What country did you represent in the game?
In my opinion, our country was probably Singapore. The reason I feel this way is due to the fact that our group had all the advanced technology to make specific products which go for a high price such as a compass to make a circle which is worth 500 points. However, our group did not have the natural resources (Raw Materials) which are used to make these products. It was not a big problem as we had several other resources such as an extra pair of scissors and an extra ruler we could exchange to quite easily get the raw materials. This can also be related to the bigger picture as all the MEDCs with modern technology quite often exploit LEDCs for raw materials as they have an abundant amount. This is one of the main factors due to which it is harder for the devolping country to make money, this also increases the gap between the rich and the poor.
What materials did you have in your envelope at the start? What kind of goods do you think these items represent? Does this mean that your country is an MEDC or LEDC or a NIC?
As I had stated, I believe that our country is clearly an MEDC. the reasoning behind this is that we began with 2 pairs of scissors, 2 rulers, 1 protractor, 1 triangle, a compass box and a single piece of paper. The scissors, rulers, etc. can be a symbol for the modern technology found to make certain types of goods, while the paper represents the raw materials. There can be several arguments to which this ‘country’ can be a NIC but I believe that a country would have been developed for at least a decade to have advanced so far that they have extra resources for manufacture.
how did you feel about being an MEDC, LEDC or NIC?
As we were an MEDC it was very easy for us to exploit other LEDCs. for example, we had used paper from another group without trading, by lending scissors. We had taken 3 paper and only given them the scissors to cut out about 8 shapes. I had realised the power we had over them, which influenced me to take the decision of exploiting them.
How fair was the game? Is the game a true reflection of the world’s trading systems?
I feel that the game was a pretty accurate reflection of the trading systems. there are always MEDC, LEDC and NIC in trading and the game had reflected on this very well. Some countries had started with many raw materials ( Paper ), some began with many machines to make the products and some also had a head start with a lot of money. All of these factors contribute to making the game as realistic as possible. however, the game was not fair. Some countries were way behind the others, some had a very big head start and a few very smart enough to exploit the market to mass produce a certain type of good to make a quick buck. Thus, the game was heavily dependant on the type of resources you get and also how effectively you can use them.
Marco Verch via Compfight
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the trading game. You explain the analogy and how your experience as Singapore, a developed country with limited resources, panned out. What were some obstacles, if any, that you encountered in the game? How did you do overall? What about factors that helped the less developed countries to achieve a high level of trade: what made them so successful despite their lack of equipment?
Great response, You seem to really understand this well. What do you think about the trading? Do you think it was a fair trade?