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So what is economics?
Sep. 11th, 2010 11:36 pmI've seen a lot of definitions.
Wikipedia says "Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services."
The OED calls economics "the branch of knowledge concerned with the production, consumption, and transfer of wealth".
You'll notice that neither definition mentions money. 'Economics is about money and stuff' would be a typical everyman definition. In fact, economics is not so much about the money and more about the 'stuff'.
The definition I prefer goes something like this:
We have finite resources but infinite wants. Economics explains and informs how we allocate those finite resources, and how we should.
Wikipedia says "Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services."
The OED calls economics "the branch of knowledge concerned with the production, consumption, and transfer of wealth".
You'll notice that neither definition mentions money. 'Economics is about money and stuff' would be a typical everyman definition. In fact, economics is not so much about the money and more about the 'stuff'.
The definition I prefer goes something like this:
We have finite resources but infinite wants. Economics explains and informs how we allocate those finite resources, and how we should.
