Economics

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The question: how will China move forward after the Cultural Revolution?Deng Xio Ping, the leader after Mao’s death, wonders:Will communism survive?Is individual effort superior to collective effort?In his mind, it doesn’t matter if a cat is black or white, if it catches the mice, it is a good catThe gist of the podcast:  individual effort on the farm produced yields 20 times bigger than the collective ones.The assignment: listen to the 17 minute podcast and put yourself in the same situation as the farmers.  Would you have signed the pledge?  Why?  Describe how you think economic rules should be set up to coincide with your notion of human nature.  Can you visualize yourself working really hard in a communal environment where individual effort is subordinated to the collective?You don’t need the textbook or the internet for this assignment, as it is asking for your concept about incentives and human nature.  It doesn’t need to exceed a few paragraphs, but is perfectly acceptable to write more if you wish.Why This Assignment Interests Me:I was teaching in China in 1985Met farmers; they wanted refrigerators and radiosTransformed society: change the rule or the incentive and you change behaviorExample: most important quality for spouse in 1985 was education; now it is incomeUp-side-down: cola salesman made three times more than professorProfit was a forbidden word in the past; punishable by jail One’s notion of human nature is a fundamental issue for how to set up an economyChinese capitalism is different from United States capitalismRemember to paste directly into the box, which means no paper clip icon will appear next to your submission.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2014/05/14/312488659/episode-337-the-secret-document-that-transformed-china