Collis McKenzie, Epilogue, Question 2

In the epilogue Wheelan closes his book by once again stating that economics is nothing more than a tool. It does not shape who we are, but we use it to help achieve the goals we set. Economics is not a self-driving car. We cannot just set it and forget it, we still need to steer it. The long- and short-term consequence of thinking of economics as more than a tool is a misguided dependence on the market to guide our actions. Wheelan states that productivity gives us choices, but we still have to make them, and to me that's frightening because, good or bad, people often make the choice that is either not economically sound or serves them at the expense of others. I guess we just have to cross those bridges as we come.