Methodological development of a social studies lesson “Types of economic systems”
Main part of the lesson
Economic system
– a way of coordinating the economic activities of people under conditions of division of labor.
Economic systems currently operating in countries around the world are distinguished by:
Forms of ownership of the means of production;
Methods of coordinating the activities of economic entities and managing the economy.
Every economic system must address the following issues:
What to produce
How to produce
For whom to produce
If it is not agreed upon what to produce
, then many of the necessary products will not be produced and their exchange will not take place.
If there is no agreement on how to produce
, then some producers will produce products in unsustainable ways, for example, burning with wood in areas where there are few forests but large reserves of coal.
Finally, if it is not agreed upon for whom to produce
, i.e. distribution and proportions during the exchange of products, a situation may arise in which, for example, a cattle breeder exchanged all the sheep for barley of the first person he came across, and other producers, even ready to exchange the same sheep for goods more valuable to the cattle breeder, were left without meat.
Economists distinguish the following main types of economic systems: traditional, command, market
. Each of them is looking for its own approaches to solving major economic issues and ways to distribute limited resources.
Traditional (patriarchal) economic system
In a traditional economy, traditions fix not only the set of goods produced, but also the distribution of activities. It is the most ancient. In a traditional economy, land and capital are held in common, and the basic economic problems of society - what, how and for whom to produce - are solved mainly on the basis of traditional tribal or semi-feudal hierarchical ties between people.
In India, for example, people were divided into castes of priests, warriors, artisans and servants. No one could choose a profession according to their wishes; a person necessarily inherited his father’s craft. The same products were produced from generation to generation, but the production methods remained the same as hundreds of years ago. On the one hand, this allowed hereditary artisans to achieve the highest level of skill, on the other hand, nothing new was invented or produced. Technical progress and increased production efficiency are impossible because each artisan copied the work techniques of his teachers. Artisans usually produce their goods to order and know their buyer in advance, only a small part of the products goes to the market, where prices remain constant. The new hardly penetrates into traditional society, where subsistence farming dominates. Property belongs to a certain social community, headed by elders or a council of elders, who determine the further stages of reproduction - distribution, sales and final consumption.
Questions and tasks for the document[edit | edit code]
Methods of collecting money by the state[edit | edit code]
- Indicate the methods of collecting money by the state, which the author of the document wrote about. What areas of financial relations do they characterize? Are such relations characteristic of a modern state?
First, in some places the state is the general cashier for all or most of the money, just as it is where banks exist, receiving interest for its own benefit on all the money deposited in its hands. Secondly, sometimes the state is the general creditor: this is the case where there are lending banks and pawnshops. Thirdly, sometimes the state is... the general insurer... against accidents resulting from the actions of the enemy, the weather, the sea. Fourth, sometimes the state has the exclusive right to sell certain goods and receive benefits associated with it.[2]
Financial intermediaries between the state and citizens[edit | edit code]
- The author names financial intermediaries between the state and citizens. Describe their functions and role in the redistribution of money.
Financial intermediaries
- these are organizations that accept money for storage for a certain percentage, mainly from the population, or collect it for other reasons and lend it for a higher percentage to those legal entities and individuals who need investment resources, as well as paying for insurance policies and pensions .
Significance - they provide stable financing of the most important public needs, save significant funds and thereby accelerate the development of production. They provide additional income to a significant number of people, while relieving them of the immediate risks of production, organizing a new business, etc. Financial intermediation shows that economic relations are not necessarily associated with conflicts and struggle. The activities of financial intermediaries lead to benefits for all parties involved in the process.
Functions of financial intermediaries
- Accumulation of savings.
- Risk redistribution.
- Agreeing the duration of assets and liabilities.
- Ensuring investment liquidity.[3]
State regulation of finance[edit | edit code]
- Based on the document and knowledge of the social studies course, explain how the state can play the role of “common paymaster,” “common creditor,” and “common insurer.” What financial institutions of modern society help the state in performing these functions?
Let's look at all three points separately and give them clear definitions.
The state in the role of “general cashier”
- here we mean the tax authorities to whom individuals and legal entities pay taxes.
The tax system, within the state, is the basis for the state to perform its functions and the main source of income for the federal, regional and local budgets. The tax system can be defined as the totality of all taxes and fees adopted in Russia, as well as the administrators of taxes and fees (government bodies) and their payers.[4] The state in the role of “general creditor”
- here we mean the banking and financial system of the state, which regulates by law how individuals and legal entities can receive loans (credits) from banks for various purposes.
This includes loans for creating and developing a business, consumer loans, mortgage loans, etc. The state in the role of a “general insurer”
- insurance activities in all countries are under state supervision. This explains the importance of insurance in the economic and social life of society. The interests of society in the development of insurance presuppose the direct participation of the state in monitoring the functioning of this area. This necessity is determined by two circumstances. Firstly, insurance performs important national economic tasks, providing compensation for damage and replenishing investment resources. Secondly, policyholders need protection because they trust insurance companies with their money, often without being able to make a conclusion about the safety of their investments. Therefore, in every country there is legislation on supervision of insurance organizations, in accordance with which the supervision system is built.[5]
