Essay on Meta-Themes

Capital is a concept that is intrinsically tied to the state, at least for Communist countries. With this in mind, the concept of capital as a tool of control becomes more and more apparent the more that it is used within contemporary society. At the same time, capital complements labor in a number of key ways as well, and it is here that some of the more practical implications of capital can be observed. Indeed, capital allows for the means of production and, by extension, profit, to be facilitated, and it is through this capital that many of the concepts of the course can be made much more apparent. There have been a large number of articles that have been written surrounding the importance of capital on a more business and governmental level, allowing for a more in-depth understanding of it to be gleaned. 

Combined, labor and capital together formulate one of the most important single elements within society as a whole, and this element is one that has had a great deal of attention given to it over the years because of its profound ability to shift society on a more intrinsic level. That is to say, countries, especially those such as the United States, are largely founded on the basis of labor and capital in general, primarily because of their decidedly capitalistic natures, and through this, a more in-depth understanding of what makes these singular elements work can be observed here. Labor is a global concept that has been seeing something of a renaissance as things like worker unions continue to shift and evolve, while capital tends to evolve in stride with labor, leading to this two-pronged change. 

Lastly, labor and capital is extremely important from a philosophical perspective because it represents a moving of power and influence into the hands of the people instead of the governments themselves. Although this labor and capital has historically been something of a tool of the governments themselves, as alluded to earlier, there is more and more of a trend of people taking their fates into their own hands, instead of that of their governments, and this is leading to more and more of a shift away from these elements of governmental intervention when it comes to labor and capital. In fact, within contemporary society, one could even argue that the concepts of labor and capital actually serve to represent some of the most salient elements of the individual, such as freedom and responsibility. This is especially true in Capitalist countries such as the United States. As such, this labor and capital is a prevalent contributor to many economic concepts. 

2. Inequality

Inequality is an issue that has been seeing more and more attention within this contemporary culture of social justice in Western countries. This is both a boon and a detriment for the cause as a whole, but what is more certain is that the face of inequality is changing at a rapid pace, and there are many who are taking note of this in some way. One source believes that the housing supply, and subsequent demand, in Delhi is a product of inequality in the region, and this has a number of key implications for the inequality as a whole. This implies a number of developments that have been made within the purview of inequality in a global scale. As such, it can be said that there is something of a renaissance within this purview of inequality, and the end result here is that it is becoming more and more important for people to take steps to ensure greater amounts of equality within society as a whole. 

This is a concept that has been mentioned a number of times in the texts as well, but what is especially important to learn here is that it equality as a concept is becoming more and more important and wanted by employers as has been mentioned by one source, which also alludes to the ways that things like greater amounts of diversity are leading to these decreases in inequality. To be sure, this is a major benefit for people in general, and it serves as a way to demonstrate just how and why inequality, within this perspective, can be so incredibly damaging. A generalized lack of equality can also lead to a host of other issues from a more sociological standpoint as well. Having a largely homogenized workforce, for instance, can lead to a number of more intrinsic issues within the job itself, such as having unified opinions that are aggressive toward those that do not agree with theirs, creating a more oppressive culture as a result of inequality as a whole.

As such, there are a large number of global implications and elements within this concept of inequality that continue to be salient even as the standards themselves continue to evolve. To that end, another source makes mention of the ways that the commercial landscape in one specific city, Shanghai, has been primarily affected economically and even socially by inequality in general. This inequality can cause relationships between different cities, people, countries, and many other purviews to be deteriorated if they are not managed properly, and this is an element of inequality that continues to remain important even to this day. It also is something of a testament to the ability of positive inequality to be largely beneficial that it continues to be so important within society today. The meta-themes here all emphasize the importance of the individual when it comes to instigating large-scale change, and nowhere is this more prominent than in the element of inequality, which has continued to see more and more attention devoted to it. 

Finally, the meta-theme of inequality is one that is tied to several of the other meta-themes here as well, especially that of labor and capital. Labor, as a whole, is a purview that has historically struggled with many of these concepts of inequality as a whole, and it has not been until fairly recently that there has been positive change in that regard on a global scale. There have been many who have taken note of some sort when it comes to these key elements of inequality, and as a result, there seems to be a growing body of awareness of the issue from a more generalized standpoint. Inequality can take a number of forms, too, such as that of economic inequality, which naturally has the potential to lead to things like gentrification, mentioned earlier, or a number of other key detriments that can cause society to begin to deteriorate as a result.

3. Global Influence and Global Control

This meta-theme is one that is unique because it has so many key correlations with many of the other meta-themes, as well as themes within a more global purview in the first place. Indeed, one source mentions that there is a culture of reducing car dependency in Hong Kong, and many of the key allusions to this concept are tied to the concept of global control as a whole, such as that of car ownership and use within this particular city. This might not seem important at first glance, but global influence and control are two concepts that have ramifications, even minor ones, within virtually all facets of society, allowing for one to be able to better understand their core implications on a more generalized level as well. Most importantly, global influence and global control can be observed within other meta-themes here as well, such as that of inequality, which can be said to be something of a consequence of this theme of global influence in general. 

