Ignorance, Economics & Global Conflict

This is a fascinating exploration of how common misunderstandings of the way economics work pervade in our society, and how these misconceptions have led to our current ill-conceived entanglements.

Too much good stuff to clip, you'll have to click through to the source for the rest!

clipped from www.mises.org Ten Recurring Economic Fallacies, 1774–2004 By H.A. Scott Trask As an American historian who knows something of economic law, having learned from the Austrians, I became intrigued with how the United States had remained prosperous, its economy still so dynamic and productive, given the serious and recurring economic fallacies to which our top leaders (political, corporate, academic) have subscribed and from which they cannot seem to free themselves—and alas, keep passing down to the younger generation. Myth #2: The Beneficence of War A second fallacy is the idea of war as an engine of prosperity. Students are taught that World War II ended the Depression; many Americans seem to believe that tax revenues spent on defense contractors (creating jobs) are no loss to the productive economy; and our political leaders continue to believe that expanded government spending is an effective way of bringing an end to a recession and reviving the economy.