1. UNIT 2: ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
GRADE 7 SOCIAL STUDIES
UNIT 2: ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
Chapters 2 - 4

2. The 3 Basic Economic Questions
What goods/services are used to satisfy needs/wants ?
How can we produce these goods/services ?
How will we distribute them ? 2

3. The 3 Types of Economies
Pre-Industrial: Hand–made goods, no factories, simple tools, trading or selling
Industrial: Use of manufacturing technologies to produce goods for sale
3. Post-Industrial: Computers and the Information Age 3

4. The Canadian Economy IN THE PAST FIRST NATIONS & INUIT ECONOMIES
GOODS & SERVICES:
Depended on land and natural resources
Shelter: snow, whale bones, stone, sod, caribou hide, seal hide, wood
Food: caribou, moose, seal, fish, deer, buffalo
Clothing and Footwear: caribou hide, seal hide 4

5. PRODUCTION: No wastage – all parts of caribou used
Made by hand using stone and bone tools
No wastage – all parts of caribou used
People traveled to harvest/hunt resources as they became available
All people worked at certain jobs – eg. men hunted and women prepared meat/hides
Production included prayer and ceremonies to show respect and give thanks for resources 5

6. Everyone helped in production, so everyone shared what was produced
DISTRIBUTION:
Everyone helped in production, so everyone shared what was produced
In some areas, people enforced clear boundaries; in other areas, people shared resources – no one “owned” the land - no private ownership
Trade networks (eg. Corn for moose or beaver hides) 6

7. GOODS & SERVICES: EUROPEAN NEWCOMERS (1500)
Europeans came to North America for several reasons (see page 31):
1. European countries wanted to take over land
2. They believed their culture/religion should be spread around the world
3. Individuals were looking for economic opportunity
4.Individuals hoped to be given or to buy land
5. Europeans were looking for natural resources (eg. Timber, furs, fish, seal oil and pelts, minerals) 7

8. 1800’s: machines and factories (Industrial Age)
PRODUCTION:
1700’s: things produced at home, by hand, using simple tools and animals (Pre-Industrial Age)
Some people specialized (eg. Blacksmiths, bakers, weavers, shoesmiths, etc.)
In cities there were workshops/stores to buy things. In the country, farmers did everything themselves.
1800’s: machines and factories (Industrial Age) 8

9. People believed in the right to make as much profit as possible.
DISTRIBUTION:
People believed in the right to make as much profit as possible.
The main goal of working was to benefit yourself / your family.
From 1500’s to 1700’s, things changed from
“doing with what you had or made yourself” to “distribution through money and markets”. 9

10. THE IMPACT OF EUROPEAN CONTACT EARLY CONTACT IN THE MARITIMES:
CONTACT: when Europeans first came to North America
Caused serious problems for First Nations and Inuit
First Nations were curious and helpful
Europeans were interested in getting furs, and First Nations were interested in knives, pots, etc. (fur trade) 10

11. TREATIES: 11 Define “treaty” (page 37)
Some Conflicts: between Europeans and First Nations
and between French and English Europeans
British and First Nations made treaties (agreements) to settle disputes and agree on terms of trade
Between 1717 and 1779 Britain and First Nations entered into a number of treaties - called Covenant Chain of Treaties or the Treaties of Peace and Friendship
Main idea of the treaties: First Nations agreed to act peacefully towards the British, and the British agreed to respect First Nations’ rights.
First Nations did not agree to give up land or natural resources. 11

12. THE EFFECTS OF THE FUR TRADE:
First Nations economies changed because of the fur trade:
More hunting for furs (fox, beaver) to trade to Europeans, and less hunting and fishing for their own needs (therefore, the need for European goods).
With more hunting for furs, the beaver and fox populations dwindled.
Why didn’t First Nations go back to hunting and fishing? Read last paragraph, p. 37. 12

