Introduction to Economics
(Introduction to Economics, Lesson 1)
There are lot of people on the internet who comment on matters of economics. And it’s a good thing that so many people take an interest in such issues. Unfortunately, the standard of debate is rarely very high.
Sure, there are lots of people who have some very firm opinions about markets, corporations and governments and about which economic policies ‘obviously’ will or ‘obviously’ won’t work. They may spend hundreds of hours each year, enthusiastically sharing these opinions with the internet. And they may engage in some long and heated arguments.
Sadly, however, the vast majority have never dedicated so much as a couple of hours in their entire lives to studying, learning and understanding even the most basic economic concepts. Most of them don’t even understand what Economics is, or what the skills of a trained economist are. They may think they do, but they usually don’t.
Consequently, their various opinions, ideas and beliefs about key economic issues are often based on misconceptions and other errors caused by their fundamentally flawed understanding of some very basic economics.
Please: Don’t be like these people!
Frankly, there already are far too many arrogant jackasses on the internet, lecturing people on subjects they don’t remotely understand. Please don’t add to the problem. Don’t imagine you understand Economics, when you’ve never actually studied the most fundamental concepts on which the entire subject is based.
This article is the first in a series which is designed to provide you with a basic, ‘Introduction to Economics,’ written in straightforward English. I hope you decide to read it and that you find it helpful.