Better Vocabulary for Better Thinking
I've started taking several basic economics classes. One class in particular has compelled me to start expressing some of my own views, and views I have been taught. I sent this out to our class message board just now, and will probably post more of them, if you like.
Macroeconomics, since it deals with societal issues, touches on many concepts from different disciplines. If we are going to use these concepts in class, it makes sense for everyone to know what they mean. It's hard to argue about capitalism if the only other option is dictatorship.
Our language can shape our thinking, and our thinking shapes our world. If we don't fully understand the words people use, we start listening to whoever yells them loudest, instead of who actually makes the most sense.
FREEDOM
TERRORISM
JUSTICE
COMMUNISM
What do these mean to you besides “bad” and “good”? Are you free if you aren't allowed to kill someone? Are you free if you can't buy a BMW because you can't afford it?
The first thing we should clarify is, what's the difference between government and economy? This may seem obvious, but sometimes we get the two confused. What about communism? Is that government or economy? Or both?
Government is another way of saying “the highest authority”, or in other words, where the buck stops. This is what the word “sovereign” means –there's nobody else who can tell you what to do. Governments these days usually have a monopoly on the use of force, e.g. the army and police, and provide services like a judicial system and a currency system. In academia “government” is often referred to as “the state”, as in, "liberal democratic states place a high value on individual freedoms" or "the head of state."
Economies, on the other hand, is the system that determines how we produce, distribute and consume. Economies arrange how we make and use good and services. The economic system is composed of people and institutions and includes their relationships to resources, such as through the idea of private ownership. Examples of contemporary economic systems include capitalist systems, socialist systems, and mixed economies. (thanks to Wikipedia in part for this paragraph)
The government obviously plays a big role in deciding the economic system, and vice versa, but it's useful to distinguish between the two.
Wikipedia has excellent (and fascinating!) lists of economic and political systems:
Economic Systems
Forms of Government
Macroeconomics, since it deals with societal issues, touches on many concepts from different disciplines. If we are going to use these concepts in class, it makes sense for everyone to know what they mean. It's hard to argue about capitalism if the only other option is dictatorship.
Our language can shape our thinking, and our thinking shapes our world. If we don't fully understand the words people use, we start listening to whoever yells them loudest, instead of who actually makes the most sense.
FREEDOM
TERRORISM
JUSTICE
COMMUNISM
What do these mean to you besides “bad” and “good”? Are you free if you aren't allowed to kill someone? Are you free if you can't buy a BMW because you can't afford it?
The first thing we should clarify is, what's the difference between government and economy? This may seem obvious, but sometimes we get the two confused. What about communism? Is that government or economy? Or both?
Government is another way of saying “the highest authority”, or in other words, where the buck stops. This is what the word “sovereign” means –there's nobody else who can tell you what to do. Governments these days usually have a monopoly on the use of force, e.g. the army and police, and provide services like a judicial system and a currency system. In academia “government” is often referred to as “the state”, as in, "liberal democratic states place a high value on individual freedoms" or "the head of state."
Economies, on the other hand, is the system that determines how we produce, distribute and consume. Economies arrange how we make and use good and services. The economic system is composed of people and institutions and includes their relationships to resources, such as through the idea of private ownership. Examples of contemporary economic systems include capitalist systems, socialist systems, and mixed economies. (thanks to Wikipedia in part for this paragraph)
The government obviously plays a big role in deciding the economic system, and vice versa, but it's useful to distinguish between the two.
Wikipedia has excellent (and fascinating!) lists of economic and political systems:
Economic Systems
Forms of Government
posted by ben at 11:42 PM
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