Lesson 18: Work and the Economy

Attention

A Green Economy is one that encourages growth and prosperity while sustaining the planet...a hard balance to reach!

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able to:

  • Describe Capitalism and Socialism and provide examples of each that exist in the real world.
  • Discuss the factors associated with the changing nature of the American workplace.

Teaching

Economy

You would be hard pressed to watch a news program any given night and not have some part of that news program focus on the economy!

The economy is a social institution, a socializing institution, made up of the mechanisms and processes by which resources are managed. This, as you can tell, is a very generic description of some pretty complex processes!

Economic Systems

Throughout history there have risen different types of economies...some arise on their own while others are established by political powers.

  • Agricultural Revolution - changed over time with technology.
    • Bartering
    • Exchange economies
    • Money (Token Economies)
    • Mercantilism
  • Industrial Revolution
    • Mass production
    • Subsistence Farming disappears
  • Post Industrial Societies and the Information Age

Here is a little video on this history!

 

Economic Theories

  • Capitalism
    • Private ownership of the means of production
    • Profit motive
    • Pure competitive market
  • Socialism
    • Government ownership of the means of production
    • Share work and wealth among everyone
    • Different viewpoints...
      • All aspects of production should be government controlled - Communism
      • Only specific natural production processes should be government controlled - Mixed Economies

 

Globalization

NAFTA

  • Mexico, US, and Canada
  • Lax on Tariffs for imports and exports
  • How do exports harm/help American labor?

 

International Production

  • Global Assembly Lines
  • Global Commodity Chains

The Changing Workplace

Factors that are impacting the American Workforce...Let's imagine what our professions might be like in the future! Consider the following factors:

  • Outsourcing
  • Automation
  • Polarization (very high skill and very low skill jobs...not as much in the middle)
  • Changes in Education
  • Technology
  • Gender
  • Immigration

Assessment

The Online Discussions are for students who are taking Online and Hybrid versions of this class. Your Instructor will inform you if you have to pay attention to these...otherwise you can ignore them.

Lesson 18 Discussion

Review the factors to consider when thinking about the Changing Workplace in the US. Discuss any two of these and how you think they will impact the future of YOUR chosen profession. If you do not have a chosen profession yet, pick one that you MIGHT be interested in.

Lesson 18 Quiz

  1. Define "Capitalism" and "Socialism" and describe two aspects of our economy that are best managed by each of these.