|
|
MAASTRICHT TREATY: An agreement among 12 European nations in 1992 that established the European Union. The 12 nations signing the Maastricht Treaty are Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Germany, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, and Great Britain. This treaty was designed to form a more economically and politically integrated European economy, including the reduction or elimination of tariffs and nontariff barriers, the creation of monetary unit (the euro), the establishment of a common military and defense policy, and centralized monetary policy. This amended early agreements setting up a European common market. The Maastricht Treaty is merely one of several international trade agreements created over the years to reduce trade restrictions. Others include the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Visit the GLOSS*arama
|
|
|
|
                           FIRST ESTATE: Another term for the government or public sector. This is one of four divisions of society based on economic function. The other three are businesses as the second estate, consumers as the third estate, and journalists as the fourth estate. The notion of dividing society into different "estates" has roots in 18th century France, in which clergy and religious leaders were considered the first estate, royalty and aristocracy were the second estate, and peasants, serfs, and the working class were viewed as the third estate. Inventive journalists extended this classification to include themselves as the fourth estate.The modern estates retain the essence of this division with an update to the realities of the modern economy. Government leaders and politicians, rather than clergy, assume their position in the first estate. Business leaders, rather than royalty, take over rule of the second estate. Rank-and-file consumers and those in the working class make up the third estate. And journalists continue as the fourth estate. In past centuries, the first estate included religious leaders and clergy. In modern times, it includes politicians and government leaders who can exert a great deal of control over resources through the coercive powers of government. One historical function of the first estate is to protect the less powerful consumers, taxpayers, and workers of the third estate from the market control typically held by the business leaders of the second estate. It is not uncommon, however, for an unhealthy degree of cooperation between the first and second estates, which often ends up with the enslavement of the third estate (figuratively and literally). At times help is forthcoming from the watchdog journalist of the fourth estate--unless they too have been overtaken by the first two estates. Consider the case of Victor Thurgood, the honorable Mayor of Shady Valley. Not only is Victor the current Mayor of Shady Valley, duly elected by a majority of voters casting ballots in the most recent election, but at the age of 63 he has never held a nongovernment job. He has been on the Shady Valley city council, served as a state legislator for many years, spent several terms as a member of the U. S. House of Representatives, bounced around as a political appointee to assorted state and federal government agencies, and was most recently Ambassador to the Republic of Northwest Queoldiolia. Moreover, Victor's father, mother, grandfather, uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, nieces, and nephews have had similar employment histories. Victor Thurgood is a member of the first estate.
Recommended Citation:FIRST ESTATE, AmosWEB Encyclonomic WEB*pedia, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2026. [Accessed: March 11, 2026].
Check Out These Related Terms... | | | | |
Or For A Little Background... | | | |
And For Further Study... | | | | | |
Search Again?
Back to the WEB*pedia
|
|
|
ORANGE REBELOON
[What's This?]
Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time calling an endless list of 800 numbers seeking to buy either a really, really exciting, action-filled video game or a coffee cup commemorating the moon landing. Be on the lookout for infected paper cuts.
Your Complete Scope
This isn't me! What am I?
|
|
|
During the American Revolution, the price of corn rose 10,000 percent, the price of wheat 14,000 percent, the price of flour 15,000 percent, and the price of beef 33,000 percent.
|
|
|
"Confidence . . . thrives on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection and on unselfish performance. Without them it cannot live." -- President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
|
|
LRAS
Long Run Aggregate Supply
|
|
|
Tell us what you think about AmosWEB. Like what you see? Have suggestions for improvements? Let us know. Click the User Feedback link.
User Feedback
|
|