Another key dimension of this meta-theme is that of the economic implications of global control. As another source mentions, the global economy is one that can be and, indeed, has been, greatly influenced by these concepts of global influence and global control. This is because these meta-themes are ones that allow for researchers to look individually at the roles and influences of a number of individual elements and better understand how they fit into a more inclusive and cohesive whole. Essentially, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and nowhere is this more apparent than within the concept of global influence and control. It is also clear that these elements are such that they allow for a much more integrated understanding of the issue of sociology and economics in general, as economics is, as well, a global concept, and one that is, like global influence and control, becoming more and more important within a global purview in general. 

This brings up the concept of health policies and the like, and how they can be, and have been, influenced in some way by global influence and control as a whole. Indeed, another source finds that there is an ever-increasing amount of urban health governance, and that this is leading to intensified levels of globalization. This is important primarily because of its implications within the purview of global control, which is a concept that is tied very closely with globalization as a whole. However, there are also a large number of people who believe that global control is a negative aspect, and that only global influence is positive, in this regard. To be sure, this is a somewhat controversial viewpoint, but it is one that also allows for the issue to be understood from this more simplified purview. Global control is largely the root of many problems within the globe today, and health policies are only one other dimension of this rapidly-growing issue. 

Lastly, these meta-elements of global influence and control are an important component of the political landscape of many Western countries such as the United States. This is because, as the world becomes increasingly connected, the importance of global influence and control only continues to become more and more great. As such, the interconnectedness of the world today is something of a blessing and a curse because it emphasizes the importance of, as well as facilitates, global influence. This is why these countries that are able to exhibit global influence and control on a more widespread and general level are able to continue to be so successful. It seems that many of the other authors here have also acknowledge the importance of this global control on a more generalized level. The result is an increasing amount of research and literature on the importance of this subject, as well as a number of thorough examinations of the future of it as a whole. 

4. Vision

The last meta-theme here is one that is perhaps the most important of all. Vision affects all elements of future society and politics on at least some level, making it extremely important in the long term as well. One source makes mention of this concept of vision by mentioning it within one very important purview: that of urbanization and its correlations with health within the purview of China, stating that the rapid urbanization has a number of key impacts on health in China and that much of this can be traced back to vision in some way. To be sure, this element of vision is one that appears to be much more concerned with the present, rather than the future, and as a result, it helps to demonstrate the flexibility of this meta-theme, as vision, as a concept, is one that is intrinsically tied to these elements of understanding not just what is to come, but also the current situation. Urbanization, then, encapsulates this well because it is able to combine these concepts of the present and future in a way that is logical and alludes to the overall importance of vision. 

The next element of vision that must be discussed is that of urban planning. Not surprisingly, this urban planning perspective is one that shares a large number of parallels with that of globalization in general, and this can largely be attributed to the ways that this urban planning similarly necessitates vision. However, as another source states, this urban planning requires much more long-term vision, as well as more specific vision in general, than that of mere urbanization, looking at the issue from the perspective of Singapore. In doing so, it is made much clearer just how and why this urban planning necessitates such a large amount of vision. Urban planning must account for new developments, physically and politically, and oftentimes this can be extremely difficult. Proper urban planning means that there must be plenty of resources kept in reserve in order to ensure that there are no unexpected developments, now or in the future. For this reason, vision is of the utmost priority, and it is a testament to the importance of this vision, as a whole, that it has become so important within Southeast Asia, among other countries. 

One other major concept that is affected by this meta-element is that of climate change. According to another source, climate change is perhaps one of the most important sociological issues being faced today, but, at the same time, it is happening extremely slowly, even if it is not being made by man. As a result, proper vision here is essential in order to formulate even longer-term solutions than that which can be found within the purview of urban planning or urbanization. This is because things like emissions standards must be continually changed and reassessed in response to growing climate threats, and this is a process that can oftentimes take years, if not decades. The importance of the long-term vision, then, is perhaps the one that is emphasized the most, and for good reason. Without proper vision, there would likely not be nearly as much planning surrounding climate change as a whole, and there can be little doubt that this would be extremely damaging. 

Ultimately, vision allows for competent leaders to better understand some of the more subtle effects of their actions, especially in the long term. This is a meta-element that is extremely important but, at the same time, also appears to be extremely rare within leaders, making it only more important. Proper vision has the potential to elevate a country from being merely good, to great, and many of these Southeast Asian countries, in particular, are realizing this and integrating vision into their overall political plans in order to ensure that these countries will continue to experience a large amount of long-term success, for not just the country itself, but the people within it