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Economic Literacy
Freedom is about conquering fear. That is why slave owners prevented slaves from learning to read and write. They knew that literacy leads to asking questions, which leads to knowledge, which overcomes fear, which then leads to a demand for freedom. It is also why dictators are quick to burn books and take control of education. It may also be why it took the leaders of the Christian Church more than 1,500 years to translate The Bible into a language the people could understand.
Those who cannot read and write are at the mercy of others. They have to trust someone else to tell them what has been written and what they are signing, which means living in fear.
In virtually all cases, language literacy erodes the illegitimate hold that rulers have over individuals. Economic literacy is the same. If you do not have a little knowledge of economics, you can lay awake fearing what others are telling you about the inflation, recession, or depression they claim is descending upon you, likening each new disaster to a plague sprinkled on the undeserving by God Himself.
In the end, economic literacy, like language literacy, is about power. Throughout history, the easiest way for those in power to maintain control has been to keep the people illiterate. It is the same with economics. Because of the importance of the economy in everyone’s life, and because of the fear that can be fostered by predicting economic disruptions, the only way to be free is to understand just a little bit about real—not partisan—economics.
Everyone knows that Abraham Lincoln said, “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”
Although common wisdom likes to see Lincoln’s quote as a positive statement, because it ends with the idea that politicians cannot fool all the people all the time, if Lincoln is correct, it is not necessary to fool all the people all the time, because those in power can get what they want simply by fooling some of the people all the time or all the people some of the time.
The purpose of non-partisan economics is to explain the real world in a way that makes it difficult to fool anyone anytime.
Of course, while it might help you sleep at night, nonpartisan economics can be more controversial than partisan economics, because economic truth can anger both sides of the political aisle.
Those who cannot read and write are at the mercy of others. They have to trust someone else to tell them what has been written and what they are signing, which means living in fear.
In virtually all cases, language literacy erodes the illegitimate hold that rulers have over individuals. Economic literacy is the same. If you do not have a little knowledge of economics, you can lay awake fearing what others are telling you about the inflation, recession, or depression they claim is descending upon you, likening each new disaster to a plague sprinkled on the undeserving by God Himself.
In the end, economic literacy, like language literacy, is about power. Throughout history, the easiest way for those in power to maintain control has been to keep the people illiterate. It is the same with economics. Because of the importance of the economy in everyone’s life, and because of the fear that can be fostered by predicting economic disruptions, the only way to be free is to understand just a little bit about real—not partisan—economics.
Everyone knows that Abraham Lincoln said, “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”
Although common wisdom likes to see Lincoln’s quote as a positive statement, because it ends with the idea that politicians cannot fool all the people all the time, if Lincoln is correct, it is not necessary to fool all the people all the time, because those in power can get what they want simply by fooling some of the people all the time or all the people some of the time.
The purpose of non-partisan economics is to explain the real world in a way that makes it difficult to fool anyone anytime.
Of course, while it might help you sleep at night, nonpartisan economics can be more controversial than partisan economics, because economic truth can anger both sides of the political aisle.
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