David French | 28/03/2013 1:24:16 PM

This article was originally published as 'No Economics' in http://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/ on 21 March 2013. Image taken from http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-images-education-books-economics-image6746579

Some months ago I learned that RGS was abandoning its senior economics offering, making (I understand) our region totally devoid of the discipline at high-school level. As a trained economist, such news is incredibly disappointing.

First consider that our region is not the centre of the universe, and young people have little enough exposure to the wide world of potential careers. When I went to school, most of my schoolmates fathers' were tradesmen, clerks or meatworkers. It wasn't until I left school that I met a range of professionals and not until much later that I became seriously involved with businesspeople. Only now am I becoming aware of what it means to make your living as an artist or musician. Removing economics from the learning of our region removes exposure to a vast range of career possibilities.

Second economics is an interdisciplinary endeavour. Converting real world problems to math and having to explain them in clear concise language is an art all of its own - an art overlaid with a scientific structure. In that respect it is a true social science. Whether in the newspaper or in academic journals, economists' judgements are available for assessment every day.

Third, economics is an applied discipline and contrary to popular belief, it is about people, not money. Without a knowledge of economics and markets it's difficult to understand many of the things that go on around us. Importing cars, for example, when Australia has an automotive industry of its own. Instituting something like the National Disability Insurance Scheme, when "of course" everyone wants to look after people with a disability. Recognising that Kevin 07 (recession 09), is full of crap when in the face of thousands of years of evidence, he publically claims that markets no longer work, and that socialism is the answer.

Last is the gravitation of education into the "pure" disciplines. Marking of subjects in the humanities and social sciences is subjective, but not generally in math and some pure sciences. In an era of Naplan and Tertiary Entrance Scores, it's not the learning that counts, but just opening the gate. The great results mask a dumbing down of the intellectual capacity of western society on a grand scale. Overstating the case? It's happening right in the face of an electronic assault from the banal, the ill-informed and the faux vestige of new-age amoral righteousness.

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