Stalinist economic policies

Re: Stalinist economic policies [Doors to Diplomacy]

by Jeffery Watkins -
Number of replies: 0

The Doors to Diplomacy students were actually my friend Thom Caswell's students.  I provided technical assistance with PostNuke and the various themes, while Thom and I came up with the idea. 

I like doing activities that look at a situation differently, or that makes the students define the answers in their own terms.

For Stalinist economic policies, I think you are on the right track with comparing and contrasting with other economic systems.  I might even create three basic groups, Command Economy, Market Economy, and Mixed Economy and have the groups create something based on the principles.  Maybe have the students create a "country" each with a different system.  You could do posters or powerpoints or even simple websites, or maybe use the lesson module in Moodle, to explain how the economy of each country would work.  Then, you could use the forums to critique the works and offer advice as to what system works better and why? 

Maybe just do two groups, Command and Market, and as the students debate the pros and cons, they "develop" a Mixed Economy, which is what most "Capitalist" countries are really running today.

Then, students could research specific Stalinist policies to determine how well they worked for the Soviet Union, and the people as a whole.

Here is a chart I did for another project that is a simple explanation of the different economic systems.

Economic Systems

Market
  • Based upon Supply and Demand
  • Usually focus on consumer goods
  • Little government control
Command
  • Controlled by strong, centralized government
  • Usually focuses on industrial goods
  • Little attention paid to agriculture and consumer goods
Mixed
  • Combination of Market and Command economic systems
  • Market forces control most consumer goods
  • Government directs industry in need areas.

Hope some of this helps.

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