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TRADING BLOC: A group of countries that are economically intertwined, share some common cultural background, are located close together, and coordinate their foreign trade policies. There are three trading blocs of note, North America, Europe, and Asia, although other portions of the globe aspire to this status. The North American bloc centers around the good old U. S. of A. with Canada and Mexico playing increasingly important roles. The European bloc contains most of the Western Europe with leading roles played by Germany, Britain, and France. Japan is the center of the Asian bloc that includes Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and several others.
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                           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, 2000-2021. [Accessed: September 20, 2021].
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Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time strolling around a discount warehouse buying club seeking to buy either a how-to book on home remodeling or a tall storage cabinet with five shelves and a secure lock. Be on the lookout for mail order catalogs with hidden messages.
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Francis Bacon (1561-1626), a champion of the scientific method, died when he caught a severe cold while attempting to preserve a chicken by filling it with snow.
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"No amount of business school training or work experience can teach what is ultimately a matter of personal character. " -- Truett Cathy, Chick-fil-A Inc. founder
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