Nathan Rowley, Preface, Question 4

No doubt about it, economics is a contentious issue. The introduction to Naked Economics more than hints at the causes of controversy in economics: level of literacy and human psychology. The former is perhaps the greatest problem, especially in a market system economy; the market is dependent on each individual in it to run smoothly. When more than half of those individuals can't make rational economic decisions because they were never taught how, that market is going to get shaky. Throw in our clearly irrational decision-making impulses, and you have a right mess. Whether to fix that problem or take it out of most people's hands is another source of controversy: the debate over public versus private ownership and a control versus market economy. If you are for a market economy and private ownership, then it becomes important for individuals to be economically literate. If you are for a control economy with public ownership, then economic literacy in the governing body is most important. Regardless of where you stand on those issues, it remains important to have a good grasp of human psychology. I am currently a socialist (public ownership, market economy), but I expect changes to be made and nuances to be found as I continue through this course.