Personal Computers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Personal Computers - Essay Example Worldwide, PC sales totalled about 100 million in 2002 (Samuelson, Nordhaus 2003). In the wake of falling prices, PC industry has experienced a continuous boom. Today, PC has become an indispensable product. This paper will discuss the factors that have had an impact on the price pattern of this indispensable product. To do so, some basic concepts of economics will be introduced. A market is a mechanism through which buys and sellers interact to determine prices and exchange goods and services. Prices direct the decisions of consumers and producers in the market. Higher prices tend to reduce consumer purchases and encourage production. Contrariwise, lower prices encourage consumption and dampen production. Therefore, prices are the balance wheel of the market mechanism (Samuelson, Nordhaus 2003). The following graph justifies this concept: It is imperative that an accurate interpretation regarding changes in price and quantity of a particular product is done. This is because the change in quantity as a result of a change in price could be instigated from either the demand side or the supply side (McCain 1981). For example, if fewer airline tickets are sold, it could either mean that the airfares have surged or demand for travel has plummeted. Studying the price behaviour in conjunction with the quantity can sometimes lead to meaningful conclusions. This can be substantiated with a change in the price of bread leading to a change in quantity demanded. Rising price of bread leading to reduced sales suggests a decrease in supply and therefore, a change in the supply curve to the left. On the other hand, rising price of bread leading to a surge in sales indicates that demand has outweighed supply. In relation to demand and supply, it is important to introduce the concept of elasticity. Elasticity refers to the degree of responsiveness in supply or demand in relation to changes in price (McCain 1981). If demand is elastic, it means a small change in price will cause a significant change in demand. An inelastic demand, on the other hand, does not reveal the same characteristics. Following is a graphical representation of elasticity of demand: (http://www.sparknotes.com/economics/micro/elasticity/section1.html) Goods that have ready substitutes tend to have more elastic demand than those without any substitutes. Food, for example, is demand-inelastic as there is no substitute for it. So even if the prices do increase, there will be no effect on the quantity consumed. On the other hand, if price of coffee goes up, consumers have substitutes to choose from, like tea or cola and this may cause a drop in demand. Economic history indicates that the total output in the United States has increased tenfold over the last century. Much of this increase in output stems from the technological change which has improved productivity. An example of a technological change is when a firm adjusts its production process to reduce waste and increase output. This is termed as process innovation and it differs from product innovation whereby innovative products are introduced in the marketplace (Russell, Wilkinson 1979). Process

Hume and the Utility of Practical Governance Essay

Hume and the Utility of Practical Governance - Essay Example Central to this concept is the implicit consent of the governed, whose accession to this arrangement is assumed to be voluntary. Hume disputed this notion, however, citing, as example, that there is nothing voluntary about an individual who is too poor to leave or seek subsistence anywhere but the nation of his birth. â€Å"We may as well assert, that a man, by remaining in a vessel, freely consents to the dominion of the master; though he was carried on board while asleep, and must leap into the ocean and perish, the moment he leaves her† (Graham 2011, p. 186). Hume’s essay â€Å"Of the Original Contract† argued that ideas about government by consent and the authority of the state must have context and a basis in historical fact to be practical. Hume decried the notion of original contract as put forth by the Whigs, whom he felt offered little concrete evidence and left too much to discretion and interpretation. In his view, it amounted to an invitation to revol t at the drop of the political hat. In other words, such theorizing might encourage citizens to rise up â€Å"whenever (the people) find themselves aggrieved by that authority, with which they have, for certain purposes, voluntarily entrusted (the sovereign)† (Forbes 1975, 93). ... n irresistibly powerful inclination to ascribe â€Å"liberal† or â€Å"conservative† leanings and associations to individuals who operate on the remotest periphery of the political sphere. Thus, it should come as no surprise that writers and historians have for centuries sought to paint Hume with a Tory or Whig brush (depending on their ideological preferences, of course). In light of the evidence, and Hume’s writings, this is a mistaken perspective. The most revealing information concerning Hume’s position on the original contract, and other political theories, came from Hume himself. â€Å"Hume provided an important clue to the proper interpretation of his political writings by referring himself as a ‘philosopher.’ As he pointed out, a philosopher looks at political problems differently than a spokesman for a political party† (Miller 1961). Miller notes – properly – that those who have studied Hume’s beliefs shoul d have concentrated on the â€Å"general principles which underly† the seemingly ambiguous statements Hume makes concerning government (Ibid). Miller makes a compelling argument, concluding that Hume cannot be considered partisan since he wrote as a political philosopher. In this light, Hume’s position concerning the original contract is one of pragmatism and expediency. His opinions are crafted so that they address the practical needs of government as he saw them in his day. 3 In his 1742 essay â€Å"Of Civil Liberty,† Hume is critical of both Tories and Whigs in regard to their treatment of the original contract. He is opposed to extremes, to the Tories’ â€Å"tracing up government to the Deity, (endeavoring) to render it†¦sacred and inviolate†¦, † and the Whigs’ regard of government as absolutely deriving from the consent of the people