Free or Equal Questions/Answers/Reflective Writing

1. Professor Milton Friedmans research led him to believe in the power of and.
Answer #1 Free Markets
Answer #2 And economic freedom


2. If the government gives everybody the same freedom to work . . . some will do better than others.
The result will be ____ , but not ____ .
Answer #1 Equality of Opportunity
Answer #2 Equality of outcome



3. After World War II, Hong Kong became a refugee camp with millions of extremely poor people. Hong
Kong had no _______, no _____________ and little _______________________. But almost by accident
it was given ____________________________. . . . As a result, Hong Kong became an
___________________.
Answer #1 prospects
Answer #2 natural resources
Answer #3 land that could be cultivated
Answer #4 Economic Freedom
Answer #5 Economic Power House

4. In the small Baltic country of _________, Prime Minister Mart Laar took his inspiration from Professor
Friedmans book Free To Choose. What three things did he do to imitate the Hong Kong model?
Answer #1 Estonia
Answer #2 Zero Tariffs
Answer #3 Flat Tax
Answer #4 Minimal Regulation

5. Adam Smiths concept of the invisible hand was illustrated in the example of buying a tomato. The
following 3 points were made:

We vote with our ____________.
Every purchase ______________ .
To make your life better, you have to ____________________.
Answer #1 Pocket Books
Answer #2 Sends a Message
Answer #3 Better the Lives of Others

6. Economists call the constant renewal of the economy _______________. To increase our wealth and
opportunities, we have to stop doing old things in __________ and start doing innovative things in
___________.
Answer #1 Creative Destruction
Answer #2 Old Ways
Answer #3 Better Ways

7. Swedish entrepreneurs are the ________ in the world. Young Swedes and entrepreneurial immigrants
have moved from Sweden to Britain and the U.S. because the ______ are much greater there, where
______ are lower.
Answer #1 Oldest
Answer #2 Rewards
Answer #3 Taxes

8. The Founding Fathers had learned the lesson of history. The great danger to freedom is the
___________________, especially in the hands of a ________________.
Answer #1 Concentration to Power
Answer #2 Government

9. As Milton Friedman said, The society that puts equality before freedom will
_________________________. The society that puts freedom before equality will end up with a
__________________________________.
Answer #1 End Up With Neither
Answer #2 Great Measure of Both

10. Professor Friedman compares the concept of equality of opportunity to a race where everyone
begins at the starting line at the same time. In contrast, equality of outcome guarantees that everyone
finishes at the same time. Today, equality of outcome is referred to as fair shares for all.
If we applied the fair shares for all concept in this class, all students would receive an average grade of
C. This would be accomplished by taking points away from students earning As and Bs to give to
students earning Ds and Es. Distributing points equally would result in fair grades for all.
Would you approve of this method in calculating your final grade? Why or why not?

How would this differ from fair shares for all economically?

For example, whats the difference between a successful student being required to give up some of
his/her hard-earned grade and a successful person being expected to give more of his/her hard-earned
income? If you support redistribution of income and wealth, shouldnt you also be willing to
redistribute academic grades? After all, many of your fellow students may not have had the advantages
in education and upbringing that youve had.
Address the above questions in your own words, in a minimum of 3 paragraphs.

If our grading system was similar to the redistribution of income and wealth, I would be very upset. In
my opinion you dont even necessarily have to be wealthy to experience something like that. I have
personally already experienced this in a way. For example if I stay up all night typing a paper and
someone else didnt even do the assignment meaning they spent NONE of their time on it. For them to
receive any kind of credit for that is absurd.
I look at it from another perspective as well. Maybe there are people out there who are genuine about
what they get as far as wealth goes. Not everyone is capable of making a living for themselves no matter
how hard they try. Personally I know people who have been struggling financially their entire lives and
have done nothing but tried to make a living for them.
What happens when that wealthy person is no longer wealthy and ends up changing their mind on who
gets what. Not everyone is given the same opportunities as others. Some people have to work 10 times
harder for the better things and life. While that A student or B student may be living with their
parents or financially stable, they have a vehicle, a computer, a printer at home of course its going to be
easier for that person to get that A. However a person with no vehicle and no place to stay on a regular
basis, no computer at home, etc. that is nearly impossible for that student to even pass the class. I know
people in this situation and they are very hard working student considering the stability level.

Reflective Writing
Compose 2-3 paragraphs explaining how watching Free or Equal helped you achieve at least 2 of the
SLCC Learning Outcomes:

Watching the Free or Equal video I acquired substantial knowledge and think critically and creatively.
Watching this movie was a lot of information that I had not acquired until now. Knowing now how much
the government controls the US compared to what other countries. I do enjoy living in the US, however
when I watched this movie I know now also about the things that where and still are effective today.
Milton Friedman put things in to perspective for someone like me considering I knew very little about
the economy or less than what I should know. As stated in the movie, we have to stop doing the old
things and start doing better things, thats the only way a change can be made. We live in constant
renewal and businesses are always in competition.