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Chapter 21: - Economics

from Part II - Science and History

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2022

Brian Villmoare
Brian Villmoare
Affiliation:
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
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Summary

Understanding economics is critical to understanding the history of humanity, from hunter-gatherers to today. Economics is the study of decision-making and how humans make decisions. Without understanding economics we cannot understand the trajectory of history over the last 10,000 years. This chapter reviews basic economic principles, and how economies have evolved through time. It discusses the economic principles of Adam Smith and Karl Marx, the differences between a market economy and a command economy, and the political and historical implications of the clash between those two models.

Keywords

economicsdecision-makingbarter systemmercantilismmarket economycommand economycommunismAdam SmithKarl Marx
Type
Chapter
Information
The Evolution of Everything
The Patterns and Causes of Big History
 , pp. 319 - 342
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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  • Economics
  • Brian Villmoare, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
  • Book: The Evolution of Everything
  • Online publication: 03 November 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108862530.023
Available formats
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  • Economics
  • Brian Villmoare, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
  • Book: The Evolution of Everything
  • Online publication: 03 November 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108862530.023
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Economics
  • Brian Villmoare, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
  • Book: The Evolution of Everything
  • Online publication: 03 November 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108862530.023
Available formats
×