Introduction
England is a country that is located in the United Kingdom. It is bordered by Scotland, Wales, the Irish Sea, and the Celtic Sea and has many islands that are approximately 100. The main spoken language is English. It is one of the countries in which the industrial revolution began during the eighteenth century making it one of the most powerful nations in terms of industrialization. It has a terrain that is mainly comprised of plains and low hills (Tout, p. 27). Its capital city, London, is referred to as the greatest metropolitan city in the entire United Kingdom. England has a population of about fifty-one million people which represents approximately 84% of the total population of the United Kingdom. Politically, the country is very stable. It is known to be one of the strongest colonies in the entire world. It uses a political system referred to as a parliamentary system and a constitutional monarchy. The government in the country has been in existence since the year 1707. The country is divided into regions for ease of governance and equality in the sharing of the national cake. England also has abundant natural resources such as rivers. The climate that is prevalent in the country is temperate marine with temperatures ranging from 00c to 320c. The Atlantic Ocean is the major influencing factor on the temperature and climatic changes of the country. It also receives a significant amount of rainfall throughout the year. Like any other country, the profile of England will be defined by the following factors: ethics, humaneness, poverty and disease, the military and foreign affairs, economics, environmental issues, and morality (Tout, p. 45). In addition, the effect of these factors on the country will be discussed.
Ethics in England
Ethics refers to the issue of morality. Like any other nation, England is governed by a series of ethics that affect, regulate, and control the activities in the country. These ethics are dependent on professions, public ethics, and religions among others. The local authorities must promote public ethics in the societies (Durkheim, p. 38). However, the government is also supportive of the local government in that it offers much guidance to the local government. In England, the perception of the public as far as ethics and service provision is concerned is very important. This is because of the trust the public has in the ethics under which the services are offered. That is why every profession in England is strictly mandated to follow some laid down ethics (Traill, p. 54). A lot of care is taken to ensure that the perception of the public towards the ethics of the services provided is not influenced by the media especially in a negative way. Some of the professions in which ethics is very important as far as their services are concerned include all medical professions such as general practice, nursing, surgery, pharmacy, and clinics among others; teaching, law professions; food processing industry; political careers and government careers. All these professions have ethics that differ from each other depending on the services they offer to the public. The compliance of the professionals with ethics is determined by the public since they are the ones benefiting directly from the services offered (Traill, p. 69). Bleaching of ethics is solved in a court of law.
Humaneness in England
Humaneness refers to how human beings are treated. This entails some factors such as sympathy, compassion, and consideration shown to human beings. In every society, different people differ in terms of health status, social status, and mental status. Due to these differences and many other factors, the issue of humaneness must be applied. A good example of the campaign and consideration for humanity is the fight for the rights of disabled people (Durkheim, p. 160). There has been a set of laid down standards for the society to use to ensure that the less fortunate people in the society are accorded equality as far as access to resources, opportunities like education and jobs as well as other basic rights are concerned. A policy for treating disabled people decently has for instance been formulated. In addition, there have been complaints about the issue of ending the lives of the criminals who have been convicted on murder charges. It has been concluded that instead of ending their lives life imprisonment would be better based on humanity. The issue of humaneness is not only questioned concerning human beings but also to animals. There is a policy that addresses how abattoirs should slaughter the food animals without causing them a lot of misery. In the scientific world, the issue of humanity is also considered (Durkheim, p. 50). This is especially the case when carrying out research studies that affect the lives of human beings, for instance, research that has medicinal value. In such cases, no scientist is allowed to use human beings as samples. Animals like guinea pigs, rabbits, and rats are used for such research.
Poverty in England
Poverty is one of the conditions that are found in every country in the world. However, the level of poverty and the affected population differ from one country to another. The level of poverty in England – which is one of the developed countries in the world – cannot be compared with the level of poverty in the Third World such as Sub-Saharan Africa. This is because these latter countries are still developing. The poverty level in England is not very significant (Kulkarni, p. 190). This is because the greatest constitution of the population is at the age of independence rather than the dependent age which accounts for a high rate of poverty in most countries. However, there is evidence of people suffering from poverty in England. Some of the most important indicators of poverty in England include street children. In the city, there is evidence of street children as well as families who have no place to live due to lack of income. In addition, although some families have shelter over their heads, approximately one million children in the country suffer in overcrowded houses. There are also a good number of English people who live on a low-income level thus forcing them to live under very low living standards.
