Month: December 2022

The theme that is in the title is basically selling your soul to the devil, featured in the play Dr. Faustus. This play features an accomplished scholar who sells his soul to the devil, and in return he gets ‘magical powers’. According to Wikipedia, “Doctor Faustus (play) The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, commonly referred to simply as Doctor Faustus, is an Elizabethan tragedy by Christopher Marlowe, based on German stories about the title character Faust. It was probably written in 1592 or 1593, shortly before Marlowe’s death.”

In this play, Lucifer (Satan), using a demon named Mephistophilis as a messenger, Lucifer and Faustus strike a deal. Faustus says that if Lucifer grants him twenty-four years on earth and Mephistophilis as Faustus’ servant, then Faustus, at the end of the twenty-four years, will give his soul to Lucifer and become one of those trapped in hell. This will explain it better: “Using Mephistophilis as a messenger, Faustus strikes a deal with Lucifer: that he is to be allotted twenty-four years of life on Earth, during which time he will have Mephistophilis as his personal servant, and, at the end of which, he will give his soul over to Lucifer as payment and spend the rest of time as one of the damned in hell. This deal is supposed to be cemented in the form of Faustus’ own blood. Interestingly, at first his blood congeals, leading to second thoughts by Faustus. Mephistophilis brings coals to break the wound open again, and thus Mephistophilis begins his servitude and Faustus his oath.”, taken from Faust.com. After he took this oath, he did crazy stuff for years. He became a rich dude, and lived in a big house. He lived off of whatever the demon stole, food, clothes, whatever the demon could get. When the twenty-four years was almost over, he had a big party with his friends. Then, when he went into his room to sleep, he never came out. Some people investigated, and they found blood and body parts scattered across the room. Faustus had a very tragic death.

This play also has a moral to it. This is to tell people not to go down the wrong path that Dr. Faustus took. It will only lead to death and destruction. I for one, agree completely with this.

According to Enotes.com, “The primary themes of Doctor Faustus are the relationship between knowledge and power and the consequences of attempting to attain knowledge beyond a certain extent.” Why has this theme remained popular since 1587? Well, we as humans are attracted by interest and curiosity to these kinds of things. The sound of selling your soul to the devil makes people feel scared, frightened, thrilled, and we as humans are attracted by this kind of thing. Therefore, this theme has remained popular all the way through the sixteenth century (well, maybe not popular all the way through the sixteenth century, but it was well-known). It is probably still even well-known today.

What is a state subsidy? According to Wikipedia, “A subsidy or government incentive is a form of financial aid or support extended to an economic sector (business, or individual) generally with the aim of promoting economic and social policy. Although commonly extended from the government, the term subsidy can relate to any type of support – for example from NGOs or as implicit subsidies. Subsidies come in various forms including: direct (cash grants, interest-free loans) and indirect (tax breaks, insurance, low-interest loans, accelerated depreciation, rent rebates).” So a state subsidy is basically when the government gives some form of financial aid (money) to a person or business.

What is state control? According to GEMET, state control is “The power or authority of a government to regulate or command industry, organizations, programs, initiatives and individuals.” So state control is literally just the power or authority of the state to control what GEMET said. According to Wikipedia, “State media or government media are media outlets that are under financial and/or editorial control of the state or government, directly or indirectly. There are different types of state and government media. State-controlled or state-run media are under editorial control or influence by the state or government.” The state controls what it is meant to control weather you like it, or you do not like it. According to Collins Dictionary, state control literally means “control by the government”.

Is it possible to have state subsidies without state control? Pretty much, no. You see, in order for the government to give you free money, the government must take some money away from other people, and since nobody wants the government to take their money, then the government takes their money by force. They do this through coercion. Therefore, there can be no state subsidies without state control.

Do you know what it is called when you give money away to those who really need it? That is called charity. But that is not the way the government does it. The government takes your money and gives it to a business that the government deems worthy to have the money. This is NOT the same thing as giving money away on your own. The government takes away your money and gives it to someone else. I think they do this through taxes, and taxes and charity are definitely not the same thing. According to Philanthropy, “Some of the wealthiest Americans have started to contend that paying taxes and making charitable gifts are just about the same thing. Their failure to grasp the profound difference between the two presents a very real problem for nonprofit organizations and our democracy.” I can not believe that people think that taxes and charity are the same thing! They are so different! Taxation is money being taken away from you, and charity is freely giving away money.

