Trang Tran

Joe Howell
HIST 1740
June 12, 2015
Free or Equal
1. Professor Milton Friedmans research led him to believe in the
power of _____________ and _____________.
Answer #1: Free markets
Answer #2: Economic freedom
2. If the government gives everybody the same freedom to work
some will do better than others. The result will be ___________,
but not _____________.
Answer #1: Equality of opportunity
Answer #2: Equality of outcome
3. The free market enables people to go into any industry they
want; to trade with whomever they want; to buy in the cheapest
market around the world; to sell in the dearest market around
the world. But most important of all, if they fail, _____________. If
they succeed, ____________.
Answer #1: They bare the cost
Answer #2: They get the benefits
4. In the example of the lead pencil, what conclusion did Professor
Friedman reach in the context of invisible hands?
Conclusion: Invisible hands are all around. Every purchase is a
signal for
demands.
5. When a businessman faces trouble, a market threatens to
disappear or a new competitor arises, there are two things he
can do. He can turn to the government for a tariff or a quota (or
some other restriction on competition) or he can ______________
and _____________.
Answer #1: Adjust
Answer #2: Adapt

6. Economists call the constant renewal of the economy

_____________. If we want to increase our wealth and
opportunities, we have to stop doing old things in ______________
and start doing innovative things in ______________. In other
words, we have to be ________________.
Answer
Answer
Answer
Answer

#1:
#2:
#3:
#4:

Creative destruction
Old ways
Better ways
Creative

7. An example of creative destruction was used in the video.

What technology was created? What was destroyed? Why was
this new technology so important?
Created: Cellphones
Destroyed: Landlines and related jobs
Why important: It is necessary for Economic Development
8. The Founding Fathers had learned the lesson of history. The great
danger to freedom is the _______________, especially in the hands
of a ______________.
Answer #1: Concentration of power
Answer #2: Government
9. As Milton Friedman said, The society that puts equality before
freedom will ____________. The society that puts freedom before
equality will end up with a ________________.
Answer #1: End up with neither
Answer #2: Great measure of both
10.
Professor Friedman compares the concept of equality of
opportunity to a race where everyone begins at the starting line
at the same time. In contrast, equality of outcome guarantees
that everyone finishes at the same time. Today, equality of
outcome is referred to as fair shares for all.
If we applied the fair shares for all concept in this class, all
students would receive an average grade of C. This would be
accomplished by taking points away from students earning As

and Bs to give to students earning Ds and Es. Distributing

points equally would result in fair grades for all.
Would you approve of this method in calculating your
final grade? Why or why not?
How would this differ from fair shares for all
economically? For example, whats the difference
between a successful student being required to give up
some of his/her hard-earned grade and a successful
person being expected to give more of his/her hardearned income? If you support redistribution of income
and wealth, shouldnt you also be willing to redistribute
academic grades? After all, many of your fellow students
may not have had the advantages in education and
upbringing that youve had.
I do not approve of this method because if I work hard for my
grade, I dont believe I should get a lower grade just because
someone else didnt try hard enough. If it were the other way
around, I would still not approve of this if someones grade were
affected because of me. Although it says, fair share for all, it
really is not fair and life, for the most part is not fair but I believe
I should be able to get the outcome that I worked hard for.
I dont believe in fair shares for all. I think a person who works
hard for what they want should be able to take advantage of the
rewards that they deserve. If a person is working hard to be able
to afford a house, they should be able to earn enough to afford a
house.
I do believe that everybody should be treated equally. Although
workplaces state that they do not discriminate, I think that they
secretly do. I have read about a guy named Jose who applied for
a lot of jobs and had no one called him. Once he started
changing his name from Jose to Joe on his applications, the
phone calls started coming in. Regardless of the race or gender, I
believe everyone should be given the same chances.
Reflective Writing
Compose 2-3 paragraphs explaining how completing this
assignment helped you achieve at least 2 of the SLCC
Learning Outcomes:
Thinking Critically and Creatively:

Completing this assignment made me realize that thinking

critically and creatively can help you a lot in the real world. In the
video, Free or Equal, Friedman states that since the economy is
always changing, in order to stay wealthy and have more
opportunities, you have to start thinking creatively. I agree to
this. If everyone were out doing what everyone else is doing,
there wouldnt be a demand for certain things.
Develop Computer and Information Literacy:
Nowadays, technology is everything. With new computers
constantly coming out and new software in the works, it is
extremely important to know your way around a computer. A lot
of workplaces now require a candidate to be proficient in certain
programs such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Workplaces who are looking to hire managers, or candidates in
the HR position, want their candidates to know their way around
a computer because of programs they use to process all the
important paperwork. I think developing computer and
information literacy is a must since everything revolves around
technology in this economy.