How Has iTunes Brought About a Change in the Music Industry

Steve Jobs was a revolutionary, and iTunes was a revolution. In this article, we shall find out how iTunes has changed the music industry.

 "Some people say Apple unbundled the album. In my mind, it had already been unbundled by piracy. So why not do it in a way in which we get paid? That's what iTunes really did."
― Doug Morris, CEO of Sony Music Entertainment

In an era plagued with notorious musical fat cats who would strong-arm the competition with their stacks of greens, and the seemingly unstoppable pirates who would relentlessly steal from the artists and labels, Apple iTunes came as a godsend. Steve Jobs had a complete vision that began with the iTunes - a digital store that would provide all the music that the user wanted, and the iPods, iPads, iPhones etc., where this music could be downloaded and played.

Since its inception in 2003, iTunes has managed to completely redefine the music industry. Steve Jobs, the then-Apple CEO, literally manhandled the major record companies, extracting from them some of the most legendary deals and negotiations which completely altered the economics of music, snubbed online piracy, and did so much more.

In the following lines, we shall learn about the impact that iTunes has had on the music industry, and all the changes that it has brought about over its more than decade-long reign.

How iTunes Revolutionized the Music Industry

1) It Allowed the User to Pick His/Her Song

In the music industry, one can find many artists who are what can be best described as one-hit-wonders. Like firecrackers, they burst into the scene illuminating it with the dazzling brightness of their hit number. However, the glow of their glory is short-lived, rarely exceeding the boundaries of that one hit song.

Now imagine having to buy an entire album full of mediocre and even plain bad songs, just to savor that one good song! You would be literally spending on music you didn't want. Makes no sense, right? Well that was the way the music industry operated before iTunes came along.

When the iTunes music store opened its digital shutters in 2003, it allowed music lovers to download and pay for only the song which they liked, without forcing them to buy the whole album against their will. Thus, it gave the power of choice to the consumers.

2) It Provided Unlimited Access to Infinite Music

Before the advent of iTunes, music was largely dispersed and usually difficult to obtain. It used to be that, you would listen to a song over the radio or see it on MTV, and then you would go out hunting for it in music stores. If you were lucky, you would find the album you wanted, else you would have no choice but to note it down and pray that it came to your neighborhood store someday in the near future. All this changed when iTunes arrived.

God put the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden, and Mr. Jobs planted iTunes―the tree of music―in the Gardens of the Internet. All you need to do is bite into the 'apple' from it, and you are able to access an unlimited amount of music. And the best part - it ain't no sin! Thanks to iTunes, you have all the music you want right at your fingertips.

3) Made Convenience the Undisputed Champion

With iTunes, like Morpheus in Matrix, Mr. Steve Jobs presented us with two pills. The blue one represented audio quality and ensured that we would get the best of it, but only if we were ready to wait until the CD album was out. The red one, on the other hand, promised us the convenience of having our choice of music whenever and wherever we wanted, albeit at a slightly lesser quality. Guess what, most of us took the red one!

For many years, the music industry had been chasing audio quality, thinking that it would motivate music lovers to purchase more. However, Jobs knew that convenience beats quality every time. We, the consumers, want our music right here, right now. And even though it isn't as sparkling bright as the quality of a CD, the compressed audio at iTunes store is still more than enough to satisfy the ear-buds of everyone, but the audiophiles (a rare minority) amongst us.

4) It Signaled the End of Album Art

Back in the day, as much thought would be given to the album cover as to its actual content. This album cover was what defined the album, the artist, and the music. It was art, album art!

However, when iTunes trained its guns on the albums, intending to free its imprisoned songs, there was sure to be some collateral damage. In the shootout that followed, the songs were rescued. However, the album art became a casualty, and is now nearly extinct.

Today, album art exists only as minuscule covers on iTunes, which are about the same size as an app icon. iTunes does offer booklets, images, and videos, but you can't frame them and hang them on your walls, the way album art used to be hung.

