Uncovering the Mystery of Capital Review Essay Example for Free

Uncovering the Mystery of Capital Review Essay Nigeria post independence has aimed to develop an economic system in which investment and ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations. Sadly she suffers the same fate most developing countries and former communist nations that trend the same path encounter: Abject Failure. Hernando De Soto in his book; The Mystery of Capital, studies the effect of capitalism in the west and tries to analyse why such a strategy is so successful there, but fails to make an impact every other place it is being introduced, Nigeria inclusive. Capitalism entails among other things foreign investments, stable currencies, transparent banking practices, free trade and also privatisation of state owned industries. However, Hernando describes the major ingredient that is missing in countries trying to adopt capitalism as â€Å"Ability to produce Capital†. Capital is a force that raises the productivity of labour and creates the wealth of nations. It is the lifeblood of the capitalist system, the foundation of progress and the one thing that poor countries of the world fail to produce. Nigeria is a typical example of a country with vast potential that has tried and failed to adopt capitalism system of governance and this is due to the fact that she has failed to produce enough capital to propel her growth. Nigeria has adapted all the western inventions that support capitalism system but has failed to set up the necessary structure required to take off the system. In the west, every asset is represented in a property document that is the visible sign of a vast hidden process that connects all these assets to the rest of the economy. Effective documentation of such asset can lead to the becoming source of capital. The west has effectively implemented such a system and as such draw capital out of the assets documented. In America for instance, mortgage on the entrepreneur’s asset is the easiest source of fund. This is due to the fact that the assets are registered and well documented, can be proven to belong to the said entrepreneur, has a documented value that covers the credit amount he needs, and can be sold off legally to recover the credit if it crystallises. The same cannot be said of Nigeria, where assets are poorly registered, documentation outdated and exchange of assets from one owner to another is largely untraceable. Trade within the country is usually focused on local buyers who usually have a long friendship with the property owner and a certain level of comfort in the transaction. Most capitalist nations suffered similar problems before finally perfecting the implementation of the capitalist system. The United States in 1783 had to deal with illegal squatters and settlers who occupied land that legally did not belong to them. This was as a result of no one legal system acceptable in all parts of the country that indicated the various processes that had to be used to legally acquire such lands and document the transaction. Nigeria also suffers similar problems presently as a flaw legal system is implemented and fails to check the various transactions that involve acquisition of assets that can lead to capital generation for the nation. Hernando De Soto analysed that capital is the most essential component of western economic advancement and is also the most neglected by developing including Nigeria. He explained that for any nation to successfully implement capitalism, certain areas of the transition had to be conquered. They are: 1. Mystery of Missing Information 2. Mystery of Capital 3. Mystery of Political Awareness 4. Mystery of Lessons of the West 5. Mystery of the Legal failure Nigeria is a country that suffers from poor record keeping and this has often lead to problems where identification of owners of various asset, verification of addresses, description of assets, and imposition of charges and regulation becomes necessary. Identifying the proper owner of a particular asset becomes a cumbersome problem as records are usually not updated and such assets might have changed ownership more than once in the last couple of years. Cases of illegal acquisitions become common place with complaints being logged in courts and other legal bodies for a resolution of such conflicts. Poor documentation and recording processes often leads to the emergence of an illegal trade that often tends to cripple the conversion of assets into capital. The high demand of the legal system in the country makes it difficult for the average citizen to fulfil all the required criteria under law to acquire such assets. The high fees and charges coupled with the often times prolonged delays encountered before completion of the legal documentation acts as obstacles of legality to citizens, who opt out of such a legal system and prefer to take part in illegal trade transactions that are not documented by the government and as such leads to a loss of potential capital that asset could generate. Such illegal transactions are governed by the laws the trade merchants implement to suit them and not those of the government. Illegal businesses have become the norm in the Nigerian economy. They are not registered or recognized by the government, and this is due to the negligence of the government concerning the importance of having a registration system that will be responsible for keeping details of all