Essay/exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

/exam - Essay Example rn in the chapter is whether contractual labor encouraged the use of resources in the country or whether they only served the interests of the elite in the society at the expense of the majority poor population in the country. It is very unlikely that the roman employees did not go through the Malthusian constraints and therefore the population was a very important factor in determining the welfare of the workers. Workers faced a lot of competition as the population grew until the Antonine plague which caused deaths of the workers and thus had a substantial effect on the economy of the Roman Empire. There is evidence of farm tenancy where there were wealthy lessees of estates and used the estates for large production of materials. The rich landowners rented parts of their lands that they did not use or those parts that were hard to cover under the management. The small farmers used the land for agricultural purposes and they were to pay rent to the landowners (Schiedel 116). The agreement was mainly that they lease the land for small periods of time like five years. The responsibility of the tenant was to provide the small items for the cultivating the land while the responsibility of the rich landowner was to provide the fixed assets on the land such as storage facilities and wine presses. By the tenant paying the fixed amount of rent, he assumed the risk of the fluctuating market prices and the size of the harvest. The leasing system greatly protected the landowners against any risks that may face the lessee. There was also the use of wage labor where the rich employed the poor to work on their farms. They were paid the minimum wage and only what was enough for them to live on. However, this was justified that they were given a place to live and they mostly cultivated the foods that they consumed in their households (Schiedel 121). Those who were employed permanently were given ages that was enough to live on while those in temporary employment earned more

If a man has the means to feed himself and protect himself he is free Essay

If a man has the means to feed himself and protect himself he is free. In your opinion, to what extent is this statement relevant for the 21st century - Essay Example The objective of this essay is to analyze the relevance of this statement n the 21st century. Considering the ethics of the discussed statement, it must have relevance at given time. The ideology of freedom suggested here is non-competitive and sharing in nature. However, in the globalised 21st century, where freedom is defined in terms of economic and social competence and people compete with each other for materialistic achievements, food and protection won’t satisfy the needs of men. Hillary Rodhan Clinton, The Secretary of States has stated three essential elements of a free nation which includes a â€Å"representative government, a well-functioning market, and civil society† (Clinton, 2011). Taking this policy of the government into account, it can be assumed that the discussed statement is not given importance in today’s market driven society. However, further analysis of the current policies will reveal that the materialistic objectives ultimately lead to the basic need of food and protection for men. For example, a representative government, func tioning market, and civil society are all indicators of a food secure and protected society. Ironically, the process of achieving the materialistic objectives, most times results in denying the larger objective of food and protection for fellowmen. Bradley J. Birzer , The Commonwealth Men and the American Revolution, Thursday, June 30, 2011, The Imaginative Conservative, Retrieved on 26 September 2011,