Note ThisSocial StudiesLearningFacilitator'sManual containsanswerstoteacher-assessedassignmentsand thefinaltest; therefore,it shouldbekeptsecurebytheteacher. Studentsshouldnothaveaccesstothese assignmentsorthefmal testsuntil theyareassignedinasupervisedsituation.Theanswersshouldbe storedsecurely by theteacheratall times. Social Studies9 Learning Facilitator's Manual Module4 Central Planning inthe USSR Alberta Distance Learning Centre ISBN No. 0-7741-0145-8 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Copyright•1991,theCrowninRightofAlberta,asrepresentedbytheMinisterofEducation,AlbertaEducation11160JasperAvenue, Edmonton, Alberta,T5K0L2. Allrightsreserved. AdditionalcopiesmaybeobtainedfromtheLearningResourcesDistributingCentre. Nopartofthiscoursewaremaybereproducedinanyformincludingphotocopying(unlessotherwiseindicated),withoutthewritten permissionofAlbertaEducation. Everyefforthasbeenmadebothtoprovideproperacknowledgementoftheoriginalsourceandtocomplywithcopyrightlaw. Ifcases areidentifiedwherethishasnotbeendone,pleasenotifyAlbertaEducationsoappropriatecorrectiveactioncanbetaken. UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Module4 Module 4 - Central Planning in the USSR: Overview * Thismodule willhelpstudentstounderstandhowacentrallyplannedeconomyaffectsthelimitsof thepeoplewholiveinsuchasystem. TheSovietUnionisusedasamodelcentrallyplanned economy. Evaluation Theevaluationofthismodulewill bebasedon fivesectionassignmentsandone finalmodule assignment. Section 1 Assignment 20% Section2Assignment 10% Section3Assignment 20% Section4Assignment 15% Section5Assignment 15% Final ModuleAssignment 20% TOTAL 100% SocialStudies9 1 LearningFacilitator'sManual Module4 Resources and Materials Needed Thebasicresource requiredforthismoduleisthetext.TheSovietUnionbyPhyllis Arnold. Other books,films,videos, andcomputersoftwarethatarerecommendedare as follows: Print Resources • CanadaandtheWorld-AnAtlasResource(Sections2and3) • NationalGeographic,February 1990(Section 2,Enrichment) • Timemagazine,June25, 1990(Section5,Enrichment) Electronic Media Resources • Economics-What.HowandforWhom(Computerprogram-Section 1,Enrichment) • Farming-SovietStyle(Section2, Enrichment) • SovietUnion-ChangingTimes(Section5,Enrichment) • USSR-ChangeoftheGuard(Section5, Enrichment) • Working-SovietStyle(Section4, Enrichment) SocialStudies9 2 LearningFacilitator'sManual . Module4 Section 1: Description ofan Economic System Keyconcepts: • unlimitedwants • factorsofproduction • marketeconomy • centrallyplannedeconomy • scarcity • mixedeconomy • Gosplan Thissectionwillhelpstudentsidentifytheneedofeverysocietytohave aneconomicsystem. The activitesshouldhelpstudentsunderstandthecharacteristicsofacentrallyplannedeconomy. TeachingSuggestions Section 1 containsagooddealofreviewofmaterialfromearliermodules. Decidehowmuch timeyouwishtodevotetoreviewingmaterial accordingtoyourclass'sneed forit. The latter fewactivitiespresentmorenewmaterial asthey focusinonacentrallyplannedeconomy. Theideaofcentralplanningandpublicownershipmaybedifficultforstudentstograsp completely-andtheymayhavestrongbiasesagainstit. Trytopresentthematerial sympathetically. • Besure studentshaveathoroughgrasp Gosplanandthe"MainElementsofSoviet EconomicPlanning"chartinActivity 8. • TheEnrichmentactivityrefersstudentstoacomputerprogramcalledEconomics: What, HowandforWhom? Thiscanbeofgreathelpifyoucanacquire it. Itispublishedby FocusMedia,anddistributedbyMicroSmart . Section 1: Activity 1 1. Listfourtopicsdiscussedinchapter5 Answerswillvary,butshouldincludefourtopicstakenfromthislist: • scarcity-thebasicproblemfacedbyallsocieties • means,orfactors,ofproduction • basiceconomicquestionsthatallsocietiesmustconsider • economicsystems • dijferentvalues • KarlMarx(willnotbecoveredinthissection-seeModule3) • socialism(willnotbecoveredinthissection) SocialStudies9 3 LearningFacilitator'sManual Module4 • characteristicsofacentrallyplannedeconomy • ownershipofmeansofproduction • centralplanningofproduction • Gosplan 2. Foreachofthetopicsyouhavelisted,write aquestiontowhichyou wouldliketoknow the answer. Answerswillvary,butherearesomesamplequestions-onepertopic: • Whatisscarcity? • Whatdofactorsofproductionhavetodowith economicproblems? • Whatarethesebasiceconomicquestions? • Howareeconomicsystemsdifferent? • Whatarethevaluesofdifferenteconomicsystems? • WhoisKarlMarx? • Whatissocialism? • Whatarethecharacteristicsofacentrallyplannedeconomy? • Howdoesthegovernmentownthemeansofproduction? • Howiscentralplanningofproductiondone? • WhatisGosplan? 3. Review youranswerstoquestions 1 and2. Writeaone-sentence summaryofthemainideaof thischapter. Apossiblesummaryshouldincludesomeofthefollowingideas: Sinceallsocietieshave theproblemofscarcity, theSovietUnionhasdeterminedthatit couldbestanswerthethreemaineconomicquestionswithacentrallyplannedeconomy controllingthefactorsofproduction. Section 1: Activity 2 1. Considerforamomentsomeofthemostexpensiveitems availabletoday. Inthe space that follows,identifyseveral goods,services,orskillsthatareveryexpensivetobuy. Answerswillvary. Hereareafewpossibilities: • foreignsportscar • mansion • athleticskills(athlete) • medicalservices(doctor) • expensiveartorjewellry 2. Whatdoallofthesegoods, services, andskillshaveincommonthatmakesthemexpensive? Theyareinlimitedsupplyandhighdemand. SocialStudies9 4 LearningFacilitator'sManual 3 Module4 3. Whenanyitemisinlimitedsupply,itislikelygoingtocostmoretopurchase. Thischaracteristic ofscarcity,orbeinginlimitedsupply,isnotconfinedtogoods,services, andskills. Theproblem ofscarcityaffectsallaspectsofasociety. Considerforamomentwhatwouldhappentotheprice oflumberifallthetreesintheforestssuddenlydisappeared! Whatotherproducts' costswould alsoskyrocketiftherewerenomoretrees? Answerswillvary. Iftherewerenomoretrees,forexample,itemslikelumber,furniture,paper, maplesyrup,andfruitwouldbecomemoreexpensive. 4. Checkthroughpastissuesofnewspaperslookingforexamplesofgovernmentassistancethathas beengiventoparticulargroupsorindividualsinthepastyear. Identify thegroupsandthe typeof assistancegiven. Onesuchcasehasbeenprovidedtogetyoustarted. a. RanchersinsouthernAlbertaweregivenassistancewhendroughtcausedashortageoffeed cropsfortheircattle. Answerswillvary. Herearesomegroupsthathavereceivedassistance: • wheatfarmersinSaskatchewan •fruitfarmersinBritishColumbia • fishermanintheMaritimes • nativegroups Sectioni: Activity 1. Inthespacethatfollowsidentifyallthe goodsandservicesyouwouldliketopurchaseinthenext month. Someofthethingsidentifiedwillbeitemsyouneedtosurvive(e.g., food,clothing, shelter),whileotherswillbethingsthatyou want Answerswillvary. Hereareafewlikelypossibilities: • newclothes • car • television • compactdiscplayer • vacation 2. Listallthesourcesofmoneythatyouhavetobuythegoods andservicesthatyouwant. Answerswillvary. Herearesomepossibilities: • allowance • part-timejob • loanfromparents • bankloan SocialStudies9 5 LearningFacilitator'sManual Module4 3. Isthereanoticeabledifferencebetweenyourwantsandthe amountofmoneythatyouhaveto satisfythem? Thestudentsshouldseethattheycannotbuyallofthegoodsandservicesthattheywant. 