Economics: filling in the gaps

The more I review my high school education, the more I question the kinds of things we were taught, or not taught. For example, it is common for many of my cohort to have issues with identifying grammar. I saw this particularly when studying Japanese late last year, where people did not know how to identify Japanese sentence structures by contrast to those in English. I do remember briefly being told what nouns and words like that were in school, but it was never a key focus to refine our writing abilities (or I simply did not listen). The only reason I did not get as lost in the Japanese classes was that I had the benefit of studying to be an English language teacher, and was essentially able to ‘fill in the gaps’.

It has literally been just over a week where there’s been a considerable hole filled in my understanding of how the world works: that of Economics.

A book recommended to me, The Poverty of Nations by Wayne Grudem and Barry Asmus, has been a God-send – a major contributor to a renaissance in my understanding about the world, and also thankfulness to God for his provisions. It has been easily the most important book about money I have ever read. It has been immensely important for my understanding of social structures – particularly those of the free market vs. socialist schemes. This element of societal understanding was never part of my school curriculum (and maybe it was because I did not study business?). Yet, why on earth, if it is so important to understanding Australian culture and policies, was it excluded? Without it, we don’t understand what government policies mean to our way of life.

I don’t wish to blame my schooling per se, but place the blame the kinds of curriculum being conjured up by the education system. For a society to be filled with critical thinkers, aware of their nation’s history, its current systems of democracy and the free market, it is necessary for the preservation of freedom that they understand some of the fundamentals. Create more unthinking citizens who follow the latest trends of media and socialist programs and you’ll simply have more political control over them.

Anyway, I attach a free tv series by economist Milton Friedman that will help you understand the free market and its relationship to political freedom. It is American, but the basic principles are still those that we find at home. Also, if you have any questions, I recommend Action Economics for recommendations and understanding about economic matters.