So, the overall answer to the question “Is it possible to have state subsidies without state control?”, is no, it pretty much impossible for that to ever happen.

What is a state subsidy? According to Wikipedia, “A subsidy or government incentive is a form of financial aid or support extended to an economic sector (business, or individual) generally with the aim of promoting economic and social policy. Although commonly extended from the government, the term subsidy can relate to any type of support – for example from NGOs or as implicit subsidies. Subsidies come in various forms including: direct (cash grants, interest-free loans) and indirect (tax breaks, insurance, low-interest loans, accelerated depreciation, rent rebates).” So a state subsidy is basically when the government gives some form of financial aid (money) to a person or business.

What is state control? According to GEMET, state control is “The power or authority of a government to regulate or command industry, organizations, programs, initiatives and individuals.” So state control is literally just the power or authority of the state to control what GEMET said. According to Wikipedia, “State media or government media are media outlets that are under financial and/or editorial control of the state or government, directly or indirectly. There are different types of state and government media. State-controlled or state-run media are under editorial control or influence by the state or government.” The state controls what it is meant to control weather you like it, or you do not like it. According to Collins Dictionary, state control literally means “control by the government”.

Is it possible to have state subsidies without state control? Pretty much, no. You see, in order for the government to give you free money, the government must take some money away from other people, and since nobody wants the government to take their money, then the government takes their money by force. They do this through coercion. Therefore, there can be no state subsidies without state control.

Do you know what it is called when you give money away to those who really need it? That is called charity. But that is not the way the government does it. The government takes your money and gives it to a business that the government deems worthy to have the money. This is NOT the same thing as giving money away on your own. The government takes away your money and gives it to someone else. I think they do this through taxes, and taxes and charity are definitely not the same thing. According to Philanthropy, “Some of the wealthiest Americans have started to contend that paying taxes and making charitable gifts are just about the same thing. Their failure to grasp the profound difference between the two presents a very real problem for nonprofit organizations and our democracy.” I can not believe that people think that taxes and charity are the same thing! They are so different! Taxation is money being taken away from you, and charity is freely giving away money.

So, the overall answer to the question “Is it possible to have state subsidies without state control?”, is no, it pretty much impossible for that to ever happen.

(1) What were Cardinal Richelieu’s primary aims? According to Wikipedia, “Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu, known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as l’Éminence rouge, or “the Red Eminence”, a term derived from the title “Eminence” applied to cardinals and the red robes that they customarily wear.” Cardinal Richelieu had two primary goals. The first was the centralization of power in France, and the second was opposition to the Habsburg dynasty.

(2) What factors contributed to the decline of Spain? Some of the main factors that lead to the decline of Spain were expensive warfare, rebellions and revolts, and much of the economic activity was controlled by monopolies and state favorites.

(3) What is constitutionalism? According to Wikipedia, “Constitutionalism is ‘a compound of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law’.”

(4) What do you think Hobbes’ main arguments are in the excerpts you read from his Leviathan? According to StudyMode Research, “The central thesis of Leviathan is the idea that in order for human society to function without widespread conflict there is a need for totalitarian rule in the form of a Leviathan, necessitated by man’s continual state of fear in a state of nature caused by limited knowledge of the outside world and therefore the intentions of other humans.”

If the state is strong enough to do something good for you, it can also do something bad to you. This statement is true in many ways. For example, the state passes both good and bad laws. Some good ones are making it illegal to steal, they pass traffic laws which makes driving safe for people, and lots more. However, I feel like there are more bad laws than good laws. For example, the U.S.A. has just gone through, and is still going through, what I call the U.S.A. crisis of 2019. There was a huge breakout of a virus called coronavirus, or covid-19, and the U.S.A. literally shut down. New laws were passed that made the U.S.A. go crazy. Now, I live in the state of Illinois, and I hate it. The Illinois governor of my time has made new laws which made businesses shut down, you can not go someplace without having on a mask, the six-foot rule, all of these stupid laws. I mean, masks do not even help slow the spread of this virus, and where did they get the six foot rule? Out of thin air! These new laws are really hurting the state of Illinois, and three years after the outbreak (the year I wrote this essay), some of these laws are still in motion! Like some places still require the ‘if you do not wear a mask you are not allowed in’ rule. These laws have went down a bit, but they are not gone. The state is strong enough to do good.