5) It Brought the Fight to the Pirates

In the late '90s and early 2000s, the Internet had begun spreading its 'web' wider, as more and more people started realizing its potential and usefulness. Online laws, rules and regulations, however, didn't keep up with this exponential growth, and back then, were muddy at best. As such, online pirates literally had a heyday, ripping and distributing music over the Internet.

Artists and record companies tried to fight back as much as they could, but considering the thousands of websites that offered free music downloads, the war was certain to be lost. In these dire circumstances, Apple introduced iTunes, which effectively turned the tables against piracy.

iTunes was the first legitimate digital music store. It offered a whole variety of music at appreciable quality, and at very reasonable rates. Users could directly transfer and manage music from iTunes to iPods, iPhones, etc., very affordably and conveniently, which motivated people to pay for the music that they downloaded. So successful was Apple, that the combination of an iPod powered by iTunes literally became a fashion statement among everyone.


6) iTunes Was the Equalizer

Before iTunes, successful artists and large record labels would rule and control the consumer market, with an iron fist! They would pour out the greens and make deals with large retailers and distributors, literally buying out the shelf-spaces in stores. This was a very bad situation for smaller labels and less successful independent artists, whose music, no matter how deserving, could hardly find the audience it deserved.

iTunes leveled the battle grounds and became the equalizer. There was no longer any scope of buying out shelf-spaces in this digital store. It was all about the music, and the ones who were able to make great music got promotional space parallel to the bigwigs of the music industry. Thus, via iTunes, small artists and labels could effectively compete against the giants of the industry.

7) It Introduced the Flat 99-cent Price
With iTunes, Steve Jobs brought about a paradigm shift in the economics of the music industry. Firstly, he ensured that every song would be sold as a single, and secondly, that its price would be a flat 99 cents. This irked the big artists and record labels, as they felt that the price of a song should be determined according to the popularity that it was gaining.

However, Jobs remained firm, and with the growing success of iTunes, the dissenting members of the music industry had no other choice but to comply. In the end, the new economics featuring 'singles' at 99 cents a piece became the standard norm.

 8) It Made Music Distribution Economical

Prior to iTunes, the main mode of distribution of music was through CDs. This process involved shipping, tracking, stealing, and even the breaking of CDs, all of which culminated in a lot of loss to the record labels and distributors.

iTunes completely eliminated these uneconomical aspects of physical distribution, by transferring music into the digital world, where distribution happens over the Internet, and is almost instantaneous, risk-free, and most economical.
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Continuity Threory of Aging Explained with Examples

Aging is not lost youth, but a new stage of opportunity and strength.
-Betty Friedan-

 Theories regarding aging are centered on a basic attempt to better understand the physical, social, and psychological effects that occur during the process of aging. Better understanding and knowledge of this process leads to the development of various ways by which the experience of this process can be improved and enhanced. Based on these varied approaches, various psychosocial, physical, and biological theories of aging have been proposed.

 

Here, we'll focus on the psychosocial aspect of aging, and in particular, on the theory of continuity. Other theories in this aspect are the activity theory and the disengagement theory. The disengagement theory proposes that, as people grow older, they gain a sense of impending death, and this sense causes them to retreat away from society and disengage themselves. This occurs with the aim of allowing the social groups of senior citizens to get accustomed to their inevitable absence. In contrast to this, the activity theory suggests that, engaging in mental and physical tasks increases the happiness and mental satisfaction of older adults, allowing them to accept the idea of their inevitable death more easily. Social engagement also works to increase life longevity.

 

On the other hand, the third theory, i.e., the continuity theory, suggests that, most aging adults tend to maintain their activities, behavior, personality, and relationships as they did during their earlier years. This theory is explained below.

