THE DISMAL SCIENCE DEPT.

So, Patient Reader, you say you don’t understand economics, and you don’t want to? Do the charts and newsfeeds and TV crawls about “the economy” revolt you? Friend, I was just like you, and most of you know it. I hated Econ. and it made my head hurt and my heart ache and my stomach churn. It never enhanced my understanding of history or human behavior, in fact its dead operations and adolescent “game theory” approach of winners and losers almost always conflicted with what I felt was right. With all these odious physical reactions, and watching the course of world events, it has helped me to delve into basic principles, which (to be quite frank) were totally scrubbed from my entire formal education. Consult your own conscience, Patient Reader: who “taught you about money?” I bet you can tell me which years you spent in concentrated study on algebra or chemistry, or on the Sumerians, or Spanish. But which years in school gave you time for concentrated study on modern money supply, wealth, finance, or taxes? In seventh grade we were taught how to follow the stock market by picking stocks and reading the newspapers; mine never did anything. Other than that, my only formal class in “Business” was a typing class (valuable, but…) Understanding that economics means humanism, doesn’t make it hurt any less to read about the bloody mess mankind is making of the world. But it does feel good to know that you’re not crazy, and most of the people you love aren’t crazy, and that whatever is going on in the horrible world where phantom money inevitably destroys humanity’s real wealth ad infinitum, it isn’t economics.

Basic Forgotten Principe: Economics = Oikonomia = Stewardship

https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.30.1.225

‘We know we belong to the land
And the land we belong to is grand!

–Oscar Hammerstein II

“Nearly every economist has at some point in the standard coursework been exposed to a brief explanation that the origin of the word “economy” can be traced back to the Greek word oikonomia, which in turn is composed of two words: oikos, which is usually translated as “household”; and nemein, which is best translated as “management and dispensation.” Thus, the cursory story usually goes, the term oikonomia referred to “household management”, and while this was in some loose way linked to the idea of budgeting, it has little or no relevance to contemporary economics. This article introduces in more detail what the ancient Greek philosophers meant by “oikonomia.” It begins with a short history of the word. It then explores some of the key elements of oikonomia, while offering some comparisons and contrasts with modern economic thought….

— Abstract of Dotan Leshem’s article on “Oikonomia,” cited in full below.

“For example, both Ancient Greek oikonomia and contemporary economics study human behavior as a relationship between ends and means which have alternative uses. However, while both approaches hold that the rationality of any economic action is dependent on the frugal use of means, contemporary economics is largely neutral between ends, while in ancient economic theory, an action is considered economically rational only when taken towards a praiseworthy end. Moreover, the ancient philosophers had a distinct view of what constituted such an end—specifically, acting as a philosopher or as an active participant in the life of the city-state.”

— Abstract of Leshem, Dotan, 2016 “Retrospectives: What Did the Ancient Greeks Mean by Oikonomia?” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 30 (1): 225-38.DOI: 10.1257/jep.30.1.225