14.1 Basic Concepts

Question 1

Work

Answer 1

The activity by which people produce from the natural world and so ensure their survival

• Work should not be thought of exclusively as paid employment

Question 2

Occupation

Answer 2

Any form of paid employment in which an individual regularly works

Question 3

Economy

Answer 3

The system of production and exchange that provides for the material needs of individuals living in a given society

Question 4

Economic Institutions

Answer 4

They are of key importance in all social orders.

What goes on in the economy usually influences other areas of social life

Question 5

One difference between modern and traditional economies

Answer 5

The majority of the population is not longer engaged in agricultural production

Question 6

Capitalism

Answer 6

An economic system based on the private ownership of wealth, which is invested and reinvested in order to produce profit

Question 7

Features That Distinguish Capitalism

Answer 7

1. Private ownership of the means of production
2. Profit as incentive
3. Competition for markets to sell goods and to acquire cheap materials and labour
4. Restless expansion and investment to accumulate capital

Question 8

Technology

Answer 8

The application of scientific knowledge of the material world to production, involving the creation of material instruments used in human interaction with nature

Question 9

2 Reasons for Why Economic Institutions Are Always Changing

Answer 9

• Technology
• Globalization

Question 10

Éléments of Work that Structure Life

Answer 10

• Money
• Activity level
• Variety
• Structuring one’s time
• Social contacts
• Personal identity

Question 11

Housework

Answer 11

Unpaid work carried out in the home usually by women

Question 12

Domestic Labour

Answer 12

Domestic chores such as cooking, cleaning, and shopping

Question 13

Division of Labour

Answer 13

The specialization of work tasks by means of which different occupations are combined within a production system.

With the development of industrialism, the division of labour became more complex than in any prior type of production system

In the modern world, the division of labour is international in scope

Question 14

Economic Interdependence

Answer 14

The fact that in the division of labour, individuals depend on others to produce many or most of the goods they need to sustain their lives