 

Continuity Theory of Aging

 

❍ This theory was first proposed by Robert Atchley in 1971, through his article 'Retirement and Leisure Participation: Continuity or Crisis?', published in the journal The Gerontologist. He later published another article 'A Continuity Theory of Normal Aging' in the same journal, where he further developed his previously proposed theory. He expanded it so as to cover a wide range of internal and external constructs related to an individual's aging. This theory was further strengthened and refined by him in his book 'Continuity and Adaptation in Aging: Creating Positive Experiences'.

 

❍ The basic premise that, as an adult ages and becomes a senior citizen in society, he/she tends to maintain their unique mentality, behavior, and physical and social activities, as they did in the past when they were younger. This theory is considered to be a micro-level theory, as it concerns individuals rather than a broad group. In terms of functionality, it is deemed to have a constructive nature, since it tries to establish a state of equilibrium between the individuals and the society.

 

❍ The theory provides a fundamental framework to be able to understand how senior citizens employ their inherent abilities, skills, and gained experiences to adapt and adjust to the changes brought on due to aging. It is used to make the transition from a working adult to a retired adult, a smooth one. It allows people to be able to make future decisions based on a stable foundation of their decisions and behavior in the past. As mentioned earlier, the theory also deals with the internal and external nature of continuity with respect to aging. It claims that along with the social continuity of activities, behavior, and relationships, internal continuity of ideas, experiences, skills, etc., and external continuity of activities, social roles, relationships, lifestyle, etc., are maintained. These maintained aspects are utilized by senior citizens in order to adapt to the new and changing environment, and eventually adopt it.

 

❍ For example:

• A young extrovert will tend to remain extroverted in his/her later years, causing them to continue being social and outgoing.
• An introverted and withdrawn person, similarly, will most likely be a private person in his/her old age as well.
• Similarly, other traits such as physically active, avid reader, dancing, singing, etc., will also be maintained in individuals, despite their progressing age.

 

However, this theory faces considerable criticism, since it neglects the physical and biological effects of aging, such as physical deterioration, loss of stamina, and development of illnesses and disorders. It also does not account for the difference in financial resources as a consequence of aging and social status. Besides, it doesn't take race, ethnicity, lifestyle, and gender into consideration.

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FBI Agent Salary...

Did You Know,

According to the data published in 2012 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment of police and detectives is projected to grow 5% from 2012 to 2022. Moreover, there exist lucrative employment opportunities for retired FBI agents.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is one of the most important investigation agencies in the United States of America. And it is also one of the best in the world! The FBI's work involves investigating crime associated with bank robbery, scams, kidnapping, cyber crime, drug trafficking, corruption, terrorism, murder, etc. The FBI appoints specialized people for this investigation purpose, and those are referred as FBI agents. These FBI agents are authorized personnel for carrying out the investigation work related to the case assigned to them. The victims in turn are expected to provide all the possible information to the agents, so as to solve the case as soon as possible.

If you are thinking about becoming an FBI agent, and pursuing a long-time career into the investigation stream, then let me congratulate you for your brave decision. The career opportunities in this field are excellent. However, you need to be intelligent, courageous, committed, and result-oriented for this purpose. These are the basic necessities. If you have the necessary strength and skills, and also know, how and when to use them, then I'm sure, you would confirm your name in the list of the most successful FBI agents. However, just having these qualities is not enough as you also need to complete some formal education (at least a bachelor's degree), and undergo FBI related training. Successful completion of pre-job training and education would qualify you to become an FBI agent.

