TO THE EDITOR:
A few posters appeared recently around Gardner Hall calling for change in the way higher education institutions like UNC teach the discipline of economics.
In dramatic language that includes “manifesto” and “revolution,” the signs spoke a kind of everyday radicalism that students have naturally learned to drown out.
Beneath the jingoism, however, I believe they raise a valid question that all economics students at UNC should consider: Is our major, highly based in theory, also preparing us for the real world?
To give some background on economics, it operates on a very simple concept: Society is composed of rational individuals who make decisions based on what maximizes their happiness.
While there are many theories on how we can best help them do that, one has come to predominate at many economics departments that can be summed up in four words: More freedom, less government.
If we glance back at the failures of communist states past, it certainly makes sense. Excessive government prevents people from making the decisions that are best for them.
If it gets out of the way, many economists argue, freer markets will always produce better outcomes for all.
But history has failed to line up with this idea at many points. In the years leading up to the financial crisis of 2008, for example, the government followed this advice and chose to get out of the financial industry’s way.
