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Historical Overview
A Long-term Economic Perspective on Recent Human Progress
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Lesson 1: Defining Terms
“A foundation for the open discourse that produces informed opinions lies in setting the parameters for discussion.” -
Lesson 2: Property Rights and the Rule of Law
“Of the capitalist institutions that offer opportunities for the poor to ascend the economic ladder, secure property rights is fundamental.” -
Lesson 3: Beneficiaries of Competition
“This lesson focuses on markets, the institution most commonly associated with capitalism and most widely vilified as impersonal and exploitative.” -
Lesson 4: How Incentives Affect Innovation
“This lesson considers how technological advances and entrepreneurship thrive in market economies and how, in doing so, they confer often-overlooked benefits on the poor.” -
Lesson 5: Character Values and Capitalism
“Evaluating whether capitalism is ‘good’ for the poor requires attention not only to people's material well-being, but also to their moral well-being and dignity.” -
Conclusion and Caveats
“Can the less-developed countries of the world quickly lead themselves out of poverty by establishing the institutions of capitalism?”
Lesson Plans
"The lessons work together as a unit or individually,
allowing teachers a great deal of flexibility. The lessons are informative
and fun, and they focus on the most important issues of modern times—from
the clash of economic, political, and moral systems collectively termed
the 'Cold War,' to the disparate value systems that still divide regions
of the world today."
William J. Hume, Chairman & Gary M. Walton,
President
Foundation for Teaching Economics