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SOSC 1520 – winter-term lectures on research skills

Abstracts, introductions & conclusions

EXAMPLE I: abstract

Annamaria Artner (2018). "Can capitalism be truly democratic?" Review of Radical Political Economics 50 (4), pp. 793-809.

Notice that I have indented the abstract to indicate that I am quoting directly (see my lecture on academic integrity and indenting long quotations). Please read the example before I make some remarks about it.

This article re-examines the relationship between liberal democracy and the free market with special regard to changes caused by globalization. It concludes that the logic of market mechanisms poses a threat to democracy, while the extension of democracy would inevitably limit the freedom of the market and curb capital accumulation. The globalized free market and liberal democracy contradict each other, and their tandem may be the most developed form of capitalism, but not of human society in general (79 words).

EXAMPLE II: Beginning of introduction

Title of research paper: Is global capitalism compatible with democracy?

Whether democracy and capitalism go hand-in-hand or stand in contradiction to one another is an old question which has become an increasingly pressing in the age of globalization. While democracy has remained largely national or sub-national in scope, capitalism is a global phenomenon. Can our current democratic institutions regulate global capitalism adequately?

EXAMPLE III: statement of thesis in introduction

In this paper, I argue that global capitalism should be controlled by binding regulations between democratically-elected governments.

EXAMPLE IIIA: statement of thesis in introduction

In this paper, I argue that pressure placed on democratically-elected governments by multinational corporations (MNCs) prevents governments from carrying out the will of its people as expressed in democratic elections. I demonstrate this through an examination of environmental policy in Argentina which reveals the incompatibility between democracy and capitalism.

EXAMPLE IV: roadmap

In section one, I review arguments which hold that global capitalism has led to a “race to the bottom”, whereby, in response to the demands of MNCs, governments are unable to enact policies demanded by the electorate without the threat of capital outflow. Section two offers an example from environmental policy in Argentina which has faced pressure from MNCs to clear forests to make way for international cattle-ranching operations despite overwhelming public support for the protection of forests. I show how MNCs have systematically undermined democratic environmental policy through the use of threats, bribes and coercion. Section three concludes the paper with ideas for future research on the topic of this essay.

EXAMPLE V: COMPLETE INTRODUCTION

Whether democracy and capitalism go hand-in-hand or stand in contradiction to one another is an old question which has become an increasingly pressing in the age of globalization. While democracy has remained largely national or sub-national in scope, capitalism is a global phenomenon. Can our current democratic institutions regulate global capitalism adequately? In this paper, I argue that pressure placed on democratically-elected governments by multinational corporations (MNCs) prevents governments from carrying out the will of its people as expressed in democratic elections. I demonstrate this through an examination of environmental policy in Argentina which reveals the incompatibility between democracy and capitalism.

In section one, I review arguments which hold that global capitalism has led to a “race to the bottom”, whereby, in response to the demands of MNCs, governments are unable to enact policies demanded by the electorate without the threat of capital outflow. Section two offers an example from environmental policy in Argentina which has faced pressure from MNCs to clear forests to make way for international cattle-ranching operations despite overwhelming public support for the protection of forests. I show how MNCs have systematically undermined democratic environmental policy through the use of threats, bribes and coercion. Section three concludes the paper with ideas for future research on the topic of this essay.

EXAMPLE VI: CONCLUSION

This paper has argued that there is a contradiction between global capitalism and democracy. I demonstrated this contradiction through an analysis of the influence of MNCs on environmental policy in Argentina. I found that MNCs put pressure on the Argentinian government in an effort to prevent policies which restrict land use and private ownership of forest land. This corporate pressure persuaded the government not to enact environmental legislation which was demanded by the electorate; consequently, foreign-run cattle-ranching operations have flourished in Argentina at the expense of forestry conservation.

EXAMPLE VII: CONCLUSION (continued)

The findings of this paper should disturb anyone who values democracy. If foreign corporations can influence the legislation of democratically-elected governments and undermine the will of citizens, it is clear that such corporations have too much power and exercise it illegitimately. Most concerning is that, as in Argentina, the preservation of forests is becoming increasingly difficult in light of corporate demands for the privatization of land and the consequent deforestation which privatization involves. It appears that a pressing human need for environmental protection is being thwarted by corporate interests. In light of this, greater governmental control over corporations is needed, not only at existing levels of government but, more importantly, through multilateral agreements amongst governments.