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Concept Connector Study Guide
Economic Systems
Essential Question: What types of economic systems have societies
used to produce and distribute goods and services?
A.
Define economic system.
B.
Record information about the topics listed in the Cumulative Review or your answers to
the questions in the Cumulative Review below. Use the Concept Connector Handbooks at the
end of your textbook, as well as chapter information, to complete this worksheet.
1. The Expansion of Towns in Medieval Europe
Before the expansion of towns, the medieval economy was based on the manor.
Manors were self-sufficient estates owned by lords that produced nearly everything that was needed. Peasants were required to work for the lord in return for
his protection. During the Middle Ages, towns expanded. Trade revived, stimulating new ways of doing business. Groups of merchants formed partnerships. A
new middle class, made up of merchants, traders, and artisans, came into being.
Towns were very different from manors. Townspeople had no lord, could move
about freely, and had different economic opportunities. Nobles resented the fact
that they had no control over towns. The Church was concerned that the emphasis on trade and money was immoral. The growth of towns eventually reshaped
medieval society. Peasants preferred to sell their produce to townspeople and pay
rent to the lord in cash rather than labor. By 1300, most peasants in Western
Europe rented their land or were hired laborers.
2. Mercantilism and Manorialism
In the 1700s, European nations adopted the economic policy of mercantilism in
order to gain wealth and build empires. Mercantilists believed that a nation’s
wealth was measured in its supply of gold and silver. Mercantilism depended
heavily on the establishment of overseas colonies. Colonies provided resources
and materials for the parent country. Colonists were required by laws to trade
exclusively with the parent country. Manorialism was the economic system of the
Middle Ages. A manor was a lord’s estate, which included one or more villages
and the surrounding lands. Most peasants on a manor were serfs bound to the
land. A manor produced everything needed by the people who lived and worked
on the manor. Much as mercantilism existed for the benefit of the parent country,
the manor existed for the benefit of the lord.
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Concept Connector Study Guide
ECONOMIC SYSTEMS (continued)
3. Market Economy (Chapter 5, page 191)
4. Centrally Planned Economy (Chapter 5, page 191)
5. Mixed Economy (Chapter 5, page 191)
6. Compare Socialism with Mercantilism (Chapter 5, page 191)
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Concept Connector Study Guide
ECONOMIC SYSTEMS (continued)
7. The Commercial Revolution During the Middle Ages and the Industrial
Revolution (Chapter 6, page 223)
8. Command Economies in Developing Countries and in Russia
(Chapter 18, page 627)
9. Economic Systems in the Twentieth Century (Chapter 19, page 641)
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Concept Connector Study Guide
ECONOMIC SYSTEMS (continued)
C. Sample Topics for Thematic Essays
Below are examples of thematic essay topics that might appear on a test. Prepare for the test
by outlining an essay for each topic on a separate sheet of paper. Use the Concept Connector
Handbooks at the end of your textbook, as well as chapter information, to outline your essays.
1. Discuss the economic system used by the British East India Company and the
British government in India during the 1800s and how this system affected the
economy in India.
2. Describe the “laissez-faire” approach to economics, and explain how the writings
of Adam Smith supported this approach.
3. Describe the classes Karl Marx believed had struggled against one another
throughout history, and discuss why Marxism lost much of its appeal as time
passed.
4. Compare the economic system in Latin America during colonial times with the
economic system after independence.
5. Contrast socialism with capitalism, and discuss the benefits early socialist reformers predicted would occur in the event that socialism replaced capitalism.
6. Discuss the role British mercantilism played in sparking the American Revolution.
7. Describe the economic changes in Eastern Europe after the fall of the Soviet Union
and the challenges facing countries as they adapted from one economic system to
another.
8. Contrast the Great Leap Forward of Mao Zedong in 1958 with the Four
Modernizations of Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s, and discuss their results.
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