Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were famous English philosophers who became the classics of 17th-century political thought. They considered such issues as the state of nature, the social contract, the right of revolution, limits of power, and property rights. Although their political and philosophical views had something in common, they are most often contrasted.
John Locke thought that people had natural rights, and the government could not deprive citizens of them. He stated that humankind’s natural state implied people’s freedom and equality. He also declared that before the appearance of societies and governments, people enjoyed unlimited freedom and could do whatever they wanted.
However, according to Locke, the social contract is needed because it protects people’s natural rights of property, life, and liberty. So, he believed that property right was an essential and inherent part of human life. Locke stated that the power should be limited, and leaders had the right to assume power only with the governed’s approval. Moreover, the ruled had the right to elect the government and to overthrow it when their rights were abused.
On the contrary, Hobbes believed that the best form of government was an absolute monarchy and that the ruler could overturn humankind’s natural state. He argued that people were selfish and cruel; that is why the natural state meant war. According to Hobbes, the social contract is the way to keep the peace between the authority and the governed. From his point of view, the revolution is harmful to society and can only bring chaos. Hobbes also thought that individual property rights would negatively influence society and become the cause of the war.
The Opioid Crisis: A Literature Review
The high incidence of opioid abuse, overdose, and even lethal outcomes has attracted substantial attention from the scientific community. Today, it is possible to determine the origins of the crisis and delineate how this public health concern has come to be. Jones et al. (2018) explain that before the 19th century, cocaine and opioid use in the West did not have to comply with any regulations. However, by 1914 when the Harrison Narcotic Control Act came into power, the public sentiment had changed the direction and became “opiophobic (Jones et al., 2018).” However, the rejection of opioids as an alternative to existing pain medication dominated health care only for the first half of the 20th century. In the second half, the World Health Organization, the American Pain Society, and the Veteran’s Health Administration started advocating for better pain management. Their pleas were strengthened by sporadic, small-sample studies proving the highly-effective therapeutic effects of opioid analgesics. The Federation of State Medical Boards and the Drug Enforcement Agency published two historically significant statements that ushered the United States into the era of opioid acceptance.
Today, the opioid crisis is not projected to come to a halt any time soon; in fact, it is only exacerbating. Saha et al. (2016) provide concerning data on opioid use in the United States. For instance, from 2002 through 2012, the number of opioid pain medications dispensed by US pharmacies doubled from 142 million to 248 million. Within the same period, the lethal overdose rate tripled (Saha et al., 2016). Saha et al. (2016) also point out a 153% surge in the number of opioid-related emergency visits between 2004 and 2011. The authors describe these concerning trends for several reasons such as increased acceptance and advocacy for opioid treatment and availability of long-acting medications. Aggressive marketing by pharmaceutical companies and a lack of understanding of opioid health effects also contribute to the problem.
Undoubtedly, an adequate response to the opioid crisis needs to include the identification of risk groups. First and foremost, individuals at risk of developing an opioid use disorder are those who experience chronic pain. Webster (2017) uses data from the most recent National Health Interview Survey to demonstrate that 126.1 million experienced some type of pain within the last three months. What is more, around 12 million suffer from pains daily, and 12 more report unmanageable pain levels? Webster (2017) provides his expert opinion on why opioid misuse persists and has yet to be fully harnessed. The scholar points out the misunderstanding between the patient and the provider as one of the causes. Another common motivation is to eliminate abstinence syndrome or put oneself in an altered psychological state.
To better understand the individual motivation behind opioid abuse, one should take a look at how social determinants of health fit into the picture. According to Webster (2017), healthcare providers should be wary of patients with inadequate social support, a history of substance abuse, and a criminal record. In addition, some factors contribute directly to overdose mortality (Webster, 2017). They include but are not limited to middle age, unemployment, comorbid mental and physical disorders, methadone use, and co-prescription of benzodiazepine and antidepressants. Indeed, research like this provides valuable implications for preventive strategies. Yet, the question stays as to whether the existing responses to the opioid crisis have yielded any positive results.
At present, research concerning the effectiveness of different drug monitoring programs remains limited. A study by Patrick et al. (2016) is one of the few rigorous papers that inquire the impact of particular characteristics of different programs on opioid-related overdose death rates. Their observational cohort research shows that by 2013, all but two US states had introduced a prescription drug monitoring program. Patrick et al. (2016) discovered that the implementation of such a program was associated with a decline in opioid-related mortality rates. After some statistical adjustment, it became apparent that the states with the most significant progress had programs that monitored four or more drug schedules. Data management played a big role in advancing those programs as weekly updates provided authorities with information to be considered in subsequent decisions.
