Philosophy Now Forum

Let's get down to the nitty-gritty. Deep down, what is economics?

To see how complicated this gets, check out this Wiki article:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_and_economics

Can anybody boil this down to a few sentences? Maybe my question ought to be "What is the nature of economics?" Is it something that can work itself out on its own or does it require intervention by something like the government?

What are your thoughts?

PhilX

Philosophy Explorer wrote:Let's get down to the nitty-gritty. Deep down, what is economics?

To see how complicated this gets, check out this Wiki article:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_and_economics

Can anybody boil this down to a few sentences? Maybe my question ought to be "What is the nature of economics?" Is it something that can work itself out on its own or does it require intervention by something like the government?

What are your thoughts?

PhilX

In modern times the single most important aspect of economic theory is the rise of neo-corporatism. John Ralston Saul, "The Unconsciousness Civilization" explains it very nicely.

Economics is the sum total of all exchange of goods and services.

It is driven and defined by demand.

Economics is the study of scarcity, of scarce resources and their distribution. That's really it in a nutshell.

cladking wrote:Economics is the sum total of all exchange of goods and services.

It is driven and defined by demand.

You've defined GDP, not economics. And totally ignored supply-side economics.

Ginkgo wrote:

Philosophy Explorer wrote:Let's get down to the nitty-gritty. Deep down, what is economics?

To see how complicated this gets, check out this Wiki article:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_and_economics

Can anybody boil this down to a few sentences? Maybe my question ought to be "What is the nature of economics?" Is it something that can work itself out on its own or does it require intervention by something like the government?

What are your thoughts?

PhilX

In modern times the single most important aspect of economic theory is the rise of neo-corporatism. John Ralston Saul, "The Unconsciousness Civilization" explains it very nicely.

He didn't ask for any one economic theory, which are numerous. He asked for a precise synopsis of what the study of economics is truly about.

Dalek Prime wrote:

Ginkgo wrote:

Philosophy Explorer wrote:Let's get down to the nitty-gritty. Deep down, what is economics?

To see how complicated this gets, check out this Wiki article:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_and_economics

Can anybody boil this down to a few sentences? Maybe my question ought to be "What is the nature of economics?" Is it something that can work itself out on its own or does it require intervention by something like the government?

What are your thoughts?

PhilX

In modern times the single most important aspect of economic theory is the rise of neo-corporatism. John Ralston Saul, "The Unconsciousness Civilization" explains it very nicely.

He didn't ask for any one economic theory, which are numerous. He asked for a precise synopsis of what the study of economics is truly about.

In that case I gave him the appropriate reference.

It's a description of how people in a society organize the use of their resources, skills and effort to survive. All that guff about supply and demand is frills. The real thing is: How many seals do we need to kill? Who can dry meat, render down the fat, tan and sew the skins? How do we distribute the useful products to keep the village going all winter?