WORLD ECONOMICS
Whenever economics is discussed in school, it's usually more on defining the terms. That's the reason why every time I hear the word economics, the things that come into my mind are always GDP, macro and micro economics, money and such. I've mastered the meanings of the words associated with economics, but the important things like its functions are easily forgotten. Our discussion in the subject Disciplines and Ideas in Social Sciences made me see World Economics in a different way. I realized that it's more than just defining a concept. World Economics is something that can be understood if we ourselves experience it.
During our class, we were asked to form groups. Each group was named after a country. There were two people that were asked to facilitate the game in front and they were tasked to hold the play money. My group represents India and we were given materials such as little strips of colored paper, thick sheets of bond paper and a pencil. We noticed that not all the groups were given the same materials. Some had a little amount of paper. Some had glue, scissors and a ruler. Other groups were given few materials and there's also a group that has literally nothing. All groups were provided play money though, but we all differ in amounts. Our teacher flashed shapes on the screen with corresponding values. The goal of the game was to earn money by producing these shapes using the materials provided. We must present our finished product to the game facilitators, which represent the United Nations. They were assigned to judge the value of our work and give us play money in return. The game is basically about world economics. We were shown how the countries profit through their exported products. We also encountered difficulties during the game. In reality, those challenges are the real-life issues faced by some countries in the world.
- Lack of Natural Resources
Countries like Tanzania and Mozambique own the world's natural resources. They were actually the ones who were active in trading since other countries who lack natural resources import from them. Countries who don't have enough natural resources have a hard time producing products that they could export.
- Unknown Resources
The additional use of glue and colored paper in the game symbolized the unknown natural resources of a country. My group actually owned strips of colored paper but we didn't know that it had a great value so we let other groups buy it for a lower price. In the end we were the ones who were doing the "sales talk" to convince other groups to sell it to us in exchange of something beneficial to them. In real life, countries who have unknown resources ignore it until its real value is discovered.
- Lack of Technology
US and Japan are the top countries who own the world's technology. In the game, they were provided with scissors and a ruler which made it easier for them to produce the shapes. That actually resembles them in real life because it's true that they're always advanced when it comes to technology that's why it's obvious how progressive their countries are. Those countries who lack technology are slow in producing their products because they have to do things manually.
- Low Budget
Countries that lack natural resources and technology can still cope up if they have money because it'll be possible for them to import from other countries. But those who have poor economy will remain poor because they have no means in producing good quality products. The good thing is that there's a world bank that can provide assistance to poor countries. In the game, the donation of 500 US Dollars represented the support given by the world bank.
These issues can affect an individual of a respective country since our way of living depends on the environment and economy. One can't live a proper life if our country isn't organized. Of course it will have an effect on our daily life and individual interaction. For example, if a country's economy is declining then it may result to scarcity. Knowing humans, during a difficult situation surviving is our main goal. It'll affect individual interaction since we think of ourselves first rather than other people. Moving on to a higher level, these issues can affect social interaction because having a disorganized economy can lead to chaos and other possible dangers. Understanding world economics is important because it makes us aware of what is happening to the country and to the world. It opens our eyes not only to the issues, but also to the possible solutions to eliminate them.
After we finished the game, I realized a lot of things that can help me with my life:
First, my life could "lack resources." I may not be the smartest girl in class nor that head turner chick in the hallways, but I am that girl who is intelligent enough in making her own decisions and can make people bang their heads because of laughter.
Second, I have "unknown resources" too. If people think that this is all I've got then they're wrong. I have the capacity to improve myself for the better and that's something that shouldn't be ignored.
Lastly, "lack of technology" doesn't stop me. There are people who are more privileged than me and some have way more opportunities than I have. But I believe that I can do things in my way as long as I am determined and passionate in reaching my dreams.
Conflict Theory is the most dominant in world economics because it surrounds the idea that the issues happen depending if the country is first world or developing. In our game, each group struggles to attain more resources. And because resources are limited, we must struggle with other groups. We try to protect our own interests therefore we block the progress of other groups. Given the situation that we don't let other groups buy our resources for the sake of producing good quality products, we're not giving them the means to produce theirs and improve their profit.
The images used in this blog are from:
twitter.com
thinglink.com
philstar.com
shelw.blogspot.com
japantimes.co.jp
unclepandarus.com
bls.gov
app.emaze.com