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Does Modern Mean Better? Comparing “Modern” and “Traditional” Economic Models Through the Lens of Long-Term Sustainability

 

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Curriculum Level: 9-12

By Christopher Willis, Onslow County Schools, North Carolina

OVERVIEW OF LESSON: The lesson will be designed to compare the prevailing “Western” free market economic development model, based on competition, consumerism, and resource depletion, to various examples of traditional-Indigenous economic development models which are based on principles of balance, reciprocity, conservation, and resource sustainability. Students will compare examples of Indigenous economies with the free market economic development model and will consider which attributes of traditional economies could be adopted by modern economies to make them more sustainable.

SUGGESTED GRADE LEVELS: Grades 10-12

SUBJECTS:

Primary Subject: Economics and Personal Finance

Suggested Subjects: Introduction to Economics, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Principals of Business, Environmental Studies.

CORRESPONDING NATIONAL AND/OR STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA STANDARDS:
NCDPI Economics and Personal Finance Standards

EPF.CC.1 Understand factors associated with consumer decision making.

EPF.E.4 Understand factors of economic interdependence and their impact on nations.

EPF.E.1 Understand economies, markets, and the role economic factors play in making economic decisions.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:

  • What values and guiding principles make Indigenous economies so durable in the long term?
  • What can modern economies learn about sustainability from Indigenous economies?
  • How could Indigenous economic values and principles be incorporated into modern economies to achieve more sustainability?

LESSON OBJECTIVES:

  • Students will be able to identify the main guiding values & principles related to Indigenous and Modern economic models.
  • Students will be able to evaluate the main guiding values & principles of each economic model to determine their alignment with sustainability goals.
  • Students will be able to generate and present proposals for incorporating Traditional Knowledge into modern economies to increase sustainability.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR THE EDUCATOR or RESOURCES TO EXPLORE FURTHER:

SPECIFIC STUDENT STRATEGIES & ACTIVITIES: 5 Days with Assessments (60-minute classes)

Day 1 (60 minutes)

  1. Review the Economic Terms Glossary for lesson-specific terms. Review the terms in class to reach a common understanding of their meanings.
    1. Students could copy the terms and definitions into their notes or rewrite each definition into their own words and create examples to demonstrate that they understand the meanings of the terms in the context of the real world.
  2. Read “Student Background Reading”
    1. Students could read by themselves or this could be done as a class read-aloud. Alternatively, this could be read in small groups.
    2. The teacher should lead a discussion of the reading’s content, after it has been read by the students, to check for understanding and clarify any questions.

Days 2-3 (2 x 60 minutes)

  1. Identify, using the “Economic Model Comparison Guide”, the guiding values and principles related to resource allocation and economic activities in two economic models being examined-
    1. Modern Free Market
      1. Teacher should ask students what they recognize about these values and principles in their own experiences interacting with the US economy.
      2. Possible discussion questions:
        1. How are these values and principles reflected in the local businesses that the students interact with?
        2. How are these values and principles reflected in what students know about the economic “American Dream”?
        3. Does anyone’s family in the class have their own business?
    2. Traditional
      1. Teacher should suggest that many traditional, Indigenous economies are reflected in what has become known as the Sustainable Development Model (refer students back to the economic terms glossary and discuss sustainability)
      2. Discuss:
          1. How are these values and principles different from those of the Modern Free Market?
          2. Which values and principles are vastly different?
          3. Are any values and principles shared by both economic systems, according to the graphic organizers?
          4. Do these values and principles “jibe” with the students’ own economic interactions and experiences in the world?
  2. Using the Sustainability Score Sheet students should evaluate the guiding values and principles of each economic system being compared.
    1. Students should refer to the Economic Terms Glossary and the Student Background Reading to recall the definition of sustainability and the principles that are at the root of economic sustainability.
    2. Students will then evaluate each value/principle listed in the Sustainability Score Sheet and assign a score for each value/principle.
    3. Scores should be added together to get an overall score for each economic system for comparative purposes.
      1. Students should be objective in their scores and avoid personal preference or bias.
      2. Students should consider what they have learned already about resource allocation and economic activities in the Free Market and Traditional models when rating each value and principle and assigning a “Sustainability Score”.
      3. Teacher could lead discussion here about economic and cultural bias as it relates to scoring the two systems.
      4. Possible Discussion Questions:
        1. Are we predisposed to prefer one system over the other?
        2. Must a place choose one OR the other economic system?
        3. Is it possible to create or adopt a hybrid economic model?
        4. What would an economic system, with the “best of both” features from the Traditional and Modern economic systems that have been compared look like?
        5. Could each model benefit from adopting some values/principles from the other?

Day 3 (60 minutes)

  1. Generate ideas and proposals for adopting some of the most sustainable aspects of the Traditional-Indigenous economic model to improve the Modern Free Market economy based on what students have learned so far in the lesson.
    1. Brainstorm as small groups before sharing ideas with the whole class.
    2. Teacher should help the students to draw some general conclusions about the strengths and weaknesses of both systems (focus on the strengths!)
      1. Discuss: How could our system (modern free market) be improved?

ASSESSMENTS:

Formative:  

  1. (Suggested for the end of Day 2 or the start of Day 3) Create a Venn Diagram to compare the key principles and values associated with the Modern Free Market and the Traditional-Indigenous economic models.
    1. Which principles and values, if any, are shared (appear in the overlapping portion of the Venn diagram)
    2. Which values and principles do students view as being furthest apart when comparing the two?
  1. (Suggested for the end of Day 4) Quick Write– Job posting for a person who could be an asset to your company’s shift to a more sustainable economic activity.
    1. What would an ideal candidate, or consultant, bring to the job?