businesses that are running in the country and therefore improve the capital generating capacity of such a country. Various sectors of the Nigerian economy have been attacked by such businesses, be it transportation, real estate etc. The conversion of such assets into capital can only be achieved when such black marketers are properly registered and guided by the law of the government. The sectors of the economy that are classified as undercapitalized is a world where ownership of assets is difficult to trace and validate, governed by no legally recognized set of rules. Hernando De Soto states in his book that about 80 percent of the world is undercapitalized. This means that there is mass failure in drawing economic life from their assets to generate capital. People own assets as security and do not have the required know how to convert such assets into capital for their businesses. This leads to such assets categorised as dead capital, as there is no conversion process available to generate the said capital. Capital is responsible for two things, namely; 1. Capturing the physical dimension of assets 2. Generate surplus value Every country requires capital, as that is the part of the country that initiates surplus production and increases productivity of the nation. Every asset requires an external man made process that allows the identity of the potential of the asset and also to convert this potential into capital. The process is setup not to create capital, but to protect the ownership of such property. The west for example creates such wealth from the formal property system which has over the years been streamlined to a credible system, guided by the rule of the government and registered and recognised by the said government. Adam Smith states that the division of labour and subsequent exchange of products in the market was the source of increasing productivity. This was made possible by capital which is the stock of assets accumulated for productive purposes. This accumulated resource was used to support specialised enterprises until they could exchange their products for other things they needed. The more the capital means more specialization and thus, the higher the society’s productivity. However, assets must be fixed and realised to become active capital and put additional production in motion. Every asset must be registered to a particular person or group of persons to be considered to be productive. This helps to confirm the existence of the said asset as well as the processes required to convert them into capital generating transactions. The introduction of a formal property system is necessary to provide the process, forms and rules that fix assets in a condition that allows the realization of such assets as active capital. These assets have to be described and organised according to their economic values. The record is updated into a recording system and a title for the assets now is given to enable easy identification. This should be guided by a set of legal rules. This describes the creation of a formal property system where capital is born. Nigeria still finds it difficult to identify the owners of certain assets as the recording system is outdated and there is no formal property system being developed. This often leads to lengthy and cumbersome procedures for sale or lease of property. The majority of citizens who are classified as the poor of the economy usually do not have access to the property mechanism that could be used to produce, secure or guarantee greater value in the expanded market as against the lack of entrepreneurial knowledge that the west assumes is the cause of failure of the capitalism system in such countries. Upon examination, it can be drawn that the west cannot paint a broad picture of their formal property system used as a means for generation of capital. This is as a result of the system being hidden in thousands of pieces of legislation, statues, regulations and instructions that govern such a system. This formal property system produces as a side effect various consequences that lead to capital generation. They are: 1. Fixing the economic potential of assets: This is as a result of the proper and effective registration and description of property that help in tracking changes in ownership of such property as well as their value generating capacity. 2. Integrating dispersed information into one system: The development of a single legal system to govern the property system is a necessary control measure used in ensuring up to date records of all registered property in the government’s records. 3. Making people accountable: Registration of owners of property meant people no longer are anonymous and could be easily located. This formal system encourages people to respect title, contracts and obey the laid out laws. Failure to adhere to such laws lead to the offence being recorded in the system and this poses a reputation risk with other parties for the defaulting citizen. The unavailability of such laws is the major reason for the inability of citizens to make profitable contracts with strangers; they cannot also get credit facility, insurance and utility services. 4. Making assets fungible: Assets become more accessible and are able to do additional work to generate capital. Registered assets are easily combined, divided, mobilized and used to stimulate business deals. Such assets are able to be fashioned to suit practically any transaction.

