“Once upon a dime” is
divided into three parts. Each part portrays a significant change in the
economy, starting from the origin of money to the foundation of the federal
bank. I really enjoyed reading the cartoon, it was funny, colorful, and really
helped me to understand the history of economics (although Mazuma island doesn’t
exist in real life :).
The first part of the cartoon is
about the origin of money. Before money exists, the people of Mazuma(a
fictional island in the cartoon) used a system called trading to exchange
valuables. However, the trade system contains many flaws. First, it does not
support direct trade between individuals. For example, when Captain Sharky and
Dr. Millicent wants flowers for their wedding, they need to trade fish for a
spear, a spear for coconuts, coconuts for a net, and then a net for some
flowers. This method is troublesome, because they don’t have a medium of
exchange. Second, the trade item can’t hold its value over time. Third, most
trade items have poor portability and durability. To solve the problem,
Bloomfield (another character in the story) came up with ‘dime’, a painted
stone that measures value and can be acceptable for all change of goods. Money has
been invented!
The second and third part of the cartoon
focuses on the developing economy of Mazuma. Paper bank notes with higher value was invented, along with bank, check, and loan system. Every time a problem arises,
Bloomfield tends to invent a way to solve or improve the situation. However, loan
system causes people to have too much money to spend, which leads to inflation
(continued rise in prices of money), the uncontrollably price rising lit the
idea of the federal bank. The federal bank controls how much someone can lend
and determine the interest rate of the other small banks, like a mother giraffe
looking after her baby giraffes :)
After I finished the cartoon, I noticed
how the economy has developed from trading fish for a spear to exchanging a
piece of paper for an ice cream. It shows how human can make value out of the simplest
things and make life much easier. I wonder what will happen to the money system
100 years from now on. If the economy keeps developing, what problems will take
place? Will there be a new medium of exchange? What determine the amount of money
(dime) each Mazuma people can obtain when dime was first invented (how was it
measured)?
I really like how you divide the story into different section. It helps the reader to understand the story line clearer even before reading the actual cartoon. The conclusion is well constructed, adding multiple questions states the author's worried about the island in the present and future time. But the summary of the cartoon is too long. It's unnecessary to summarize every detail, only the key point of the story is required. Curtail part of the summary will improve the quality.
ReplyDeleteI think you could write it very well. You explains each important point clearly.I like the way you separate the story into three parts. The conclusion is well organized thought out and planned by adding questions.
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