Compare and ContrastLESSON 8 – ATHENS AND SPARTA: IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES

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Athens Sparta

Societies must make choices because of scarcity.

Scarcity: The condition that exists because human wants exceed the capacity of available resources to satisfy those wants. Productive Resources: Natural resources, human resources, and capital resources used to make goods and services.

LESSON 8 – ATHENS AND SPARTA: IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES

FOCUS MIDDLE SCHOOL WORLD HISTORY © COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION, NEW YORK, NY

Productive resources include:Natural Resources — "Gifts of nature" that can be used to produce goods and services; for example, oceans, air, mineral deposits, forests, and fields of land.

Human Resources — The health, education, experience, training, skills, and values of people; for example, doctors, teachers, and farmers.

 

LESSON 8 – ATHENS AND SPARTA: IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES

FOCUS MIDDLE SCHOOL WORLD HISTORY © COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION, NEW YORK, NY

Productive resources include:

Capital Resources — Goods made and used to produce and distribute goods and services; examples include tools, machinery, and buildings.

   

LESSON 8 – ATHENS AND SPARTA: IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES

FOCUS MIDDLE SCHOOL WORLD HISTORY © COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION, NEW YORK, NY

Societies must make choices because of scarcity.

Choices: Because our wants are greater than our resources, people must make choices. When you choose one thing, you must give up something else, which means there is an opportunity cost. 

Opportunity Cost: The highest valued alternative that is given up when a choice is made.

LESSON 8 – ATHENS AND SPARTA: IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES

FOCUS MIDDLE SCHOOL WORLD HISTORY © COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION, NEW YORK, NY

Production Possibilities Frontier

Production Possibilities Frontier: A table or graph that shows the various combinations of two goods it is possible to produce with a given amount of resources.

Imagine a society that used all of its resources (natural, human, and capital) to produce two goods: olives and grapes. We can illustrate their choices on a production possibilities frontier, shown on the next slide.

LESSON 8 – ATHENS AND SPARTA: IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES

FOCUS MIDDLE SCHOOL WORLD HISTORY © COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION, NEW YORK, NY

Production Possibilities Frontier

LESSON 8 – ATHENS AND SPARTA: IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES

FOCUS MIDDLE SCHOOL WORLD HISTORY © COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION, NEW YORK, NY

Guns vs. Butter

Guns vs. Butter: A phrase that refers to the trade-off that nations face when choosing to devote more or fewer resources to military or civilian goods and services.

Guns: Resources devoted to the production of military goods or services. Butter: Resources devoted to the production of civilian goods or services. 

LESSON 8 – ATHENS AND SPARTA: IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES

FOCUS MIDDLE SCHOOL WORLD HISTORY © COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION, NEW YORK, NY

Guns vs. ButterLESSON 8 – ATHENS AND SPARTA: IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES

FOCUS MIDDLE SCHOOL WORLD HISTORY © COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION, NEW YORK, NY