Cloning Essay -- essays research papers fc

For the first time the cloning of a whole human being seems really possible. It is absolutely necessary to consider the harm that can be done and move to curb abuses. Also, it is important to understand some of the theory underlying the desire to build a better human. The Ethical Downside of Cloning With recent developments in the cloning of the first whole mammal with Dolly the Sheep, for the first time the cloning a whole human being seems really possible. For years, clones have been the subject of popular fiction, but the technology was lacking. Now the ethics of doing so must be carefully considered. While almost all world health and religious bodies are coming out in opposition to the idea, it must be accepted that someone somewhere will try it. Thus, it is absolutely necessary to consider the harm that can be done and move to curb abuses. What immediately springs to mind for most people with the possibility of cloning whole people is the ideas of creating supermen or a master race which dominated the Nazis. But the theories of eugenics from which they operated were also touted in America and the rest of the Western world. Thus, it is important to understand some of the theory underlying the desire to build a better human. Eugenics is concerned with the social direction of human evolution. A distinction is made between positive and negative eugenics. Positive eugenics aims to increase reproduction of individuals who have traits, such as high intelligence and physical strength or fitness, which are considered to be valuable to society. Negative eugenics seeks to decrease reproduction among people believed to be inferior or below average mentally and physically (Glass). Cloning for better humanity, then, is normally associated with positive eugenics. Overall, since the Nazi experience, eugenics as a movement has been largely discredited, but the ideas still linger and many of the same arguments for cloning humans are used today, but with protests that they are not related to the abuses of the Eugenics proponents of the 1920s and 30s. The goal of eugenics was to create a superior human being, and with this creation, to in time create a superior human race. The First International Congress for Eugenics was held in 1912 in London. Rather than being a fringe movement, it was hailed by a number of luminaries of the day. For example, Charles Darwin's son... ...enal." Wilson Quarterly. 1 Apr 1992. Online. Electric Library. Kluger, Jeffrey, and Thompson, Dick. "Will We Follow the Sheep?" Time. 10 Mar. 1997. Online. Electric Library. Lifton, Robert Jay, and Hackett, Amy. "Nazi Doctors." Anatomy of the Auschwitz Death Camp. Ed. Gutman, Yisrael, and Michael Berenbaum, eds. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1994. 301-315. Manning, Anita. "Pressing a 'Right' to Clone Humans Some Gays Foresee Reproduction Option." USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 1997. Online. Electric Library. "Nazi Eugenic Racial Hygiene Also Recognized in America." All Things Considered. Robert Siegel, host. Stefan Kuhl, guest. National Public Radio. 9 Mar. 1994. Sharp, Deborah, and Sharn, Lori. "Big Questions for Humanity." USA TODAY, 25 Feb. 1997. Stolberg, Sheryl. "Reproductive Research Far Outpaces Public Policy." Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 1997. Online. Electric Library. Thomasson, Emma. "Germans Press for Ban on Human Cloning." Reuters News Service. 29 Apr. 1997. Online. America Online. "Vatican Calls for Global Ban on Human Cloning." Reuters News Service, 26 Feb. 1997. Online. Electric Library. Cloning Essay -- essays research papers fc For the first time the cloning of a whole human being seems really possible. It is absolutely necessary to consider the harm that can be done and move to curb abuses. Also, it is important to understand some of the theory underlying the desire to build a better human. The Ethical Downside of Cloning With recent developments in the cloning of the first whole mammal with Dolly the Sheep, for the first time the cloning a whole human being seems really possible. For years, clones have been the subject of popular fiction, but the technology was lacking. Now the ethics of doing so must be carefully considered. While almost all world health and religious bodies are coming out in opposition to the idea, it must be accepted that someone somewhere will try it. Thus, it is absolutely necessary to consider the harm that can be done and move to curb abuses. What immediately springs to mind for most people with the possibility of cloning whole people is the ideas of creating supermen or a master race which dominated the Nazis. But the theories of eugenics from which they operated were also touted in America and the rest of the Western world. Thus, it is important to understand some of the theory underlying the desire to build a better human. Eugenics is concerned with the social direction of human evolution. A distinction is made between positive and negative eugenics. Positive