On Economics as a World View

Stigler (1965) argued that economists can provide policy-makers with sound policy recommendations, so that the efficiency of resource utilization can be improved. But a more fundamental way to improve the efficiency of resource utilization is to enable the general public to think like an economist. To achieve this aim, however, the way of thinking as implied by economics must be identified first; this paper discusses the particular perspective of economics. The idea of a spectrum is used to discuss various ways of defining economics. Then, it is argued that the concept of cost and a benchmark constitute a basic perspective of economics, or the economic world view. Finally, practical steps to relate this world view to the general public are suggested.