Communism or Capitalism / Economic Project

Objectives Introduction Task Process Resources Rubric Homework Conclusion

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Left Communism/Socialism Nationalization Regulation Deregulation Privatization Capitalism Right

OBJECTIVES:

Learning the importance of economics
Compare and contrast between communism and capitalism.
Using researching skills
Understanding that society must make a decision about the role of government.

INTRODUCTION:

Economics is the study of how society deal with the following clash: limited resources and unlimited wants. This world has a over 6 billion people and each one has an insaturable want for "stuff." Why can't people get what they desire? The reason is that there is not enough "stuff" to go around. Economists study and try to find solution to this clash. There are various economic systems to deal with this clash: Feudalism, Mercantilism, Capitalism, Socialism, and Mixed Economies. In the Middle Ages, nations turned to Feudelism or Mercantilism. In the 16th and 19th century, Capitalism emerged as a dominant economic system. During the 20th century, Communism and Socialism dominated half of the world's population. Recently, many nations rejected their Communist past and returned to some form of Capitalism or Socialism. Today, many debate about which economic model is the best to deal with domestic problems.

Nations suffers from many problems. People are turning to governments to do something to solve these problems. Some advise the heads of states to move to the "left." This is to allow governments to get more involve to solve problems by regulating industries or by nationalization (completely taking over the industries). Advisors on the left fear the exploitation's of "Big Business." If governments do not check the power of "Big Business," the rich will get richer and the poor (most people) will get poorer. These advisors embrace the ideals of socialism (communism).

Others advise the heads of states to move to the "right." This is to allow people to solve their own problems without government intervention by deregulation or privatization of some industries. Advisors on the right argue that the real problem is "Big Government." If government would simply allow people to do what come naturally, then people will gain the incentive to improve conditions. Governments tends to be unproductive, slow, and extremely inefficient. Therefore, they create more problems than solutions. These advisors embrace the ideals of capitalism.

Some say that Capitalism is good while others claim that it is the root of all evil in the world. The President of the United States promotes capitalism, yet many socialist policies dominate American society such as Public Education, Postal Service, and Social Security. However, the extreme form of socialism (communism) is very unpopular. Today, there are only a few examples of communism: Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam, and China. Many socialist nations are reevaluating capitalism as a positive alternative. To understand this debate, one must grasp the complexity of Capitalism and Communism.

TASK:

Students will research economic concepts of Capitalism, Socialism, and Communism. The debate is whether a nation move towards the left (Socialism or Communism) or to the right (Capitalism). Note that during the last project, students created a nation. Students will return to this fictitious nation and apply your knowledge. Identify the pros and cons of the Communism and Capitalism.

You are the Economic Advisor. You will identify a domestic problem of your fictitious nation. Create a nation's economic policy reflecting your position on the economic debate (right or left).

PROCESS:

1. Research the words in the Key Terms section. For Day One and Day Two, create a page of notes describing the terms. Place in your notebook for teacher inspection.

2. Homework: Find a US domestic problem from the newspaper, Magazines, or Internet News Media. Summarize the problem (paragraph). Provide a small description if the government moved to the left (paragraph). Provide a small description if the government moved to the right (paragraph). Example of a domestic problem: Affordable Prescription Drugs, Failing Schools, High Crime Rate & Gun Laws, Energy Crisis (Blackout), High Poverty Rates, Urban Issues, Low Farm Prices, Trade Deficit, High Unemployment Rate, Hospital Care, Space Operations, Teen Crime, Preservation, Ailing Health Care System, etc.

3. Day Three - Read the section called Research Tools. Find articles supporting and rejecting Left- policies (Socialism) and Right policies (Capitalism). For each concepts, make two list labeled Pro and Con. Place in your notebook for teacher inspection.

4. Day Four - Determine whether you want to work individually or work with a partner. It is your decision. If your partner does not do any work, both will pay the price. Absence by one partner is no excuse for incomplete work. Choose wisely or not at all. Decide which fictitious nation, you will use. Discuss whether your nation will choose a left or right policies. Also, choose a domestic problem. Search that problem.

5. Day Five and Beyond - Create a typed report for the leader of your nation.

6. Report Components

i. Must be typed using the third person.
ii. Introduction must identify the position and left/right policy
iii. The body of the report must explain the problem.
iv. The body of the report must reject one side of the debate. Explain the (Cons) problem of choosing a possible economic policy.
v. The body of the report must warn about the extreme form of Communism or Capitalism, if the nation does not listen to your Cons.
vi. The body of the report should finally explain the virtues (Pros) of the opposing economic policy.
vii. In the conclusion, restate your economic policy and provide a picture of how the nation will look with your polices.
viii. The report should use the key terms and use examples from the US.
ix. Use a Presidential Report format

7. Use a newspaper article as a format.

RESOURCES

Key Terms (8)

Economic structure of Nations

http://www.economist.com/countries/
http://hsb.baylor.edu/html/gardner/CES.HTM
http://www.eh.net/HE/