eugenics aims to increase reproduction of individuals who have traits, such as high intelligence and physical strength or fitness, which are considered to be valuable to society. Negative eugenics seeks to decrease reproduction among people believed to be inferior or below average mentally and physically (Glass). Cloning for better humanity, then, is normally associated with positive eugenics. Overall, since the Nazi experience, eugenics as a movement has been largely discredited, but the ideas still linger and many of the same arguments for cloning humans are used today, but with protests that they are not related to the abuses of the Eugenics proponents of the 1920s and 30s. The goal of eugenics was to create a superior human being, and with this creation, to in time create a superior human race. The First International Congress for Eugenics was held in 1912 in London. Rather than being a fringe movement, it was hailed by a number of luminaries of the day. For example, Charles Darwin's son... ...enal." Wilson Quarterly. 1 Apr 1992. Online. Electric Library. Kluger, Jeffrey, and Thompson, Dick. "Will We Follow the Sheep?" Time. 10 Mar. 1997. Online. Electric Library. Lifton, Robert Jay, and Hackett, Amy. "Nazi Doctors." Anatomy of the Auschwitz Death Camp. Ed. Gutman, Yisrael, and Michael Berenbaum, eds. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1994. 301-315. Manning, Anita. "Pressing a 'Right' to Clone Humans Some Gays Foresee Reproduction Option." USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 1997. Online. Electric Library. "Nazi Eugenic Racial Hygiene Also Recognized in America." All Things Considered. Robert Siegel, host. Stefan Kuhl, guest. National Public Radio. 9 Mar. 1994. Sharp, Deborah, and Sharn, Lori. "Big Questions for Humanity." USA TODAY, 25 Feb. 1997. Stolberg, Sheryl. "Reproductive Research Far Outpaces Public Policy." Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 1997. Online. Electric Library. Thomasson, Emma. "Germans Press for Ban on Human Cloning." Reuters News Service. 29 Apr. 1997. Online. America Online. "Vatican Calls for Global Ban on Human Cloning." Reuters News Service, 26 Feb. 1997. Online. Electric Library.

Cases Research

* Masters v Cameron (1954) * Estate agent retained by Cameron drew up a sale note for the sale of Cameron’s property to Masters. * Cameron’s insistence included in the sale note a clause. * Agreement made subject to the preparation of a formal contract of sale, which shall be acceptable to solicitors on the above terms and conditions. * Both parties signed the sale note. * Masters paid a deposit. * Masters did not signed the contract prepared by Cameron’s solicitors as Master experienced difficulties arranging necessary finance and wished to withdraw the purchase. Cameron wished to proceed the sale. * The court have to decide whether the parties were contractually bound by the sale note(which has been signed by both of them) or whether they would only have formed a binding contract by Cameron’s solicitors(which could not apply, since Masters did not signed. * Souter v Shyamba Pty Ltd (2003) * Shyamba owned land at Merimbula, NSW on which it operated a hote l and motel. * 8 October 2001, Souter wrote to Shyamba enquiring whether the property was for sale and one Bennett, a director of Shyamba, telephoned Souter and told him that the price was $3 million. Negotiations at lower figures failed. * Fresh negotiations in March and April 2002 resulted a signed document by Souter and by Bennett and one Mirabito on behalf of Shyamba. * The document provided that â€Å"This sale will become unconditional upon the purchaser paying the amount of $1,000 into the vendor’s bank account. The purchaser agrees to pay a further $299,000 to the vendor’s solicitor upon exchange of contracts, not later than 16 June 2002 and the balance ($2,700,00) at settlement 1 July 2002. On 1 May 2002, Souter paid $1,000 unto the vendor’s bank account and Shyamba instructed its solicitors to prepare formal agreements. * On 31 May 2002, Bennett wrote to Souter, stating that the sale had â€Å"hit a hurdle in the form of a huge Gazzumpt†. * Ben nett Stated that he had been informed that the agreement of 1 May did not bind the purchaser and could not therefore bind Shyamba as vendor. * Souter sued for specific performance of the agreement dated 1 May 2002. The court held that the document dated 1 May 2002 did not constitute the binding contract and made an order for specific performance. * The judge held that the decisive issue is always the intention of the parties, which must be objectively ascertained from the terms of the document when read in the light of the surrounding circumstances. * If the terms of the document indicate that the parties intended to be bound immediately, effect must be given to that intention irrespective of the subject matter, magnitude or complexity of the transaction. * The judge itemised the reasons for his finding that the document had the effect of a contract. * Instrument 7020202154 v Ormlie Trading Pty