This lesson and related activities are designed to support in-class learning, elearning, and distance learning (students working online at home while the instructor checks in digitally.)

Established goal

Students will hear differing views about capitalism based on the video Capitalism: Doha Debates Asks.

Meaning

Understandings

Students will understand that…

• Capitalism is perceived in a variety of ways
• Capitalism may create scenarios where not everyone has access to the same resources
• Money is a common issue that the majority of people see as a daily concern
• People often believe that income equality is a growing issue
• It might be very difficult to eliminate money from daily life

Essential questions

• What’s the first word you think of when you hear “capitalism”?
• What are some negative effects of capitalism? How worried are you about money?
• What would you do with your life if money didn’t matter?
• How should we deal with rising income inequality? What should companies value more than profit?
• Would we be better off if we had universal basic income?
• Do you think we can live in a world without money?

Acquisiton

Students will know…

• Different issues associated with capitalism
• Opinions their peers have about capitalism

Students will be able to…

• Recognize the personal side of capitalism
• Express how other people see the issues associated with capitalism

Engagement

Studens will…

• Understand what other people think about capitalism through direct discussion
• Describe the importance to the student of an item to the class

Assessment evidence / Performance tasks

• Oral or written response to the essential questions
• Explanation of how each student arrives at their view

In-class, elearning, distance learning

5-10 minutes

Discuss what comes to mind when you hear the word “capitalism”.

10-15 minutes

Discuss the essential questions in small groups.

10-15 minutes

Discuss the essential questions as a class/

5 minutes

Watch the video Capitalism: Doha Debates Asks.

10-15 minutes

Focus on the question, “What would you do with your life if money didn’t matter?” Create a list of what you think other people would choose. Consider issues such as if the person was wealthy or poor already if money was suddenly no longer used.

Activities (Choose one or more)

One day

Ask three to five people outside of your class/learning group four of the essential questions. The data may be collected in person or virtually. Write each person’s responses to share as a class/group.

Have an item that you think best represents “capitalism” from home. It may be the physical object or a
photo. Each student will share out what the student brought and why.

15-20 minutes

Share the responses from the first activity once the information has been collected.

15-20 minutes

Each student briefly shares the item brought to class.

This lesson and related activities are designed to support in-class learning, e-learning, and distance learning (students working online at home while the instructor checks in digitally).

Established goal

Students will have a basic understanding of capitalism and key issues based on the Doha Debates video: Capitalism at a Crossroads

Meaning

Understandings

Students will understand that…

• Capitalism has brought about a variety of improvements over the centuries.
• Capitalism does not always meet the basic needs of all people.
• The issue of inequality is not new to capitalism.
• Capitalism is not easily defined nor does it have the same meaning for each person.

Essential questions

• What do you think when you hear capitalism?
• What determines what gets made?
• What are the accomplishments of capitalism?
• What atrocities has capitalism facilitated?
• What are criticism of capitalism?
• Can there be continued growth with limited resources?
• What would a kinder capitalism look like?
• Is a universal basic income viable?

Acquisiton

Students will know…

• Key developments in capitalism in the past 400 years
• Areas where life has improved for people because of capitalism

Students will be able to…

• Recognize issues associated with capitalism
• Express positive and negative aspects to the development of capitalism

Engagement

Studens will…

• Understand other people’s general knowledge about capitalism
• Determine the variables in the future development of capitalism

Assessment evidence / Performance tasks

• Oral or written response to the essential questions
• Explanation of how each students arrives at their view
• View economic data to understand how it changes over time

In-class, elearning, distance learning

10 minutes

Watch the Doha Debates video: Capitalism at a Crossroads.

10-15 minutes

Discuss the essential questions in small groups and then as a class or discuss the questions as a class only.

15-20 minutes

Direct students to: Gapminder. This website shows how different variables play out over time. Students will pick 5 variables on the y-axis and 5 on the x-axis. Write down what the variables are and a few sentences on what happens over time with the movement on the graph.

Activities (Choose one or more)

30 minutes +

Play the online game Build Your Stax. Students may play the game individually or in a group, in the classroom or from home. Record the result of each game or take a screen shot.

