Architecture and the Critique of Ideology Essay

Architecture and the Critique of Ideology - Essay Example In effect, architecture can serve as critique of ideological beliefs as much as it is a testament to it by its design and object. Relating these concepts to that of architecture one realizes that as architecture characterizes ideology it also drives it. Therefore it can be expected that given enough time the ideology that drives the precepts of ideology today will eventually off shoot to contradict it self or diverge to form a totally new ideology. Jameson cites that "The new Utopianism for high modernism thus unwittingly and against the very spirit of its own revolutionary and Utopian affirmations prepared the terrain for the omnipotence of the full "rationalized" technocratic plan" (457). The promotion of ideology needs a high degree of economics and it can not be conclusively be considered a representative of the whole society. Instead, it can be simply driven as the interest of those who control the greatest interest in society (Pinker). For example, the emphasis in the ideal Utopian society may be in the theme of creating a model society but there is an underlying motivation by those who control the construction and organization of the city (Jameson 452). For city administrators, they will likely benefit from the organization by easing management burden. For those constructing the city itself, there are driven by the assumption that the Utopian settings will provide them limitless potential for expansion. This supports Richard Lewis' view that ideology is a practical means of defining society and delineating its identity from that of others (30). By channeling these ideologies in architecture, the ideologies are given concrete and substantial testament when they are adapted or shunned by other cultures. Constraints Karl Marx's view on ideology presented it as the ideas of the ruling class, that legitimate the rule of the bourgeois class, as a means of hiding the true state of social conditions such as oppression and inequality. He believed that these ideologies produced a false sense of consciousness and furthered bourgeois class domination over the disenfranchised in society (Goldman 71). In this way, ideology is structured as the foundation of the state of power in a society giving legitimacy to the action in support of the ideology. At the same time, Marxian ideologies also serve as a contradiction to the existing system particularly in economics (Jameson 450). The distinction of an ideology does not lie on the utility of the ideology but rather should be on the ideas that constitute the ideology itself. Otherwise, the tendency is for the development of far-reaching interpretations that can prompt action against others. According to Ernst Bloch, one of the main dilemmas in the concept of ideology is that when it is "broached from the side of the problem of cultural inheritance, of the problem as to how works of the superstructure progressively reproduce themselves in cultural consciousness even after disappearance of their social bases". Therefore, the ideologies may contain the same core ideas like in the case of religions but the cultural components that influence the practice of the religion and the individuals who practice it create the variances that delineate them

Social issue that is arguable( I leave here open to let you selcet the Research Paper

Social issue that is arguable( I leave here open to let you selcet the topic) - Research Paper Example The situation in USA is alarming with two thirds of the adults’ population being described as either obese or overweight, while childhood obesity almost tripled in the past three decades (Kalaidis, theweek.com). FAO ranks USA second after Brazil with 31.8 percent of adults being obese (Kalaidis, theweek.com). The developing and persistent problem has led to the obesity and overweight conditions been referred to as ‘the white man problems.’ Perhaps because of the duration the problems have remained in the western world. As of 2013, statistics indicated that 23.9 million children were obese or overweight, approximately 5 times more compared to the 1970s, and 154.7 million adults in the situation, which has more than doubled after the 70s (American Heart Association, Heart.org). This speculation is arguably not a fact; most people in poor African and Asian nation struggle with these diseases. Past research indicate that â€Å"nutrition transition had been accelerating in developing nation, with an increasing trend in energy intake, especially from high energy density, high fat and low fiber diets, which is as a result of income changes that affect their dietary behavior, causing the burden of diseases related to poor diets shift more to the poor† (Du et al. 1512). Itâ₠¬â„¢s quite rampant in the famous sub Saharan regions where hunger and STDs have dominated. In fact the obesity situation is said to almost outdo the hunger crisis. This paper argues that the solution to preventing diseases caused by obesity and overweight does not lie within the taxation policies, but requires set of combined measures to assist the population in healthy consumption. It evaluates food taxes effectiveness, resulting implications and complexity of the policy. Governments across the world have deployed diverse measures in fight against obesity and overweight diet related