Athenian Democracy and Meritocracy

Athenian Democracy and Meritocracy To what extent did the Athenian democracy live up to its ideology of being a meritocracy, and to what extent was power still in the hands of the wealthy? Athenian democracy was an evolving process in the 5 th century B.C. The concentration of power in the political establishment would change considerably from when the first seeds were planted until the voting citizenship was expanded and new leaders emerged towards the end of the century. Democracy was not instituted in the name of human rights but for pragmatic purposes and it is necessary that we look at it in this light when considering whether Athens was a meritocracy and whether the wealthy still held considerable power in Democratic Athens. It is certainly true that Athenian Democracy, like all systems, on paper differed considerably to how it was implemented. In this essay I will argue that Athenian Democracy was largely successful in implementing a state democracy in which, to a large extent, there were no obvious discrepan cies over who was favoured in matters of society and the state. I will show that the Athenian constitution largely kept the city as a meritocracy, making its citizens equal before the state in matters of legality and political power. However, I will also consider the limitations of Athenian Democracy and to what extent certain functions may have limited its success. I will argue that the power of the wealthy was in most respects limited by the structure of the state but was held back to some extent by the inevitable advantages that come from wealth. I will mainly be arguing that whatever limitations there were, they were not enough to have a damaging effect on democracy as a whole. The Athenian Democracy allowed that only adult males of Athenian ancestry were part of the democratic system, which overall made up around 10-20% of the demos. Slaves, freed slaves, children, women and metics (foreigners in Athens) were excluded. It is obvious from this that to label Athens as a meritoc racy in the modern sense is absurd. In this essay, I will consider Athens as a meritocracy in terms of the rights and opportunities of those who are citizens, not from those who aren’t and will therefore consider to what extent Athenian Democracy worked the way it was supposed to. The wealthy did not hold power to the extent that it harmed the democratic process. The wealthy certainly did have many advantages compared to the poor, but this is not necessarily any comment upon Athenian democracy simply an inevitability that those with wealth will be able to achieve more than those without. The wealthy had power but not to an extent that was greatly damaging to the state. When defining wealth, I will consider Aristotle’s definition as including money, land, real estate, furniture, livestock and a high quality and quantity of slaves (Rhet. 1361a12-16). There was most definitely a significant wealth inequality amongst Athens’s citizens whereby the leisure class (thos e who didn’t need to work as a result of family fortunes, nobility etc.) made up roughly 5-10% of the populace. This class barrier was certainly realised by the lower classes who often showed their resentment at the wealthy. However despite this inequality, they did not see this as particularly affecting when it came down to the political and legal powers of the people, as this inequality was grudgingly accepted. Wealth discrepancies were not seen as unjust as potential legal or political barriers that may have affected the citizens. (see Ober ch.5)

Manipulating Data Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Manipulating Data - Essay Example It is the result of an old code that is modified over the years plenty of times. Another aspect is that changing one part of the code would have unpredictable effects on all the other parts of the program, just as a bowl of spaghetti where pulling one can affect all the other strands. Thus the complex structure is named after spaghetti. Spaghetti code is caused mainly by inexperienced programmers following their mandates and creating a complex program which is being modified by several other people previously. Structured programming however decreases the chance of spaghetti code (Dixit, 2007, p. 92). The structured programming was a method formed in 1966 as a logical programming method which is a precursor to the object-oriented programming. This programming method is aimed to improve the quality, clarity, and development time of computer programs through the extensive use of block structures and subroutines instead of simple tests such as GOTO statements resulting in spaghetti code which makes it difficult to maintain and follow (Agarwal, 2009, p. 253). Modular programming has been functioning since the 1970s as a technique which subdivides a computer program in various other sub-programs. It separates the computer programs into individual and independent modules. It is a separate software component which is used with many other applications and functions in the system. The functions which are similar are grouped together while the separate functions are grouped as separate units. Object-oriented programming can be used with modular programming as it allows multiple programmers to work on divided programs independently (Mitchell, 2003, p. 239). Object-oriented programming is the method which is most commonly used today. It provides a programming model based on objects as it integrates the code and data by using objects. An object can be the abstract data type which has a state and behavior both. These objects can also be like real