NGPF says of the game, “It teaches students how to invest using an engaging, fast-paced game in which students will make 20 years of investment decisions in….20 minutes. They will choose among stocks, bonds, and index funds while also learning about the importance of having an emergency fund as “life happens” to them in this simulation.

One day

Ask 5 people outside of the classroom the essential questions from this lesson. Answers may be collected in-person or virtually. Information will be brought back to class or virtual learning group for evaluation and discussion.

10-15 minutes

Discuss the results collected from asking the essential questions.

15-20 minutes

Discuss the results of how each student performed with Build Your Stax game. Also, talk about how it made the player feel and how equality or inequality may play into the investment side of capitalism.

This lesson and related activities are designed to support in-class learning, elearning, and distance learning (students working online at home while the instructor checks in digitally.)

Established goal

Establish a foundation of primary issues that relate to a Universal Basic Income (UBI).

Meaning

Understandings

Students will understand that…

• A UBI may help reduce poverty and inequality.
• The board game Monopoly was created by a woman.
• The primary reason for the game Monopoly was to show the inequalities of the Gilded Age.
• A UBI allows individuals to choose how to spend the funds received instead of the government deciding for the person.

Essential questions

• What was the original reason for the creation of the Monopoly board game?
• How did the Gilded Age influence the board game Monopoly?
• Who created Monopoly?
• What are the main reasons to create a Universal Basic Income (UBI)?
• Would a UBI create a more equal starting point for people?
• How would people spend the money if they receive a UBI?
• How would a UBI affect a person’s well-being?
• What are examples of a UBI?

Acquisiton

Students will know…

• Key facts about UBI
• Different ways a UBI could be used

Students will be able to…

• Recognize the main components of a UBI
• Express how a UBI might benefit people over time

Engagement

Studens will…

• Describe the benefits and drawbacks of UBI in a
  time of crisis

Assessment evidence / Performance tasks

• Students will go through each Doha Debates video and additional problems associated with each video.
• Students will form groups to find additional evidence to each of the videos that will be shown to the whole class. The additional evidence found will be presented to the class either in oral form or through a brief visual presentation.
• Completion of associated tasks with each video.
• Oral or written response to the essential questions.
• Explanation of how each students arrives at their view.

In-class, elearning, distance learning

15-30 minutes

Start with essential questions. The questions may be discussed in a small group first and then as a whole class/learning group.

10-15 minutes

Watch The Forgotten History of Monopoly and discuss as a class/learning group. Essential Question: What is the real reason the game of Monopoly was created?

5-10 minutes

Watch Free money? Basic Income Explained and discuss as a class/learning group. Essential Question: What are the main reasons for a Universal Basic Income (UBI)?

Activity

One day+

COVID-19 has changed the discussion on a Universal Basic Income. Spend time researching and reading the most recent articles on UBI. Think about how the view of this idea has changed in such a short time.

Reach out to family and friends and discuss each person’s view on UBI. Has it changed at all since COVID-19 forced an almost complete shutdown of the economy? Ask about the benefits and drawbacks a UBI. Create a short survey and post on social media and tag the results @dohadebates.

This lesson and related activities are designed to support in-class learning, elearning, and distance learning (students working online at home while the instructor checks in digitally.)

Established goal

Students will hear differing views on the refugee crisis based on the video Refugees: Doha Debates Asks

Meaning

Understandings

Students will understand that…

• Economic growth has limits.
• It might be difficult to switch to green energy fast enough.
• It is important to reduce overall energy use as soon as possible.
• Economic growth does not always equal social progress.
• Sharing what people have more equally will lead greater economic growth.

Essential questions

• Is economic growth killing people and the planet? What might a post growth/post production system look like?
• Is it only rich countries that drive growth?
• How might it be possible to stop growth?
• Would there be any benefits to getting rid of public advertising?
• Is it possible to have social growth without economic growth?
• Is justice the antidote to growth?
• Would people be willing to give up products such as beef or large homes?

Acquisiton

Students will know…

• Key issues surrounding the pros and cons of capitalism.
• Differing views on how to change the direction of capitalism.