Ltd * The court held that the parties had no intention of entering into a binding contrac t of sale despite reaching agreement on the essential terms. * In both the letter of offer and in the letter of acceptance of the offer the words â€Å"in principle† were used. * The word â€Å"in principle† used was indicated and unqualified acceptance by the offeree of the offer. Teviot Downs Estate Pty Ltd & Anor v MTAA Superannuation Fund (Flagstone Creek and Spring Mountain Park) Property Pty Ltd * Alleged agreement made on 29 August 2003 for the sale of land of Spring Mountain Estate, Beaudesert in Queensland for $11m. * Teviot sent a letter of offer to the defendant on 22 August 2003 and a response accepting the offer was sent on 29 August. * Deposit of $1. 1 million was paid. * 3 October 2003, the firstnamed plantiff wrote to the defendant saying that its due diligence enquiries had been satisfactorily completed and that the contract was unconditional. On the same day, defendant wrote to Tevoit saying that its Trustee did not approve of the sale. * The Supreme Court of Queensland has to decide whether the exchange of correspondence (the letter of offer of 22 August and the letter of acceptance of 29 August) constituted a legally enforceable agreement (as the defendant contended). * The court observed that the case suggest that there is no binding contract unless and until formal contact documents are signed and exchanged. * Tinn v Hoffman and CO (1873) Two offers, identical in terms, cross in the post, there will be no contract as neither can be construed as an acceptance of the other, even though there is a meeting of the minds. * Patterson v Dolman (1908) * The offer may be construed by the court as being accepted by a number of persons and the offeror will be bound to each and every person who accept. * The contract is only able to be performed with one party, the offeror may be liable in damages for breach of contract to the others who accepted the offer. Felthouse v Bindley (1862) * An uncle and his nephew had conversation about the possible sale of the nephew’s horse to the uncle, but there had been some confusion about the price. * The uncle subsequently wrote to nephew, offering to pay $30 and 15 shillings and saying, ‘If I hear no more about him, I consider the horse mine at that price. * The nephew was on the point of selling off some of his property in an auction. He did not reply the uncle’s letter, but did tell the auctioneer to keep the horse out of the sale. The auctioneer forgot to do this and the horse was sold. * The court felt that the nephew’s conduct in trying to keep the horse out of the sale did not necessarily imply that he intended to accept his uncle offer. * The nephew actually wrote afterwards to apologise for the mistake and so it was not clear that his silence in response to the offer was intend to sell but there are many situations in which it would be undesirable and confusing for silence to amount to acceptance.

Combating Rampant Corruption Of Italy - 943 Words

The Law In November 2012, the Italian Chamber of Deputies passed Anti-Corruption Law 190 for the purpose of combatting rampant corruption in Italy. The law established the Commissione Nazionale per la Valutazione, la Trasparenza e l’Integrità   delle Amministrazioni Pubbliche as the anti-corruption authority in Italy. The law and authority go hand in hand. Purpose This national anticorruption authority (CIVIT) was tasked with implementing and overseeing standards on public officials to prevent corruption. The authority was also constructed to ensure that public officials would comply with all initiatives and guidelines set by the authority. It was also to determine the causes of public sector corruption and the necessary steps to fix consistent problems. It also needed to cooperate with international anti-corruption bodies and report to parliament on the effectiveness of its initiatives. It is held accountable for progress made in the fight in Italy’s public sector corruption. Implementation All public administrations are required to create an anti-corruption plan and adopt a code of conduct for employees to prevent corruption. A compliance officer is then placed to ensure that all guidelines are followed and that the created plan was implemented. The officer also makes sure the plan complied with the authority. If the plan was not respected by employees, it would lead to sanctions and further disciplinary actions. New Penalties Under 190 Bribery became an offenceShow MoreRelatedSpain and Japan Wine Industry Factbook12631 Words   |  51 PagesEntering the Market 4.6.1. Investment Climate 4.6.2. Supply Market Condition 4.7. Labor Market 4.7.1. Working Conditions in Spain 4.7.2. Working Conditions in Japan 4.8. Political/governance System 4.8.1. Ruling Political Party and Ideology 4.8.2. Corruption 4.8.3. Legislation and Regulation 4.8.4. Trademarks and Patents 4.8.5. International Trade Agreements 4.9. Economic and Political Risks 4.9.1. 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