Alasdair MacIntyre argues that moral virtues are antithetical to what is required of those who trade in financial markets to succeed. MacIntyre focuses on four virtues and argues that successful traders possess none of them: (i) self-knowledge, (ii) courage, (iii) taking a long-term perspective, and (iv) tying one’s own good with some set of common goods. By contrast, I argue that (i)–(iii) are, in fact, traits of successful traders, regardless of their normative assessment. The last trait – caring about the (...) common good – is often counterproductive in most for-profit ventures, including trading, and so singling out traders is inappropriate. (shrink)

The World Economic Forum notes that there is an economic gap between Indonesia and Malaysia every year as seen from GDP per capita. The economic disparity between the two countries caused differences in available employment opportunities. Limited employment opportunities in Indonesia cause an increase in unemployment in Indonesia. The high unemployment rate in West Kalimantan is the main cause of the migration of Indonesians to Malaysia with the aim of carrying out economic and trade activities in the Serikin Market which (...) is located in Sarawak, East Malaysia. The market only takes about 15 minutes from the Jagoi Babang. This study used primary data collected by using in-depth interview and observation techniques which was analyzed qualitatively. The study found that in general the migration patterns of Indonesian traders who traded in the Serikin Market practiced non-permanent mobility patterns. The opportunities of cross-border trade carried out by Indonesian traders are reducing unemployment, facilitating product marketing, increasing income. While the challenges faced are the inadequacy of the road infrastructure, the quality of merchandise that is not good, the unavailability of lodging for Indonesian traders in the border area of Jagoi Babang, shop rental prices are relatively expensive. Basically, this research is to provide empirical data regarding to opportunities and challenges of cross-border traders that will be able to be used for future research related to strategies in managing cross-border trade Hopefully, this research will contribute significantly to generate an effective migration policy in order to minimize transnational crimes. (shrink)

Can trust evolve on the Internet between virtual strangers? Recently, Pettit answered this question in the negative. Focusing on trust in the sense of ‘dynamic, interactive, and trusting’ reliance on other people, he distinguishes between two forms of trust: primary trust rests on the belief that the other is trustworthy, while the more subtle secondary kind of trust is premised on the belief that the other cherishes one’s esteem, and will, therefore, reply to an act of trust in kind (‘trust-responsiveness’). (...) Based on this theory Pettit argues that trust between virtual strangers is impossible: they lack all evidence about one another, which prevents the imputation of trustworthiness and renders the reliance on trust-responsiveness ridiculous. I argue that this argument is flawed, both empirically and theoretically. In several virtual communities amazing acts of trust between pure virtuals have been observed. I propose that these can be explained as follows. On the one hand, social cues, reputation, reliance on third parties, and participation in (quasi-) institutions allow imputing trustworthiness to varying degrees. On the other, precisely trust-responsiveness is also relied upon, as a necessary supplement to primary trust. In virtual markets, esteem as a fair trader is coveted while it contributes to building up one’s reputation. In task groups, a hyperactive style of action may be adopted which amounts to assuming (not: inferring) trust. Trustors expect that their virtual co-workers will reply in kind while such an approach is to be considered the most appropriate in cyberspace. In non-task groups, finally, members often display intimacies while they are confident someone else ‘out there’ will return them. This is facilitated by the one-to-many, asynchronous mode of communication within mailing lists. (shrink)