Awareness and education are also seen as integral to addressing the opioid crisis. Mueller et al. (2015) explain that since 1996, the US has benefitted from community-based programs where vulnerable populations could educate themselves and receive naloxone. This strategy, known as overdose education and naloxone distribution (OEND), has gained traction for its potential to be adapted for conventional medical settings and patients who are prescribed pharmaceutical opioids. For their systematic review, Mueller et al. (2015) located 41 articles concerning the effects of OEND, its adaptability, and the willingness of patients to enroll. They concluded that depending on a state, OEND was able to reduce overdose deaths by 27-46%. Moreover, the strategy positively affected the attitude and knowledge of patients who were taking opioid analgesics. Only 0.3% of people experienced any adverse side effects from taking Naloxone, which suggests its safety and compatibility. To recapitulate, both state-level and community-based programs have promising prospects in combating the crisis.
References
Jones, M. R., Viswanath, O., Peck, J., Kaye, A. D., Gill, J. S., & Simopoulos, T. T. (2018). A brief history of the opioid epidemic and strategies for pain medicine. Pain and Therapy, 7(1), 13–21.
Mueller, S. R., Walley, A. Y., Calcaterra, S. L., Glanz, J. M., & Binswanger, I. A. (2015). A review of opioid overdose prevention and naloxone prescribing: Implications for translating community programming into clinical practice. Substance Abuse, 36(2), 240-253. Web.
Patrick, S. W., Fry, C. E., Jones, T. F., & Buntin, M. B. (2016). Implementation of prescription drug monitoring programs associated with reductions in opioid-related death rates. Health Affairs, 35(7), 1324-1332.
Saha, T. D., Kerridge, B. T., Goldstein, R. B., Chou, S. P., Zhang, H., Jung, J., … & Grant, B. F. (2016). Nonmedical prescription opioid use and DSM-5 nonmedical prescription opioid use disorder in the United States. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 77(06), 772-780.
Webster, L. R. (2017). Risk factors for opioid-use disorder and overdose. Anesthesia & Analgesia, 125(5), 1741-1748.
The Role Of The Supernatural
Introduction
The term “supernatural” has several meanings and is used in both everyday speech and scholarly works on philosophy, psychology, and literature. In its most general meaning, the adjective “supernatural” means something not explained naturally, which is not subject to the laws of nature. In the field of fiction, the term supernatural is usually close to the concepts of fantastic and wonderful. Although this genre is often contradictory and causes a lot of criticism, great writers were able to convert it into great artworks.
Supernatural in literature
The use of the supernatural in literary works, particularly those written by Le Guin and Marquez are related to features of the human psyche. Something unusual, magical, always excites the reader. Both in religion and the supernatural, a person can seek evidence for the existence of anything beyond human understanding. It gives hope that short human life is not all that can be expected in the future. For these reasons, authors use the supernatural in their works. In essence, they want to capture the readers’ attention completely and, through fantastic images, point them to a complex problem that requires attention. The interest readers show in supernatural events can serve as a significant factor in the work’s success.
Supernatural in The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
Le Guin’s story provides intense criticism of the state with its inoperable principle of social and political justice and an emphasis on the repressive nature of each social system. Moreover, the story expresses skepticism about the effective structure of any state. Omelas’ inhabitants live in well-being and abundance, and they are truly happy. However, their beautiful, suffering-free lives depend on the torment of one child, permanently locked in a tiny basement (Le Guin). All residents are aware of this and nevertheless accept the game’s rules because it is unreasonable to sacrifice the interests of an absolute majority for the sake of one resident, even a child. It is how a seemingly ordinary story-parable turns into a serious dilemma when it comes to real justice and social reality. Residents who give up well-being and challenge the city’s system – are those who walk away from Omelas.
Supernatural in A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings
At the heart of Marquez’s plot is a family who discovered an old man with wings in their yard. Rumors of an angel living in a fisherman’s family circled the village quickly, and crowds of people went to look at it (Márquez). Just at this point, the writer draws some ethical parallels. He describes how the local population reacted to the angel. For many rural residents, it was like going to a zoo. Some threw food into the old man’s cage, others took a feather from his wings to cure themselves. Some burned the old man with iron to see if he was feeling the pain. Nobody protected the angel, even the church. The horrors people can do with the alive creature and their cruelty cause pain to readers.
Biblical The Parable of the Prodigal Son
Readers also see the disclosures of human sins in biblical stories. The Parable of the Prodigal Son by Luke is a famous one. The Bible is not just a phenomenon of culture but its core, as the Bible deals with the issues of life and death of a man who seeks the way to the truth and right. The supernatural element in the story is the embodiment of God in the image of the father of sons, who is ready to accept repentant lost souls (Plumptre). It is a story about endless parental love and forgiveness.
Conclusion
Le Guin and Márquez made extremely skillful use of the supernatural element. Their invented worlds are almost identical to the real world, but one fantastic detail appears in them – Le Guin’s child and Marquez’s old man. Through the attitude towards the supernatural characters, human vices are revealed. These short stories address an incredible number of problems that will remain relevant for subsequent generations.
Works Cited
Le Guin, Ursula K. The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas: A Story. HarperCollins, 2017.
Márquez, Gabriel García. A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings. Penguin Books, 2014.
Plumptre, Henry Scawen. Lectures on the Parable of the Prodigal Son Luke Xv. 11-24. HardPress Publishing, 2019.