In Favor of the Protect Life Act Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

In Favor of the Protect Life Act - Research Paper Example The litmus test for any efficient law is that it creates a favorable and just society, while leading to a minimal wastage of the tax payers’ money. After seriously deliberating and pondering on the varied aspects of law, American values and the available statistics, I have decided to emphatically support the Protect Life Act. I strongly and reasonably believe that the American tax payers’ money should not be wasted on facilitating, funding and allowing abortions. It is not only contrary the time tested Western ethics, but also does not make a sound economic sense. Many people are perhaps simply not aware of the fact that abortion currently qualifies to be labeled a gargantuan problem for our society that is undermining its values and economy. Every year, 42 million abortions take place in the United States of America. This roughly amounts to a horrendous 115,000 abortions per day. Things will get clearer if one takes into consideration as to whom the people are having t hese abortions. 52 percent of the women resorting to abortions happen to be less than 25 years of age. (The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform: Online)). Moreover, of these, 20 percent happen to be teenagers (The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform: Online). Also, out of all the abortions conducted every year, only 1 percent are performed on women who are victims of incest or rape, and a mere 6 percent of these abortions are performed for reasons classified as potential health risks to the mother or the child (The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform: Online). Astonishingly, 93 percent of the abortions are carried on for social or personal reasons ((The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform: Online). The American society and the American tax payer certainly have ample responsibilities towards people facing health risks and those who are the victims of crime and abuse. But, going by the mentioned statistics, why should the American public be wasting its hard earned money on supporting the abortions of people who simply get carried away by the recreational aspects of their love life, without giving a serious thought to the possible outcomes of their irresponsible attitude. I am no way against unmarried people engaging in sex, and am all in favor of sex education. Yet, I also hold that as people are responsible for the consequences of their career decisions, financial decisions, they are also as much responsible for the outcomes of their coital decisions and choices. Hence, it is they who should be bearing the cost of their irresponsible acts and not the American tax payer. The other thing that needs to be taken into consideration is that is abortion simply a problem or also a symptom of a bigger problem existing in our economic system? Again, it would be realistic and pragmatic to resort to the available and credible statistics. Almost, 29 percent of the abortions are availed by women whose family income stands to be less than $ 15,000 (The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform: Online). 19.5 pe rcent of the abortions are performed on women whose family income is between $ 15,000 and $ 29,999 (The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform: Online). In the case of women whose family income is more than $ 60,000, a mere 13.8 percent of the ab

Beautyism in the Workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Beautyism in the Workplace - Essay Example The phenomenon thrives on the assumption that the physical appeal of a candidate supersedes knowledge, value and anything personable. It has become a socially accepted behavior that now defines subsequent human resource department processes such as performance appraisal and promotions. Potential Discriminatory Effects of Beautyism on Hiring In WorkplaceBeautyism reduces the job opportunities for certain individuals in the workplace (Gilliland, Steiner & Skarlicki, 2007). The hiring standards are based on the physical attraction of a person other than the qualifications they have for the job. Consequently, the diversity of the workplace becomes upset because the hiring process is limits the pool of the prospective candidates who might have qualified for the job. Individuals who are physically attractive enjoy more job prospects because they are assumed to be intelligent and successful at the expense of the unattractive lot.   A person loses out on a job because he or she did not imp ress the hiring managers. The process becomes the highest order of injustice. Beautyism results to gender-based discrimination in the workplace. There are departments that prefer a particular gender to assume roles and responsibilities (York, Tyler, Tyler & Gugel, 2008). For example, public relations, marketing and reception departments base their prospective candidacy on physical attractive. The departments prefer female candidates over male because the female lot is presentable to the clientele than the male.