The Black antislavery theorist Quobna Ottobah Cugoano (c.1757–c.1791) is increasingly recognized as a noteworthy figure in the history of philosophy. Born in present-day Ghana, Cugoano was enslaved at the age of 13 and shipped to Grenada, before being taken onwards to England, where the 1772 Somerset court ruling in effect freed him. His Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery [1787/1791] broke new ground by demanding the immediate end of the slave-trade and of slavery itself, without any compensation to (...) slaveholders. Notwithstanding this, Cugoano endorsed the legitimacy of penal enslavement on principled grounds – like many other abolitionists writing in late eighteenth-century Britain. “Every free community might keep slaves, or criminal prisoners in bondage” – and even sell them. Amidst the growing literature exploring Cugoano’s abolitionism, his paradoxical justification of penal slavery has bewildered commentators. Far from an offhand inconsistency, I argue that this justification is deeply embedded within his moral and legal philosophy; constraining his antislavery arguments while simultaneously serving retaliatory aims. His two-pronged principle of just punishment – the lex talionis (‘eye for an eye, bondage for bondage’) as tempered by mercy – sometimes demands penally enslaving colonial slaveholders and slave-traders in turn. Throughout, I compare Cugoano’s justification of penal enslavement with those of other early modern philosophers, especially Locke and Kant. This helps me position Cugoano within the history of philosophy, thus making his views more accessible to a wider philosophical audience. It also indicates just how deeply theories of punishment shaped philosophical thinking about penal bondage in the period. (shrink)

One famous scene in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) is the dialogue between the young Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) and the expert trader Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey). Hanna is complaining that the stock market is unpredictable; it’s “fugazi … it’s fairy dust. It doesn’t exist. It’s never landed. It is not matter. It’s not on the element chart. It’s not real”. But the fact that something is unpredictable and non-physical does not imply that it does not exist. On (...) the other hand, its unpredictability, non-physicality, and the fact that the stock market trend is largely determined by investors’ beliefs, do make its nature difficult to grasp. -/- This special issue of Rivista di Estetica aims to explore the financial sector from an ontological point of view. While the ontology of money has been extensively studied, few scholars have focused on the stock market and, more generally, on those entities belonging to the investment landscape. Matters are made more complicated by the fact that the financial sector is characterized by an ever-increasing use of digital technology, including software elements that trade in the market themselves. We believe that a careful study of this phenomenon may help us better to understand the role of artificial agents in the social world. (shrink)

The recently rising field of Critical Data Studies is still facing fundamental questions. Among these is the enigma of digital subjectivation. Who are the subjects of Big Data? A field where this question is particularly pressing is finance. Since the 1990s traders have been steadily integrated into computerized data assemblages, which calls for an ontology that eliminates the distinction between human sovereign subjects and non-human instrumental objects. The latter subjectivize traders in pre-conscious ways, because human consciousness runs too slow to (...) follow the volatility of the market. In response to this conundrum Social Studies of Finance has drawn on Actor-Network Theory to interpret financial markets as technically constructed networks of human and non-human actors. I argue that in order to develop an explicitly critical data study it might be advantageous to refer to Maurizio Lazzarato’s theory of machinic subjugation instead. Although both accounts describe financial digital subjectivation similarly, Lazzarato has the advantage of coupling his description to a clear critique of and resistance to finance. (shrink)

Abstract: We examine how trustworthy behaviour can be achieved in the financial sector. The task is to ensure that firms are motivated to pursue long-term interests of customers rather than pursuing short-term profits. Firms’ self-interested pursuit of reputation, combined with regulation, is often not sufficient to ensure that this happens. We argue that trustworthy behaviour requires that at least some actors show a concern for the wellbeing of clients, or a respect for imposed standards, and that the behaviour of these (...) actors is copied in such a way that it becomes a behavioural norm. We briefly suggest what such behavioural norms might need to be if trustworthy behaviour is to be achieved, and consider how they might be supported; we describe the research that is necessary in order to understand these norms in more detail. We argue that the norms of traders are different from the norms of those engaged in other activities, since they are inevitably self-interested, and we consider the risk that traders’ norms might undermine those of other actors. We analyse the task for governance in dealing with this problem, and the role which leadership by a corporate board and management might play in doing this. We describe the need for further research in to describe how this might be done. (shrink)

