ipl-logo

Rhetorical Analysis Of 'Why Capitalism Is Awesome'

723 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Compare Between Socialism And Capitalism

Rhetorical Analysis of Why Capitalism is Awesome
Michael Christopher Davis
R_C2001 410 (Honors)
Assignment Two- Draft 1
Appalachian State University
3/14/2018

Author Note Michael Christopher Davis, Department of Government and Justice Studies, Appalachian State University.
Michael Davis, Department of English, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, 28608.
This research was not supported by a grant
Correspondence concerning this paper should be addressed to Michael Davis, Department of English, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, 28608. Contact: davismc@appstate.edu

Abstract This paper includes a rhetorical analysis of “Why Capitalism is Awesome” written by Chris Berg (2013). This paper discusses Berg’s (2013) utilization …show more content…

The article discusses an issue that has become quite controversial in modern American politics: capitalism. In his praise of capitalism, Berg (2013) mentions the efficiency and innovation that free markets create and argues that a government cannot replicate the results of a market economy effectively. Summarizing his argument, Berg (2013) writes, “the genius of capitalism is found in the tiny things- the things that nobody notices.” Berg (2013) employed certain rhetorical appeals such as ethos and logos and writing strategies, like allusions and anecdotal-like stories of how certain products have evolved, effectively to persuade and inform readers regarding the benefits of …show more content…

Discussing the bookshelf, Berg (2013) tells the story of the item’s evolution over time to praise two other beneficial elements of capitalism: specialization and low prices. Berg also surprises readers with his complex analysis of pizza from every different scenario to reinforce that every item has a sophisticated production process that is constantly incrementally improving, and this process is a key component of capitalism that many ignore.
CONCLUSION
This article included a rhetorical analysis of “Why Capitalism is Awesome” by Chris Berg (2013). Using allusions and anecdotes, utilizing ethos through references to respected economic figures, and incorporating logos via deductive reasoning, Berg (2013) effectively conveys his argument to the reader that capitalism is a superior economic system.
References
BERG, C. (2013). Why Capitalism Is Awesome. (cover story). CATO Policy Report, 35(4),

Show More
Related
802 Words | 4 Pages

Rhetorical Analysis: Beccaro vs. Moyo Economic growth in the United States has been going up and down over the last decade. The estimated growth for the fourth-quarter of 2015 was 1.4%. Economists, Thomas Del Beccaro and Dambisa Moyo, presented their solutions on how to fix and limit the America’s stagnating economy. Beccaro’s article, “The Key to Avoiding Our Looming Class Warfare”, was exceptionally better than Moyo’s speech, “Economic Growth has Stalled. Let’s

Read More
713 Words | 3 Pages

Phelps suggests, “First, students love it... even undergraduates who consider history “boring” respond to The Jungle” (2). The incredible detail of the events that occurs at the meatpacking industry that Sinclair uses in this novel has made even uninterested students interested. Sinclair criticizes the unfairness of capitalism as well. Phelps comments, “The objective was to break the unions, drive down wages, and speed up processing” (2). The purpose of capitalism was to allow the upper class to remain in power, such as Connor and Scully, while restricting the working class, such as Jurgis and Ona, from obtaining enough money to support their families.

Read More
1415 Words | 6 Pages

An unemployed millennial joins his fellow comrades, creating an army whose mission is to march to Wall Street, the pit of corporate greed. The army is equipped with picket fences and posters, and is ready to fight in order to seize what is rightfully theirs. They fight, and as the war they wage is continuing strong, those on the sidelines observe that the eternal struggle, the one marked with social media activism that has created an entire movement to Occupy Wall Street has changed absolutely nothing. Occupy Wall Street was an example of social media activism that demonstrates social media alone cannot change challenging problems, and confirms Malcolm Gladwell’s argument about the ineffectiveness of social media activism in affecting legitimate

Read More
898 Words | 4 Pages

A capitalist society encourages exploitation of workers through consumerism. This can be observed in Mardi Gras: Made in China (2005) by recognizing how use-value, exchange-value and surplus-value in our society promotes exploitation. The documentary provides insight that the usefulness of a thing, or the use-value, is often disregarded when people purchase commodities to keep up with trends rather than for its use. Exchange-value exists within capitalism, where consumers are not as interested at an item’s usefulness. Rather, they are more interested in its monetary value and what they can obtain in exchange for the

Read More
1375 Words | 6 Pages

“Civil Disobedience” is an essay written by Henry David Thoreau about people needing to put their conscience ahead of the government rulings by criticizing American policies and beliefs. He expresses his opinion of a “government is best which governs least” (Thoreau 305) by heavily supporting his topic and by using rhetorical techniques. Rhetorical devices are used in papers for the writer to better persuade the audience or to better understand the topic they are writing about; they can also be used to play with the reader’s emotions. The rhetorical devices that have the most impact on the reader in Thoreau’s essay are allusions, rhetorical questions, pathos, imagery, and chronological narrative.