FBI Agent Salary Range
Performance and experience play a major role in deciding the salary of an FBI agent.
➻ According to PayScale, an FBI agent earns an average salary of $63,021 per year.
➻ An entry-level FBI agent earns an average salary of $59,013 per year. A mid-career FBI agent earns an average salary of $65,307 per year.
➻ On an average, the salary figures can be in the range of US $35,696 - $128,760.
➻ According to the FBI, an entry-level agent may earn $61,100 to $69,900, depending on the location of his/her assignment. The agent receives a base salary of $43,441. However, other benefits such as locality pay (can vary from 12.5% to 29% of the base salary), availability pay (for being expected to work overtime without prior notice, it generally accounts for a 25% premium of the base salary), etc., lead to a significant increase in the salary. The agents usually are expected to work for 50 hours per week.
➻ According to PayScale, the average salary for an experienced FBI agent is $77,270 per year. And the average salary for a late-career FBI agent is $101,736 per year.
➻ According to the BLS (data presented in 2014), the annual average salary of first-line supervisors of police, criminal investigators, and detectives was about $80,000.
➻ FBI agents are entitled to a variety of benefits, which include group health and life insurance programs, vacation and sick pay, and a full retirement plan.

Job Description
'Investigation'. This single word would not be able to completely describe the entire job description of an FBI agent, as 'investigation' includes a vast array of duties and responsibilities. Let us read in short about it further.
➻ The core duty of an FBI agent is crime investigation, which includes preventing illegal transportation of goods/people across the borders, murder investigations, tracing kidnappers, interviewing suspects and witnesses to obtain and verify information, and resolving kidnapping/robbery cases, etc.
➻ Communicate with the victims and witnesses, search for and collect evidence, such as fingerprints, DNA samples, and computer records, etc., and come to sensible conclusions.
➻ Prepare and submit detailed reports, coordinate with fellow officers, judges, etc., and establish an information network to accelerate the investigation process.
➻ Carrying out under cover investigations also forms an important part of the FBI agent job description.
➻ Gather relevant information pertaining to the case, and then present the report to senior officials.

Qualifications and Training

With regards to formal education, the basic requirement to become an FBI agent is to possess a bachelor's degree in any stream. Knowledge or fluency in any foreign language is an added advantage. Other requirements to become an FBI agent are citizenship of the United States, sound physical as well as mental health, and age between 23 - 36.5 years. You further need to clear the written, oral, and physical tests. Then you qualify for the training program, which includes training on FBI rules, regulations, and procedures, criminal law, self defense techniques, etc.
One of the most important rules to be followed by FBI agents is secrecy. They need to keep each and everything, associated with their case, confidential. Case details should not be discussed even with family members. FBI agents serve the nation, and therefore, need to follow the rules strictly.

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Door o Hell:This Carter Has Been Fire For More Than 40 Years

Did You Know

In 2013, a Canadian adventurer, George Kourounis, rappelled down the side of the Door to Hell using a special protective suit, making him the first to reach the base of the crater. The soil samples he collected there showed that, despite the intense heat, the pit is inhabited by extremophile bacteria, which thrive on methane and sulfur emissions.

 

Huge undying flames lick the air, casting a menacing glow for miles around the Karakum Desert of Turkmenistan. Dubbed by the locals as the 'Door to Hell', the source for all this heat and light is a massive crater, within which a raging inferno has been burning for decades, fed by a seemingly endless pocket of natural gas. While a local legend says that the crater has been burning for more than 200 years, the real story behind its formation is actually much more recent.

History of the Darvaza Gas Crater

 

 

                                           Location of the Door to Hell Crater

 

In 1971, while Turkmenistan was still a part of the Soviet Union, a group of Soviet researchers were looking for a suitable site for extracting natural gas. Since the Ahal province of Turkmenistan is rich in this natural resource, the scientists settled for a small village in this area, named Darvaza, where a suitable site was identified, and arrangements were done to set up a drilling rig and a working campsite.
                                                                                      
Initially, the work went smoothly. All the equipment was set perfectly, gas was being extracted and stored, and everyone was celebrating their success. However, misfortune struck the project unexpectedly, when the ground under the camp and rig collapsed completely, turning the area into a massive crater. In an instant, any sign of the gas drilling project had disappeared completely. Fortunately, no one was injured and no lives were lost. Now, besides losing all their equipment to the crater, the scientists were against a more serious issue. With the opening of the crater, a lot of natural gas was being released into the atmosphere. It was estimated that, if the release of gas was not stopped, it would poison the air for miles around, potentially killing hundreds of people. To stop this from happening, a plan was quickly conceived.

