Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for Social sciences for Baccalaureate

The Napoleonic Empire

In 1804, a Sénatus-consulte, approved by referendum, established the First French Empire, entrusting the government of the Republic to a hereditary emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte. In the same year, Napoleon further consolidated power under the Constitution of the Year XII. His ambition extended across Europe, aiming to be an emperor over other kings. He installed family members as monarchs in conquered territories like Holland, Westphalia, Spain, and Naples. This expansion alarmed Great Britain, which feared its own security should Napoleon's dominance continue. Napoleon founded the Fourth Dynasty of France, the House of Bonaparte.

Liberalism

Liberalism is a philosophical, economic, and political doctrine that promotes civil...

Understanding Socio-Economic Formation

The text explains that to achieve desired outcomes, individuals engage in work, establishing relationships of production that form the foundation of society. Improvements in these relationships correlate with increased productivity, influencing what Marx termed the legal and economic superstructure. This superstructure shapes consciousness, justifying reality from a social perspective.

Justification of Social Change

The text highlights the contradiction between productive forces and relations of production. When this contradiction arises, it triggers a shift in the societal foundation.

Productive forces and relations of production constitute the infrastructure, the real basis of society. This infrastructure...

The Foundations of Economic Liberalism

Economic liberalism is an economic theory that emerged during the Enlightenment, primarily formulated by influential thinkers such as Adam Smith and David Ricardo. It advocates for minimal government interference in the economy, asserting that economic freedom and free enterprise are crucial for societal progress.

Proponents believe that these principles foster a more egalitarian society and lead to an indefinite increase in prosperity, thereby preventing national decline. A core concept is the idea of a spontaneous order generated by the 'invisible hand,' which guides individuals pursuing their self-interest to collectively benefit society.

This philosophy is often summarized by the French phrase Laissez

The Structure of the Francoist State

Organic Democracy: The Basis of the New Regime

For the construction of the new State, the basis was the Italian corporatist state, which organized popular participation according to the family, the municipality, and the union. This new system was called Organic Democracy.

Popular representation in state institutions was regulated by the Constitutive Act of the Parliament, which designated the Cortes as the "highest organ of the Spanish people's participation in the work of the State." Its representatives were appointed by the ruling power.

The Role and Limitations of the Cortes

From the Organic Law of 1966, attorneys emerged, known as the "third family," who were elected by vote by the heads of households. However,...

Territorial Articulation and Historical Provinces

5.1.1 Territorial Articulation: This section addresses projects with a common distribution across Navarre and the Basque Autonomous Community (comprising the provinces of Alava, Guipuzcoa, and Vizcaya). These are the common institutions of government. In addition to participating in the Basque Parliament (Legebiltzarrea) and the Basque Government, each province has its own specific historical bodies: the General Assembly (Juntas Generales) and the Provincial Council (Aldundiak).

The Law of Historical Territories (LTH)

With Foralite restored, these entities have significant powers at their disposal, especially regarding financial affairs. This situation has occasionally acted as a conflict trigger...

Ortega y Gasset: What is Philosophy?

What is Philosophy? is a posthumous book based on the lessons of a course given by Ortega y Gasset in 1927-28. In it, he vindicated philosophy as unavoidable knowledge. Unlike the positive sciences, philosophy is knowledge that must justify its own object. It possesses a universal character in contrast to the fragmentation of science, and it is ultimate knowledge compared to the provisional nature of scientific learning.

Lesson X: The Radical Data of Philosophy

In Lesson X, Ortega asked what the radical data, the object of philosophy, should be. Ortega criticizes the naive realism of the Greeks, for whom the radical reality was things independent of the self. Equally, he critiques idealism where reality is...

The Origins of Latin American Spanish

Latin America is home to the largest number of Spanish speakers in the world. The Hispanization process began in 1492. Since then, Castilian has spread, exerting a significant influence on the indigenous languages that were spoken, such as Maya, Inca, and Toltec.

At the time of the conquest, the region was divided into two major language areas:

• A more innovative area: In the Antilles and coastal regions, features from Andalusia survive, such as the aspiration of the "j" and the loss of the intervocalic "d".
• A more conservative area: Corresponding to the interior highlands, where educated Castilian rule was more widely spread.

Spanish is the official language in 18 Latin American countries. There is no single...

Management Theories and Principles

Key Figures in Management

Taylor: American industrial engineer who applied the scientific method to human work, aiming to achieve cooperation between workers and management. He advocated for a clear division between management and workers and providing a stipend.

Fayol: French engineer and economist known for principles such as division of labor, authority and responsibility, discipline, unity of command and direction, and subordination of particular interest to the general team spirit.

Core Management Functions

Planning

The objective is to decide what to achieve, including actions and responsibilities. Key steps include:

1. Determine the mission and the main objectives.
2. Develop the strategy.
3. Implement the plan.

Strategic

The "Black Biennium" and Radical-CEDA Government (1933-1935)

In the first half of 1933, conservative forces gained ground, aiming for the government to resolve the Republic's contradictions. In the elections of that year, center-right parties achieved victory. A government was formed by the Radical Republican Party, headed by Alejandro Lerroux, with parliamentary support from the CEDA (Spanish Confederation of Autonomous Rights).

Although the CEDA had been the winning party in the elections, it had not achieved an absolute majority. President Niceto Alcalá Zamora doubted the CEDA's loyalty to the republican regime and thus tasked Lerroux with forming the government.

During this biennium, many reforms from previous years were suspended. This led...

Causes of the Russian Revolution

The political system rested on the absolute power of the Czar. This system was based on three pillars: the nobility, the senior administration and the army (including the secret police, the Okhrana), and the Orthodox Church.

During the reign of Alexander II, attempts were made to implement a series of reforms in the economy and administration, without questioning the absolute power of the Czar or the privileges of the landed nobility. One of the most important measures was the abolition of the feudal regime and peasant serfdom in 1861. In the nineteenth century, economic modernization continued with a limited industrialization process.

Russian industrialization was restricted to certain areas, concentrated in large...