After a critique of the conservative and speculative approaches dominating the field of the protection and promotion of cultural heritage, the paper introduces a sociological perspective that considers cultural heritage an essential factor of identification and belonging, as well as a mean for the reproduction of life forms. The heritage of the past, in fact, is a living body contributing to the symbolic transmis-sion of the aesthetic, ethical and cognitive values of communities. Rather than the protection of guardians and the (...) exploitation of traders, this heritage needs the ac-tive participation of citizens to its regeneration. The paper then argues for a “secularization” of the cultural heritage, shielding it from the separetedness of musealization and returning the religious sense of bond to its sacredness. The sociological perspective has the task of revealing that awareness and proposing strategies for the construction of integrated networks of rational practices. (shrink)

This article aims to elucidate the level of interaction among the different players in the abaca business enterprise in Region VIII, Philippines. The study used a survey method that gathered primary data from farmers, Local Government Units (LGUs), traders, innovators from universities, processors, and nongovernment organizations. Appropriate sampling methods were employed in determining the sample sizes of different players, and the research instrument used to determine the interaction process is a developed questionnaire that involved a Likert scale. The data were (...) analyzed using statistical measures such as count and average mean and presented in tabular form and network analysis. The results showed that abaca farmers have minimal to no interaction with the other key players except with the local traders. With that, the main problem for abaca farmers is the lack of innovative information to improve their production. Local traders interact with farmers moderately but have weak interaction with the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (PhilFIDA) in terms of provision for research, education, and support services, among others. LGUs moderately interact with farmers but have no interaction at all with other Abaca key players. Moreover, PhilFIDA staff only have a moderate interaction with abaca farmers, and local traders rarely interact with PhilFIDA staff. Likewise, PhilFIDA’s interaction with State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) is weak and SUCs have moderate interaction with farmers and the LGUs. Conclusively, the interactions among the players of the abaca industry are generally weak which can be strengthened through institutionalizing a system where stakeholders can work together for the common good and obtain a sustainable supply chain. (shrink)

Illicit arms availability in neighbourhoods are always a threat to external and internal security. Due to the geopolitics of Afghanistan, superpowers and non-state actors were active in that region for decades .Consequently, the FATA area of Pakistan and Adam Khel in particular became an oasis for arms Producers and traders as well as terrorists and drug traffickers. America and the former Soviet Union poured Afghanistan with the latest weapons from 1979 to 1989. A major part of that stockpile came to (...) the grey market of Darra Adam khel . Same thing happened when America and Nato arrived in Afghanistan after 9/11. Pakistan army and ISI a major and decisive player in this illicit arms trade which poses a big security concern for Indian policy makers. (shrink)

Bitcoin, as a decentralized digital currency, has undergone extreme price fluctuations over the years. Predicting its future price presents a significant challenge due to its volatile nature and susceptibility to various external factors, including market sentiment, regulations, and technological developments. This research aims to build an advanced forecasting model to predict Bitcoin’s price movements accurately. We leverage historical price data and apply cutting-edge machine learning techniques, including Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks and Gradient Boosting Machines (GBM). By comparing these methods (...) with existing models, we evaluate their performance in predicting Bitcoin’s future prices, which is vital for traders, investors, and financial institutions in making informed decisions. (shrink)

This is one more edition of Voltaire's "Candide", meant to highlight the wealth of philosophical and theological discussions hidden behind the apparently innocent veil of the most renowned fable of modernity. The rather extended apparatus accordingly consists of a series of short chapters by Filippo Bruni on the Enlightenment and Metaphysics, and in more detail, on theology, Free choice, the problem of evil, and happiness in an imperfect world and another by Sergio Cremaschi on the Enlightenment and morality, and in (...) more detail on moral universalism, religion without metaphysics, toleration, and pacifism. -/- Table of contents I. Before the text A trick for priests A scandalous book Garden with view -/- II. Text Candide or optimism -/- III. Context Biography 1. The seven years war 2. Calvinists and Socinians 3. Jiansenists and Gesuits 4. Marranos and inquisitors 5. Conquistadores and slave-traders 6. Paraguay under the Jesuits -/- IV. Co-text 1. Enlightenment and Metaphysics 1.1. Theology 1.2. Free choice 1.3. The problem of evil 1.4. Being happy in an imperfect world -/- 2. Enlightenment and morality 2.1. Universal morality 2.2. Religion without Metaphysics 2.3. Toleration 2.4. Pacifism -/- 3. Enlightenment and the images of other places 3.1. The image of Eldorado 3.2. The image of Paraguay 3.3 The image of the Islamic world 3.4. The image of the Jew -/- 4. The conte philosophique -/- Bibliography Lexicon Index of names and concepts -/- V. Reader’s guide. (shrink)

