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Standard 1: Productive resources are limited. Therefore, people cannot have all the goods and services they want; as a result, they must choose some things and give up others. Benchmarks:
Standard 3: Different methods can be used to allocate goods and services. People, acting individually or collectively through government, must choose which methods to use to allocate different kinds of goods and services. Benchmarks:
Standard 15: Investment in factories, machinery, new technology, and the health, education, and training of people can raise future standards of living. Benchmarks:
Lesson Theme:The history of the Soviet Union, like the history of any nation, can be viewed as a series of choices and the opportunity costs that resulted from those choices. Key Points:
Conclusion:The cost of decades of choices to invest in industry and the military, to restrict individual freedoms, and to remain isolated from western cultures and economies finally became more than the Communist Party and the people of the Soviet Union were willing to pay. Activity: A Journey of ChoicesLesson Overview:In the first part of this 2-tiered activity, students learn to identify alternatives and opportunity costs by looking at the journey of choices they make as they go through a typical school day. The second part of the activity asks them to apply their developing understanding to the historical journey of choices made by the leadership of the Soviet Union. While considering significant historical events, students identify the perceived alternatives at the time, the perceived benefits of each alternative, and the opportunity costs of the decision that was ultimately made. Students also learn to distinguish opportunity costs from consequences. In the process, they begin to recognize that all decisions involve costs, and that economic reasoning is therefore applicable in all situations, even those which may, at first glance, seem not to be “economic” decisions. Economic Concept:Economics Content Standards:Standard 1: Productive resources are limited. Therefore, people cannot have all the goods and services they want; as a result, they must choose some things and give up others. Benchmarks:
Materials:
Time required:Procedures:Part 1
sample student handout (scenarios also included for “The Nazi Non-Agression Pact,” and “The Soviet Choice for Education”. Handouts, overhead transparencies, and answer guides available in word doc download.)The Five Year PlansIn the aftermath of the Russian Revolution and World War I, the weakened condition of the Soviet economy was clearly visible. Output in every economic sector had declined: agricultural output was well below pre-war levels; the availability of consumer goods had fallen dramatically; and industrial output faced a long, slow path to recovery. During the early to mid-1920s, Soviet leaders engaged in a great deal of internal debate about the relative importance of peasant owned and controlled agriculture on the one hand and state-run industry on the other. The essential question concerned the best path to economic growth: Was economic growth – national wealth and prosperity – best achieved through growth of private farms and the agricultural sector or was it best achieved through state-directed investment in industry? Soviet leaders clearly felt that they could not pursue both and that a choice would have to be made. The Five Year Plan called for investing in industry by limiting the resources available for the production of consumer goods and the farm sector and directing those resources to the production of such industrial essentials as steel and electricity. For this to be accomplished, the profits from agricultural would have to be used for investment in industry, and satisfying citizens’ desires for consumer goods and housing would have to be delayed. The alternative was to encourage the use of resources to satisfy the immediate desires of citizens for food and other agricultural and consumer goods. This would mean delaying investment in the capital necessary for heavy industry and future industrial strength. Consider the Soviet leaders’ choice:
Given the alternatives and the benefits of each, as they were considered at the time, do you think the leaders made the right choice? Why? Results of the choice to adopt the First Five Year PlanBy implementing the first of many Five Year Plans, the Soviet leaders clearly chose to push for high economic growth rates through investment in heavy industry and military production. One immediate result of implementing the plan was the seizing of agricultural harvests for redistribution by the state. Farming was collectivized in state-run cooperatives, and there was little or no emphasis on producing consumer goods. In addition, prices and wages were set by the government, which left few consumers with money for consumer purchases, in any case. Investment in industry rose to 25% by the late 1920s, meaning that effectively one-fourth of the resources of the Soviet Union were being diverted into building an industrial foundation. During the First Five Year Plan (1928-1933) the Soviet economy grew by 48%. Industrial goods grew by 113% and electric power production by 227%. On the other hand, consumer goods grew by only 1%. With the knowledge of hindsight, discuss the following questions. Be prepared to defend your answers.
Assessment: Space RaceAs the Cold War developed and escalated into the 1960s, leaders of the Soviet Union continued to face the choice of how to use resources to promote their goals. The initial choice to invest heavily in capital goods and military strength was coupled with a desire to wage a propaganda war – to show the rest of the world the prowess of the communist system. The Soviets wanted a showcase, both for their own citizens – to show them that the system was producing advancement and glory, and for the rest of the world. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Soviet Union faced the choice of making a huge investment in space technology, space exploration and science, diverting even more investment from the production of housing and consumer goods. This choice to pursue applied science in the area of space technology was apparently motivated by both the hope of using space superiority for military purposes and the desire to showcase the scientific genius of the Soviet Union by defeating the West in the space race. While military prowess could produce the same result, superiority would only be apparent in war, something the USSR wanted to avoid. Space exploration offered them the opportunity to be an undisputed international “winner,” without the debilitating costs of war. 1. Consider the alternatives:
2. What were the benefits of each choice? 3. What was the opportunity cost of the choice made to pursue space exploration? Results of the Choice to Explore Space:The Sputniks, the shot at the moon, the photographing of the far side of the moon, and Soviet astronauts orbiting of the earth, together with atomic and hydrogen explosions, emphasized the achievements of Soviet applied science, and in particular Soviet rockets, missiles, and atomic and space technology. In these fields, as in others, the Soviet Union profited from contributions of espionage and of German scientists brought to the USSR after World War II. The state financed and promoted these extremely expensive technological programs and also organized and paid for the search for new natural resources necessary for the scientific endeavors. In terms of the military / industrial investment we know that the Soviet Union tested an atomic bomb in 1949, signed a military alliance with China in 1950, and assisted the Chinese in the 1953-54 Korean conflict. In 1955, they established the Warsaw Pact; in 1956 successfully suppressed a revolt in Hungary; in 1957 successfully tested an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, and in 1961 challenged the western powers by building the Berlin Wall. In addition, during the 1960s, the Soviet Union was the world leader in steel production. During the same period, they compiled an impressive list of firsts in space, including the first satellite, the first satellite with an animal aboard, the first moon rocket, the first photo of the far side of the moon, the first man in space, the first woman in space, the first man to walk in space, the first flight around the moon and return, the first experimental space station. Soviet “firsts” in space would continue into the 70s. 4. Evaluate the Soviets’ choice in terms of costs and benefits: was it the best choice at the time?
5. Did they accurately assess the costs and benefits? 6. Who benefited and who bore the costs? |