Case study: Survivor island
You were a passenger on a ship, on a holiday cruise around the world. After a few weeks at sea, a violent storm broke out and the ship ran aground on the rocks of a nearby island, Only a few passengers were shipwrecked on this isolated island in the middle of nowhere.
You tried to salvage what you could from the ship. Most of your supplies were lost in the storm.
The-day after the storm, the group took stodk of all available resources. Apart from metal and wood from the ship, you also managed to salvage some clothes.
One of the group members was injured and could not help the rest in their struggle for survival.
1. Discuss the central economic problem facing this group of survivors.
2. Make a list of the basic needs and wants of the survivors.
3. Now put this list of needs and wants in order of importance and give reasons for prioriLsing your needs. Use the following table to answer this question.
4. Study your answer to question 3 - how can you use the concept of 'opportunity cost' to determine the importance of the order in which you will have to satisfy your needs and wants' Will you change the order of importance in question 3 after you have looked at the concept of opportunity costs?
5. Do you think that the order of importance of needs and wants will be different for another person? (Substantiate your answer.) What method will you use to make decisions in the group?
6. A shelter for the survivors is a very important need.
7. Identity and explain the three basic economic questions (what? btnc and for whom?) that the group cif survivors will have to answer every day.
8. Draw a diagram of the circular flow of the economy on this Island. Briefly explain the workings of this circular flow.