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Example research essay topic: Goods And Services Customs And Traditions - 1,682 words

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The USA in the years 1820 to 1850 had the choice of facing which way to develop its economic system. It could pursue either one of the 4 basic types of economies currently present in the world. In the following essay I am going to speak about different economic opportunities as well as try to answer the basic question of economic system (what to produce? How to produce?

Who will produce and consume? ) Please take a look at the economic systems the USA could adopt in the mid XIX century. TRADITIONAL: The 3 questions (what, how and who) are decided on the basis of customs, social patterns, religion or other ideas handed down through time. Because during the mid XIX century there were many different nationalities moving to the USA (primarily Chines, yet still a great number of them were Irish, English, German) the USA could adopt traditional production of rice (Chinese), beer (German), whiskey (irish). Yet one should not forget that the cultures of these ethnic groups differed substantially from each other thus the idea that the USA would become a traditional economy similar to one of the countries represented at that time and still remain one country, was unrealistic (Hakim, 34). Jefferson and Yeoman farmer ideals, that represent traditional economy, could exist for a limited period of time if all the ethnic, religious, racial, etc. groups would remain separated from each other.

If the groups interact and mix the strict adherence to one tradition is not likely. In other words, Chinese who still live in china town do not need to speak English (everyone understands them). They do what their ancestors did and engage in various agricultural activity. Yet the Chinese who live in smaller communities of non-chinese adopt the new traditions and abandon their own. The same is true about other groups who do not usually hold on to their historical heritage if surrounded by people different from themselves (Filippelli, 120).

Speaking about characteristics of the traditional economic choice I would like to state the following: Traditional economies are found in rural, non-developed countries Some parts of Asia, Africa, South America and the Middle East have traditional economies Customs govern the economic decisions that are made Technology is not used in traditional economies (Tedlow, 76). Farming, hunting and gathering are done the same way as the generation before Economic activities are usually centered toward the family or ethnic unit Men and women are given different economic roles and tasks A traditional economic system is one in which people's economic roles are the same as those of their parents and grandparents. Thus, people, living in an agricultural village still plant and harvest their own food on their own land. And the ways they produce clothing and shelter are almost exactly the same as those used in the past. Tradition decides what these people do for a living and how their work is performed (Bender, 86). MARKET: Here the major decisions regarding the 3 questions are made by individual consumers, businesses and, to a very minor extent, government.

Buyers and sellers make their decision known in the market place. The market economy does not need to have people speak one language, yet the people would ultimately do so to assure that the customers get the right message from the sellers and buy the needed goods / services . This model which the USA adopted seemed to be the most evolutionary and logical (Hakim, 38). Initially the immigrants would settle with people who had similar language, customs and traditions, yet after some time they would move to different places, adopt new customs and traditions. No one had the right to tell anyone what to do. Everyone could sell / produce whatever they wanted and the responsibility for ones actions were individual.

The market system is certainly one of the choices the USA had in the 1830 - 1850 s. I should also add that in this scenario for the USA, there is little or no governmental or regulatory interference, which was the case in the mid XIX century. Even today the majority of Americans dislike and do not trust the government. This kind of economy works completely on Demand and supply. The consumer based on his wants determines what is to be produced and how much. There is free and fair competition and this ensures that the consumer gets the best possible goods at the best possible price.

Producers will also have to compete for labor resulting in the best possible wages to the employees for their skills (Filippelli, 122). The downside of this system is the producers coming together and forming a monopoly and charging unreasonably high price. Economists have also for long argued whether essential areas like education, health care, road and rail, defence etc should be allowed as free enterprise. Here is the summary of the second economic choice for the USA. Resources are owned and controlled by individuals Economic decisions are made by individuals competing to earn profits Individual freedom is considered very important Economic decisions are made by the basic principles of supply and demand Profit is the motive for increasing work rather than quotas Also called capitalist economies There are many economic freedoms There is competition among businesses (Bender, 88). Competition determines price which increase the quality of the product.

The fact that people did not interact much with each other because of geographical location (towns were located far from each other) certainly contributed to this choice in the mid XIX century. PUBLIC (COMMAND): Here the major decisions to the economic questions are made by the government on behalf of the citizens it serves. The power of the government in such decisions varies. The state usually has a planning commission which decides on the allocation of resources, what to produced, what price to charge, what wages to pay etc.

This type of a system ensures that everybody enjoys a fair share of the benefits of the economy. Yet it is the government that determines what is fair (Hakim, 43). The government is made of people who are separated from the other non government people, yet it exercises control over them. On the other hand what goes against the system is the efficiency of a few members of planning commission deciding the needs and wants of all the nation, the state determining, how much wages to pay irrespective of the personal inputs of the individual to the task. Here is the basic outline of what the USA could face if it chose this type of economy: Change can occur relatively easily at a whim of individual government leader There is little individual freedom to argue against the decisions There is no competition Businesses are not run to create a profit Consumers have few choices in the market place (Filippelli, 125). Factories are concerned with quotas Shortages are common because of poorly run factories and farms The government dictates the job in which you work The government sets the prices of goods and services Examples of command economies: Cuba, North Korea and the People's Republic of China: Because the early USA had many people from these countries (China, Cuba) in the mid XIX century technically It was possible to create the command economy in the USA.

In a command economic system, the main decision maker is the government. No person may independently decide to open and run any kind of business. The government decides what goods and services are to be produced. And the government sells these goods and services (Bruchey, 38).

The government also decides how the talents and skills of its workers are to be used. For the USA in the 1830 s and 1850 s for the government that would be an almost impossible thing to do. The government would have to spend tremendous resources on keeping track on where each American is and what she / he does. The government would have to have thousands of translators / interpreters to deliver the communist / command message in hundreds of languages to millions of citizen. Furthermore, it would have to make sure that at a work place, each individual was able to cooperate with another one to make a product rather than stare at each other and speak different language. Furthermore, the majority of the US immigrants moved to the USA to escape their government control and it is unlikely that they would support such control in the new country.

In conclusion I would like to note that the traditional economy in the USA could exist for a limited time, while the communist / socialist economy would not last because the US government would not be able to exercise control of the whole country in the 1930 s 1950 s and thus would fail to do what the socialist systems do: to control. Yet still it could adopt another mixed economic system that is currently in place in this country. This system incorporates elements of both systems (public and free enterprise). Usually areas are clearly demarcated and there are certain sectors where free enterprise is allowed and these are certain sectors handled by the state in the form of public sectors. This system is designed so as to do away with the inherent disadvantages of a both the kind of economics. In practice, it is planned economy with the varying degrees of state control and this is the only other government-involved alternative the US people of the XIX century would allow.

Bibliography: Hakim, Joy, An Age of Extremes (A History of Us, Vol 8), Prentice Hall, 2002. Filippelli, Ronald, Labor in the USA: A History, McGraw Hill, 2001. Bender, Daniel, Sweatshop USA: The American Sweatshop in Historical and Global Perspective, NY Random House, 2000. Heartye, A. , USA in the World Economy: Eminent Economists in Interviews With Professor Arnold Heartye, Penguin books, 2001. Kronenwetter, M, Capitalism Vs. Socialism: Economic Policies of the USA and the USSR, Prentice Hall, 2001.

Bruchey, American Business History, Penguin books, 2002. Tedlow, Richard, Rise of an American Business Corporation (Fundamentals of Pure and Applied Economics Series), McGraw Hill, 2000.


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