Semester Reflection
Economic Theory 12: Reflection
This semester, I completed an independent inquiry project about communism in the GDR and the impacts it had on German citizens post-unification.
The most important part of my project is where I mention how former GDR citizens experience nostalgia for life in East Germany. This nostalgia often centers around elements such as GDR-era market products, job security, and the close-knit communities they once enjoyed. As a result, many former eastern citizens struggled to adapt to the changes brought about by reunification, and this difficulty in fully adjusting remains evident even today.
I gathered my information from reliable sources, carefully evaluated using the CRAAP test. I began my research by watching documentary videos to gain a general understanding of this period in history, which helped me better retain and contextualize the information during the research process. One interesting fact I discovered about the GDR is that, despite being a communist state, the government acknowledged the importance of providing some level of luxury to motivate its citizens. For example, they imported one million pairs of jeans from the West to offer something desirable for people to strive for and work harder.
This remains relevant in 2024 because we can learn valuable lessons from the GDR’s economy and how it contributed to dissatisfaction among its citizens, helping us avoid repeating similar mistakes in today’s society.
Core Competency Reflection
I look for, develop and weigh different perspectives and pieces of evidence, as demonstrated in my inquiry project, where I drew comparisons between both the FRG, a capitalistic state, and the GDR, communist. I mentioned all the negatives that came from living in the former East Germany – as well as all the positives – to ensure that the readers can understand both sides to have their interpretation of it unbiased.
I use evidence to make judgements or decisions, as demonstrated in my final in-class write, where I analyzed the arguments of Keynes and Hayek, and examined the current struggles Canada faces today to make the best decision for what the Canadian government should adopt for the sake of Canada’s economy.
An example of where I built upon someone else’s ideas was when we did the “invisible hand” assignment, in which our table group took turns in sharing their responses to the video questions. At points where I had no further input to give, I carefully listened to my peers to see if I could add anything on top of their inputs