“Economics is simultaneously the most entertaining discipline in the human
sciences and the most important discipline in the policy sciences.”
So wrote FEE’s good friend and former trustee Professor Peter J. Boettke in his Living Economics article. Unfortunately, this is not how most young people feel about economics!
How Most Young People Feel About Economics
Like you, we’re dismayed by young people’s ignorance of economic realities, as evidenced by their widespread embrace of socialist Utopian fantasies.
When confronted with sound economic thinking, they think it’s a series of abstract propositions, puzzling on first acquaintance and mind-numbing with repeated exposure.
To stimulate interest in economic enlightenment, we find ourselves alternating between the abstract theory we’re trying to teach and the real-world applications that our readers, viewers and students care about. These include urban and environmental issues, education and employment, choice and risk taking, and success and failure.
We hope to use topics like these as illustrations that lead young people toward an appreciation for the economic principles of a free society.
FEE's View on 12 Essential Economic Concepts
Our COO Richard Lorenc recently wrote an article that explains our view of 12 essential economic concepts. In fact, he was recently told that a progressive law professor shared his piece with an exhortation for his students to read it.
By encountering these concepts embedded in topics they care about, we hope young people will begin to find economics as entertaining as we do, and embrace it as the right way to frame the issues they care about.
Wayne Olson
Wayne Olson is the Chairman of FEE's Board of Trustees and a former executive director of the Foundation for Economic Education.