Introduction to Economics
The economy is often referred to as "the science of power" in its simplest and most precise definitions. For every real citizen in a respectable society, it has become essential to have a little knowledge of the basics of the economy, including its history, theories, and effective guidelines. This knowledge is crucial in understanding the strategic joints that regulate our world.
Understanding the Economy
The understanding of the economy often occurs from the classic gap: income, functions, pensions, and other topics. However, the economy is far more complex than these problems. If we want to reform the economy in favor of the majority, make our state and social politics more effective, and make the world a better place for life for us and for future generations, we have to ensure a certain basic economic knowledge of everyone in ourselves.
The Importance of Economic Knowledge
The global financial crisis of 2007-2008 and the stagnation and economic polarization that followed were a tough reminder of the absurd fact that our economy was left to professional economists and other "technocrats" to manipulate as they wanted. We all have to participate in the management of the economy as active economic citizens. Of course, there is "something to do" and there is "what can be done." Many of us are very exhausted due to our daily struggle for survival and are mentally employed with our personal and financial matters. The possibility of making the necessary effort to become an active economic citizen – that is, learning the basics of the economy and paying attention to what is going on in the economy – may seem hard and scary. However, this investment in effort and time is much easier than you think.
Economy is Easier to Understand Than You Think
According to Ha-Joon Chang, a professor of economy at Cambridge, the economy is much easier to understand than many economists make it out to be. In his book "23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism," he argues that 95 percent of the economy is based on the right intuition (common sense), and the remaining 5 percent can be understood essentially if explained in a good way by a passionate teacher.
Becoming an Active Economic Citizen
As soon as you have received an essential understanding of how the economy works, it is less difficult to monitor what is going on and ask for your time and attention. As in many other affairs in life – you learn to ride a bike, learn a new language, or use a new tablet – it becomes easier to become an effective economic citizen after training to overcome the initial difficulties and further practice. You don’t have to do that alone. If you talk about daily economic questions with your family and friends, regardless of whether it is jobs, inflation, or bank crises, you can enrich your knowledge and refine your arguments.
Ha-Joon Chang’s Perspective
Ha-Joon Chang begins his book with a remarkable sentence: "The new classical economy (or the so-called nucleusic) is not the only ruling school for the global economy." He argues that the economy is a policy in its essence and that we shouldn’t imagine a perfect answer perspective. The debate in the economy is an open arena about various options, as in politics, and this discussion will never end.
The Failure of the Economy
If there is a meaning for the "failure" of the economy, which is the most important problem for every citizen and every government in the world, as Zhang argues, this failure is not due to the fact that the economy has "predicted" the collapse and disaster that has been seen in recent years. The economy failed because pluralism failed. Our current economic scene was created based on the assumption of some basic principles: the individual is completely selfish, completely rational, and can create ideal markets by serving its own interests. This mixed mixture of competing visions failed, and we ignored it, and the global economy suffered from it.
Economic History and Theories
Zhang’s book provides a series of stories associated with economic history and economic theories in a way that increases the reader’s appetite to follow up and engage in serious reading. He explains the growth of growth, which was painfully slow during the first few centuries, and the conditions for the success of free trade. He also discusses the impact of the great depression on thought and politics and the success of free trade and the free market, as well as their limits.
Intellectual Schools in Economics
The beloved section in Zhang’s book reads: "Open a hundred flowers," as he describes the nine large intellectual schools in business. These schools include Austrian, behavioral, classical, development, institutional, Kenzian, Marxist, new Keynesian, and post-Keynesian. At the end of the chapter, Zhang draws a practical plan to mix and maximize the benefits of these schools.
Using the Book as a Guide
We can use Zhang’s book as a preliminary guide, as a reference, or as a short story. It reflects the generosity of an economic thinker with the desire to understand all the basics of the economy, not with a classic technological system, but with theories driven by complex social and moral auctions. In this, there is the uniqueness of the book and its superior qualitative value.
