Читать онлайн
Fascinating economy
Larissa Zaplatinskaia
© Larissa Zaplatinskaia, 2020
ISBN 978-5-0051-9933-1
Создано в интеллектуальной издательской системе Ridero
Chapter 1
You may never have thought of it this way, but in some ways, economics is like a game. Games have players and rules. Games involve decisions and actions, and they always have a goal. The same is true about economics.
Still, there are some differences. In games, you typically get to decide whether you want to play. But no one ever asks you if you want to play the game of economics. In this game, you play whether you want to or not. That is because the game of economics is going on all the time. It is played at every second of every day in all parts of the world.
Since you are already playing the game of economics, you should know what kind of game it is and learn the rules. That way you can play it as well as possible.
Introduction
The study of economics is important because the economy – global, national, local, and personal – effects what you do every day. Economics influences the work you do, where you live, what you eat, how you dress, whether there is gas available for your car, and more. Economics also influences government policy and international relations including wars.
Understanding the basics of economics will help you make good personal financial choices and will help you make wise environmental and political decisions, as well.
We will start by learning that economics is not a collection of «other» people but a complex system in which every individual has roles and goals.
We will also explain the four fundamental questions of economics and how, depending on the way these questions are answered, the game changes. Very soon, you will be well on your way to understanding what the economy is all about and how it relates to your everyday life.
Some games are similar to each other. Take basketball and soccer, for instance. They both have two sides consisting of a set number of players. There are specific ways to score points. There is a winner at the end of a set amount of time. So, although basketball and soccer are different games, they have much in common.
But what about checkers and soccer? Maybe there are one or two similarities, but the ways to win are very different. In soccer, the team that scores more points wins. In checkers, a player who takes all his or her opponent’s pieces is the winner.
Is there anything that is the same in every kind of game?
Playing by the Rules
Are there any games that allow players to do whatever they want? No. All games have rules. There are important rules in economics, too.
In economics, the rules are usually laws. Laws are rules that define what is and is not allowed. For example, you cannot steal from others. That is a law, and it is also one of the rules of economics. Another law is that exchanges must be voluntary. Consumers cannot be forced to buy things. Voluntary exchange is a rule of economics, and it is also a law.