Racial inequality and treatment

Racial inequality and treatment Introduction It goes without saying that education equality has always been one of the most important questions in Afro-American struggle for equality. It is essential that the Southern states has always been the stronghold of racial inequality and treatment to the Afro- Americans was worse than anyone else is one the most important places in the struggle for equal education. This paper would examine the endless struggle of the black minority in St. Louis for getting the equal education, as good as the white majority gets. The analysis of the struggle for the primary civil rights of the Afro-American nation would help to realize how important was reaching educational equality in the area where the blacks were always considered to be unequal members of the society, who does not have right for the equal jobs, rights and education as well. This struggle for the equal education would be the best illustration for the further generations and help them to understand what a difficult way. â€Å"What hap pens inside the classroom is only a small part of education. What, where, and how students learn is a function of the organization of the school system, prevailing theories about learning, local political pressures, and, of course, financial realities. The history of education in St. Louis is little different than that of most American cities, in that it forms another framework through which to view the communitys past† (St. Lois Government, 1996). The aim of this essay to reveal the difficulties the black minority met while fighting for the equality in the educational sphere St. Louis. The beginning of the struggle for equal education of Afro-Americans It is a well known fact that even in the 20th century it could be hardly spoken about equal rights for the backs and the whites in the educational sphere and Southern states of the U.S. The education of the black minorities, if it is was possible, was separated from the white children and it goes without saying there was no even slight mention about the equal educational facilities: â€Å"Schools were segregated by race. Churches operated the first schools for African-American children until 1847, when Missouri law forbade teaching African-Americans to read and write. First Baptist Church pastor John Berry Meachum responded by opening the â€Å"Freedom School† on a barge in the Mississippi River, which was federally owned, and thus beyond the reach of state law† (St. Lois Government, 1996). The segregated schools became legal in 1896 by the United States Supreme Court (Plessy v. Ferguson case). Back and white children in St. Louis studied separately for more than 50 yea rs and only after the World War II the first steps towards the desegregation were made. The black children were mistreated at school as were as well their parents at work and what is the most poor in this case that it was legally supported over the whole country: â€Å"Giving the power of law to the separate-but-equal doctrine, school systems nationally kept black and white children apart. The problem was that separate wasnt equal† (St. Lois Government, 1996). Hence after the war the civil rights movement was developing quite quickly. Afro-Americand understood that they could not live under the white oppression and the most burning area were Southern States of the United States. : â€Å"In its landmark Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision in 1954, the court reversed itself, saying that separate education was, by definition, unequal. Amidst a rising tide of social awareness about racial equality, Catholic schools in St. Louis had already figured this out, desegregat ing the Archdiocese system in 1948. The Brown decision did bring about one immediate change in St. Louis education† (St. Lois Government, 1996). The first step towards the changes which were so much needed was made. It goes without saying that the whole system needed desegregation as equality of education is one of the primary rights of the person. It is essential that representatives of the Afro-American nation were seeking for the equal education and equal work facilities with the whites. They were not intended to yield the places in public transport to the whites and were intended to provide for their children equal with the whites education. The schools were poorly equipped compared to the white communities schools: â€Å"East St. Louis Senior High School, whose biology lab has no laboratory tables or usable dissecting kits, with nearby suburban schools where children enjoy a computer hookup to Dow Jones to study stock transactions and science laboratories that rival thos e in some industries† (Linda Darling-Hammond, 2010). The primary equipment needs in the schools of racial minorities were still severely violated and it is not surprising that the educational level of the black children was significantly lower that the white ones and they could not get equal job and get equal income in future. The problem was really burning and it got to be solved, either by the local government or by Afro-American community itself. As it usually happens the problem solution was found by the the black themselves. It is a well known fact that one of the most significant problems in segregated schools was teaching. The white teachers did not appreciate teaching of the black children that the Afro-American community of St. Louis was eager to