The unemployment rate is another indicator of the level of poverty in England. Unemployment in England greatly affects the youth ranging from 15 to 25 years. On the other hand, some people are underemployed. This refers to the people who although they have a job their jobs do not allow them to utilize their skills to the fullest. Poverty in England is also indicated by crime. The rate of crime especially robbery and theft are relatively high as the low-income earning people try to make a living for themselves and their families (Kulkarni, p. 189). It should be noted that the most important indicator of poverty in the country is the high number of children from low-income-earning families which amounts to about 70% of the total number of children in England.
Diseases in England
According to the Disease Surveillance System, each country has a list of disease classifications. Several factors determine the prevalence of diseases in any country. They include the climatic conditions, the economy, the living conditions or status of the people, the health care services offered in the country, and also the prevailing lifestyle of the people. There are two main classes of disease namely: communicable diseases and noncommunicable diseases. England is one of the developed countries in the world. Thus, most of the diseases that are prevalent in England are non-communicable diseases that are brought about by people’s lifestyles and include diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. These non-communicable diseases are caused by factors such as diets, a sedentary lifestyle, smoking, and excessive drinking among others. Poor diet which entails fast foods like hamburgers and French fries and lack of exercise are known to contribute to diseases such as obesity especially among children of England.
Although non-communicable diseases are the most common, England also records some communicable diseases particularly sexually transmitted illnesses such as gonorrhea which result from immorality. In England, there is a lot of prostitution going on because the country has one of the biggest and busiest cities in the world. According to the surveillance in the country, the percentage of deaths caused by zoonosis diseases in the country stands at about 10%, the rate of communicable diseases is about 20%, the rate of non-communicable diseases is about 50% while the other percentage is caused by other factors such as accidents. It should however be noted that the mortality rate in the country is about 40% which is a relatively low percentage (Kulkarni, p. 190). This is because of the availability and accessibility of good and advanced medical/health services in the country as well as an efficient and well-organized public health department that campaigns for the prevention of diseases.
The Military in England
The military makes up a great portion of the armed forces in England. It was formed in the year 1707 after the Union Act was enacted. It has the largest navy force in the European Union and apart from the United States England is the only other nation that is currently building some supercarriers and owns some of the most advanced and sophisticated aircraft in the world. It is also known to have the second-largest force in the world in terms of power after the US. The British Monarch in England is the commander in chief. Queen Elizabeth the Second is the Head of the Monarchy to whom all the members of the military swear their allegiance.
According to the law, a crown is superior to the armed forces, and only during peace-seeking missions do they submit under the parliament. It should be noted that the armed forces in England are under the authority of the Prime Minister. The armed forces are also given the responsibility of ensuring the protection of the United Kingdom as well as the overseas territories. The structure of the armed forces commands organization includes the commander in chief that is also the head of state Queen Elizabeth the Second, followed by the Prime Minister, and lastly the cabinet. There is also the ministry that works hand in hand with the armed forces called the Ministry of Defense. The navy department consists of the royal navy and the marine navy. There is also the branch of the British Army which has about 150,250 personnel who are active in the military. The most important elements of the army are fifty battalions, fourteen territorial, and thirty-four regular. The royal air force is operated mainly on air while the marine navy guards the water bodies surrounding the country. All these departments work together to ensure that there is peace, security, and order in the country. They use their techniques to protect the country from invaders who may attack from the air, dry land, or the water (Kulkarni, p. 244). Due to a very well-organized military system, England has been able to enjoy considerable peace.
Foreign Affairs in England
Matters of foreign affairs in the country are controlled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which is part of the cabinet. The minister is one of the most important people involved in the formulation of the policies that deal with the issues of England’s foreign relations with its neighbors and other far-off countries. He is also responsible for most of the diplomatic duties in the country. Some of these duties include hosting any foreign leader visiting the country and also organizing the hosting of any leader going for any state visit in another country. This ensures that they are given good and high-quality services and are treated with the decency they deserve. The main roles that are played by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in England include formulation of policies that entail the country’s foreign issues, dealing with the affairs of Britons in other countries, commonwealth affairs, protocol matters, peace initiatives in conjunction with the Ministry of Defense, dealing with treaties, agreements and conventions, control of all the activities of the English embassies all over the world and organization of all state visits (Blij and Scott, p. 112).