As the gas was deemed to be toxic, it was decided to leave all the equipment and the drilling rig inside the pit. To stop the gas from spreading, the researchers felt that their best bet would be to set it on fire. They estimated that the fire would burn for a few days, all the while consuming the excess gas in the pit, before dying out by itself. The plan worked, sort of. The gas burned and the poisoning of the atmosphere was prevented. However, instead of burning for only a few days, the fires in the pit kept burning ferociously for more than 40 years, and is still burning today. The name of the local village, 'Darvaza', means door. Visitors to the area linked the name of the village to the hellish appearance of the crater, which is why it has been named so.

Characteristics of the Pit

                                                      
                                                      Door to Hell Crater

The Door to Hell crater is 66 feet deep and 230 feet wide, and one can see the pit spewing out boiling mud, occasionally. The temperature of the pit is usually in excess of 1,000 degree Celsius. This intense heat and light is the reason why large camel spiders are attracted to the Door to Hell in swarms, numbering in the thousands. An arachnophobe's most realistic version of hell.

Pros and Cons of the Crater

The effects of the burning gas have largely been negative. The constantly burning crater releases pungent smelling sulfuric gas, which fouls the air for miles around, making it an unpleasant place to be near. The gas not only smells bad, but it also pollutes the atmosphere by adding vast amounts of greenhouses gases to the air. The flames are so ferocious that the glow from the pit can be seen day and night from many miles away. The ever-burning flames are also consuming a vast amount of precious natural gas, which can be used productively elsewhere.

The only advantage of this place is that, the Door to Hell has become a major tourist attraction for the country. People from around the world brave tough conditions to stand on the edge of the crater and gaze upon the spectacular fires, thereby putting Turkmenistan in the spotlight, and bringing in important foreign revenue for the nation.

Future Plans

In April 2010, orders for extinguishing the fires and sealing the crater were given by the president of Turkmenistan, to stop the pit from removing gas from other drilling sites nearby. However, so far, this task is yet to be completed, due to opposition from the tourism industry. If the fire is not extinguished, the Door to Hell is expected to keep on burning for several decades more. Since the disaster, there has hardly been any exploration, despite the vast natural resources of the country. All exploration projects has been shifted to the Caspian Sea area, and the borders of Iran and Uzbekistan.

Since the Darvaza Gas Crater is unique and brings in tourists, many would like to keep it going for as long as possible. However, the effects of burning the methane gas is much worse than the consequences of other greenhouse gas emissions on global warming. While one must preserve unique and interesting places on our planet, it is much more important to respect the environment. However, the cleanup operation is not going to be easy for a country without financial help or political pressure from the outside.
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Understanding the Theory of Social network..

A Social Network is the construct or structure that exists between interacting individuals or organizations. This article explains the social network theory, which focuses on the nature of these interactions, and their impacts on the involved entities.


"Relationships are all there is. Everything in the universe only exists because it is in relationship to everything else. Nothing exists in isolation. We have to stop to pretend we are individuals that can go it alone."―Margaret Wheatley

 

 

Social networks are the cumulative structures obtained by the interactions between different individuals, groups, and organizations. The interactions between these entities is based on social familiarity, ranging from casual acquaintance, colleague, professional relationship, to close friend, or familial bond. Each person is part of various social groups, which eventually culminate into a network. The interactions between such a network defines the nature of the relationship and the behavior of the involved entities. For the sake of convenience, any interacting entity is called a node, and it may be used to refer to an individual, group, community, or organization. The relationship between any two nodes is called a tie. Therefore, a social network is composed of various nodes connected to each other via ties.