train black teachers themselves to raise the quality of the black teachers and the level of the black children education: â€Å"Stowe Teachers College evolved out of the Sumner High School program to train black school teach ers since 1890. But Brown v. Topeka Board didnt fully address the issue of de facto segregation brought on by housing patterns. Blacks were relegated to their own city neighborhoods, where their children attended neighborhood schools. When housing is segregated, so too are the schools. Funding, and therefore educational quality, receded during the 1950s and 1960s as well. What had once been one of the best public school systems in the United States had plummeted. Black students especially suffered as public schools declined in a core city with a disproportionately high African-American population. Three in four students in the St. Louis Public Schools were black in 1980, while more than two in five white youngsters attended school outside the system. Public education in St. Louis came under court supervision in 1980, with the goal of desegregating St. Louis Public Schools† (St. Lois Government, 1996). More than hundred years have passed after declining of slavery and starting of the fight for the equal rights of Afro-Americans with the white majority, when in St. Louis the desegregation program started. It is not surprising that being separated from the equal education from the very beginning the Black Minority did not chanced to protect themselves and seek for the better future. Low rating of the Afro-American schools and their segregation from the white children also had a significant impact on the crime rate in the region, the level of unemployment among the Afro-Americans and other significant factors that form the whole economical vision of the city. Such a poor treatment and late start of desegregation program negatively influenced St. Louis as resort area and economical center of the region as desegregation program was not started earlier, but only in the late 20th century. The following chapter would reveal how desegregation program was started and what were the results of it. St. Lois. Desegregation program of primary and secondary educational systems in the area. Its beginning, results and decisions. Desegregation plan was started in 1983 and since then it has a controlling eye of media, civil rights foundation and other on it. It is essential that development of the blacks segregation in the certain areas in the late 20th century, when the civil rights were not just an empty words, but people struggles for equality for more than hundred years and finally reached it. Then we see that desegregation was started to assimilate the white majority and black minority as the human rights should be observed and the Afro-American community could not stay aside the social life of the country: â€Å"Five years ago, St. Louis pioneered a metropolitan wide school desegregation plan that tried to fuse the predominantly black and poor inner city with 16 mostly white and wealthy suburbs. The plan, which resulted from a Federal District Court settlement that postponed threatened litigation for five years, involves no mandatory busing and became the largest voluntary school transfer program in the country, with 12,000 children attending schools outside of their designated districts each day. It has also met most of its goals for integrating blacks into suburban St. Louis County schools† (Amy Stuart Wells, 1988). It was the first attempt which was under the strict control and attention from the federal government. And it should be mentioned that even after just five years of this program operation in St. Louis the other areas took some significant parts of this particular program to solve the typical questions in their local place. It is not surprising that being the pioneer is very difficult task and St. Louis as the area of traditional confrontation between the black and the white communities had to overcome certain difficulties in order to reach the desired effect. The core idea of the program was the ability of parents to chose the schools for the their children studies outside the area of their dwelling: â€Å"Once hailed as â€Å"one of the most creative social experiments of our time† by William H. Hungate, the judge who oversaw its design, the plan has fostered many problems. Among them are what some parents and educators in the city call a brain drain of the citys best black students, too few white students coming into the city system and high operating costs, financed mostly, and reluctantly, by the state. Concepts National Appeal. Still, the main component of the plan, the concept of allowing parents to choose schools well outside their local districts, has gained national appeal as a way to extend to inner-city children the better educational opportunities often available in suburban districts† (Amy Stuart Wells, 1988). Different civil rights foundation often relate to the St. Louis desegration program as one of the most significant attempts of the past century and consider that it has incorporated the core elements of the school changes involving expansion of such an element as freedom of school choice and accountability . The researches consider that St. Louis desegregation program is one of the most significant achievements in the fight for the civil rights of Afro-American community and it was the largest school choice plan, which let with 13,000 to 