Elias Frieling 11/22/16

Today we did a very interesting project in which the class was split into 3 groups all with the same task, to construct various things out of paper. Each group started with different materials and had to trade to get all the required products.

 How did our group achieve success today? How did we know?
Our group achieved success by being the first of all the groups to complete the project, constructing a house, a book, a hamburger, and a ring. By trading for a few select materials we were able to get right to work on creating all the different requirements. We did this very quickly in the beginning by figuring out what materials we had and what materials we needed. We then traded away parts of materials that we had an abundance of in order to get the materials we needed to complete our task.

What helped our group to succeed? What held us back?
Our group was very lucky in which we started off with many valuable materials including a pen, glue, and multiple types of paper that were needed. In total we only had to trade for 2 different types of paper which we were able to do very quickly. Nothing really held us back as we started with the most valuable materials and were quickly able to gather all the needed resources and then cut trade with all the other groups.

What does our experiment reveal about success in capitalism?
This experiment definitely revealed that by starting off with a lot, we were very privileged and had a very easy time accomplishing our tasks, which in real life might equate to having an abundance of wealth. On the contrary some other groups started off with very little and then had a tough time progressing through the assignment even though according to the American Dream, they may have been working as hard as we were. This shows the hard work can sometimes improve status, but the biggest factor in having a high status is what you are given with to start. Our abundance of materials in real life may be equal to growing up in an affluent town and receiving a good education with the option of going on to higher education at good schools. Unlike our group, other groups may have been more like someone who grew up in a poor town, with a not so great education and maybe cannot afford a higher education. While we may both work just as hard, our groups privileges overcame and we were able to easily complete the assignment, even if we did not even work as hard as other groups.