 

 

Apart from the nature of tie or interaction, social network is also influenced by its own size and shape. This implies the strength of the tie between nodes, and the overall number of nodes involved. Smaller networks with strong ties behave distinctly different as compared to large networks with weak ties. Various studies have revealed that, the larger and weak networks are often more beneficial, in the sense, that it affords more opportunities and creative ideas to its members. On the other hand, small and tight networks compensate the lack of creativity by the presence of efficiency, which is the result of shared values, goals, and resources. The study of the dynamics of a social network is called social network analysis (SNA) or social network theory (SNT).

 

 

Social Network Theory
 

▣ This theory originated with Stanley Milgram's small-world experiment, which was aimed at discerning the average number of ties between any two random nodes in a population. To this end, he enlisted random individuals from the American cities of Omaha and Wichita, and charged them the task of sending a letter to a particular individual in Boston. The letters were to be sent in the manner of a chain, i.e., if the random person did not know the recipient in Boston, he/she should send a letter to any acquaintance who was more likely to know the recipient, who would then pass it on to the recipient if they were acquainted, or pass the letter on to someone else who might know the recipient. On analyzing the results of the experiment, Milgram concluded that, in any population, any two random nodes are connected via an average of 6 nodes. These intermediaries are called the degrees of separation. Due to the recent advancement of communication technologies, and the development of social media, the number of intermediates or degree of separation has been reduced to 4. The results of Milgram's experiment are called the 'small world phenomenon'.

 

 

▣ Social network theory involves studying the various social networks in a population, and the way these networks interact with each other. Based on this theory, social networks can be divided into three distinct types:

• Ego-centric Network: All nodes in the network are connected to a central singular node. For example, in a network of all your friends, each friend will be connected to you (central node).

• Socio-centric Network: This consists of two overlapping networks, with at least one node in common. All the nodes are not directly tied to each other, but do not show more than 2 degrees of separation. For example, the social network of an employee combines his/her personal network with his/her social network at the office.

• Open-system Network: Individual networks are not clearly defined, and the involved multiple networks are dynamic. These networks are the most difficult to study. The networks between various corporations of a particular industry, political leaders, etc., are examples of this type, since the ties between nodes are not fixed, but vary according to influences and decisions of the nodes involved.

▣ This segregation of different types of networks helps in understanding and examining the way each node is connected to another, and the nature of the tie between these nodes. A node with many ties would indicate the node to be centrally located in the network, while a node which shows only a few connections would be around the outer edges of the network. An investigation or examination of the connection of each node with other nodes in the network is the basic premise of the social network theory, and can be applied practically for various purposes.

 

 

▣ This theory is often applied by social scientists and other individuals in an attempt to gain a better understanding of the inner workings of a network, in order to achieve a particular goal. Marketing agents study their consumer base and target demographic in order to formulate a marketing strategy for their products. This is nothing but a practical application of the social network theory. The same application can be carried out by job applicants in order to successfully secure a good job, by studying job opportunities and then presenting themselves, their skills, and experience in a favorable manner.

 

 

▣ In case of social media platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn, the theory is applied to allow one to connect to people within one's social network, and then to expand that network by connecting to other related or unrelated individuals or groups. This theory has widespread application, ranging from understanding organizational behavior, employee turnover, to the networks of terrorists. This theory is also used to predict trends in various industries.

 

In conclusion, the theory offers an effective explanation of how people are connected, and how the groups that they belong to interact with each other. It also provides an insight into the prediction of trends and epidemiology of diseases. However, the theory falls short on account of it being unreproducible scientifically. Also, the interpretation of ties between nodes can be subject to the examiners biases, and hence, cannot be an objective representation of the reality.

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Accomplishments of Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa was an Albanian Roman Catholic nun who worked for the deprived lot of society. She devoted her life to the welfare of people and was an advocate of humanity. Read this article to know about the accomplishments of Mother Teresa.

