[YB-2]7月6日7日作业 by sunxcint

sunxcintUID: 2654472

17&Issue 8.  “  It is often necessary, even desirable, for political leaders to withhold information from the public.”

• 在民主社会，民众有知情权，信息尽可能公开是必然要求；不公开会引起更多的猜测和scandal，引起社会动荡，举例子：美国在古巴的秘密监狱
• 信息很多量大，不可能公开全部信息，只能公布重要信息；政治是很复杂和微妙的事情，涉及很多方的利益和公众的福祉（welfare），
• 信息公开需要选择场合和时机，因此有些信息要延迟公开（先经过专家的论证，例如统计数据，经济数据），有些信息永远不能公开
• 还有一种情况不能公开的信息就是涉及政治家本身的dirty dealer的信息

In today's world, people place high value on right to know and information opening has been the basic requirement for the public. Political leaders who is hesitating to tell the truth to the public  will be blamed by the every aspects of the society. I argue that it is natural and necessary to respect the public right to know and try not to withhold information. However, when it comes to the situation where the opening of certain information would violate the interest of the public, the authority must be very careful to decide whether to do so. Besides, there is a kind of information which a politician , if involved, might be unwilling to conceal most－the information involving personal dirty deals of a politician.   

In this informational society, information has become more significant than any other period in history. To some extent, the information means opportunity, money and even life.  Thus, it seems even necessary for a political leaders to tell their voters what they are doing and accept the public supervisions. Anyone withholding information that should have been opened would be just seeking more trouble and scandals for itself. Consider, for example the former President Bush who tried to conceal the information about the American prison in Cuba. The consequence is that the journalists soon uncovered the existing of the prison and the abuses happened in it, which undermined the authority of the government and the image of Bush as an anti-terrorist      
fighters.

However, the amount of political information in this information explosive ages is so great that it is impractical and unnecessary to open up all of it to the public.  Meanwhile, politics , which involves many interest groups and public welfare , is such a complex and sophisticated practice that it will be irresponsible for a political leader to tell the truth without concerning about time and occasion. For instance , there exists some sensible statistics such as certain economic data which, to avoid unnecessary instabilities in society, will be delayed to release. Beside, the kind of information involving the national security and secret might not be public forever.CIA was and will always be a mysterious agency for the public. The speeches of military leader in the public are always so laconic and limited  as if speaking another more minute, crucial secrete would be  uncovered.

The final, also the dangerous, kind of information that might be withheld is the politician personal dirty deal information. While the leaders who withhold the information for the behalf of the public may be respectable, this kind of information concealing is especially shaming. Nevertheless, those leaders not only will be morally doubtful but also might pay for his commitment one day. For instance ,the flagrant former Taiwan leader Abian is just this kind of person. He tried to hide his serious malfeasance in his presidency and was arrested soon after retiring. Now more and more dirty dealer committed by him is uncovered  and he himself was put into prison.

In sum, the right to know is one of the fundamental privilege for the public. Thus, leaders are obligatory to tell  the truth to the public in the right occasion. Sometimes it is desirable for one leader to conceal certain information as long as his motivation to do so is not so evil.


ISSUE 14
This memo concludes that by greatly expanding the variety of vegetable seeds can increase the business profits. To justify this conclusion the memo first tells us a evidence that growing vegetables is becoming more and more popular among consumers. Also, the memo points out that a survey of last month indicated the satisfaction of consumers with the quality of fresh vegetables in supermarkets and a local magazine has sold out at the Village News stand three months in a row.  However, the memo's argument is problematic in several critical respects.

To begin with,  the memo's conclusion relies on the evidence that more and more consumers are interested in growing their own vegetables. Let alone that the fact that the author does not tell us the source of it undermines its credence. The memo does not explain us the fitting area of this conclusion. The popularity of growing vegetables has spread to the whole country or just this area and how many consumers has begun to grow vegetables in the leading of the interest.  

Secondly, the argument relies on the conclusion of a national survey that many consumers' satisfaction with the quality of fresh vegetables of supermarkets. First, the author  depends on the assumption that  the national survey also reflects the situation of  the area that this small business involves. Even if  it is the case , consumers might find other solutions to obtain vegetables, rather than grow their own vegetables. For example, they could go to a farm and buy vegetables directly from there.

Third, the fact of the continuous selling out of the magazine in the Village News can not prove that more and more consumers in the area where the business is managing- suburbs- are willing to grow their own vegetables. First, the characteristics of consumers in suburb and village is different. Thus, from this we can not reason that the suburb consumers also like to read this book. Besides, the popularity of reading magazine also can not indicate that consumers will grow vegetables themselves. Maybe they just want to get the knowledge about how to select vegetables in the store.

Finally, I have to doubt practical effect of the suggestion that the memo should  stock more varieties of vegetable seeds even if more and more consumers will grow vegetables themselves. The reasonable solution is to make the decision of how to do after some research on the real local preferences on the vegetables.

In conclusion, the owner's argument is unpersuasive. We can not draw the conclusion that  consumers locally really will grow vegetables themselves. The owner may provide some convincing evidence that consumers locally is dissatisfied with the vegetables in the market and there are no other sources of vegetables in this area. To better evaluate the argument we would need more information about the reason why the Village News stand has sold out the gardening magazine Great Gardens.

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