Reaction essay about enlightenment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reaction about enlightenment - Essay Example While Frederick was a diehard supporter of both art and philosophy, he came up with some laws that barred the press freedom. However, the freedom that the press enjoyed under him was comparatively laudable. Frederick advocated for agricultural reforms and sought to bring as many colonists as possible under Prussia. To achieve this, he repeatedly de-linked himself from ideas of nationality or religious affiliations. Instead, he made the Prussians understand that a person’s nationality or religion was of little concern to him. This triggered massive immigration into Prussia thus setting a stage of quick recovery of his nation that had suffered great losses from the wars. Also, similar to leading personalities in the Age of Enlightenment, Frederick was linked to Freemasonry and his adherence made the group legitimate as well as protected their interests. A reflection of some of the reforms that Frederick the Great made or sought to accomplish, as well as the laws which were passed under his regime clearly sets him apart as an enlightened absolutions. Essentially, enlightened leaders embraced the ideals of the Enlightenment, more so its insistence on governance through rationalities. During his childhood, Frederick was tutored by French instructors who not only instilled French culture in him, but also introduced him to both the Roman and Greek classical literature. However, his father was against this and wanted his son to study matters pertaining to politics and military. Following an attempt by Frederick and his friend to escape across the border away from his father’s regime, he had to suffer prison term after his arrest. Also, he had to watch his friend being beheaded for the same mistake. This perhaps informs his decision to revamp the judicial system, bring to an end torture, and establish Prussia’s first crimina l code. The age of Enlightenment was also characterised by territorial protection and economic empowerment. Frederick was keen to

The Debacle of Northern Rock Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Debacle of Northern Rock - Case Study Example Under the nationalization approach, the taxpayer should see its outstanding loans to Northern Rock repaid in full, with interest and that the business can be returned to the private sector as financial markets stabilize. There were two private proposals, one from Virgin Group and one in-house bid from the bank's management team. Neither bid concluded the Prime Minister delivered value on the dollar for taxpayers. Under the plan, $49 billion dollars must be paid back to the taxpayer within three years. The government repeatedly insisted a private sale was its preferred option. However, after five months of intense speculation about the future of Britain's most public casualty of the global credit crunch, Brown said that nationalization was the best choice until market conditions improve. According to Alistair Darling, the private proposals involved risks for taxpayers and significant government subsidy. Both also involved bidders paying below the market rate while the government conti nued to provide guarantees and financing. Now the plan finds itself under the scrutiny of the Economist who has opined from the start that nationalization was not the proper solution. Northern Rock would remain nationalized until the current financial climate improves.