15,000 to break through the boundaries of the suburb, the boundaries of inequality, and the boundaries of racial discrimination: â€Å"It permits parents of children in failing schools to send their children to more successful public schools. The St. Louis desegregation plan reconstitutes failing schools with new principals and educational programs-elements of the education reform program supported by President George W. Bush and Senator Edward M. Kennedy† (William H. Freivogel, 2002, p. 209). The same time analytical investigation of the school reform in St. Louis provided by the investigator of the Century Foundation (Task Force on the Common School) William H. Freivogel came to the conclusion that even desegregation did not solve one of the most significant problems for American secondary system and the St. Louis reform has a number lessons to take for the further reforms all over the world: â€Å"the St. Louis desegregation plan has lessons to offer the rest of the nation. Neither school desegregation nor accountability magically creates a level playing field for African-American children. But an entire generation of students-black and white-has had an opportunity for a high-quality education in an integrated setting. African-American students, who took advantage of this opportunity, gained significant, if not dramatic, improvements in achievement, graduation rates, and college attendance† (William H. Freivogel, 2002, p. 210). The increasing of secondary educati on of drop out rate is probably one of the most significant problem for the white majority and the black minority of the area met. The data provided by the different educational establishment showed that the black minority used their advantage and actively participated within the desegregation. The following data give the compared results to the other cities of the U.S.: â€Å"Data from the 1990 census show that, in Florida and Texas, urban districts generally have a greater percentage of minority students as part of the total student body than rural districts. This is a national trend as well. It has been estimated that in the mid-1990s, for example, 53.8 percent of urban schools had predominantly African-American student populations. In some cities the number is higher: Milwaukee, 61 percent; Philadelphia, 64 percent; St. Louis, 80 percent; Atlanta, 92 percent; and Birmingham, 94 percent† (Matthew Ladner and Christopher Hammons, 2000, p. 94). We see that the drop out rate i ncreasing is not just the problem of the St. Louis Area and it even yet it may have connection to the desegregation, It should be noted that the Black minority after the years of suffering from inequality and mistreating within the different educational establishment took their chance. The success of the desegregation should be undertaken as one the positive example of the racial struggle for equal right for the education and freedom of choice. Understanding the mistakes of the past the government developed the plan which corresponded to the needs of the racially discriminated African-Americans. The final edition of the plan included five main components. One of them was so called interdistrict transfer program it â€Å"required mostly white suburban districts to either increase the number of African-American students by fifteen percentage points, or to reach and maintain the plan goal of a student population that was 25 percent black† (William H. Freivogel, 2002, p 213). One of the core features of this plan was that the student would apply for the district she or he would like to study in. The same time the district should identify the children, who need special education and screen for any discipline problems, but it should be noted that they could not send the student off due the academic disorders. Another element of the program was creation of magnet schools in the city and their aim was to create balanced student bodies, which would be attended by the white students from the surburb: â€Å"After a decade of slow growth, the number of white students from the suburbs traveling to schools in the city climbed above 1,100, reaching a peak of 1,478 in 1997† (William H. Freivogel, 2002, p 214).. The third part of the plan was quality of educational component. The thing the black segregated schools always suffered its aim was â€Å"to make capital improvements in city schoolhouses and to improve the education of those students left behind in all- black schools-a number expected to be from 10,000 to 15,000 students† (William H. Freivogel, 2002, p 214). The forth element included financial part, which was aimed to make the first three components working. The prosperous areas received nearly $ 10, 000 per pupil for accommodation and less prosperous from $ 3,000 to 4,000. And the fifth element was to provide 5 year lasting stay of the interdistrict case. It would help to evaluate critically the effect and the results of the first step. It is essential that each step of this plan contributed a lot to the unending struggle of the Black minority for its educational rights. It goes without saying that this desegregation plan was one of the most important decisions in the fight of Afro- American society for the equal educational facilities and it actually reached the aim. It goes without saying that it was the great victory in unending struggle for equality. Conclusion In the end it would be essential to make a stress on the fact that this desegregation