13. THE EFFECTS OF EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT:
The European idea of Private Ownership did not mix well with First Nations beliefs and economies.
European impacts:
Forests cut down
Lands cleared and fenced for farming
Roads and towns built
Rivers, lakes, oceanfront areas taken over
Europeans were taking over land, not sharing it
This drastically reduced hunting and fishing areas. 13

14. The Canadian Economy IN THE PRESENT
Canada has a CAPITALIST economy based on 2 main ideas:
Goods & Services are distributed by buying & selling
Individuals are free to become as wealthy as they can
Most goods & service are produced by private companies.
The main goal of companies is to make a profit.
Most people earn money by:
- owning a business or working for a business 14

15. 15 The main differences between CAPTALISM & SOCIALISM:
Canada has a capitalist economy, but we also have some socialist ideas (eg. Govt. programs like medicare).
CAPITALISM
SOCIALISM
What is most important?
Individual Freedom (to make profit)
What’s best for the group (society)
Who decides what g/s are produced?
Individuals
Government
How do people meeting their needs?
Depends on wealth
Every person should receive enough
What creates wealth and improves society?
Competition
Co-operation 15

16. BUSINESS
“Capitalism” comes from the word capital, which means the money (and other things) invested to start and run a business
PROFIT: money the business owner makes (after expenses).
Businesses are started by people who see a need for particular goods and services in a community.
When a business starts up, it helps create wealth. How? See paragraph 3 on page 46.
There are many different types of businesses:
Small businesses: - single-owner, …
Medium-sized businesses: - partnerships, family businesses,…
Large businesses: - corporations,… 16

17. POVERTY WHAT IS POVERTY? 17 1. When someone has a lower
standard of living than
most people in society
When the cost of meeting
your basic needs is higher
than your income.
Standard of Living: a measure of how much “buying power” you have
EXPENSES > INCOME 17

18. See examples, page 52 and Voices, page 53
When INCOME > EXPENSES, we say that you have
ECONOMIC SECURITY.
THE POVERTY CYCLE:
When you don’t have enough income
to meet your basic needs, it is hard to
get what you need to improve your life.
See examples, page 52 and Voices, page 53
A cycle is when the same events keep happening over again, with the same results 18

19. PERSONAL CAPITAL
PERSONAL CAPITAL: anything you have that can help you improve your economic situation.
Examples: Savings, Property, Skills, Willingness to work hard
How Can You Create Personal Capital?
- Use money wisely (save some)
- Buy a home (see diagram, page 55)
- Get training, education, skills (even if you need to borrow) 19

20. KINDS OF JOBS 20 There are 4 main economic sectors:
PRIMARY SECTOR: Harvesting or extracting natural resources. Eg. Farming, fishing, forestry, mining
SECONDARY SECTOR: Construction or manufacturing. Eg. Carpenter, factory worker
TERTIARY SECTOR: Providing services to others. Eg. Sales people, bus drivers, teachers, nurses
QUATERNARY SECTOR: Working with ideas and information. Eg. Research, computer programmers
A DIVERSIFIED economy is one that has a good balance of jobs in all sectors, but mostly in tertiary and quaternary. 20

21. STATISTICS & GRAPHS: 21 FOUR TYPES OF GRAPHS (see pages 65-66):
Line Graph: good for showing how something changes over time.
Circle Graph: good for showing what part of the whole something is. 21

22. 22 Pictograph: uses symbols or pictures to show statistics.
Bar Graph: good for comparing 2 or more sets of statistics. 22

23. THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
No country’s economy is separate from the economies of other countries. Almost all countries sell goods and services to other countries and buy goods and services from other countries. Canada’s main trading partner is the United States.
Trading can be good:
It increases the products available to people
It earns money for your country
Trading can be bad:
If you import more than you export
If the demand for your products goes down, price goes down 23

24. ECONOMIC FORECASTING
FORECAST: A best guess about what it will be like in the future, based on information about what’s happening now.
To forecast, you must look at social, economic and demographic trends.
TREND: A pattern of change over time.
DEMOGRAPHICS: Statistics about the makeup of a population. Eg. Age, gender, where people live,… 24