By Ryan Spiegel and Asher Zemmel
Dr. Blaney’s Economics class is a History elective available to Juniors and Seniors. The class focuses on fundamental economic principles, concepts and definitions and applies them to historical and current events. Settlers of Catan tournaments, analyzing the Dutch East India Company, debating solutions to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on New York City, a Presidential debate and comparing the successes and failures of Chinese and American cities are all projects that were completed in the Economics class this year.
The final project required students to apply the knowledge they accumulated throughout the course to argue economic policy from a select country’s perspective. The project set the People’s Republic of China and the USA’s economic policies head to head. Students acted as representatives of the PRC, the USA and three unique African countries; each African country was given time to question the global superpowers, eventually deciding whether trade with the United States or China would be more beneficial for their country. Four students made up the delegation from the United States, four students represented China, two students were Nigeria, two were Kenya and two were Zambia.
While the project’s focal point was China’s One Belt One Road initiative, each team had to research their respective countries. The Chinese team had to research their foreign policy towards each of the aforementioned African nations and the American delegation had to do the same. The pairs representing Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia had to research the economic policy and condition of their respective country, as well as trade relations with both the United States and China.
After each group had ample time to conduct their research, the next step of the assignment was to write a formal dossier chronicling the research findings. After the report was submitted to Dr. Blaney, the class used the time set aside for History finals for a town hall style debate. The two students representing Kenya asked questions to both the United States and China, followed by Zambia and then Nigeria. During the time allocated for the US and China to respond, a more free-following debate was able to ensue – with the representatives of each African country filling the role of the moderators. At the conclusion of the debate, each of the three African countries decided if their nation would join/continue with China’s One Belt One Road Initiative, or build and strengthen economic ties with the United States. The teams representing Nigeria, Zambia and Kenya in both of Dr. Blaney’s Economics classes unanimously decided, from the perspective of the country they were representing, that the best economic decision would be to forge a stronger trade relationship with the United States as opposed to China.
The project gave students an opportunity to shift their gaze from a Western-centric perspective to a more globalized point of view, focusing on Chinese policy, specifically China’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative. The OBOR is a Chinese led infrastructure development plan that spans over 70 countries. The OBOR’s intended purpose is to expand Chinese hegemony and economic might, while also improving the infrastructure of underdeveloped nations. The initiative has been heavily criticized for its predatory tactics: it forces economically unstable countries to accumulate massive amounts of Chinese-owened debt, with no way for the country to repay it, leaving the nation at the mercy of the Chinese government.
The assignment highlighted the importance of China’s increasing economic domination and emergence as a global superpower – opposing the likes of the US. Through this project students not only gained a more comprehensive understanding of foreign and economic policy in Africa, but they grew to understand the influence of the One Belt One Road Initiative and the negligence the United States has shown in the region.
As students at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School, it’s vital that we incorporate ethics into our academic classes. An important facet of this project was understanding the ethical issues that relate to both the OBOR and US foreign and economic policy. For example, portions of the debate were centered around accusations of human rights abuses in Chinese owned mines, the Uighur genocide, predatory lending practices and respecting national sovreignty. For this reason, much of the final decision regarding which country the African nations should partner with, revolved around the intersection of ethics and economics.
Dr. Blaney’s Economics class gives students insight into the world of Economics, improving their critical thinking skills and diversifying their world view. When asked why students should sign up to take Economics, Gerald Blaney said “Students should take economics because it influences many things in our lives: from our careers, our choices (including college choices), our standard of living and is a major factor in both politics and public policy. It is difficult to understand much of what goes on in society without accounting for economic factors.” Economics is offered as an elective course every year.