program provided a significant impact on the whole country. The positive elements were undertaken in other areas, when they started their personal desegregation programs celebrating cultural diversity and racial equality. Personally I support the idea, that it was the great victory of Afro-American community in their fight for equal education and now not only in St. Louis but in many other cities all over the United States people could choose the school despite the district we live. The racial question is still one of the most important in the present day United Sates but such reforms help a number of Afro-American children to find their place and the white ones to understand the necessity of interracial equality and communication. References: William H. Freivogel. St Louis: Desegregation and School Choice. Century Foundation Press. 2002 Matthew Ladner and Christopher Hammons. Special but Unequal: Race and Special Education. Houston Baptist University. 2000 Linda Darling-Hammond. Unequal Opportunity: Race and Education. Education, Race. Education, Race. Spring 1998 St. Lois Government. 1996. St. Louis Historic Context. Education. 28. 04.2010. Official web site of St. Louis city. Amy Stuart Wells. St. Louis Evaluates Its Pioneer Integration Plan. The New York Times. June 8, 1988

Smoking and Tobacco - Cigarettes and Addiction Essay -- Argumentative

Tobacco and Addiction One of the most serious and expensive problems in the U.S. is the addiction of tobacco smoking. People who are addicted to smoking tobacco are teenagers, young adults, and older adults. The number of people addicted to smoking tobacco has increased highly over the last 5 years. Social problems and media are major reasons for this increase. Smokers are every where with their foggy sphere of cigarette smoke. The large amount of cigarette butts that could be found in the streets, parks, play grounds, bus stops, and other places is one proof of the increased numbers of smokers. High school students can be seen smoking tobacco on their way home. College students also can be seen on campus smoking tobacco. Celebrities, especially movie stars, are smoking on TV shows and movies. Silvester Stallone in the movie "Cop land" and David Letterman are some examples of the celebrities. Over 30 percent of all people in the United States of America are heavy smokers -addicts- of tobacco. "Current smokers rose from 22 percent to 35 percent betwee...

Salomon V. Salomon & Co. Analysis

Mr. Aron Salomon was a British leader merchant who for many years operated a sole proprietor business, specialized in manufacturing leather boots. In 1892, his son, also expressed interest in the businesses. Salomon then decided to incorporate his businesses into a limited company, which is Salomon & Co. Ltd. However, there was a requirement at the time that for a company to incorporate into a limited company, at least seven persons must subscribe as shareholders or members.Salomon honored he clause by including his wife, four sons and daughter into the businesses, making two of his sons directors, and he himself managing director. Interestingly, Mr. Salomon owned 20,001 of the company's 20,007 shares – the remaining six were shared individually between the other six shareholders. Mr. Salomon sold his business to the new corporation for almost  £39,000, of which  £10,000 was a debt to him. He was thus simultaneously the company's principal shareholder and its principal cre ditor. At the time of liquidation of the company, the liquidators argued that the debentures used by Mr. Salomon as security for the debt were invalid, and that they were based on fraud.Vaughan Williams J. accepted this argument, ruling that since Mr. Salomon had created the company solely to transfer his business to it, the company was in reality his agent and he as principal was liable for debts to unsecured creditors. The lord justices of appeal variously described the company as a myth and a fiction and said that the incorporation of the business by Mr. Salomon had been a mere scheme to enable him to carry on as before but with limited liability. However, the House of Lords later quashed that Court of Appeal (CA) ruling, upon critical interpretation of the 1862 Companies Act.The  court unanimously ruled that there was nothing in the Act about whether the subscribers (i.e. the shareholders) should be independent of the majority shareholder. The company was duly constituted in l aw, the court ruled, and it was not the function of judges to read into the statute limitations they themselves considered expedient. The 1862 Act created limited liability companies as legal persons separate and distinct from the shareholders.In other words, by the terms of the Salomon case, members of a company would not automatically, in their personal capacity, be entitled to the benefits nor would they be liable for the responsibilities or the obligations of the company. It thus had the effect that members' rights and/or obligations were restricted to their share of the profits and capital invested.Significance of the Salomon CaseThe rule in the Salomon case that upon incorporation, a company is generally considered to be a new legal entity separate from its shareholders has continued till these days to be the law in Anglo-Saxon courts, or common law jurisdictions. The case is of particular significance in company law thus: Firstly, it established the canon that when a company acts, it does so in it's own name and right, and not merely as an alias or agent of it's owners.For instance, in the later case of Gas Lighting Improvement Co Ltd v Inland Revenue Commissioners,   Lord Sumner said the following: â€Å"Between the investor, who participates as a shareholder, and the undertaking carried on, the law interposes another person, real though artificial, the company itself, and the business carried on is the business of that company, and the capital employed is its capital and not in either case the business or the capital of the shareholders. Assuming, of course, that the company is duly formed and is not a sham†¦the idea that it is mere machinery for affecting the purposes of the shareholders is a layman's fallacy. It is a figure of speech, which cannot alter the legal aspect of the facts.