Debasement

The idea of human rights began as a call for individual freedom from tyranny, yet today it is exploited to rationalize oppression and promote collectivism. How did this happen? Aaron Rhodes, recognized as “one of the leading human rights activists in the world” by the University of Chicago, reveals how an emancipatory ideal became so debased. Rhodes identifies the fundamental flaw in the Universal Declaration of Human of Rights, the basis for many international treaties and institutions. It mixes freedom rights rooted in natural law—authentic human rights—with “economic and social rights,” or claims to material support from governments, which are intrinsically political. As a result, the idea of human rights has lost its essential meaning and moral power. The principles of natural rights, first articulated in antiquity, were compromised in a process of accommodation with the Soviet Union after World War II, and under the influence of progressivism in Western democracies. Geopolitical and ideological forces ripped the concept of human rights from its foundations, opening it up to abuse. Dissidents behind the Iron Curtain saw clearly the difference between freedom rights and state-granted entitlements, but the collapse of the USSR allowed demands for an expanding array of economic and social rights to gain legitimacy without the totalitarian stigma. The international community and civil society groups now see human rights as being defined by legislation, not by transcendent principles. Freedoms are traded off for the promise of economic benefits, and the notion of collective rights is used to justify restrictions on basic liberties. We all have a stake in human rights, and few serious observers would deny that the concept has lost clarity. But no one before has provided such a comprehensive analysis of the problem as Rhodes does here, joining philosophy and history with insights from his own extensive work in the field.

The debasement of coinage, particularly of silver, was a common feature of pre-modern monetary systems. Most coinages were issued by state authorities and the condition of a coinage is often seen (rightly or wrongly) as an indicator of the broader fiscal health of the state that produced it. While in some cases the motives behind the debasements or reductions in standards are clear, in many cases the intentions of the issuing authorities are uncertain. Various explanations have been advanced: fiscal motives (such as a desire to profit or a to cover a deficit caused by the failure to balance expenditure and revenues); monetary motives (such as changing demand for coined money or a desire to maintain monetary stability in the face of changing values of raw materials or labour costs); pressure from groups within society that would profit from debasement; misconduct at the mint; or the decline of existing monetary standards due to circulation and wear of the coinage in circulation. Certain explanations have tended to gain favour with monetary historians of specific periods, partly reflecting the compartmentalization of scholarship. Thus the study of Roman debasements emphasizes fiscal deficits, whereas medievalists are often more prepared to consider monetary factors as contributing to debasements. To some extent these different approaches are a reflection of discrepancies in the amount of documentary evidence available for the respective periods, but the divide also underlines fundamentally different approaches to the function of coinage: Romanists have preferred to see coins as a medium for state payments; whereas medievalists have often emphasized exchange as an important function of currency. The volume is inter-disciplinary in scope. Apart from bringing together monetary historians of different periods, it also contains contributions from archaeometallurgists who have experience with the chemical and physical composition of coins and technical aspects of production of base alloys

This edited book is an innovative collection of studies—pioneering scholarship systematically exploring the various features of debasement language used by political leaders in their speeches, statements, and remarks during parliamentary and other official as well as unofficial, private activities. The book examines in particular the forms, functions, and effects of political debasement in Western and non-Western countries, including Spain, Malaysia, the UK, Japan, China, India, Montenegro, Greece, Poland, and Israel. It addresses the growing interest in recent years in issues related to the increase of debasement in the public sphere. These include high-echelon politicians’ invective and vulgarity toward their colleagues in houses of parliament; their abusive and cynical language toward sections of the public, including women and minorities; and their crude sarcasm and irony expressed toward media representatives. The book focuses on those instances where political leaders at the very highest-level employ debasement discourse; it identifies the specific language they use in different political cultures and under different situations; the reasons for using this type of language; and its consequences. The book brings together a team of distinguished political scientists, communication and linguistics researchers, and social and political psychologists, with expert backgrounds and experience in understanding the reciprocal interaction between language and politics, in this case: debasement. They discuss and provide a number of novel insights of theoretical and practical importance regarding debasing discourse, as well as potential avenues for future research on the nature and effect of this type of language.

This book is a companion to Political Debasement: Incivility, Contempt, and Humiliation in Parliamentary and Public Discourse. It brings together interdisciplinary contributions to provide a comprehensive and detailed exploration of the nature, function, and effect of debasement language used by selected political leaders in Western and non-Western countries. Among them are Donald Trump (in the USA), Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (Turkey), Rodrigo Roa Duterte (Philippines), Jair Bolsonaro (Brazil), Abe Shinzô (Japan), Pauline Hanson (Australia), Kyriakos Mitsotakis (Greece), Geert Wilders (the Netherlands), Beppe Grillo (Italy), and Santiago Abascal (Spain). Chapters focus specifically on the language of these leaders while examining debasement discourse from narrow and broad perspectives. The former includes the use of crude or abusive language (e.g., curses, obscenity, and swearing) to demean, humiliate, mock, insult, or belittle, based on the actual or perceived object or entity (e.g., race, religion, national, gender identity, or sexual orientation); the latter includes the use of devious or indirect irony, sarcasm, cynicism, ridicule, subtlety, and understatement to degrade and discredit other individuals or groups. The book represents the collective wisdom of scholars and researchers, experts in fields such as communication, political science, international relations, and social and political psychology. Cumulatively, the authors develop a global analysis of debasement discourse in societies from West to East and offer a cutting-edge approach to expand a framework assessing the role and effect of such rhetoric in contemporary politics.

After 100 years of deliberate debasement, the U.S. Dollar is dying. Our politicians have deceptively siphoned off so much of its value that a 2012 dollar has only two pennies of the purchasing power of a 1913 dollar.This Great Debasement of America's money is by far the largest confiscation of wealth in world history--and you, your children and your grandchildren are the ones on the losing end of this century-long policy.The Federal Reserve System, created by Progressives in 1913 to give America an 'elastic' money, has taken on such enormous and far-ranging powers that it has become 'the fourth branch of government' that killed the gold-backed dollar, and replaced it with an impostor currency, a central cause of today's dangerous economic problems.On the 100th Anniversaries of the 1912 Progressive takeover of America and 1913 imposition of the Fed and income tax---still working together synergistically to transform the U.S.A.--- we expose, and show how to reverse, the Progressives' Great Debasement of America.

This early work by Sigmund Freud was originally published in 1912 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'On the Universal Tendency to Debasement in the Sphere of Love' is an essay on the causes of psychological impotence. Sigismund Schlomo Freud was born on 6th May 1856, in the Moravian town of Příbor, now part of the Czech Republic. He studied a variety of subjects, including philosophy, physiology, and zoology, graduating with an MD in 1881. Freud made a huge and lasting contribution to the field of psychology with many of his methods still being used in modern psychoanalysis. He inspired much discussion on the wealth of theories he produced and the reactions to his works began a century of great psychological investigation.

This is a full-scale study that explores every aspect of money in Europe and the Middle Ages.

This books aims to develop curriculum approaches and material appropriate to black students that can enhance their personal development, self-esteem, competence, and understanding of society, while it helps young whites develop a greater understanding of the contributions made by black people to history and social development. The context is that of the English school system. Images from art are used as stimuli, and the social and historical realities relating to images are linked to produce departure points for further study and research. Section 1 focuses on "White History and the Distortion of Black History." In section 2, the topic is "African Reactions to Slavery and Colonisation," while section 3 concentrates on "Religion and the Role of Black People." Section 4 considers"The Centuries of Struggle." A concluding chapter explores "Reconstructing the Black Image in the History National Curriculum."