Rise of Superpowers After WWII Essays - Nuclear Technology

Rise of Superpowers After WWII Essays - Nuclear Technology The development and use of nuclear power has led to the United States assuming a position as the true World Military Superpower. The Unites States was the leader in planning, building, testing and actually using the most powerful nuclear weapon known to man. This country also led the world in relatively safe production of nuclear power. The only other competitor to the United States, the Soviet Union, had poor leaders, induced a poor economy, and eventually led the country to lose the race for superpower. During World War II, the United States began the research and development of the atomic bomb. Code-named the Manhattan Project, it took place in a government built city in New Mexico called Los Alamos. General Leslie Groves and physicist Robert Oppenheimer led the research to create this atomic bomb. The mission was to build, test and, if necessary, unleash an atomic bomb. With the many people working on creating and building this bomb, they completed it within the short amount of time given. In July of 1945, they tested the nuclear bomb in New Mexico. It was a success. The very next month, an atomic bomb nicknamed ?Little Boy? was dropped on Hiroshima. Only a few days later, the atomic bomb ?Fat Man? was dropped on Nagasaki. It was around this time that the United States found out that nobody, not even Germany or the Soviet Union, was anywhere close to competing with the U.S. in atomic weaponry. The atomic bomb was dropped not only to end the war with the Japanese, but to show the w orld, especially the Soviet Union, how powerful the United States was in its government, its military, its technology, and its people. The fact that it was a new bomb and being the first type of its kind ever created also caused an eagerness to use the bomb and see how it would work. These three factors are the reasons behind the United States dropping the atomic bomb on Japan, as they unknowingly and unintentionally began the nuclear age and the Cold War. The Cold War began as World War II was ending. The United States and the Soviet Union came out of the previous war nearly equal in strength, with the United States having the upper hand, being the first to create and use such intense nuclear power. It was during this time that these countries were competing to become the World Superpower. Nuclear power, for the purposes of electricity as well as weaponry, was going to be the determining factor as to who would be the greater Superpower. The United States leadership was strong and organized. The economy was good and growing stronger. The Soviet Union was not doing as well. Formerly being under the rule of Stalin, with strict centralization where it was only the highest party levels that made any and all decisions who ruled by decree and enforced with terror, the Soviet people and economy was stagnating. Strict centralization continued and eventually led to economic decline, inefficiency, and apathy during the 1970s and 1980s, and contr ibuted to the Chernobyl? nuclear disaster. The great disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986 was the final string cut that led not only to the Soviet Union losing its war to become the greatest World Superpower, but furthermore, the collapse of the Soviet system. The Chernobyl Nuclear Powerplant was being run by people who made mistakes maintaining the power supply, who were tired of their own country, and who simply didn?t care. This careless conduct led to poor maintenance and low output of nuclear power. To correct for this, some steps were taken to increase the power output. During the effort to correct the low power output, one final error occurred, and the consequences were tremendous. One of the reactors exploded and released huge doses of radiation. The ambitious nuclear power program of the Soviet Union was now over. The Unites States led the world in nuclear technology by producing the atomic bomb, and had the courage to use it ? twice. This proved to the world that the United States was a Superpower they should fear. The United States also had good leaders whom kept the economy strong, and kept the

Theory of Ritualism by Robert Merton

Theory of Ritualism by Robert Merton Ritualism is a concept developed by American sociologist Robert K. Merton as a part of his structural strain theory. It refers to the common practice of going through the motions of daily life even though one does not accept the goals or values that align with those practices. Ritualism as a Response to Structural Strain Merton, an important figure in early American sociology, created what is considered to be one of the most important theories of deviance within the discipline. Mertons structural strain theory states that people experience tension when a society does not provide adequate and approved means for achieving culturally valued goals. In Mertons view, people either accept these conditions and go along with them, or they challenge them in some way, which means they think or act in ways that appear deviant from cultural norms. Structural strain theory accounts for five responses to such strain, of which ritualism is one. Other responses include conformity, which involves continual acceptance of the goals of the society and continued participation in the approved means through which one is supposed to achieve them. Innovation involves accepting the goals but rejecting the means and creating new means. Retreatism refers to rejection of both the goals and the means, and rebellion occurs when individuals reject both and then create new goals and means to pursue. According to Mertons theory, ritualism occurs when a person rejects the normative goals of their society but nonetheless continues to participate in the means of attaining them. This response involves deviance in the form of rejecting the normative goals of society but is not deviant in practice because the person continues to act in a way that is in line with pursuing those goals. One common example of ritualism is when people do not embrace the goal of getting ahead in society by doing well in ones career and earning as much money as possible. Many have often thought of this as the American Dream, as did Merton when he created his theory of structural strain. In contemporary American society, many have become aware that stark economic inequality is the norm, that most people do not actually experience social mobility in their lives, and that most money is made and controlled by a very tiny minority of wealthy individuals. Those who see and understand this economic aspect of reality, and those who simply do not value economic success but frame success in other ways, will reject the goal of climbing the economic ladder. Yet, most will still engage in the behaviors that are meant to achieve this goal. Most will spend most of their time at work, away from their families and friends, and may even still attempt to gain status and increased salary within their professions, despite the fact that they reject the end goal. They go through the motions of what is expected perhaps because they know that it is normal and expected, because they do not know what else to do with themselves, or because they have no hope or expectation of change within society. Ultimately, though ritualism stems from discontent with the values and goals of society, it works to maintain the status quo by keeping normal, everyday practices and behaviors in place. If you think about it for a moment, there are probably at least a few ways in which you engage in ritualism in your life. Other Forms of Ritualism The form of ritualism that Merton described in his structural strain theory describes behavior among individuals, but sociologists have identified other forms of ritualism too. For example, sociologists also recognize political ritualism, which occurs when people participate in a political system by voting despite the fact that they believe that the system is broken and cannot actually achieve its goals. Ritualism is common within bureaucracies, wherein rigid rules and practices are observed by members of the organization, even though doing so is often counter to their goals. Sociologists call this bureaucratic ritualism.