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It is no crime to be ignorant of economics, which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a 'dismal science.' But it is
by frgtpsswrdlame 10y ago
It is no crime to be ignorant of economics, which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a 'dismal science.' But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance.
-Rothbard
I'm seeing all sorts of economic flailing in these comments. Is it okay to make a reading recommendation? I think people who read them will have a better understanding of how economics actually works in the real world.
Economism by James Kwak
Economic Ideas You Should Forget by Bruno Frey & David Iselin
- therpe1 10y agoIt really does seem like "economic thinking" is a very rare skill. Many people seem to have a very simplistic model of economy ("Econ 101") while making all sorts of category errors (cue panic on government debt.) The discussion on renters above indicates that even simple concepts like Economic Rent[1] aren't well understand. And very few people are capable of doing serious economic analysis and/or research. Given the dearth of such economic understanding I think the next step might just be getting people to appreciate their economic ignorance. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_rent https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_rent
- ue_ 10y agoI would also recommend Wage Labour and Capital by Marx, and the classical political economists like Smith and Ricardo. A good introduction to contending schools of economics is Contending Economic Theories: Neoclassical, Keynesian, and Marxian by Wolff.