Born in Skopje in today's Macedonia, Mother Teresa was a religious sister and missionary who spent most years of her life in India. She was born on August 26, 1910 and baptized on August 27. Since an early age of 12, she was attracted towards missionary work. At the age of 18, she left home and joined the Sisters of Loreto as a missionary. On May 24, 1931, she took her first religious vows as a nun. She taught at the Loreto convent school in Calcutta (Kolkata) and also served as its headmistress.

Major Accomplishments of

 Mother Teresa
✦ In 1946, Mother Teresa received a divine message, possibly an intuition, after which she decided to devote her life to the betterment of society. In 1948, she started working with the poor. She soon became an Indian citizen and toured to different parts of India to uplift the downtrodden.

✦ In 1950, she was granted permission to establish the diocesan congregation, which would work for those, whom she described as "the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers and all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone". The congregation extended far and came to be known as the 'Missionaries of Charity', one of the very big organizations with centers all around the world.

✦ In 1952, she founded the first Home for the Dying in India. Later, she converted an unused Hindu temple into the Kalighat Home for the Dying. People from all religions were accepted into Kalighat, where they would receive medical attention and care. She soon opened a home for lepers in Shanti Nagar. In 1955, Mother Teresa went on to open the Nirmala Shishu Bhavan, a home for the orphaned and homeless children.

✦ The Missionaries of Charity established by Mother Teresa grew to reach different parts of India. It opened several orphanages and leper houses across India, and later, in different parts of the world. The first house of the Missionaries of Charity that was established outside India was the one in Venezuela, which was opened in 1965. By 2007, the Missionaries of Charity had established 600 missions, schools, and homes in 120 nations and had thousands of nuns working for it.

✦ In 1962, Mother Teresa was awarded the Padma Shri, followed by the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding in 1972 and the Bharat Ratna in 1980.

✦ She was honored with the Philippines-based Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding in 1962.

✦ In 1971, she received the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize from Pope Paul VI.

✦ She was honored with the Pacem in Terris Award in 1976.

✦ In 1996, she received the honorary citizenship of the United States of America.

✦ For her struggle to overcome poverty and remove the sorrow and suffering from society, she was awarded the Noble Peace Prize. She selflessly donated an amount of $192,000 to India to be used for the uplifting of the poor in the country. According to her, rewards were important only if they would help her work for the helpless.

✦ 18 times during her life, the yearly Gallup's most admired man and woman poll named her as one of the ten women around the world that Americans admired most.

✦ In 1999, she topped the Gallup's List of Most Widely Admired People of the 20th Century.

✦ She was beatified in 2003. On beatification, she earned the title blessed, and came to be known as the Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.

✦ October 19, observed as Mother Teresa Day, is a public holiday in Albania.

✦ Memorial House of Mother Teresa was opened in 2009 in Skopje, Macedonia.

✦ Many universities and educational institutes in India have been named after her.

✦ On August 26, 2010, Indian Railways launched a train called "Mother Express" to commemorate her.

✦ In 2013, the United Nations General Assembly declared September 5 as the International Day of Charity to honor Mother Teresa.

Mother Teresa left for heavenly abode on September 5, 1997. She has always proved to be an epitome of humanity and continues to be admired by people the world over.

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Brief History of Laissez-Faire Capitalism

Did You Know

Physiocracy

One of the first well-developed theories of economics, physiocracy, believed that all the wealth of nations came from 'land agriculture'. 18th century physiocrats proclaimed the idea of laissez-faire capitalism.

Legend has it that French minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert, a mercantilist, on asking French businessmen about how the French state could help their trade, got the answer 'Laissez-nous faire' from a merchant named M. Le Gendre. It meant 'let us be'.

The literal translation of the original French term 'laissez-faire' is 'let it/them do' or 'allow to do'. It is taken as 'let it be', or interpreted as letting things stay as they are. Therefore, laissez-faire is also known as free-trade, free-market capitalism, non-intervention, or simply non-interference of the government.