Summative: 

Days 4 and 5 (2 x 60 minutes) Create and present “Pragmatic Proposals” for incorporating more traditional/Indigenous/sustainable values into the modern free market economic system that we live in.

Summative Steps

  1. Teacher creates a scenario for the students.
    1. Suggested Scenario: You are part of a consultant group that has been tasked with creating an action plan for a local business that would like to become more sustainable.
      1. Teacher can adapt or elaborate on this scenario to suit their students and situation.
  1. Students research local businesses. To complete their “action plan” and help the business to move towards sustainability the group will need to:
    1. Identify a local business and describe its basic, current business operation model.
    2. Possible Questions for students to address:
      1. What goods or services does this business provide?
      2. How, essentially, does this business work currently?
      3. Using the Sustainability Score Sheet, how does this business “score” as in its current operations?
      4. How could it benefit from raising its sustainability score with your group’s help?
  1. Students create a report, with specific recommendations, for the local business to consider.
    1. Teacher should define the report requirements depending on time available, purposes, and interests. Suggested report requirements include the following:
      1. Current Business Operation Model Description
      2. Explanation of Current Sustainability Score
      3. Sustainability Suggestions (to improve the sustainability score)
      4. Benefits of Following the Sustainability Suggestions
        1. Students should consider all Economic, Social, & Environmental Benefits
  1. Students pitch (present) their proposals to the class.
    1. Classmates and teacher could take on the role of the business management team and ask questions of the presenters, give feedback, vote to approve or disapprove the proposals etc.
    2. Classmates and teacher could select the “best” proposal and award the contract to them.

Rubric for Summative Assessment

LEARNING EXTENSIONS:

  • Interview with an Indigenous Nation member to ascertain examples of traditional-sustainable economic principles currently in practice. Students could research Indigenous Nations near where they live and contact the Nation using the contact information provided by the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) https://www.ncai.org/tribal-directory
  • Letter to a member of Congress- turn the best proposals into a “call for action” from the members of Congress in your state.
  • Experiential Learning- Score local businesses using the Sustainability Score Sheet and recognize sustainability where you live/ where the school is located.

MATERIALS:

Paper or Electronic Handouts

Economic Terms Glossary

Student Background Reading (Traditional-Indigenous and Modern Free Market)

Graphic Organizers Comparison Guide (Traditional-Indigenous and Modern Free Market)

Sustainability Score Sheet

Performance Task Rubric (summative assessment rubric)

Websites of Interest

Videos of Interest  

Original Indigenous Economies- The Renewing Indigenous Economies Project (short introductory overview of indigenous economies before, during, and after European contact)

What is Sustainability? (short introductory overview of sustainability and sustainable development)

REFERENCES:

Coast Salish Development Corporation: Better Business Bureau® profile. BBB. (n.d.). https://www.bbb.org/ca/bc/ladysmith/profile/economic-development-organizations/coast-salish-development-corporation-0047-90011686

Dekivadiya, Puju. Economics Dictionary Offline. BestDictionaryApps, Version 1.3.2, March 2024. https://thedictionaryapps.com/.

Economic development agency: Ladysmith, BC. Coast Salish Group. (n.d.). https://www.coastsalishgroup.com/

Figure 1: Qualities Associated with Both Traditional Knowledge And…, www.researchgate.net/figure/Qualities-Associated-with-Both-Traditional-Knowledge-and-Western-Science-Kawagley-and_fig1_287646954. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.

Kuokkanen, R. (2011, March 30). Indigenous economies, theories of subsistence, and women: Exploring the social economy model for indigenous governance. The American Indian Quarterly. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/423634

Microeconomics. StudySmarter UK. (n.d.). https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/microeconomics/economic-principles/economic-systems/

Original Indigenous Economies: The Renewing Indigenous Economies Project. YouTube. (2020, April 21). https://youtu.be/2_ofEKjbCbo?si=ZtaoLc6cICC3_Q_Y

Protecting the ecology and economy of Salish tribes. Earthjustice. (2022, October 12). https://earthjustice.org/case/protecting-the-ecology-and-economy-of-salish-tribes

The Quechua: Guardians of the potato. Cultural Survival. (n.d.). https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/quechua-guardians-potato#:~:text=Another%20cultural%20pillar%20in%20Andean,to%20Pachamama%2C%20or%20Mother%20Earth.

Sustainability at UCLA brings together a community of students, faculty, and staff. UCLA Sustainability. (n.d.). https://www.sustain.ucla.edu/

Swiderska, K. (n.d.). Here’s why Indigenous Economics is the key to saving nature. International Institute for Environment and Development. https://www.iied.org/heres-why-indigenous-economics-key-saving-nature

“Traditional Knowledge.” WIPO, www.wipo.int/tk/en/tk/. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.

Wagner, K. (n.d.). How innovative shared labels are promoting diversity, biocultural heritage, and sustainable production. International Institute for Environment and Development. https://www.iied.org/how-innovative-shared-labels-are-promoting-diversity-biocultural-heritage-sustainable-production

What is sustainability. YouTube. (2021, April 14). https://youtu.be/zx04Kl8y4dE?si=28kD5pa9PMO4KfW7

“What Is a Traditional Economy?” GeeksforGeeks, GeeksforGeeks, 12 Jan. 2024, www.geeksforgeeks.org/traditional-economy-definition-examples-pros-cons.

World View, a public service program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, equips K-12 and community college educators with global knowledge, best practices and resources to prepare students to engage in our interconnected and diverse world.

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