In this, our final lesson (or rather mini-series) in this Econ series, we will examine the rise and collapse of economics itself as first a part of the Humanities, and then as a science. We will not go back into antiquity, which held some theories on trade, but rather we will focus on the past 500 years, with various schools of thought in chronological order.
Darfur, Darfive
Africa is boned. It always has been boned. It probably always will be boned. White-Man’s-Burden isn’t the answer (nor is its effeminate bastard-child–White-Guilt–the answer.) Money isn’t the answer. No, what the answer is, is good examples of human decency, and to encourage the same behavior among small groups of people there. Pay it forward, as it were.
Economics for Fun and (Not Much) Profit VI: The Philosophy of Money Part II: Our Monetary System and Inflationary Doomsday
By raising and lowering the rate of interest, the Fed effectively controls how much money exists in the U.S. That is because our money is not printed (some of it is, but only a fraction of the actual money supply exists in a physical form.) The rest of the money exists as numbers in computers. It exists because of the “money multiplier” effect.
Economics for Fun and (Not Much) Profit Part VI: Money (Session One: The Philosophy of Money, Price, and Value)
Money is Time, Price does not equal Value
Economics for Fun and (Not Much) Profit Part V: The Road to Serfdom Detours Through the Hospital Parking Lot
Last lesson, I promised you a lesson on “The Philosophy of Money” with a return of Bob. Fortunately, I’m the teacher, so I can break my promises willy nilly and there’s nothing you can do about it. Due to events in the news, I’ve changed my mind. You see (someone cue some Richard Wagner) we’re passing an important milestone on the Road to Serfdom as we speak.
Economics for Fun and (Not Much) Profit, Part III: Not Only Must We Blame Capitalism, Let’s Hire Lawyers To Fix The Weather
Blaming the Market for a depression is like blaming the Weather for a tornado. Duh. It’s obvious to blame the weather. But what the hell kind of good does blaming the weather do? You can’t change the weather, you can’t control it, so cussing out the weather a waste of time and energy and resources.
Economics for Fun and (Not Much) Profit, Lesson 2
In our last lesson, we looked at Supply and Demand, and different models for bailing out Bob’s 7-11. We saw that Bob chose a Supply-Side and Keynesian approach to his plan, and ended up broke and eleven-trillion dollars in debt. Just like the U.S. is about to be. This time, we’ll go back and define some important terms with the usual tongue-in-cheek candor you’ve grown to expect.
Economics for Fun and (not much) Profit
It is impossible to give you an adequate understanding of Economics itself in one lesson. But it is possible for me to distill the solutions our leaders in Washington wish to impose on us into a moralistic tale of woe and glory.