Read More
196 Words | 1 Pages

Robert Samuelson regards his opinions very highly and lets them interfere with his message. Certain diction like “Exxon Mobil is to engage in political make-believe,” illustrates this concept. A common occurrence is presenting opinions as facts yet providing negligible support. In the article entitled, “Are We No. 1? It Depends,” which highlights America’s downfalls economically, socially, and politically, dearth of evidence to support his claims is prevalent.

Read More
434 Words | 2 Pages

In Jeffrey Kluger, Alex Aciman, and Katy Steinmetz’s article, “The Happiness of Pursuit,” several rhetorical strategies make their argument persuasive for their intended audience. The first technique they employ is clear structure in organizing their piece. In the beginning Kluger, Aciman, and Steinmetz use a hook detailing a historical funnel that paints a picture of how many things in America have risen out of difficulty. Specifically they state, “We created outrageous things just because we could--the Hoover Dam, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Empire State Building, which started to rise the year after the stock market crashed, because what better way to respond to a global economic crisis than to build the world 's tallest skyscraper?” (Kluger,

Read More
877 Words | 4 Pages

In “From the Frying Pan into the Fire”, Arlie Russell Hochschild stated, “Capitalism is not, then, simply a system in the service of the family and community; it competes with the family” (188). People struggle using the capitalism system to balance time between family and work, because time is limited and people do not want to waste it living in someone else’s life. This can make capitalism to be somewhat ‘selfish’, because it focuses to how oneself’s own happiness and successfulness comes first; similar to how in “Strange Creatures”, Susan Blackmore describes memes to be ‘selfish’, since their sole purpose is to be copied, spread, and to be successful without a care on how it will affect us. There is other instances that capitalism and memes are further continued on to be compared in their similarities, one being how capitalism spreads similar to how memes spreads. To illustrate, capitalism

Read More
201 Words | 1 Pages

What is Bolster’s opinion of capitalism? Did anything surprise you about Bolster’s discuss on regulation? What is government’s role in the story? The Bancroft Prize is awarded each year by the trustees of Columbia University for books about

Read More
305 Words | 2 Pages

Capitalism is depicted in the story as the suffering and inequality Bartleby went through due to his nature after being laid off. He was laid off of his previous job and was also “fired” by the lawyer because he no longer had worth to the company. Capitalism is depicted negatively as a factor that oppresses an individual in the workforce. The underclass in the story is Bartleby all of the Lawyer’s employees.

Read More
1078 Words | 5 Pages

Area of Conflict Homelessness can be understood in the perspective of conflict theory, which holds that capitalism is one the main reason for homelessness. “Capitalism is a social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned” (Ayn Rand). There are many reasons why a person becomes homeless, an increasing number become homeless each year, with up to 5,000 people becoming homeless every year. Generally the experiences that lead to homelessness are determined by poverty and structural inequality.

Read More
1273 Words | 6 Pages

Near the beginning of his renowned essay, "Civil Disobedience," Henry David Thoreau appeals to his fellow citizens when he says, "...I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government. " This request serves as a starting point from which the rest of "Civil Disobedience" emerges. Thoreau 's essay is particularly compelling because of its incorporation of rhetorical strategies, including the use of logos, ethos, pathos, purposive discourse, rhetorical competence and identification. I will demonstrate how each of these rhetorical techniques benefit Thoreau 's persuasive argument. Thoreau uses logos throughout his essay to strengthen his argument with reasoning.

Read More
885 Words | 4 Pages

Even though Arthur was completely against it Norma pressed the button. Call it bravery or foolishness, to Norma the reward was deemed greater than the risk. Unfortunately, that day the risk cost her more than fifty thousand dollars, it cost her husband. This characterizes capitalism in many ways, but most of all it

Read More
1584 Words | 7 Pages

This sociological study will analyze the problem of commodity fetishism in American consumer culture. Karl Marx’s theory of commodity fetishism is a major problem in the United States due to the inability of consumers to see the intrinsic value of a commodity. American consumer culture tends to become trapped in the “magical qualities” of a product, which makes them unable to understand the object as it was made by a laborer. This abstraction of the commodity is part of Marx’s analysis of capitalist products that is separated from the labor and become valuable objects in and of themselves. This is an important sociological perspective on commodities, which creates an irrational consumer culture in the American marketplace.

Read More
846 Words | 4 Pages

Capitalism is understood to be the “economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.” In modern society, capitalism has become the dominant economic system and has become so integrated that it has resulted in a change in the relationships individuals have with other members of society and the materials within society. As a society, we have become alienated from other members of society and the materials that have become necessary to regulate ourselves within it, often materials that we ourselves, play a role in producing. Capitalism has resulted in a re-organization of societies, a more specialized and highly segmented division of labour one which maintains the status quo in society by alienating the individual. Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim theorize on how power is embodied within society and how it affects the individuals of society.

Read More

More about Rhetorical Analysis Of 'Why Capitalism Is Awesome'

Related Topics

Open Document