This article focuses on profiling the abaca stakeholders in Eastern Visayas and elucidates their various functions in the industry. Primary information was gathered from a random sample of abaca farmers and other stakeholders through a researchers' developed survey questionnaire. The data were analyzed through descriptive measures and presented in statistical tables and graphs. Results showed that the majority of abaca farmers are in their prime working years (25 to 54 years old), are married females, are elementary graduates, and are owners (...) of small abaca farms with an average area of 1.88 hectares. The small traders are mostly married females in their prime working years and are college degree holders. The Local Government Unit (LGU) personnel are mostly municipal agriculturists, males, married, and college graduates. The majority of the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (PhilFIDA) personnel are married males who are of prime age and college degree holders. Half of the enablers were male and married, who finished graduate studies and either belonged to prime or mature working age. Moreover, findings revealed that several players in the abaca value chain have important roles and functions to play along the supply chain to make the industry vibrant. As they do their respective roles and functions, they also have needs, expectations, and concerns that should be addressed for them to function effectively in the system. Hence, the study recommends that an indepth training needs assessment should be conducted to determine their real needs as the basis for designing training programs. (shrink)

The Evolutionary Roots of Capitalism and Wealth Accumulation -/- Introduction -/- Capitalism and the concept of wealth accumulation did not emerge in a vacuum; they are deeply rooted in the biological and evolutionary instincts of humans. While biological evolution itself did not invent capitalism, it provided the foundation for behaviors such as competition, resource accumulation, social hierarchy, and cooperation—traits that later shaped economic systems. This essay explores how evolutionary survival strategies led to the development of capitalism and the pursuit of (...) wealth. -/- The Biological Instinct for Resource Accumulation -/- In nature, survival depends on the ability to secure and store resources. Animals instinctively hoard food (such as squirrels storing nuts) or compete for territory and mates. Humans, as evolved primates, inherited similar survival instincts. Early hunter-gatherers collected surplus food, tools, and materials to prepare for scarcity, laying the groundwork for wealth accumulation. Those who could accumulate and manage resources effectively had a greater chance of survival and reproduction, reinforcing these behaviors over generations. -/- The transition to agriculture around 10,000 years ago intensified this instinct. Unlike hunter-gatherers who relied on immediate consumption, agricultural societies required the accumulation of land, crops, and livestock. This shift led to the first wealth disparities, as those who controlled fertile land could produce more food and exchange it for other goods or services. The concept of private property and inheritance further solidified wealth accumulation as a key societal structure. -/- Social Hierarchies and Competition -/- In many species, dominance hierarchies determine access to resources and reproductive success. Humans are no exception. Evolutionary psychology suggests that the drive for status and competition is deeply embedded in our nature. Higher social status often translates to better access to food, protection, and mates—benefits that improve survival and genetic fitness. -/- This biological tendency carried over into human economies. As civilizations developed, those with power and resources sought to expand their influence through trade, conquest, and investment. The competitive drive that once helped individuals outcompete rivals in the wild evolved into economic competition in structured markets. Capitalism, with its emphasis on free markets and competition, is a natural extension of this evolutionary principle. -/- The Evolution of Trade and Specialization -/- While competition drives wealth accumulation, human evolution also selected for cooperation and social bonding. Unlike most animals, humans have an advanced ability to engage in complex trade and reciprocal exchanges. Early humans bartered goods and services, which led to specialization of labor—some became hunters, others toolmakers, and others traders. -/- As societies expanded, money replaced barter, allowing for more efficient