Explain, in detail, the reasons why people would want to come to live in a world power you have studied.

Explain, in detail, the positive/negative impact a world power you have studied has had on other countries.

•Why do people want to come to America?• Ideology• Capitalism• Democracy• American Dream• Push/Pull Factors

•The impact of USA on the rest of the world • Economic – Credit Crunch• Security – The Worlds Policeman

Ideology.• Is the set of ideas that determine how a country is run. • In the United States there are three basic elements to its ideology: • Capitalism, •Democracy and the • American Dream

Capitalism• Capitalism is an economic system where individuals have the right

to make as much money as they can for themselves: (e.g. Bill Gates and Microsoft)

• Encourages individuals to use their skills and talents to earn a living.

• They can set up businesses, employ others and make profits.

• Profits can be used in whatever way they want - to reinvest in their business or to award themselves higher salaries.

• This is also known as free, or private, enterprise.

Capitalism• Competition between businesses. • Consumers (customers)freedom of choice in the goods and services

they want. • Less government involvement. • Low taxes to encourage people to pay for their own health care and

education.

Democracy• Americans are very proud of fact that their country is a

representative democracy. • The people elect their representatives to make laws. • Americans are free to vote and have a choice of political

parties to choose from. • They can stand as candidates in elections. • Elections must be held regularly.

The American Dream the notion that the American social, economic, and political system

makes success possible for every individual• The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, a set of

ideals in which freedom includes • Opportunity to achieve prosperity through hard work• Opportunity for one's children to grow up and receive a good

education and career.• Opportunity to make individual choices without restrictions according

to their class, religion, race, or ethnicity.

Pull Factors

• Pull factors are what make the USA attractive to new immigrants. • The USA offers immigrants more jobs and higher wages than

in their own country. • They can send money home to their families, improve their

lives and give their children a better future. • Have religious freedom - the government cannot force them

to follow a religion they do not believe in. • Freedom of expression – they cannot be forced to think and

speak only in ways the government likes and they cannot be told who to vote for.

Push Factors

• Push factors are what make people leave their own country. • Poverty, war, high unemployment or corrupt

government may make people want to seek a better life elsewhere.• For example, many people living in Mexico suffer from

high unemployment and low wages, so it is difficult for families to achieve a high standard of living. • Other people have left their country for political reasons

– for example, in the past people have come to the USA from Vietnam or China because of the spread of communism.

America’s impact

Economic impact – America generates huge amounts of wealth around the world

Cultural impact – Western culture is often heavily influenced by the USA, from the movies we watch to the music we listen to and the clothes we wear

Security – America is often called ‘The World’s Policeman’ as it gets involved in the affairs of other countries in order to protect itself

Economic Impact It’s the world’s largest importer of goods – this makes others lots of money. For example– In November 2013 USA imported $230million in goods and services

Its major companies are multi-national – this means they create jobs and wealth in countries around the world for example– McDonalds (1.7 million employees in 118 countries), Starbucks, Microsoft, Apple etc

Its not all good news. The US were largely (although not solely) held responsible for the credit crunch in 2008 from which the world is still recovering from.

Banks sold mortgages to many people who could not afford them.

They then sold these toxic debts onto other banks and companies worldwide.

When interest rates increased people couldn’t repay their debts.

House prices fell (negative equity). Banks like RBS lost fortunes.

The Credit CrunchWhat is Debt?Debt has helped fuel our economy for the past thirty years. We buy things with debt, from houses to a ticket to the theatre

Also before you read the note, watch the short video clip which will give you an introduction to why the credit crunch occurred

America – The Worlds Policeman

The World’s Policeman – Is this always wanted?

Watch the video clip which is a critique of America’s policy of getting involved in the business of other countries

America is still criticised for (amongst other things):

1) Carrying out drone attacks in countries like Pakistan and Yemen, which continue to kill civilians along with terror suspects

2) Carrying out surveillance on people around the world (and in their own country) including their allies

The War on Terror In 2001, America came under attack. Around 3,000 people were murdered in New

York, Washington D.C, and Pennsylvania.

In response, American launched a War on Terror, as can be seen in this speech by George W Bush in 2001

The ‘War on Terror’ terminology is no longer used by the US, but it doesn’t mean it has stopped

Explain, in detail, the reasons why people would want to come to live in a world power you have studied.

Explain, in detail, the positive/negative impact a world power you have studied has had on other countries.