Students will be able to…

• Explain the ways capitalism impacts people and the environment.
• Recognize the current form of capitalism may not be the best form for future development.

Engagement

Studens will…

• Learn about what other people’s homes look like in different parts of the world

Assessment evidence / Performance tasks

• Discuss the speaker’s general position on globalization based on the video and background content and develop possible solutions to issues the students may have with the speaker.
• Group presentation of data found to answer each of the essential questions presented by the speaker.

In-class, elearning, distance learning

15-20 minutes

Watch Jason Hickel’s Doha Debates presentation and Speaker Spotlight. Write key points of the speaker’s videos.

20-40 minutes

Read the background content to develop a deeper understanding of speaker.

5-10 Minutes

In small groups discuss what each person drew from the videos and background information as key areas.

10-20 Minutes

Discuss each group’s findings as a class/learning group.

15-30 Minutes

Groups will pick three essential questions from the speaker and find additional data to better understand the question.

Activities (Choose one or more)

One day

What do people really need for a “comfortable” life? Jason Hickel believes people need to cut down on consumption. The best way to understand what you have is to see what other people have in their home.

Visit Dollar Street and see what things people have in different parts of the world. Begin by clicking on five different families and explore how each family lives. Next, take photos of your own home using the same format found on the website. Make a small photo collage and post it on social media and tag @dohadbates to share your results with other students.

One extra step is contact a family member or friend and ask them to complete the same task in their own home. Have a follow up discussion of the results.

1 – 2 days+

Students will form small groups. Each student in the group will ask 5 people (nonstudents outside of the school setting) the essential questions from this lesson. This may be done either in person or over Zoom, Skype, or other ways to connect digitally. Try to make connections with other people outside of your own town, State, or even country. The data will be gathered, analyzed, and then synthesized into a comprehensive summary of the data results. The results will be presented to the class.

About Jason Hickel

Jason Hickel is an anthropologist at the London School of Economics and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He is originally from Swaziland and spent a number of years living with migrant workers in South Africa, studying patterns of exploitation and political resistance in the wake of apartheid.

Alongside his ethnographic work, he writes about global inequality, post-development and ecological economics, contributing regularly to the Guardian, Al Jazeera and other outlets. He serves on the Labour Party task force on international development, works as Policy Director for /The Rules collective, and sits on the Executive Board of Academics Stand Against Poverty.

His work has been funded by the Fulbright-Hays Program, the National Science Foundation, the Wenner-Gren Foundation, the Charlotte Newcombe Foundation and the Leverhulme Trust.

Jason’s key points from Doha Debates

• Is growth killing us?
• Capitalism is the single biggest driver of climate breakdown and ecological collapse
• We need to shift to a post growth and post capitalist economy
• Capitalism requires ever growing extraction, production, and consumption
• Capitalism is being driven by rich countries Switching to “green” growth is helpful but it may not happen fast enough
• Legislate for longer product life spans, get rid of public advertising, and scale back on destructive products
• A living wage might lower production
• Economic growth does not equal social progress Most income is captured by only a small percentage

Podcasts

Interview with Dr. Jason Hickel, author of The Divide listen

Anthropologist Jason Hickel on How Capitalism Fuels Climate Change listen

Inequality Is Killing Us All. Are We Going To Stop It listen

Divide: A Brief Guide to Global Inequality and its Solutions w/ Jason Hickel listen

The Neoliberal Optimism Industry listen

COVID-19 Will Change the World Forever listen

Videos

Here’s Why Foreign Aid Is a Scam | Doha Debates watch on Youtube

Economics in an Age of Climate Breakdown watch on YouTube

4.2 BILLION People Living in Poverty Globally! watch on YouTube

IThe Paris Climate Target and the Post-Growth Imperative watch on YouTube

Inequality Is Killing Us All. Are We Going To Stop It? – Under The Skin with Russell Brand watch on YouTube

Other

Personal Website

Twitter

This lesson and related activities are designed to support in-class learning, elearning, and distance learning (students working online at home while the instructor checks in digitally.)

