UTOPIA: Your Economy

You must decide on how your Utopia will pay for itself. 

• How do people make a living or earn money to pay for food or services or a home?

• What will be your currency and will there be taxes to pay for services such as fire, health and police?

• Will you produce goods to trade with the outside worlds as well as within? 

• Will you like Tokugawa limit interaction with the outside to preserve your new world? 

• What goods will you allow from the outside?  Will you limit some of the modern conveniences or electronics?

• Will these goods be things you can not make with the limited resources your island has? 

• What resources does your island have (look at New Zealand and other neighboring islands.) 

Since your Utopia is from that part of the world, it is no doubt born from some volcanic eruption.   A good place to look for information about possible resources you can list for your new nation, CIA has a great website. http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html

1. You must create a currency and assign a relative value ($1.00 US to 2 Utopia krancs).  US money gains its value based on gold since we have a reserve of it in key locations throughout the states.  The British pound for example is based on Sterling silver.  What will be the basis of value for the krancs or whatever the name of your currency is?

2. How will people be paid?  How much will the government give to people (local services such as fire or police? housing?  healthcare?), which it will pay from resources mention in activity 2?

3. What resources can Utopia have in surplus to trade on the outside?  What resources will it need from the outside (Japan for example imports a lot of beef and timber)?

4. What business or companies, if any, will your Utopia allow to build there in order to employ its people?

5. You must answer all these questions and the ones above in a State of the Utopia: Our Economic Status.