The Human World

Population, Culture, Political and Economic Systems, Resources, Trade

and the Environment

World Population

6.2 b people on earth Until Industrial Revolution

world’s population grew slowly

Birthrate growing faster than death rate

Natural increase difference between birthrate and death rate

Why population rates vary

Improved healthcare, adavanced technology, better nutrition lower death rate

In industrialized countries this accompanied by low birthrate

Some countries have reached zero population growth

Developing world (Latin America, Africa, Asia) birthrate high

Large families (cultural feelings)

Population Growth

Challenges of Population Growth

Food Supply Use resources

quickly Can technology

keep up?

Negative Population Growth

Death Rate exceeds birth rate

Late 1900’s in Europe Difficult to keep economy

going- fewer workers Import laborers causes

tension between groups

Population Distrbution

Human settlement is uneven Less than one- third of planet inhabited Most live near water, fertile soil and

climate make life sustainable Asia 60% of worlds population Europe, N.A. most live in urban areas

Population Density

Determine how crowded a country is by how many live in a square mile or kilometer of land

Why is this not accurate? (p.78)

Population Movement Migration movement from

one place to another (urban to rural areas, country to country)

Why? push and pull factors Population moving to urban

areas Reasons- jobs, opportunity War, environmental disaster,

famine cause forced migration

Global Cultures

Culture- way of life shared by a group of people

Includes: Language Religion Subgroups Government Economics

Language

Communicate information, share and pass on tradition, values Unifies culture Worlds languages divided into language groups, groups with

similar roots

Religion

Vary greatly around world Unify people, provides sense of identity Influences daily life- morals, values, holidays Religious symbols, stories shaped literature,

arts

World ReligionsWorld Religions

Social Groups

Allow cultures to work together to meet basic needs

Family most important part of all cultures, makeup varies

Social class- rank based on wealth, ancestry, education, other criteria

Some include diverse ethnic groups (share common language, history, etc.)

Government

Government reflects culture All maintain order, protection from outside

forces, supply services to people Organized by levels of power (national, state,

local) Type of authority- single leader, small group

of leaders, representative leaders

Economic Activity

How cultures utilize resources How cultures produce, obtain, use and sell

goods and services

Culture Regions

Divided into culture regions that share certain traits Economic systems, forms of government, social groups, language Share common history, art forms, religion

Cultural Change

What creates cultural change? Within- lifestyles, ideas,

inventions Outside influences- trade,

movement of people and war Process of spreading new

knowledge and skills from one culture to another cultural diffusion

Agricultural Revolution

10, 000 years ago people first settled in river valleys, established permanent settlements

Shift from gathering food to producing food agricultural revolution

3500 B.C. organized, city based societies with government, trade, art, science established (civilizations)

Culture Hearths

First civilizations in areas called cultural hearths All emerged in areas with mild climate, fertile land and were

located near a major river or source of water Factors allowed people to grow surplus food

Specialization and Civilization

Surplus food allowed development of other economic activities- economic activities and trade

Increased wealth, formed complex governments and societies

Governments coordinated building projects, harvests and military defense

Creation of writing systems to record and transmit information

Cultural Contacts

Causes of Change Contact between civilizations through trade

and travel Permanent migration Forced migration (slaves) Favorable conditions (climate, opportunity,

freedom) draw people from one region to another

Cause tradition, practices, beliefs to blend across cultures

Industrial and Information Revolution

Industrial Revolution- 1750’s changes in production b/c of mechanization led to economic, social change

People left farms for jobs, working and living conditions improved

End of 1900’s Information Revolution links cultures across globe

Political and Economic Systems

Territory, population, sovereignty, freedom from outside control managed by governments

Make and enforce laws that bind people together

Governments reflect historic, cultural characteristics of each country

Most have different levels of government

RED indicates populistic system BLUE indicates democratic system. ORANGE indicates that political system of the country is now changing from populistic to democratic.

http://www.geocities.com/historymech/maps2.html WHITE means "not enough data to determine political system". GREEN indicates occupied countries (also "not enough data" to determine political system). Yellow dots mark countries that probably could become democratic in next few years.

Government Systems

Unitary System Gives all power to a central government Usually small, not ethnically diverse United Kingdom, France

Federal System Power divided between states and central

government Each has sovereignty in certain areas U.S., Canada, Brazil, Australia, India

Types of Government

Three major groups Autocracy- oldest most

common form of government Achieve authority by

inheritance, use of force Types- totalitarian (single

leader) controls all aspects of life, monarchy (king, queen) leadership inherited, have supreme power of government

Constitutional monarchy- monarch share power with elected legislatures

Types of Government

Oligarchy- small group holds power

Power from wealth, military power, social position (sometimes religion)

Control decisions made by elected legislatures, give appearance of representing people

Usually suppress all political opposition

Types of Government

Democracy- leaders rule with consent of citizens Citizens have ultimate power Representative democracy- elect people to make laws, conduct

government (legislature) Republic- all major officials elected, head of state elected for

certain term

Economic Systems

Three Basic Decisions What and how many goods and services should be

produced How they should be produced Who gets the goods and services produced

Three types of economic systems

1) Traditional

2) Market

3) Command

Economic Systems

Traditional Economy Habit and custom define activity Not free to make decisions, do what was

done in the past Not many left

Economic Systems

Market Economy (Capitalism) Individuals, private groups makes decisions Based on free enterprise (make what people will buy) Free enterprise based on right to make a profit w/o

gov’t interference People decide where to work Mixed economy- gov’t supports and regulates free

enterprise, keep competition free and fair Gov’t influences economies by spending United States is an example

Economic Systems

Command Economy Gov’t owns means of production- land, labor,

capital Directs all economic activity Belief that it is good for society Citizens have no say in how money is spent

by gov’t

Resources, Trade and the Environment

Natural Resources Two types- renewable,

nonrenewable Nonrenewable resources –

minerals, fossil fuels Need to be conserved Renewable resources-

hydroelectric power, solar energy, nuclear energy

Can be expensive, possible environmental consequences

Economic Development

Uneven distribution of resources affects global economy

Some countries develop economies based on their natural resources

World Economic Activities divided into four types

Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, Quaternary

Economic Development

Primary Economic Activity- taking and using natural resources, primary economic activity takes place near natural resources

Secondary Economic Activity- adds value to raw materials (manufacturing), activity occurs close to markets

Tertiary Activity- professional, wholesale or retail activities

Quaternary Activity- processing, management and distribution of information (white collar professionals)

Economic Development

Developed Countries- mfg., service industries employ most people

Commercial farming, don’t need as many people to grow food

High standard of living

Economic Development

Developing Countries- mainly in Africa, Asia, Latin America

Working toward manufacturing, mostly agricultural Subsistence farming Most people poor

Economic Development

Wealth in developed world leads to resentment

Militant groups form to strike back and heighten influence to promote change (terrorists)

World Trade

Unequal distribution of resources causes global trade networks to develop

Multinational companies (MNC’s) stimulate trade

Based in developed countries, set up assembly operations in smaller countries to keep down labor costs, sell to developed countries

World Trade

Barriers to Trade Countries mange trade to

benefit them Set up restrictions on goods

from other countries (tariffs, quotas, embargoes)

Recent movement to free trade (removal of trade barriers)

Regions join together to remove restrictions (NAFTA, European Union)

People and the Environment

Human economic activity has affected environment

Water, air, land pollution Deforestation Expansion of human communities threatens

natural ecosystems (desertification is an example)