to have certain similarities with the structure of modern capitalism. Marx believed that modern society was more of a result of the economic changes that were seen in the 18thC and 19thC due to technological improvements. However, Weber believed that the change seen after medieval times i.e. modernity, were more so a result in a change of attitude of the worlds population. Weber noticed that if we lived in a capitalist economy before and ended up in medieval times, a change in society could not solely be due to economic change. Thus Weber looked at Eastern German agriculture in 1892. Webers finding in this research supported his belief that it was through the genuine will power of the proletariat that a change resulted. The findings of this research can be summarised as the work force having a true desire to work for them in order to retain more of the profit created by their work. Webers believe that the working class chose to want to do better is a key feature of modern society, the constant struggle for workers to better their situation. Webers understanding of capitalism, a key foundation of modernity is drastically different to that of Marx. Marx saw capitalism as a materialist economy based upon the will to acquire economic wealth. In contrast, Weber argues that the will to further ones economic standing is based on religious beliefs such as the Protestant and in particular Calvinist teachings  [8]  . The Protestant teachings are that everything that one does must be done in honour of God. Weber argues that it is this belief that is the cause people striving to do their best, be as productive as possible and generate as much wealth as possible. This dedication to giving everything cannot, according to Weber be explained by ownership relations, technology and advances in learning alone  [9]  . This attitude which Weber believes is a part cause for modernity itself is essential to the further existence of capitalism. In order for capitalism to survive, the working class must continue to have reason to work h ard and be productive, or the ruling class would not be able to live of them. This need for the work force to try their hardest true today and therefore another way in which Weber has contributed to the understanding of modern society. Weber goes on to suggest that the view point of Marx whereby capitalism is a result of solely economic change is Naive  [10]  and should be abandoned once and for all  [11]  this contribution to modern social thought is of interest because it offers an explanation as to why people work hard and how capitalism works i.e. capitalism depends and runs on the quality of input of the labour force. Max Weber believed that the increase in scientific knowledge was a key factor in creating modernity and modern social thought. Weber described the level of science that we have reached as valid  [12]  but noted that it only existed in the western world  [13]  . This idea was based upon Webers belief that such a structured theology was only present in Christianity, though he recognised that most fundamental knowledge did come from eastern faiths. This structured theology could be argued to have been left integrated in the religion from roman times when a form of capitalism coincided with Christianity. This structured way of thinking brought with it rationality which was in turn branded upon the foundations of western life. It is this rationalism that Weber offers as an alternative cause for modern social thought rather than Marxs suggestion of economics. To conclude, both Karl Marx and Max Weber have made vast contribution to modern social thought. Their works have been agreed and disagreed with since their creation, adapted and used to both prove and disprove arguments and theories. Their work is still relevant today as their contribution to understanding modern society such as key issues including class and employment have changed the course of history. Their contribution to modern social thought will continue to influence thinkers on modern social thought for centuries to come.

Essay --

↠ Hello world! Frederick Douglass’s theory on Religion (Christianity), Slavery, and the Law Posted on August 7, 2010 by vrana25 8/07/2010 Law and Literature encompasses the power of literature and they way it presented the law in a light that allows its readers to interpret it from different directions. The law is a system of rules, which are enforced with authority by institutions. Often literature has contributed significantly in shaping the law. Slavery is one of the unfortunate practices in America that has been engraved in American history. In early centuries, people who favored or opposed slavery expressed it through literature. Frederick Douglass in his narrative, â€Å"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,† discusses the role of religion, Christianity in particular, which was written in literature known as the bible had two versions: true Christianity and the white Christianity that helped in strengthening slavery. Frederick Douglass is known for being an outstanding orator, but he is mostly acknowledged for being an incredible abolitionist. His work to demolish slavery has been greatly known, detailing his life experience as a slave and expressing his theory on slavery. In â€Å"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,† he demonstrates the way religion and its literature, the bible, had a negative influence and effect on slavery as well as the development of white Christianity. Douglass opens his narrative introducing himself stating his birthplace and age. However, he claims he cannot authenticate his introduction because he himself was a slave and was not given access to this information. Immediately he attempts to demonstrate the lack of knowledge slaves had because of their masters and slaveholders. Slaves were no... ...eir actions. Either this was the incorrect way Christianity was practiced or humanity was presented in an ambiguous way. The presence of religion goes on further when Douglass introduces Mr. Covey, another master he was assign too. Mr. Covey was a professor of religion and a religious class-leader at the local Methodist church. He also had a reputation of breaking apart young slaves in which Douglass refers to him as a â€Å"nigger-breaker.† As young as Douglass was when he moved in with Mr. Covey, he remembers when Mr. Covey gave him â€Å"a sever whipping, cutting my back, causing the blood to run, and raising ridges on my flesh as large as my little fingers.† This is puzzling to hear of a man who is committed to faith but his actions seemed to be contradicting. The terms religion and law are two sophisticated terms that are the realms of life as well as a shared history th