Economy of England
Of all the four nations that make up the United Kingdom, England has the largest economy. It is one of the most industrialized countries in the entire world. It is a major producer of products like textiles, chemicals, locomotives, automobiles, and aircraft. The financial sector is the major contributor to the economic growth of England. England’s capital city, London, is one of the largest financial service providers in the globe. It offers financial services such as banking, investment, insurance, commodity exchange as well as currency exchange (Blij and Scott, p. 56). Much of the national income earned by the country is generated in the capital city. The official currency used in the country is the Sterling pound. Agriculture is another extensive income-generating industry in the country. It makes up approximately 60% of the food needs of the country with the main crops that are grown being wheat, oats, barley, fruits, and potatoes. Agriculture contributes about 2% of the country’s gross domestic product.
The service industries like the business sector, insurance sector, and banking industry contribute to the country’s economy not only through increasing the country’s GDP but also through offering job opportunities to the citizens. Around 80% of the employed people are absorbed in these industries (Blij and Scott 90). The manufacturing industry contributes to approximately 26% of the country’s GDP. Some of its manufacturing products include chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and aerospace defense equipment. Tourism is another industry that boosts the economy of England. It contributes about £76 billion to the country’s total economy, with London being the major tourist attraction center. The inner England economy has a per capita that amounts to €71 338 (Blij and Scott, p. 200).
Environmental Issues in England
England like most of the other countries is greatly concerned about the issues of the environment. People have realized that indeed a man cannot live without the environment but the environment can live without a man. It is one of the nations in the world that tackle the issues of pollution, climate change, and environmental sustainability. The country is richly endowed with natural resources which need to be protected to save man’s livelihood (Gerdes, p. 100). It is therefore through the Ministry of Environment’s hard efforts that England’s natural resources are well protected. Besides that, the Ministry of Environment works with the rest of the world to ensure that the level of environmental pollution caused by its industrial activities is reduced through complying with the rules and regulations laid down by the country and other countries. The country is in the front line to ensure that it is protecting and mitigating the climatic changes and preventing toxification of the air which interferes with the air quality.
The environmental protection efforts have benefited the country in that it has led to a great deal of economic growth through the protection of the resources, as well as the recycling, re-using, and recovery of waste. The government, through the Ministry of Environment, is also involved in environmental protection through policy formulation. It also works hand in hand with non-governmental organizations to ensure the maximum protection of the environment. The issue of environmental protection is taken with a great deal of seriousness in the country because of some of the activities the industries in the country are involved in. Some industries, like the manufacturing industry, have to follow the laid down procedures of waste disposal as well as waste emission to the environment to ensure minimum pollution (Gerdes, p. 231).
Morality in England
Morality is one of the most important aspects that affect the progress of any nation. This is because the ability of the citizens to differentiate between what is right and wrong determines greatly their level of output especially in terms of the economic aspect. The issues of morality in England are mainly the responsibility of the church. For example in the year 1960, the church took the greatest responsibility in the formulation of the policy and law that acts against homosexuality. The church was essentially interested in trying to restore the morality of the country by refusing the legalization of homosexuality. The church too is working towards enlightening the citizens against trading their morals with money and other material gains (Durkheim, p. 19). Hence, issues such as prostitution and corruption through bribes are vehemently preached against. The church is also involved in secularism and morality by installing moral values in the secular world.
Works Cited
- Blij, Harm, and Morris Scott. The economy of the world. Chelsea: Chelsea House Publishers, 1993.
- Durkheim, Emile. Professional ethics and civic morals. London: Routledge, 1992.
- Gerdes, Louise. The environment. London: Gale, 2009.
- Kulkarni, David. Social issues in Development. Chicago: Uppal Publishing House, 1999.
- Tout, Thomas. The history of England. London: BiblioBazaar LLC, 2009.
- Traill, Hay. Social England. London: BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2009