transactions. Banking and investment followed, enabling wealth accumulation beyond immediate survival needs. This economic evolution mirrors biological principles: just as an ecosystem thrives when species specialize and interact, economies grow when individuals and businesses specialize and trade. -/- Cognitive Advancements and the Abstract Concept of Wealth -/- A unique feature of human evolution is the ability to think abstractly. Unlike animals that accumulate only tangible resources, humans created symbolic value systems such as currency, property rights, and capital investment. The ability to store value in non-material forms—like gold, stocks, or cryptocurrencies—allowed wealth to be transferred across generations and expanded indefinitely. -/- This innovation made capitalism possible. Unlike primitive survival economies, modern economies operate on complex financial systems that multiply wealth through investment and innovation. While animals seek immediate survival, humans—through evolved cognition—build long-term economic structures that ensure prosperity beyond their own lifetimes. -/- Capitalism as an Extension of Evolutionary Survival Strategies -/- Capitalism, at its core, reflects biological survival strategies on a larger scale. It rewards competition (natural selection), incentivizes efficiency (adaptation), and promotes innovation (evolutionary progress). Just as nature selects the fittest organisms, capitalism selects the most efficient businesses and economic models. -/- However, while biological evolution is often harsh and ruthless, modern capitalism has introduced mechanisms to balance competition with social welfare. Government regulations, taxation, and social programs help mitigate extreme inequality, just as cooperative behaviors in nature ensure group survival. The balance between competition and cooperation is crucial—both in evolution and in economics. -/- Conclusion -/- The rise of capitalism and wealth accumulation is not an artificial construct but a product of evolutionary pressures. Human instincts for survival, competition, cooperation, and cognitive abstraction all contributed to the economic systems we see today. While capitalism amplifies these natural behaviors, it also presents ethical challenges that societies must address. Understanding capitalism through an evolutionary lens helps us recognize both its strengths and its limitations, offering insights into how we might shape future economies to be more balanced and sustainable. -/- Ultimately, biological evolution set the stage, and human civilization refined the rules—but the fundamental drive remains the same: to survive, compete, and thrive. -/- . (shrink)

Since the beginning of freshwater fishkeeping, humans have been captivated by the beauty and diversity of aquatic life. In a recent review, Novák et al. (2025) present a comprehensive account of the historical evolution and modern challenges of ornamental aquaculture, with a particular focus on Europe—widely regarded as the birthplace of the modern aquarium hobby. Their synthesis illustrates how millions of hobbyists and traders have shaped the global aquarium trade, driving the importation of nearly 8,000 freshwater fish species over the (...) past century, profoundly influencing not only domestic aquariums but also natural ecosystems and local economies. (shrink)

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss how reproductivity (child-rearing) fits into ethics. It aims to use objectivist ethics (OE) specifically as the framework for considering this. Design/methodology/approach – The approach is conceptual in nature. Economic concepts are used to analyze and extend an ethical issue and the cardinal values within OE, which includes productive purpose, are reviewed. Findings – The paper argues that reproductivity is sufficiently different from productivity to be a separate category. Then using the (...) trader principle, the objectivist case for inheritance, and capital theory, the case is made that reproductivity is required of each person in the same sense that productivity is. Originality/value – This is an original argument made by the author in Then Athena Said: Unilateral Transfers and the Transformation of Objectivist Ethics. In that work, reproductivity is linked to human capital replacement, depreciation, the sinking fund, and Irving Fisher’s conception of standard income. This paper also relates it to permanent income. Also, the conclusions are more inclusive than those in the previous work in that other forms that the replacement of human capital can take in addition to reproduction are considered. (shrink)