What is Laissez-faire Capitalism?
Laissez-faire indicates an economic system where individuals are free from government regulations, tariffs, or subsidies, and can carry out independent trade. Private industrial ownership is another way to describe such an economy. Capitalism is also defined as one economic system where industry is privately owned, without any government interference. So, both the terms 'laissez-faire' and 'capitalism' indicate that the market (or even the society) is left alone to conduct all economic activities by itself. This system basically separates the spheres of economy and state (or government).

History of Laissez-faire Capitalism
French physiocrat Vincent de Gournay is believed to have made the term 'laissez-faire' popular. He is said to have adopted it from the writings of François Quesnay on China. The Chinese term 'wu wei', meaning 'non-action' or 'without-action', is the reason behind the coining of this French term by Quesnay.

Physiocrats (France)
Laissez-faire capitalism can be viewed in complete contrast with the former economic system of 'mercantilism' in Europe. Physiocrats (believing in the natural order, and that wealth accrued only from land agriculture) were most active between 1756 and 1778. These physiocrats opposed mercantilist regulation policies of France. They maintained that individuals given liberty to work on their selfish interests leads to the common good, and thus upheld the principle of 'natural order'. For this free action to become successful, they insisted upon no intervention by the government, also denying any aid from the state. The physiocrats demanded abolishing of all trade barriers (which they called artificial) and all restrictive laws.

Classical Economics (Britain)
Physiocratic literature spread to other nations besides France, especially to Britain. The concept of laissez-faire capitalism received good support within classical economics. The classical economics era―late 18th and early 19th century―is identified with economists like Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, Jean-Baptiste Say, and David Ricardo. Classical economics states that, market forces work the best without government intervention. The concept of 'the invisible hand' given by Adam Smith is thus seen as closely related to the idea of laissez-faire; also regarded to be one and the same by some. Doing away with the laws constraining the market forces was advocated by classical economists, but they never used the term laissez-faire.

John Stuart Mill, in his 'Principles of Political Economy' (1848), advanced the laissez-faire philosophy, from where it gained popularity. He argued for and against government's activity in the economy. The Economist, a British newspaper started in 1843, was a potent voice of laissez-faire capitalism in Europe. The Economist was founded to further the repeal of the 'Corn Laws', or the laws protecting landowners' interests, levying taxes on imported wheat, thus resulting in high prices of bread. "It is no man's business to provide for another", is what James Wilson said while referring to the ongoing Ireland famine, when laissez-faire pleaders were against food aid during famines.

Laissez-faire Capitalism During the Gilded Age (U.S.A.)
Herbert Spencer's 'Social Theory of Evolution', or what is commonly called 'Social Darwinism', was understood to justify laissez-faire capitalism. This theory served as its base in the United States. According to Spencer, most taxes were like confiscation of wealth. He believed national defense and protection of private property to be the only purposes of government. Spencer opposed public school system, laws regarding health, housing, and aid to the poor.

The Gilded Age refers to the period from around 1860s to 1900. Along with free-trade, this period saw a rapid growth of industrialization in the US. There was no income tax levied on the huge profits made by owners of industries. Non-interference by government and competition in business led to monopolies, compromising the aspect of 'fair' trade. Wages and working conditions of the laborers were also not regulated. Just like there was an immense economic growth, there were depressions too, which resulted in pay cuts and unemployment. Workers' strikes and labor unions proved unsuccessful, also partly because the Supreme Court supported the system of laissez-faire. Therefore, many laws trying to regulate certain things like wages or working conditions were struck down as unconstitutional.

Although once a powerful thought of economic policy, laissez-faire capitalism is not to be found in its pure form in any economy. It is difficult to 'leave everything to market forces', and not expect a situation of anarchy. Government intervention, either in the form of aid or legal restrictions, has proved to be a significant part of any economic organization. Which is why, a 'mixed economy', combining both liberal and welfare elements proves to be a better form.

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