†Secondly, it established the important doctrine that shareholders under common law are not liable the company's debts beyond their initial capital investm ent, and have no proprietary interest in the property of the company. This has been affirmed in later cases, such as in The King v Portus; ex parte Federated Clerks Union of Australia, where Latham CJ while deciding whether or not employees of a company owned by the Federal Government were not employed by  the Federal Government ruled that: â€Å"The company†¦is a distinct person from its shareholders. The shareholders are not liable to creditors for the debts of the company. The shareholders do not own the property of the company†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â‚¬  II Piercing of the veil by Common Law CourtsLifting the veil of incorporation or better still; â€Å"Piercing the corporate veil† means that a court disregards the existence of the corporation because the owners failed to keep one or more corporate requirements and formalities. The lifting or piercing of the corporate veil is more or less a judicial act, hence it's most concise meaning has been given by various judges. S taughton LJ, for example, in Atlas Maritime Co SA v Avalon Maritime Ltd (No 1) defined the term thus: â€Å"To pierce the corporate veil is an expression that I would reserve for treating the rights and liabilities or activities of a company as the rights or liabilities or activities of its shareholders.To lift the corporate veil or look behind it, therefore should mean to have regard to the shareholding in a company for some legal purpose.† Young J, in Pioneer Concrete Services Ltd v Yelnah Pty Ltd, on his part defined the expression â€Å"lifting the corporate veil† thus: â€Å"That although whenever each individual company is formed a separate legal personality is created, courts will on occasions, look behind the legal personality to the real controllers.† The simplest way to summarize the veil principle is that it is the direct opposite of the limited liability concept. Despite the merits of the limited liability concept, there is the problematic that it ca n lead to the problem of over inclusion, to the disadvantage of the creditors. That is to say the concept is over protected by the law.When the veil is lifted, the owners' personal assets are exposed to the litigation, just as if the business had been a sole proprietorship or general partnership. Common law courts have the lassitude or exclusive jurisdiction â€Å"lift† or â€Å"look beyond† the corporate veil at any time they want to examine the operating mechanism behind a company. This wide margin of interference given common law judges has led to the piercing of the corporate veil becoming one of the most litigated issues in corporate law.But it should be worthy of note that a rigid application of the piercing doctrine in common law jurisdictions has been widely criticized as  sacrificing substance for form. Hence, Windeyer J, in the case of Gorton v Federal Commissioner of Taxation, remarked that this approach had led the law into â€Å"unreality and formalism. †As aforementioned, when the judges pierce the veil of incorporation, they accordingly proceed to treat the company's members as if they were the owners of the company's assets and as if they were conducting the companies business in their personal capacities, or the court may attribute rights and/or obligations of the members on to the company. The doctrine is also known as â€Å"disregarding the corporate entity†. In his 1990 article, Fraud, Fairness and Piercing the Corporate Veil, Professor Farrar remarked that the Commonwealth authority on piercing the corporate veil as â€Å"incoherent and unprincipled†.That claim has been earlier backed up by Rogers AJA, a year ago in the case of Briggs v James Hardie & Co Pty thus: â€Å"There is no common, unifying principle, which underlies the occasional decision of the courts to pierce the corporate veil. Although an ad hoc explanation may be offered by a court which so decides, there is no principled approach to be derived from the authorities.†Another scholar in the person of M. Whincop in his own piece: ‘Overcoming Corporate Law: Instrumentalism, Pragmatism and the Separate Legal Entity Concept', argued that the main problem with the Salomon case was not so much the argument for the separate legal entity, but rather the failure by the English House of Lords to give any indication of â€Å"What the courts should consider in applying the separate legal entity concept and the circumstances in which one should refuse to enforce contracts associated with the corporate structure.†