The problem of measurement in economic models and the possibility of their quantum-mechanical description are considered. It is revealed that the apparent paradox of such a description is associated with a priori requirement of conformity of the model to all the alternatives of free choice of the observer. The measurement of the state of a trader on a stock exchange is formally defined as his responses to the proposals of sale at a fixed price. It is shown that an (...) analogue of Bell's inequalities for this measurement model is violated at the most general assumptions related to the strategy of the trader and requires a quantummechanical description of the dynamics of his condition. In the framework of the theory of weak continuous quantum measurements, the equation of stock price dynamics and the quantum-mechanical generalization of the F. Black and M. Scholes model for pricing options are obtained. The fundamental distinctions between the obtained model and the classical one are discussed. (shrink)

Attacks on migrant and refugee entrepreneurs and their properties by South African rivals and ordinary citizens have become a common phenomenon throughout the country, including the city of Cape Town. Business robberies often result in deaths or serious injuries. The Somali Community Board has noted that over 400 Somali refugees, many of them informal traders, were murdered in South Africa between early 2002 and mid-2010. The police are frequently accused by migrants of fomenting or turning a blind eye to xenophobic (...) attacks on their businesses. Meanwhile, the government refuses to acknowledge the existence of xenophobia or the xenophobic rhetoric in many of these attacks, claiming instead that they are simply the actions of criminal elements. Photographs published in the media of the looting of migrant stores do not tend to feature hardened criminals, but ordinary citizens including children in school uniform. -/- Migrant businesses are portrayed by officials, citizens and the media as having a negative impact on the South African economy and undermining the livelihoods of South Africans. The prevalence of such perceptions helps to explain growing xenophobic sentiment against migrants and refugees. Contrary to these popular perceptions, an emerging literature on migrant entrepreneurship is beginning to demonstrate the positive economic contributions of migrants and refugees to the country. This report examines the nature of informal migrant and refugee entrepreneurship in Cape Town and whether or not the negative stereotypes have any validity. It also seeks to examine what economic contributions migrants and refugees make to the local economy. -/- The report is based on the research conducted by the Growing Informal Cities project, a partnership between SAMP/IMRC, the African Centre for Cities at the University of Cape Town, the Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO) and Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of 518 migrant owners of microenterprises, which had to meet three basic criteria for inclusion: (a) owned by a non-South African; (b) in operation for at least two years; and (c) unregistered with the South African Revenue Services (SARS). Although migrant entrepreneurs are located in most areas of the city, certain areas have particular concentrations of migrant-owned businesses. "e questionnaires were administered in four such areas: Imizamo Yethu, Philippi, Bellville, and Cape Town CBD. Thirty in-depth interviews were also conducted with selected owners of informal micro-enterprises. Two focus group discussions were held in the Cape Town CBD and Philippi respectively. Fifteen key informant interviews were held with various stakeholders in Cape Town to understand the operation and constraints faced by migrants operating in the city’s informal economy. -/- The major findings of the personal profile of the migrant and refugee entrepreneurs were as follows: -/- • The entrepreneurs came from over 20 different countries of which Zimbabwe, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Nigeria, Malawi, Ethiopia and Cameroon were the most prominent. Just over a third were from other countries in the SADC. The prominence of Zimbabwean entrepreneurs in the Cape Town informal economy is not surprising, given the events in that country over the past decade and a half and resultant mass migration to South Africa. A total of 57% of the entrepreneurs were from other African countries, especially the DRC, Somalia, Nigeria and Ethiopia. "e majority of migrants from these countries (except Nigeria) came to South Africa as refugees. -/- • A third of the entrepreneurs had refugee permits. Of these, nearly 60% came from only three countries: the DRC, Ethiopia and Somalia. A further 31% held asylum-seeker permits. Of these, 32% were Zimbabwean while another 30% came from DRC, Ethiopia and Somalia. Nearly 12% had permanent residence permits while 8% were holders of work permits. Only 7% of the respondents indicated that they did not have official documentation to stay in South Africa. Thus, the majority of migrant entrepreneurs have forced migrants who are entitled to human rights protection under international and South African refugee law. • Very few of the entrepreneurs entered South Africa before 1994. Only 8% arrived in the immediate post-apartheid years. While another 20% came in the period 2000to 2004, the vast majority (70%) came during the last decade. As many as 44% arrived between 2005 and 2009 and a further 27% thereafter. Migration from Zimbabwe, in particular, escalated between 2005 and 2009 as the country plunged deeper into crisis. • Despite the perception that unemployment at home is a driver of migration to South Africa, only 14% of the entrepreneurs were unemployed immediately before leaving for South Africa. Another 19% were students. Twenty-six percent were working in the informal economy in their home countries. -/- .......INCOMPLETE..... (shrink)