Established goal

Explain that economic growth is vital and the importance of embracing inclusive growth for everyone

Meaning

Understandings

Students will understand that…

• Economic growth has the opportunity to improve lives.
• Capitalism is not perfect yet provides a wide array of possibilities.
• Africa has created the largest free trade organization since the 1980s. Broad based inclusive economic growth is vital for future development.
• Positive reforms are happening throughout the African continent.

Essential questions

• Is capitalism the premier economic system?
• Is sustainable development possible without economic growth?
• How does economic growth improve livelihoods? How do we confront issues such as chronic poverty, diseases, and climate change?
• Why does Africa have 6 of the 10 fastest growing economies in the world?
• What does inclusive economic growth look like? How might economic growth ensure government reforms?

Acquisiton

Students will know…

• Key issues surrounding the pros and cons of capitalism.
• Differing views on how to change the direction of capitalism.

Students will be able to…

• Express the ways the future of Africa is one of economic growth.
• Recognize the primary reasons capitalism is beneficial.

Engagement

Studens will…

• Learn about continued economic growth on the African continent

Assessment evidence / Performance tasks

• Discuss the speaker’s general position on capitalism based on the video and background content and develop possible solutions to issues the students may have with the speaker.
• Group presentation of data found to answer each of the essential questions presented by the speaker.

In-class, elearning, distance learning

note: pacing outlined below is for in-class learning and may need to be adjusted for elearning or distance learning

15-20 minutes

Watch Ameenah Gurib-Fakim’s Doha Debates presentation and Speaker Spotlight. Write key points of the speaker’s videos.

20-40 minutes

Read the background content to develop a deeper understanding of speaker.

5-10 Minutes

In small groups discuss what each person drew from the videos and background information as key areas.

10-20 Minutes

Discuss each group’s findings as a class/learning group.

15-30 Minutes

Groups will pick three essential questions from the speaker and find additional data to better understand the question.

Activities (Choose one or more)

30 mins+

Ameenah Gurib-Fakim states that Africa is benefiting from continued economic growth. What does the data actually say regarding this belief? Gapminder shows how things have changed over time using a wide variety of variables. On this website you will have opportunity to really see what has and is happening in the world and Africa specifically. Choose 5 economic variables on the x and y axis to see how things have changed over time. First show only Africa, and then add in other or all of the other countries of the world.

10 mins

Gapminder has a short quiz to test your global knowledge. Share this with your family and friends to see how well they do. Share your results and tag @dohadebates

1 – 2 days+

Students will form small groups. Each student in the group will ask 5 people (nonstudents outside of the school setting) the essential questions from this lesson. This may be done either in person or over Zoom, Skype, or other ways to connect digitally. Try to make connections with other people outside of your own town, State, or even country. The data will be gathered, analyzed, and then synthesized into a comprehensive summary of the data results. The results will be presented to the class.

About Ameenah Gurib-Fakim

Ameenah Gurib-Fakim served as the first female President of Mauritius from 2015 to 2018, thus making her the third woman to serve as Head of State of the country.

Gurib finished her higher school education at Loreto convent Quatro Bornes before studying chemistry at the University of Surrey. She completed her PhD in organic chemistry at Exeter University before returning to Mauritius in 1987. In Mauritius, Gurib-Fakim taught organic chemistry at the University of Mauritius, where she also served as Dean of the Faculty of Science and Pro-Vice Chancellor. In 2009, Gurib- Fakim opened a research centre devoted to studying the medical and nutritious effects of plant life in Mauritius, where she is still Managing Director. She served as the Chairperson for the International Council for Scientific Union – Regional Office for Africa from 2011 to 2014. In 2019, Ameenah Gurib- Fakim also served as a keynote speaker of Cambridge University’s conference “Africa Together: Which Way Forward?”

For her efforts as a scientist, Gurib-Fakim has been recognized worldwide, receiving the L’Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science, Laureate for the National and Economic Council, and the African Union Award for Women in Science.

