The Utilitarian View of Divorce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Utilitarian View of Divorce - Essay Example These parties include the spouses, the children, the families, and the state. A settlement may be reached based on utilitarian individualism, a decision based on the self-interest of the spouses. It may also be reached through the process of utilitarian republicanism, an outcome based on what is best for the public, or the biblical traditions of morality. In fact, the outcome of a divorce, and the subsequent settlement agreements, will be a mixture of multiple ethical models. While the decision to get a divorce has moved farther towards utilitarian individualist attitudes, the outcome is still heavily influenced by civic republicanism and biblical traditions. The divorce process has traditionally been monitored and totally controlled by social institutions outside the interested family. Churches discouraged divorce through the threat of excommunication and damnation. The state regulated divorce through a series of laws and courts designed not only to protect everyone's interest and serve justice, but to minimize the impact on society. The state took the utilitarian stand that the outcome of a divorce needs to produce the greatest public good possible. Before the recent innovation of no-fault divorce and private spousal agreements, "Divorce was granted only after an official inquiry by a judge, who had to determine whether "appropriate grounds"-very narrowly defined in terms of marital offenses-existed. When a divorce was granted, the state asserted broad authority to structure the economic relationship of the spouses and to maintain regulatory jurisdiction over the children and their relationship to the parents" (Mnookin and Kornhauser 9 53). Today, liberalized divorce laws and private divorce agreements have moved the desirable outcome of a divorce from the public good and into the private good. Bellah's contention that we are moving further into a utilitarian society, at a social cost (in this case divorce), is evidenced by the move from a concern for the public good, as dictated by the courts, to the private happiness sought through today's easy path to divorce. When a spouse, or a couple, make the decision to get divorced the decision is made based on the self-interest of one or both parties. Without a utilitarian attitude, couples may be more prone to stay together out of concern for their children and the health of the family unit. They may subscribe to behaviors that they may find disagreeable or burdensome. John Stuart Mill defined utilitarianism as the Happiness Principle which "holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure, and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain, and the privation of pleasure" (15). Happiness, and the absence of pain, are the moral standards by which utilitarianism makes its choice. Staying in a painful marriage may be made by other moral systems, but utilitarianism would endure it only if the happiness and stability of the family brought a greater reward to the injured spouse than the act o f divorce. While divorce in the past was highly stigmatized, today it is commonplace. The social stigmatization of staying single has also been reduced and "Divorce as a solution to an unhappy marriage, even a marriage with young children, is far more acceptable today than ever before" (Bellah et al. 90). Our

Sustainable and ethical tourism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Sustainable and ethical tourism - Essay Example People do not have time to spend with their families to sit back, relax and talk. It’s all about accumulating wealth and how much can you accumulate. Under such intrigue situations people all over the world go on holidays and vacations whenever they get time to spend with their loved ones. Choosing a tourist destination is not that simple today, now you need to consider a number of factors before you make the final decision. Majority of the mass tourism today is dominated by travelers that want to explore the world and to discover the secrets and signs hidden in its beauty, matter and treasures. The market dynamics in today’s brisk paced world have revolutionized. Media empowerment, advancement of internet and technology and emergence of public entities, social groups and Non Government Organizations have revolutionized the market place from top to toe in all respects. Today the consumer is obstinate from a marketer’s perspective and has the power and liberty to repudiate or purchase, literally, anything based on personal liking and choice. This is how the marketplace works in the real world today with the emergence and existence of a new concept known to us as consumerism (Assadourin, 2010). The tourists today are also aware of the morals and ethics of travelling and they really take care of the fact that they are visiting places that offer healthy and genuine mass tourism. Healthy and genuine mass tourism refers to the fact that the culture and the heritage that is portrayed as local are original and not captured or illegally acquired. Similarly greener environments are preferred over places that are not environment friendly. Similarly with growing political tension in different parts of the world, terrorism and discriminatory acts have labeled some of the greatest tourist destinations as no go zones and this has led to the shift in interests of and choices made by tourists to decide upon their dream location for vacation (J.D Roth, 2011) . Mass tourism Industry and its impact on economy After the recession the global economy is still recovering from its aftershocks and after effects. The recession blew away all the mega structures that were created by the financial gurus and the corporate masterminds for the economic stability of Global business community. All their efforts literally went in vain as their hard work of years did not enable their businesses to survive a couple of years of economic downturn. As the disastrous recession of 2007-08 comes to an end, the corporate sectors and the global economies look for industries that are virtually recession proof and that will help them come out of the recession more quickly than others. One such industry is the Global Mass tourism Industry. According to mercopress.com the Global Mass tourism Industry accounts for 9% percent of the world GDP and 8% of the total world employment. These are big numbers and by 2019 the Global Mass tourism Industry is expected to create 29 6 million jobs worldwide. The former discussion