The central postulation made in this essay is that the current plight of the Uighur Muslims in the Xinjiang province of China is two-pronged in its cause. The first involves a deeply-rooted historical rejection, or at least suspicion, of any religion that is not Chinese in origin and secondly involves a concerted effort on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party to gain greater control over a people group whom it sees as representing a threat to its authority and dominance in (...) the province of Xinjiang. To justify the validity of this statement, this essay will be divided into three distinct parts; the first two parts will explore the historical background and present day context of Islam in China with the aim of clarifying the Chinese worldview on foreign religions and people groups. These will act as important contributions to culminate into the third part which will focus on the current occurrence of sinofication/sinicisation in the Xinjiang province (Ruwitch, 2018) to the detriment of the human rights, religious and cultural liberties, and the very existence of the Uighur Muslim ethnic group (Rahman, 2005). The essay will provide a historical context by explaining the timeline of the presence of Islam across different parts of China where it experienced the most activity and adherence. This particularly includes the southwestern ports where it was brought into the country by Arab traders as well as in the westernmost reaches as a result of being part of the outer edges of different Islamic empires that held territory across Central Asia. The idea that China is suspicious of foreign people, foreign religions, and that the Communist Party considers any group with outside connections to a wider community (such as Christians or the Muslims) to be a threat to the stability of their rule is central to our discussion (NowThis World, 2016). However, we shouldn’t mistake China as being alone in this kind of xenophobia for the evidence of this worldview is pertinent on the continent of Europe currently with significant undertones of its presence in the vote for Brexit in the United Kingdom (Rzepnikowska, 2018) as well as in the rise of the far right in continental Europe (Immerzeel & Muis, 2017; Lazaridis, 2016). Aversion to foreignness is therefore widespread, but it is the way in which an organisation deals with foreignness that is indicative of its approach to diversity and its respect for human rights. The third and final part will act as the climax for the essay as a thorough analysis is conducted on the current affairs of the Communist Party in the Xinjiang province resulting in the plight of the Uighur Muslims. The processes involved in the sinofication of the province will be highlighted with the aim of understanding the range of reasons as to why the Communist Party may be acting in this way by drawing on the current Chinese economic and political landscape. The essay will close by considering the future of the Uighur Muslims and the intentions of the Communist Party for the entire Xinjiang province by analysing the most recent news escaping from the region and as a means to understand the distinction between Islam and Muslims. (shrink)

Kathleen Touchstone's Then Athena Said: Unilateral Transfers and the Transformation of Objectivist Ethics is an intriguing book on unilateral transfers within the context of Objectivism. Touchstone examines Rand's primary social ethic, the Trader Principle—the bilateral exchange of value between independent equals. In reconsidering Rand's thoughts, she raises many arguments and provides thought-provoking insights especially on charity, reproductivity, retaliation and rights. Touchstone reinterprets Objectivism through the prism of economics, applying economic tools such as consumer theory, capital theory, game theory, and (...) decision making under uncertainty to address the questions she raises. (shrink)