“Waging the war of ideas”

Does a queen belong in a democracy? Departures and possibilities in civics and economics education

“…The widespread acceptance of scarcity as a law of the market is a relatively recent development that came about in the 1870s with the marginalist revolution. Marginalism is the precursor of the neoclassical theory (Fine, 2019;Hunt & Lautzenheiser, 2015;Varoufakis et al, 2011) comprising mainstream economic thought and undergirding our K-12 and introductory university economics education (Adams, 2019a;Gans, 2015;Graupe, 2019;Shanks, 2018;Siegfried & Meszaros, 1998). Familiar concepts like supply and demand were codified at this time and first began appearing in textbooks (Marshall, 1961).…”

“…Third, the episodes above illuminate the need for “discerning economic citizens,” who work to “understand contemporary political, social, and economic issues by reading and analyzing a variety of media publications as a way of forming informed opinions about current and past events” (Crowley & Swan, 2018, p. 104). However, mainstream economics curriculum's ability to do this has been called into question (Decker et al, 2019; Gans, 2015; Graupe, 2019; Leontief, 1970; Maesse, 2019; Marglin, 2012; Marri et al, 2011) as has its compatibility with the civic aims of social studies education (Adams, 2019a) given its anti-social tendencies. It has been said to lack engagement with important, real-world socioeconomic issues including racism, poverty, and the social economy (King & Finley, 2015; Myers & Stocks, 2010; Romanish, 1983; Shanks & Hall, 2020) and has responded poorly to the 2008 recession (Adams, 2019b; Colander et al, 2009; Fischer et al, 2018; Merkel, 2014; Neumann, 2010; Varoufakis et al, 2011), Covid-19 (Gould & Wilson, 2020; Rho et al, 2020) and racial justice movements (Casselman & Tankersley, 2020; Opoku-Agyeman, 2020; Sadie Collective, 2020).…”

“…It has been said to lack engagement with important, real-world socioeconomic issues including racism, poverty, and the social economy (King & Finley, 2015; Myers & Stocks, 2010; Romanish, 1983; Shanks & Hall, 2020) and has responded poorly to the 2008 recession (Adams, 2019b; Colander et al, 2009; Fischer et al, 2018; Merkel, 2014; Neumann, 2010; Varoufakis et al, 2011), Covid-19 (Gould & Wilson, 2020; Rho et al, 2020) and racial justice movements (Casselman & Tankersley, 2020; Opoku-Agyeman, 2020; Sadie Collective, 2020). It is even said to neglect its own history (Graupe, 2019; McCloskey, 2021; Whalen, 1987), a characteristic for which it certainly clashes with social studies.…”

“…Those gaps may be compensated for by state-level branches of the Council for Economic Education (CEE) as well as a heavy reliance on textbooks. A private non-profit with worldwide influence (Graupe, 2019), the CEE and its affiliates reportedly train 55,000 teachers annually (Councilofeconed.org) and are responsible for writing the highly influential first and second editions of the Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics ( VNS).…”