This essay is based on Part I of the reading list. You must answer any one of the following questions.Answers must be typed and double spaced. Late essays will automatically be marked down one letter grade per day late (note, a paper is one day late if handed in past the deadline).

This is not a research paper requiring anything outside the books, articles or notes from the class material. The essay should be direct and concise, being a maximum of 1500 words (about 6 pages). I am most interested in the insights and thoughtfulness you bring to the material, and you will be graded accordingly. Be sure however to draw upon the assigned literature to sustain and defend the arguments you make. When using sources directly, such as in quotes, indicate the reference with in-text citations; e.g., (Payer 1977, 15).

A. Define the 'economic problem' and explain how tradition (not markets or command) works to solve it (be sure to use examples drawn from all the relevant the readings to date). B. Explain why utilizing tradition to solve the distribution aspect of the economic problem (e.g., reciprocity) faces limitations when society reaches a certain size and hence needs to be supplemented with other solutions. C. Explore how and why tradition still plays a vital role in our economic solution given that we rely primarily upon the market and command to solve the economic problem in the USA.