• Гідрологія і Гідрометрія
• Господарське право
• Економіка будівництва
• Економіка природокористування
• Економічна теорія
• Земельне право
• Історія України
• Кримінально виконавче право
• Медична радіологія
• Методи аналізу
• Міжнародне приватне право
• Міжнародний маркетинг
• Основи екології
• Предмет Політологія
• Соціальне страхування
• Технічні засоби організації дорожнього руху
• Товарознавство продовольчих товарів

Text 2. The traditional economy.

Before you read discuss questions with your partner:

1. Imagine the world without money. How do you think society would be run?

2. Would there be an economy as we understand it?

3. Can you think of any examples of situations where people don’t use money, either from the past or now?

4. Do you know what a traditional economy is?

It’s hard to imagine our lives without coins, banknotes and credit cards. Yet for most of human history people lived without money. For thousands of years human societies had very simple economies. There were no shops, markets or traders. There were no employers, paid workers or salaries. Today, we call this kind of economy the traditional economy, and in some parts of Asia, South America and Africa this system still exists.

People who live in a traditional economy don’t have money because they don’t need it. They live lives of subsistence. That means they hunt, gather or grow only enough food to live. There is almost no surplus in the traditional economy, and there is almost no property. Families may own simple accommodation, but land is shared by all the tribe. Economic decisions are taken according to the customs of the tribe. For example, every family may need to give some of the crops they grow to the tribal leader, but keep the rest for themselves. They don’t do this because it makes economic sense. They do it because the tribe has always done it. It’s simply a custom.

Custom, also, decides what jobs people do in the traditional economy. People generally do the jobs that their parents and grandparents did before them. Anyway, there aren’t many jobs to choose from in the traditional economy. Men are hunters, farmers or both. The woman’s place is at home looking after children, cooking and home-making. This division of labour between men and women is characteristic of the traditional economy. Whatever the work is, and whoever does it, you can be sure it’s hard work. This is because traditional economies have almost no technology. Physical strength and knowledge of the environment are the tools for survival.

Like any other economic system, the traditional economy has its benefits and drawbacks. Probably the biggest benefit is that these are peaceful societies. People consume almost everything they produce and own practically nothing. They are equally poor. For all these reasons, war is almost unknown in these societies.

However, people who live in traditional societies are among the poorest people in the world. Because custom decides what people do, nothing in these societies ever changes. Because there is no technology, people depend on nature to survive. They have no protection from environmental disasters like droughts and floods. They are always in danger of hunger and disease.

But the traditional economy is in danger itself. There only a few examples left on the planet. In 100 years from now, it may have disappeared forever.

Task 1. Read the text again and match each paragraph with the correct heading:

PARAGRAPH 1 ------------------------------

PARAGRAPH 2--------------------------------

PARAGRAPH 3-------------------------------

PARAGRAPH 4-------------------------------

PARAGRAPH 5-------------------------------

PARAGRAPH 6—---------------------------

A Life without money

B The advantages of the traditional economy

C The future of the traditional economy

D The disadvantages of the traditional economy

E The importance of tradition

F Work in the traditional economy

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