7.12 - Economics Policy

SERIES 7 - EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

At Liberty Common School, economic concepts are taught beginning in Kindergarten and extending with ever more detail in the upper grades in accordance with the K-8 Economics Curriculum Map. Our capstone ninth grade Economics class is focused on the basic economic principles, providing a broad foundation in mainstream economic literacy with attention to the methodology and insights afforded by the Austrian school.

More directly than the Neoclassical, Monetarist (Chicago), Keynesian, or mercantilist schools of economic thought, the Austrian school makes clear the link between human liberty and prosperity. Austrian economists use near-universal assumptions of human nature to draw logical and true conclusions. The ideas of intentional action, subjective and belief-motivated preferences, utility, tradeoffs, and scarcity were developed and improved by the Austrian school. These assumptions are in harmony with the essential ideas of Liberty Common School as a school of choice as well as those of the United States. The respect for human dignity and autonomy; the natural rights of life, liberty, and property; the fundamental virtues of the Founding Fathers; and the right and responsibility of parents to direct the education and upbringing of their children are all reinforced by the Austrian school of economics.

The Austrian school has been crucial to the contribution and development of major economic theories and policies.¹ Marginal utility (and its diminishment), opportunity cost, value and price, capital and interest, markets and competition, money and the business cycle, and comparative economics are all quintessential Austrian ideas.

It is difficult to identify the greatest contribution of Austrian economics. Indeed, in the experience of Liberty Common School teachers and students, one of the most appreciated contributions is the training in economic thinking that is central to its methodology; namely, the practice of evaluating trade-offs. The principle of unintended consequences and the understanding of opportunity costs is crucial for any society to know, and one that is constantly stressed throughout the capstone course. During the reading Economics in One Lesson, students practice how to evaluate a policy or plan by examining the effects of that plan for all groups, not just a few, and for long-term effects, not just short-term.

Learning about subjective preferences and belief-motivated actions is also necessary to understand how humans make exchanges. This is among the first lessons taught to students and is a common theme (along with the necessary supply and demand) throughout the capstone course. Combined with the understanding of opportunity costs, human subjectivity helps students develop a keen analytic eye for identifying potential problems in proposed policies.

In addition to filling out a broad-based foundation of economic knowledge (as per our commitment to the Thinking Framework), we believe that Austrian economics does the most to develop thinking skills. Liberty graduates are prepared to examine the world, not

¹ See Richard M. Ebeling, “Austrian Economics and the Political Economy of Freedom,” The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty, June 2004, pp. 8-15.

just economics, through a powerful lens that will help them practically carry out the character virtues we strive to instill in all our students.

Adopted: 06-28-2018