So Far Sociology/Economics We ARE social beings. How does economics play a role?

Besides Each Other Not only do we need each other. We also need stuff. Two kinds of stuff.

Stuff NEEDS WANTS

Needs We all have basic needs that must be met. Food, clothing, shelter.

Wants Wants are greedy in nature. Money Goods Land

These needs and wants And to make it interesting. We are also very competitive by nature.

Our Environment We also know that this world is very inhospitable. Sometimes we can’t get all our needs and wants.

So, the goals are: To supply our needs. To survive this inhospitable environment. And have more of wants than someone else.

How to do that. It’s not going to be easy. There aren’t enough toy cars, A’s or swings for everyone. You need to be an opportunist and competitive in nature.

Opportunist Seeing an opportunity and taking advantage of it.

Competitive We also need to be competitive. Competitiveness gives us that edge to prevail.

The “Edge” It all depends on who your target market is. Jaguar or Some company from India?

Materialism / Consumerism These two concepts work hand in hand to put us in places like this. Materialism is a preoccupation with material things (desire for money or possessions. Consumerism is an inclination toward the buying of consumer goods

We Do Have A Little Help Advertisers Madison Ave. Hollywood

Advertisers Their goal is to “guide” us to specific goods or locations. iphone Germany

In a Nutshell We need each other. We need to have stuff. We want to have more stuff than others. We compete against the “others”.

Assignment Make a list of all your “wants” in life. Include immediate and long term “wants.” Write two paragraphs describing how you plan to get those wants and how competiveness and opportunity will play a role in you attaining them.

How do you Respond? Who you are is, influenced by: Relatives Friends Media Environment

Philosophy You will develop a philosophical statement that will guide your actions throughout life.

Philosophical Statement Role models play an important part in this process. Some of the most influential role models are associated with religious beliefs.

Philosophical Statement Later on we tend to be influenced by “Others” Mr. Demulling’s Favorite Band

Reality Begins to Set In As we approach adolescence: We begin to realize something.

Reality Bites We ALL can’t be: The greatest running back in the NFL The best at Dungeons and Dragons Be members of AC/DC. Authorized to leave early for lunch.

For Our System to Work We need second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and so on and on place. If we didn’t, first place would mean NOTHING!

The Problem Our western human nature is to strive for #1. How to achieve this is the key.

I Want to be Number One Academically at school. ( STUDY ) Most popular. ( THROW THE BEST PARTIES ) Have the best car. ( GET A JOB AFTER SCHOOL )

The Chances Of you being valedictorian. Throwing the best parties. Having the best car.

Economics This is when economics comes in. We realize we can’t have everything. We should concentrate on what we can feasibly have.

Part 2 of the Assignment Take a look at your list of wants and rank them according to which you think you have the best chance of completing. 10 being most likely, 1 least likely. Develop your own personal philosophy and explain it in one paragraph or less. Then pick one of the 10’s and explain why you believe you’re likely to attain this.