The Paradox Of Progress By Benjamin Franklin - 1251 Words

Chapter 1 – 3/18 I would like to use this first journal entry to talk a little about what the book refers to as the â€Å"paradox of progress.† (This is something I’ve been reading about lately.) In the Eighteenth Century, Benjamin Franklin (one of our favorite Philadelphians) claimed that with all of our knowledge and tools in America we should be able to satisfy all our needs with just three or four hours of work a week. Some thinkers of the 1920s believed that by the 1970s ours would become a leisure society. In 1965, a Senate subcommittee predicted that by the year 2000 the average American workweek would be reduced to between fourteen and twenty-two hours. Instead, Americans now work more than they ever have (160 hours more a year than they did when that Senate subcommittee made those predictions) and find their lives increasingly focused on the acquisition of ever more technology and innovations which falsely claim to ease the obligations we feel in our already over-obligate d existence. Since World War II American industrial production has doubled, and while we could have used this increased productivity to work half as much, we instead chose to take an increase in wages in order to buy more stuff. A paradigm shift is needed in our philosophical worldview that will have vast implications for how we live and experience our lives and assist in our adjustment to modernity. Such a transformation is possible through the voluntary simplification of our lives, whichShow MoreRelatedThe Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin1058 Words   |  5 PagesThe Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin’s life made a huge impact on the history of America. He also was an influence for many citizens. Since Franklin lived during the eighteenth century, a period of growth for America, he also played a part in the political founding of the United States. To help future generations, Franklin wrote an autobiography of his life. An autobiography is a piece of literature about someone’s own life. He separates his into four parts, each one depictingRead MoreThe American Dream1921 Words   |  8 Pagesfor constitutional rights and freedoms (i.e. human rights and citizenship). Kinniard’s proclamations in â€Å"The Paradox of American Identity† not only support Froner’s ideals, but express the necessity of change to elicit progress. He cautions that not all change is progressive, however, progress can be defined by the change it elicits. This essay analyzes and compares these components of Benjamin Franklin’s pursuit of his American d ream to those of Frederick Douglass, and aims to examine how race andRead MoreSociology and Other Sciences7090 Words   |  29 Pagesa cleansing or purging effect in society. He further stated that the authority which the moral conscience enjoys must not be excessive; otherwise, no-one would dare to criticize it, and it would too easily congeal into an immutable form. To make progress, individual originality must be able to express itself...[even] the originality of the criminal... shall also be possible (Durkheim, 1895). Law Beyond the specific study of crime, criminal law and punishment, Durkheim was deeply interested inRead MoreThe American Civil War : The United States8725 Words   |  35 Pagesby widening margins. 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Dr. Bob Moorehead of Seattle’s Overlake Christian Church, who resigned his own position under a cloud of accusations, described it this way: The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways but narrower viewpoints. We spend more but have less; we buy more but enjoy it less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences but lessRead MoreLibrary Management204752 Words   |  820 Pagesfunctions are presented and discussed separately, it is important to remember that they are carried out simultaneously and concurrently. The actual operation of a library or information center follows no precise linear pattern. Most managerial functions progress simultaneously; they do not exist in a hierarchical relationship. For instance, budgeting is not likely to be reflective of the enterprise’s success without some measure of planning in which goals and objectives are established. Therefore, managementRead MoreManagement Course: Mba−10 General Management215330 Words   |  862 Pagesspecialization and (2) linking people and tasks by the speed of the production line—makes sense. It produces the huge savings in cost and huge increases in output that occur in large, organized work settings. For example, in 1908 managers at the Franklin Motor Company using scientiï ¬ c management principles redesigned the work process, and the output of cars increased from 100 cars a month to 45 cars a day; workers’ wages, however, increased by only 90 percent.10 From other perspectives, however, scientiï ¬ c