Economics As A Faith

What man understands and can prove by replicating a test can be categorized as "fact."  We can thank Newton for helping us establish a great many physical facts.  For Greeks, fire was a gift of God.  We take it more as a matter of combustion.  Anyway, it's a matter of chemistry.  And, for Biblical Jews, disease was God's punishment.  Fortunately, we've moved a bit beyond that.

How an economy works is something that is struggling to come down from some mountain on high.  Were it only that we could bring it down to earth where we could analyze its nuts and bolts as we might an automobile engine.

Adam Smith didn't refer to God.  Instead, he referred to "the invisible hand of the market."  The phrase is generally recognized as a metaphor to describe the manner in which markets work.  He actually used it only three times in his book, The Wealth of Nations, but it has proved itself to be a rich mine for all sorts of commentary.  It kind of reminds me of the discussions once engaged in by theologians, who argued endlessly over how many angels could dance on the head of a pin.

Many have toiled in this field; John Maynard Keynes comes to mind.  We're never quite sure of whether their theories can be relied upon or not -- probably something in between.  Paul Krugman says one thing and a list of economists as long as your arm says something different; that list includes a number of Nobel prize winners.

So who cares?  If we're worried about America's unemployed, we should care.  If we're concerned that America's fate is to follow the path taken by Italy, or Greece, or Spain, we should care.  If we're worried about America becoming the sick man of the 21st century, --- you figure it out.

The horror is that the average American voter has no idea of economics.  He, or she, rarely can tell you who Milton Friedman was, or the difference between monetary policy and fiscal policy or how our government works to institute appropriate polices, or why our legislators do what they do.   And, as for our understanding the ramifications of our health care entitlement?  Forget about it.  There seems to be nothing that Americans can really do when they caste their vote other than to put their faith in God.