Economics is a unique field of study. After a few questions it led me to open my eyes to a different world. An equilibrium between cars in each traffic lane, and the equilibrium would then help us assess which lane we ourselves want to drive on. This equilibrium helped us make our decision, it was information.
This question and answer leads to the want of applying such thought onto all things. Taking history classes became entertaining. It was no longer a memorization game but of applying the new theory that people make decisions using the equilibrium. How to know when to apply it? That was simple, I merely had to ask "why?" Why did some colonists revolt against the British? Why did the British not allow the colonists to leave peacefully?
Or how about the look back to what I was always taught throughout my years at public school and my first economic class. That the government, FDR, had saved us from the collapse of the market. We should all rejoice at the salvation from turmoil that was brought to us by the government. Apply economics to this period and a new outlook arises. I was lied to.
Arise the question of why? Why was I lied to? What is to gain?
What does economics teach? Incentives matter.
Why do incentives matter? As it gives rise to innovation.
Why does innovation matter? Others will imitate it.
Nothing is as black and white as I was once taught.
Government does not simply do what is best for the nation. Why?
Individuals choose not groups. With this simple find, we learn that politicians have the incentive not to do what is right, but to abuse their power.
I was taught to want to be President. Not anymore. Economics has taught me many things and what I would hope it teaches others is simply don't study and read material because we need to pass a class. Ask why? Why did this happen? Search for truth, you know you reached it once it has answered the question, "why?"
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3 comments:
What a great post, Ian. I think the most important thing for anyone to ask is "why?"
Here's an interesting thing to ponder- did your teachers really lie to you, or were they ignorant of the truth? Who lied to the teachers? Why? Where'd it all begin?
Thanks Genevieve.
The questions just keep going in an endless cycle as we never amount to full knowledge, but it is sad to see individuals who stop asking why because they feel they'll never fully understand and that they simply want to have a good time.
Can't wait until you're a lawyer. Perhaps you'll carry a ditzy tradition and have a blog on Ditzy Lawyers and their cases?
Haha, maybe I will... Sarah Palin made me miss blogging...
So, one of my profs is a former economist, and he said (I'm paraphrasing a bit) in class (it made me think of you), 'Economics is really just about how we use scarce resources. But think about what that means. Everything is scarce. You can't have a boudnless budget, a boundless salary, boundless anything! Life, by definition is finite- economics is about how you act around the broad boundaries of your lifespan and then the inner, sub-boundaries, like, what do I want to eat, buy, say, given situational options. Life is scarce; economics studies that scarcity."
I might have to wear my GMU hoodie next class. ;)
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