Enrichment Suggestion (LF_SocialSciences): Introduce the concept of "The Commons" (Nga Taonga Tuku Iho). Things that belong to everyone and shouldn't be sold (e.g., air, water, language, open-source software).
The class is shipwrecked on a desert island. It is rich in fruit, fish, and timber. You need to decide how to run things before chaos breaks out.
Vote: Which system do you choose and why?
Imagine a Doughnut. In the hole is poverty (not enough food, housing). Outside the ring is pollution (climate change). We want to live IN the Doughnut.
No one falls below this. Everyone has:
We don't overshoot this using:
In groups, design a new economic system for Aotearoa in 2050.
You must decide:
You have explored systems, wealth, history, and future alternatives. You are now Economic Justice experts.
Use this clip to model how communities organize practical alternatives when existing systems are inequitable.
Students will engage with this resource to critically examine economic systems — understanding how wealth, power, and resources are distributed in Aotearoa New Zealand, and exploring indigenous and alternative economic frameworks that prioritise collective wellbeing, mana, and tino rangatiratanga over individual accumulation.
Scaffold support: Provide structured comparison frameworks (e.g., two-column tables: "current system vs alternative") for entry-level access. Offer extension tasks asking students to research a specific Māori economic enterprise (e.g., Ngāi Tahu Holdings, Tainui Group Holdings) and evaluate how it balances commercial success with cultural values.
ELL / ESOL: Economic concepts (equity, redistribution, exploitation, surplus value, collective ownership) need concrete grounding — use local NZ examples and visual infographics. Allow oral discussion of economic justice issues before written analysis. Draw connections to students' home countries' economic systems as valid comparative frameworks.
Inclusion: Economic discussions can touch on students' lived experiences of poverty, precarity, or privilege — create a safe, non-judgmental space. Neurodiverse learners benefit from concrete case studies rather than abstract theory. Frame economic justice as a systems problem, not a personal failing — this reframe is both accurate and inclusive.
Mātauranga Māori lens: The Māori economy before colonisation was not "primitive" — it was a sophisticated system of reciprocal exchange (utu), collective resource management (rāhui, kaitiakitanga), redistribution through manaakitanga, and wealth measured in relationships and obligations rather than individual accumulation. Colonisation deliberately disrupted these systems through land confiscation and the introduction of individual title. Contemporary Māori economic development — through iwi corporations, Māori land trusts, and social enterprises — represents a reclamation of rangatiratanga in the economic sphere. The concept of ōhanga Māori (Māori economy) offers a genuinely alternative framework for thinking about justice, sufficiency, and collective flourishing.
Prior knowledge: Students benefit from basic familiarity with how markets and governments work. No specialist economics knowledge required — the unit builds this progressively through accessible case studies.
High-quality resources from official New Zealand education sites to extend and enrich this learning content.
Tools and stories for applying Doughnut Economics in communities and classrooms.