Lesson 1: Is There An Iron Law of Wages?

How to get started? Couldn’t be easier. Peruse the readings linked below. Write your name on this form, answer the questions, and click “Submit”. If you remit the $25 enrollment fee, we will assign a teacher to you, and off you’ll go. If you don’t pay, there’s no harm done; we just won’t offer personal responses to your work.

Stuff to read: What IS the Problem? — The “Iron Law of Wages” — Poverty & Overpopulation — Economics and Political Economy

Before you embark on the course: Where do YOU stand on the big Economic Questions?

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1. Name at least three of the economic contradictions that bedevil modern society. (7 pts.)

2. In general terms, what was the Wages Funds theory? (7 pts.)

3. Comment on these two illustrations. How do they relate to the questions considered in this course? (7 pts.)

4. According to Malthus, what were the only two processes that could could curb the human tendency toward overpopulation? (7 pts.)

5. Three of today's pervasive problems are deforestation, desertification, and the rapid growth of urban slums. What are some indications that these things are not simply caused by population growth? (7 pts.)

6. How have modern environmental issues complicated the question of overpopulation? (7 pts.)

7. What is the basic axiom of political economy, according to Henry George? Do you think this is always true? Explain your answer. (8 pts.)

8. What is the basic "problem of scarcity"? Does it imply that chronic poverty will persist? Why or why not? (8 pts.)

9. Name the four essential criteria that a thing must satisfy in order to be classified as "wealth" in political economy. (7 pts.)

10. What is the essential difference between land and wealth? (7 pts.)

11. What is the difference between personal utility and market value? (7 pts.)

12. What is the name given to direct satisfactions of human desire which are not put into material form? (7 pts.)

13. When is the process of production completed? (7 pts.)

14. Identify these 12 items according to the factors of production they represent. They could be land, labor, capital, or none of the above. If one picture contains two combined factors, name them both.

fish in the ocean

computer programming

a nice house

a stock certificate

a building site

a geosynchronous orbit

playing music in the subway

a truck

a vegetable garden

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a $100 bill

a liquor license