Topics for Blue Essay #3

Write an essay on one of the topics below. It is due 27 March in class. The essay should be 3-4 pages, double-spaced.

1. Defend or criticize this assertion:


"The European social model is doomed and will inevitably be dismantled over the next decade. International economic forces and demographic changes make sustaining the welfare state impossible, so European publics will accept the inevitable and embrace radical reform."

2. Criticize or defend this position:

"The European social model is not about taxes and public budgets -- it is a cultural institution, part of what makes Europe a distinct society with egalitarian social values. Europe's post-1945 history is one of consensus-building and social cooperation, not divisiveness and self-reliant individualism. This is what makes calls for radical change in the European welfare states politically infeasible and culturally dangerous."
 
 

Formatting Rules for Essays

Essays must be typed or machine-printed and stapled (no paper clips or folders). Do not use colored paper. Keep a copy of your submitted essay. Use fonts no smaller than 12 points. Use a serifed font, like Times New Roman or Palatino and not sans serif fonts, like Arial. (While sans serif fonts are easier to read on monitors, they are harder to read, for me at least, on printed paper.)

Have separate title page with 1) your name 2) your team and essay # (e.g, Blue #1) and 3) your student ID number printed on it.

Do not put your name or ID number on the pages of text (I grade "blind"). Text should be double-spaced and have 1-inch margins. Number the pages of text.

Put the number or the first few words of the topic that you are writing on at the start of the first page of text.