Ameenah’s key points from Doha Debates

• Capitalism is the premier system of economic organization
• Without growth there would be no sustainable development
• Our country’s growth has come from prioritizing people- centered investments
• Economic growth fuels the economy and improves livelihoods
• We have to confront issues like chronic poverty, diseases, and climate change
• As the U.S. becomes more isolationist and protectionist, Africa is going in the opposite direction
• Africa has created the largest free trade organization since the World Trade Organization
• Six of the ten fastest growing economies are in Africa Africa’s labor force will continue to increase as will its demands for goods in the coming decades

Videos

The journey of a village girl to the State House watch on Youtube

A Public Address by Her Excellency Ameenah Gurib- Fakim watch on YouTube

Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, President of Mauritius, at the Columbia University World Leaders Forum watch on YouTube

Engineering a Better World watch on YouTube

Leading the equality movement watch on YouTube

Humble plants that hide surprising secrets | watch on YouTube

Other

Facebook

Twitter

This lesson and related activities are designed to support in-class learning, elearning, and distance learning (students working online at home while the instructor checks in digitally.)

Established goal

Demonstrate an understanding that growth isn’t the problem, it is the unequal distribution of wealth that is the real issue

Meaning

Understandings

Students will understand that…

• The current form of capitalism does not mean it is a truly free market.
• Certain sectors such as banking, the oil industry, and Silicon Valley attempt to rig the system to their advantage.
• Capitalist swagger actually masks self doubt.
• The current form of capitalism looks like a few hoarding progress itself.
• Capitalism hides in the costume of enlightenment.

Essential questions

• Do capitalists fear a truly free market?
• Does banking have undue advantages and immunities?
• Does the oil industry rig policy, use bribery, and spread pseudo-science?
• Does Silicon Valley donate to politics out of fear of a true free market?
• Is capitalism actually just a form of capture for only the few?
• Is “woke” capitalism just a smoke screen?
• What type of capitalism will keep business honest?

Acquisiton

Students will know…

• Key ways capitalism provides unequal advantages to certain groups.
• Differing reasons why capitalism may affect a person’s sense of confidence.

Students will be able to…

• Explain ways capitalism is used to manipulate certain sectors of the economy.
• Recognize the impact capitalism has within the regulatory sphere.

Engagement

Studens will…

• Learn how people deal with diminishing resources

Assessment evidence / Performance tasks

• Discuss the speaker’s general position on capitalism based on the video and background content and develop possible solutions to issues the students may have with the speaker.
• Group presentation of data found to answer each of the essential questions presented by the speaker.

In-class, elearning, distance learning

note: pacing outlined below is for in-class learning and may need to be adjusted for elearning or distance learning

15-20 minutes

Watch Anand Giridharadas’s Doha Debates presentation and Speaker Spotlight. Write key points of the speaker’s videos.

20-40 minutes

Read the background content to develop a deeper understanding of speaker.

5-10 Minutes

In small groups discuss what each person drew from the videos and background information as key areas.

10-20 Minutes

Discuss each group’s findings as a class/learning group.

15-30 Minutes

Groups will pick three essential questions from the speaker and find additional data to better understand the question.

Activities (Choose one or more)

1-2 days

Students will play the online game SPENT. SPENT is game about poverty and the challenges it brings forth for each and every person. Throughout the game, players make a series of decisions which impacts their income. Each decision is connected to a different dilemma and problems tied to the health, level of education, and the basic needs for your family members. Often there is no “good” solution to issue at hand, which for some, might raise the level of frustration. The game helps the player gain a better understanding of the everyday struggles of people struck with poverty and homelessness.
(Source: games4sustainablity)

1 – 2 days+

Students will form small groups. Each student in the group will ask 5 people (nonstudents outside of the school setting) the essential questions from this lesson. This may be done either in person or over Zoom, Skype, or other ways to connect digitally. Try to make connections with other people outside of your own town, State, or even country. The data will be gathered, analyzed, and then synthesized into a comprehensive summary of the data results. The results will be presented to the class.

About Anand Giridharadas

Anand Giridharadas is the author of Winners Take All, The True American, and India Calling.
He is an editor-at-large for TIME and was a foreign correspondent and columnist for The New York Times from 2005 to 2016. He has also written for The Atlantic, The New Republic, and The New Yorker. He is an on-air political analyst for MSNBC, a visiting scholar at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University, and a former McKinsey analyst. He has spoken on the main stage of TED.