1. Communism:

http://history1900s.about.com/cs/communism/
http://www.ssc.upenn.edu/~alexv/east/february/levin.html
http://hsb.baylor.edu/html/gardner/CESCH15.HTM
http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communism - Communism

2. Socialism:

http://www.lysator.liu.se/nordic/scn/faq28.html
http://www.mackinac.org/article.asp?ID=3447
http://www.econhist.gu.se/Schema_Excel/SWEDEN.html\
http://hsb.baylor.edu/html/gardner/CESCH13.HTM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism - Socialism

3. Capitalism:

http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism - Capitalism

http://hsb.baylor.edu/html/gardner/CESCH03.HTM
http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=197535
http://www.capitalism.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_market - Free Trade

4. Regulations

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/
http://www.regulations.gov/
http://bookstore.gpo.gov/regulatory/exporting.html
http://www.amosweb.com/cgi-bin/gls.pl?fcd=dsp&key=regulation

5. Deregulation

http://www.winenergyremc.com/deregulation/

http://news.earthweb.com/xSP/article.php/1367701

http://www.opticallynetworked.com/features/article.php/1367701
http://www.amosweb.com/cgi-bin/gls.pl?fcd=dsp&key=deregulation

6. Nationalization

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationalization
http://www.parstimes.com/history/iran_oil_nationalization.html - Iran and Oil example
http://www.indiainfoline.com/glos.asp?term=n&describe=Nationalization
http://www.amosweb.com/cgi-bin/wpd.pl?fcd=dsp&key=nationalization

7. Privatization

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privatization
http://www.amosweb.com/cgi-bin/gls.pl?fcd=dsp&key=privatization
http://www.privatization.org/
http://www.privatization.tajikistan.com/ - Example from Tajikistan

8. Other Economic Systems: Identify one more.
Mercantilism:

http://www.eh.net/bookreviews/library/mccusker.shtml
http://www.westga.edu/~cscott/history/mercan.html
http://www.fff.org/freedom/1098h.asp
http://www.kusd.edu/schools/lance/platinum/banaszynski/revolution/loyalists_links/the_patriot_haters.html

Or Feudalism:

http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/~reffland/anthropology/lost_tribes/Feudalism.html
http://faculty.acu.edu/~appletonl/mb1/ma.htm
http://www1.enloe.wake.k12.nc.us/enloe/CandC/knights/Feudalism.html

Or Mixed Economy:

http://www.unchina.org/undp/news/html/chdr99.htm

Research Tools: - Arguments concerning left or right sided policies

http://www.americans-world.org/digest/global_issues/global_warming/gw6.cfm - Global warming Regulations

http://www.progress.org/archive/fold64.htm Left and Right Explanation
http://www.csuchico.edu/~gwright/intro.htm - Umbrella of Liberalism (Left vs. Right)

http://lanic.utexas.edu/~sela/AA2K/EN/docs/sprrpmrdi6-1.htm      Regulation or Deregulation
http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/twr137b.htm   -   Debate in Argentina
http://pd.cpim.org/2002/nov10/11102002_nov7_sry.htm   -   Socialism in India, rejecting Capitalism

http://www.indianaobserver.com/2002/01/capitalism.html   -   Capitalism and the Success of Communism
http://thoughts.editthispage.com/stories/storyReader$192   -   Capitalism, Communisn, and Anticapitalism

http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1013556/posts   -     Why capitalism's a staggering success
http://www.leadingresearch.hbs.edu/archives/02.02/story04.html   -   Capitalism's many faces
http://huizen.daxis.nl/~henkt/capitalism-capitalist.htm   -   Capitalism: In or Out

RUBRIC (TEST GRADE)

Content: Understand the basics of the Left/Right Debate

Excellent Good Satisfactory Poor Unacceptable
20 17 15 13 12

Creativity: Applying knowledge to the fictitious nation (Uniqueness)

Excellent Good Satisfactory Poor Unacceptable
20 17 15 13 12

Critical Thinking: Understanding of the benefits and cost of Economic Debate

Excellent Good Satisfactory Poor Unacceptable
20 17 15 13 12

Quality: The final product displays a professional manner. (i.e. Typed report)

Excellent Good Satisfactory Poor Unacceptable

20 17 15 13 12

Completeness/ On Task: The following assignments must have sufficient detail to display
knowledge. Are you productive during each class period?

Excellent Good Satisfactory Poor Unacceptable
20 17 15 13 12

RUBRIC (HOMEWORK GRADE):

Current Article: Find a US domestic problem from the newspaper, Magazines, or Internet News Media. Summarize the problem (paragraph). Provide a small description if the government moved to the left (paragraph). Provide a small description if the government moved to the right (paragraph).
         Excellent        Good          Satisfactory       Poor       Unacceptable
            100              88             78                 68              60 or 0

CONCLUSION:

You are the leader of the nation. Provide a presidential proposal for a bill that reflects the economic policy. This bill will be presented to the legislative branch and may become the law of the land. (At least one paragrah)

By Henry St. Julien
henrys@wareham.k12.ma.us
Global Studies II
Wareham High School
Last Update 01/06/04