4. Ifyoudonothaveenoughmoney, whatchoicesmightyou face? Someofthechoicesareasfollows: • gettingmoremoney • buyingfeweritems 5. Theproblem ofmeetingthewantsandneedsoftheindividualswithinacountrybecomesthe responsibilityofthegovernmentofthatcountry. Whetherthecountryis Canada,the United States,ortheSovietUnion,theproblem isthesame. Howdoesagovernmentmeettheunlimited wantsofitscitizenswithlimitedresources? Thegovernmentmustdecidewhatthecitizensneedandwantthemostandallowthoseitemstobe produced. Section 1: Activity4 1. Inthespacesprovided,writethewordsthatcorrectlycompletethe followingsentences. a. Rawmaterialssuchas (e.g.)soil,water, mdfish.thatcomefrom nature, arecalled landby economists. b. Anothername forpeople'seffortsintheproductionofgoods andservicesis labour. c. Money,machines, andtoolsarecalled capital. d. Thecombinationofland, labour,andcapitalequalsproduction. e. Purchasersofgoodsandservicesarecalled consumers. 2. Thethree factorsofproductionare land labour capital 3. Nowconsiderhow the productsyouuseeverydayareaffectedbythe three factorsofproduction, a. Identifytwoproductsthatyouuseregularlyinyourownhome. SocialStudies9 6 LearningFacilitator'sManual 5 ---- Module4 Answerswillvary. Herearesomepossibilities: • clothing •food • electronicequipment b. Thinkaboutthethreefactorsofproductionandhowtheyhavebeencombinedinorderfor theseproductstoappearinyourhome. Identifyoneexampleofeachofthethreefactorsof productionthatlikelywentintothemakingofeachoftheproductsyouidentifiedabove. Recordyouranswersinthespacesprovided. Anexamplehasbeencompletedforyou. Example: Product: RolledOatsBreakfastCereal FactorsofProduction: • Land-oatsraisedonfarmer'sland • Labour-oatsshippedby farmertolocalgrainelevator • Capital-rentpaidforbuildinginwhichstoreisoperating (1) Product: FactorsofProduction: • Land- • Labour • Capital (2) Product: FactorsofProduction: • Land- • Labour • Capital Answerswillvary. Ensurethatstudents' choicesofproductorservicematchtheland, labour,andcapitalthatwentintoproducingthem. Sectioni: Activity TeachingSuggestions Thetextbookusesfourbasiceconomicquestionsbutthismodule stickstothethreebasic questionstaughtinpreviousmodules andinmosttextbooks. Thiswilllikelybeasourceof confusionforstudents,soitwillbeimportanttoclarifymatters atthisstage. SocialStudies9 7 LearningFacilitator'sManual Module4 1. Inthespacesfollowingeachexampleofagoodorservice,identifywhichofthethreeeconomic questionswouldneedtobe answeredbeforethedecisioncanbemade. a. producingskateboardsinsteadoficecream Whatistobeproduced? b. decidingtomakeagoodorserviceavailableincertaincitiesonly Forwhomshouldthesegoodsbeproduced? c. decidingthatsemiautomaticassemblylineswillbeused Howarethegoodstobeproduced? d. decidingthatthecostofaloafofbreadwillbe 250 Forwhomarethegoodstobeproduced? e. decidingthathigh-toprunningshoeswillbemadeinsteadofsandals Whatistobeproduced? f. decidingthat20000hockeysticks willbe madein afactoryinCity X Howarethegoodstobeproduced? 2. Imaginethatyou'rethegovernmentofficial whosejobitistoallocate (divideupanddistribute) resourcestoeachofthesituationsidentifiedinquestion 1. a. Howmightyou gatherinfomiationtodeterminethebestallocationofresources? Answerswillvary. Herearesomepossibilities: • askpeoplewhattheyneedbytakingapoll • havepeoplephonetheirgovernmentrepresentatives • conductinterviewsandhearings b. Howwouldyoudecidewhetherornotyouhadmadethebestdecision? Ifthemajorityofcitizensinthecountryarehappywithyourdecisions,youhaveprobably madethebestdecision. c. Howwouldyouimplement,orputintopractice,yourdecision? Answerswillvary. Apossibleanswercouldbebylettingthegovernmentmakeyourdecision thelaw. SocialStudies9 8 LearningFacilitator'sManual