The Doings of Man

Peter Boettke:

If we fail as economic educators, then we fail in our job as economists. . . .The wealth and poverty of nations is at stake; the length and quality of life turns on the economic conditions individuals find themselves living within.

The discipline of economics illuminates all walks of human life, and as such it is an ambitious science.  It explains the doings of man, whether in the marketplace, the voting booth, the church, the family, or any other human capacity.  The economic way of thinking is not just one window on the world; it is the only window that deals with man as a human actor.  This may sound arrogant to the casual reader, but economics also teaches humility.  As F.A. Hayek put it, "The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design." [Living Economics, p. 383]