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An invitation for economics educators.

“Pareto Optimality” is the “virtue” upheld by economists that positions growth as the only salve for material suffering. “Methodological individualism” is the lens that positions individual productivity as the only method to arrive at growth.

And now we can tell ourselves these lies:
I - It is my responsibility to sacrifice my well being such that others might have enough 
(it is necessary that my life be unsustainable)
II - If I have enough — or an excess — it is because I have earned it. 
(a sustainable existence is only justified by earning it through a system known to be racist, sexist, ablest, classist, etc. but believed to be meritocratic)
III - Our economy must grow to guarantee there is enough, but if the impoverished don’t capture the spoils of the growth, the fault is their own.

Our teachings help our students believe that they are only worth of the necessities of life if they can afford them … and that they must sacrifice the few remaining uncommodified necessities (relationships, rest, spirituality, etc.) to afford the others.
our teachings are not based in fact.

do you know what its like to offer information you believe?

What do we do this for?
Indoctrination? 
Assimilation? 
Yes, a little.
We want our students to speak the language. “learn the intuition”

what else?

can you honor your own inquisitiveness, discernment? 
can you give yourself the gift of speaking truth? 
or perhaps rigorous scholarship?

can you honor their wisdom. can you honor their existing relationships to productivity, trade offs, government failures? Can you test your assumptions against their experience?

Let us be honest. Let us be relevant.
Let us be helpful. Let us be patient.
Let us be rigorous, not demanding.
Let us be cooperative, not pedantic.
Let us invite movement and growth where we cannot see it ourselves.
Let us not enforce stability at the cost of stagnation.
May we facilitate our students’ understanding of what is and what is possible.

------------

Day 26 #pandowrimo @adriennemareebrown What are you courageous enough to stop normalizing? - inspired by @sonyareneetaylor 

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