Anand’s writing has been honored by the Society of Publishers in Asia, the Poynter Fellowship at Yale, the 800- CEO-READ Business Book of the Year award, Harvard University’s Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award for Humanism in Culture, and the New York Public Library’s Helen Bernstein Award. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Anand’s key points from Doha Debates

• Maybe [true] capitalism is something we should try Free market capitalism is not what we actually have What we have come to know as capitalism isn’t really capitalism
• Most lionized capitalists are mainly men who fear competing in a truly free market
• The bankers have rigged regulations and the tax code to give them undo advantages and immunities
• The oil companies have given our planet a terminal diagnosis
• The monopolists of Silicon Valley aren’t confident in the market so they donate to politicians
• There is not capitalism but capture – capture is 26 billionaires owning as much as one half of the
  world’s population
• “Woke” capitalism is a smoke screen

Video

Winners Take All (Even in a Global Pandemic) watch on Youtube

The Charade Around Changing the World watch on YouTube

Are Elites Really Making the World a Better Place? watch on YouTube

Should Billionaires Exist? watch on YouTube

A tale of two Americas. And the mini-mart where they collided watch on YouTube

What It Really Takes to Change the World watch on YouTube

Other

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Personal website

This lesson and related activities are designed to support in-class learning, e-learning, and distance learning (students working online at home while the instructor checks in digitally).

Established goal

• Explain the meaning and role of the majlis.
• Describe and articulate the connections between differing views on capitalism.
• Express the themes discussed during the majlis.

Meaning

Understandings

Students will understand that…

• Some governments give more through direct programs then other governments.
• There are ways to take on large companies to allow for greater distribution of wealth.
• There are ways to make the current capitalist system more fair to a greater number of people.

Essential questions

• What is a majlis?
• How might governments redistribute wealth? Should only wealthy countries cut back on growth? Is capitalism a winner take all system?
• Which would be better – poverty reduction or carbon reduction?
• Is all growth equal?
• What way might capitalism change to make it fairer for all people?
• Do young people accept the current capitalist system?

Acquisiton

Students will know…

• Key ideas in being able to connect differing views about capitalism.
• The importance of resolving and bringing together beliefs regarding capitalism.

Students will be able to…

• Recognize differing views about capitalism.
• Express personal stance regarding capitalism.
• Use research skills to find information to support the student’s view about capitalism.

Engagement

Studens will…

• Find ways to help during the COVID-19 pandemic

Assessment evidence / Performance tasks

• Find data to support three of the essential questions discussed in the majlis.
• Write a final paper on where the student stands with regard to capitalism with supporting resources and evidence.

In-class, elearning, distance learning

note: pacing outlined below is for in-class learning and may need to be adjusted for e-learning or distance learning

5 minutes

Read about the Majlis being part of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage.

5-10 minutes

Read “How a Majlis can open minds and shape our perspectives.”

5-10 minutes

Watch An Expert’s Guide to Getting Along to better understand the method the Connector uses to help people work together.

30 minutes+

Watch the Connector video. The second half of the full debate (starting at 22 minutes into the debate) may be used to better understand the consensus-building between the speakers.

One day+

The class/group is split into three groups. Each group is given two of the essential questions. The group will find information that supports and refutes the specific question. The class will come together to discuss what was learned based on the information that each group has found. This discussion will follow the Majlis format.

15-20 minutes

The class/learning group may watch additional sections of the full debate to listen to what each speaker talks about during the Majlis.

One day+

Each student will write a final paper on where they now stand on the issue of capitalism.

Activities (Choose one or more)

Variable

COVID-19 swept across world in early 2020. The pandemic tested nearly every pillar of capitalism. All three speakers made it clear the importance of creating a fair and more equal system for all. Find a way to help during this time of what may be the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression nearly a century ago. Here are some ideas:

9 Way To Help During the COVID-19 Outbreak

How You Can Help During the COVID-19 Outbreak

How To Help Or Get Help During This Pandemic

These are just a few ideas. Talk with family or friends and come up with ideas that work best for what you are able to do and what works best for where you live. If you are using this idea after the pandemic has subsided, look into what worked and see if help is still needed.