Kant's Political Writings Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Kant's Political Writings - Essay Example However, our choice of leadership may not always be right and appropriate since as men we tend to be wrong at times due to our human nature. Nonetheless, a leader is always needed and we must submit to them irrespective of whether we agree with them fully or not. This was the origin of the supreme rule among men. It was the only way to establish law and order in any social setting irrespective of where that rule comes from. It is therefore an offense to go against the rule of law by organizing any form of resistance to the leaders in authority. Such an action is deemed offensive and should be punished according to the constitution in place. If anyone is against any law or figure of authority, they should find a constitutionally recognized way of placing their complaints without disorganizing or trying to forcefully overrule the structure of power. His approach to leadership in any social setting points to dictatorship and democratic doctrines. These principles cannot coexist hand in hand since one form will take over the other in time. However, these doctrines are beneficial to men in their quest to find stability in their day to day lives. I support his ideology on this subject matter since he gives some pointers to its advantages. He takes us back to the laws of nature that govern the animal and plant kingdoms. According to his third proposition, our full capabilities are only realized when in an organized group and not as an individual. This is because we are social creatures. He gives us an example of trees trying to collectively seek for air and light for their growth and other trees that do not participate in this union but go off on their own. The latter trees grow to be strong and blossom fully while the former do not grow to their full potential. The value of group association is enhanced since it comes with great benefits to the individuals joined in the venture. This does not come easy since they will be some problems experienced in one way or the ot her. These deviations are to be expected since peace comes with a price. This should be dealt with constitutionally as the people look to the greater picture of a centralized form of governance. The leaders should be capable of providing for its citizens and especially for those unable to do so. It then acquires the right to tax its citizens in a bid to avail certain resources for its entire people. This right to tax should not be abused but used for the greater good of its entire people. The people are then given some privileges by the constitution such as those of voting, legal ownership of property and the right to freedom. The right to rule conferred upon the state is given to it by its citizens. This power should be supreme and the means to an end. The leader should be then having more authority than the people he is ruling over. He can lead his people to a resistance but he must have made claim to his actions and offer protection to his subjects. This resistance could be again st the constitution or a part of it. This form of defiance could be unconstitutional since it points to the leader of the resistance as the Supreme authority yet he is meant to be a tool to follow through with the rule of law. This goes against Kant’s principles as it means that there is a flaw in the constitutional framework of the society. This is even graver when a coup is staged by the people who are meant to be subjects upholding the legality of the leadership they choose. Instead they should be able to stage complaints in the most peaceful of manners and if that approach fails, then submitting to the law would come in handy. In the case scenario of the murder of the leader as was seen in the execution of Charles I, there was the deviation from

Book review on Olaudah Equiano Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Book review on Olaudah Equiano - Research Paper Example One of Equiano’s masters and a captain in a British trade ship, Henry Pascal, changed Equiano’s name to Gustavus Vassa. This is a name he used his entire life, with an exception of the autobiography’s publishing. Equiano Olaudah travelled extensively during his service to Pascal and succeeding masters. For instance, he visited Holland, England, Gibraltar, Scotland, Nova Scotia, Caribbean, Georgia, South Carolina and the Pennsylvania. After his purchase from Pascal by a Quaker merchant, Robert King, Equiano’s life gradually took a turn. He worked as Mr. King’s clerk and also had the opportunity to explore his minor trades, which enabled him to save some money and later buy his freedom in the year 1766. In the subsequent year, Equiano Olaudah settled down in England where he attended school and worked for Dr. Charles Irving, a prominent scientist, as an assistant. In the year 1792, Equiano married a lady known as Susanna Cullen, with whom they had two daughters before his death in 1797. Equiano’s autobiography is rather intriguing owing to its narrative approach. He begins the book by describing the ordinary life he used to live with his family in Africa, prior to his kidnap. He indicates that he was the last son, hence his mother’s favourite child and irrespective of the large size of his family they had a home and sufficient food. Equiano’s greatest worry was his slight failure in warrior classes, a clear sign of the carefree life he had as a typical young African male. At the tender age of eleven, he heard of rumours that malicious people were kidnapping young children and selling them off as slaves. Equiano remembers climbing trees and looking around to see if these people would come to get him or his siblings. As fate would have it, Equiano, his brother and sister were taken away in the dark of night when his parents were not around. This marked the drastic and change in his life, especially after being separated from his brother and sister. The emotional upheaval caused by the situation is described by the author’s own words that â€Å"She was torn from me and immediately carried away, while I was left in a state of distraction not to be described. I cried and grieved continually, and for several days I did not eat anything but what they forced into my mouth† (54). On reaching a slave market, Equiano got sold and accompanied his new handler to a house where other people spoke his native language, a form of consolation, albeit little given the critical situation. Owing to his dedication to work, Equiano was considered to be the best slave in the house. However, his life changed soon after, when he was loaded into a ship with other slaves with no knowledge of what would happen next. He feigned fainting when being shoved into the ship with the hope of being left behind, to no avail. Equiano had to work as soon as he got into the Virginia bound ship and he remembers how bad the conditions were in the ship, to the extent of most slaves committing suicide by jumping overboard. Equiano spent some little amount of time in a Virginia farm but he was then taken back on the British slave ships and Trade Vessels serving the captains as a trusted slave. It was in the course of sailing, that he was given the name Gustavas Vassa, by Captain Pascal (Equiano 26). When still serving under Captain Pascal, Equiano travelled to many