An economy in which everyone benefits

The thoughts about economics have developed strongly over time. Originally, the concept of the ‘domestic economy’, in which the economist was the owner of the household, dominated in economics. However, with the rise of modern nations during the Enlightenment, new economic questions were raised. Questions about, for example, poverty, inflation, trade balance, government debts and population growth. As a result, the focus of economics shifted to a (inter)national level. Furthermore, the main values related to the economic behaviour of an individual developed: Economics became a science in which the individual was seen as a self-interested person, with all its consequences. This new focus provided a lot of interesting insights. However, there is still much that we can learn from the previous approach. In his article, Dr Joost Hengstmengel explains what it is that we can exactly learn from it.