Just seeing the textbook "Western Economics (Micro-part)", I can't help wondering: the first specialized course of our economics is actually to introduce the research results of western economics. Later, with the gradual study of it, we found the significance of offering this course-we should be able to distinguish the usefulness and harmfulness of western economics, and then use the useful part for economic construction in combination with China's national conditions.
I am really glad to be exposed to western economics (micro-part), and I believe it will bring me more enlightenment and insight in the future. Here, I want to thank my teacher for bringing me into this field. At the same time, I think the teacher explained the textbook knowledge to us while interspersed with examples of current events and daily life, which undoubtedly made it easier for us beginners to understand. I hope teachers can carry forward this aspect more.
I think the most important thing in studying western economics is to learn a way of thinking, which opens up a new way for us to look at and think about problems. It can not only cultivate our economic awareness, but also help us make decisions. For me, another change is that we no longer rely too much on books. The theories and laws in books only provide us with a reference and guidance, aiming at cultivating our thinking. Therefore, we should think about economic behavior in combination with reality.
On the premise of ignoring the different social systems, we have broadened our thinking, from contacting an economic thought to absorbing its essence, which also provides reference for our future economic research.
Microeconomics has proved the perfection of capitalist private ownership. Through the price mechanism, those invisible hands can allocate resources to the most reasonable place. Microeconomics mainly revolves around a truth, MC=MR, which is the basis of producers, especially consumers. In the eyes of consumers, marginal cost becomes marginal opportunity cost. Under strict assumptions, microeconomics proves that the economic behavior of a single economic unit in the capitalist system is perfect.
Microeconomics studies the economic behavior of a single economic unit, including a single consumer, a single producer and a single market. On the premise that all aspects are rational people, they have achieved the best of their own goals. Although this is in line with the individual's wishes unilaterally, the information in all aspects of society is not comprehensive, and the methods taught to us are too idealistic, there are still places worth learning.
We know the relationship between demand and supply, which not only applies to the west, but also has the same law in our society. It introduces the concept of "point elasticity", which simplifies the discussion and is easy for us to understand.
After summarizing the laws of different commodity prices and demand, the relative risks are reduced a lot in the economic decision-making of manufacturers, whether it is price increase or price reduction.
The analysis methods of various models are also mentioned. In fact, many problems in life can be reasonably simplified and transformed into models that are easy to understand and analyze. As the book says, "economic theory is a systematic description of real economic things on the basis of summarizing and abstracting the main characteristics and internal relations of real economic things." Because of the complexity of real things, we have to give up some non-basic factors and only study the basic factors of economic things and their relationships, so as to describe the main factors and their relationships, and our goal has been achieved. Our major belongs to economic management, and we need to analyze and summarize many economic problems existing in society, which has taught us a method.
We understand "utility theory" and teach us to be a rational consumer. At the same time, from a producer's point of view, adjust the production cost and formulate the output in order to obtain the lowest cost and the highest benefit of production. As a rational person, it really gives us a good hint to do things for us and maximize our desired goals.
In the field of consumption research, the main difference between western economics and Marxist economics is that western economics regards capitalist society as an eternal social form and studies people in capitalist society as abstract people, so it thinks that the only constraint of consumers is budget constraint. Marxist economics regards capitalist society as a specific social form and studies people in capitalist society as people in a certain class or stratum, so it emphasizes that consumers' consumption is restricted by the distribution relationship determined by all relations of means of production. Marx pointed out: "Social needs", that is, things that regulate the principle of demand, are essentially determined by the relationship between different classes and their respective economic status, that is, the first is determined by the ratio of all surplus value to wages, and the second is determined by the ratio of different parts (profits, interest, land rent, taxes, etc.). ) divided by the surplus value. "
Utility in economics is different from the use value of goods themselves. The use value comes from the property of the object and exists objectively. Utility is how consumers feel when they consume something, which is subjective. The utility of an article to consumers varies from person to person. The utility depends entirely on personal preferences, and there is no objective standard. Zhuangzi said: You are not a fish, so you know the happiness of fish? Illustrates the subjectivity of utility. Whether a fish swims in the water is forced by survival or carefree enjoyment can only be decided by the fish's own feelings.
The concept of indifference curve avoids the problem that subjective utility is difficult to measure when analyzing utility problems, and it is not necessary to explain the specific value of utility, but only to compare the magnitude of utility. This analysis method can reduce economic problems to two or more possible choices, and use graphics for intuitive analysis, so it is concise and easy to understand. Therefore, this analysis method has been widely used in economic analysis.
The formation, characteristics, supply and application of production factors of different markets are analyzed from the perspective of the market. Imperfect competition, perfect competition, monopoly, the formation of their long-term and short-term equilibrium, and their profit analysis ... some of them can provide us with reference, while others will remind us that our socialism should resolutely prevent this phenomenon from happening.
Equilibrium means that various opposing and changing forces in the economy are in a state of equal strength, relative static and no longer changing. Once the equilibrium is formed, if there is another force to make it leave the original state, there will be another force to make it spontaneously return to the equilibrium state. Equilibrium analysis is divided into local equilibrium analysis and general equilibrium analysis. When analyzing the equilibrium price, we use the partial equilibrium analysis, that is, to analyze how the interaction between demand and supply can make the price and quantity of an item reach equilibrium under other conditions unchanged. When all kinds of equilibria are achieved, each party can achieve the best state of its own goals from its own perspective.
In the last few chapters, he talked about "general equilibrium and welfare economics". What impressed me the most was the study of "fairness and efficiency", which expanded my simple concept of "fairness and efficiency"-more pay for more work, to the height that different distribution methods reflect a social value. I was shocked by its deep exploration. I thought about some things myself and felt that I benefited a lot.
I remember Teacher Tong introduced an example: If there is a bowl of rice, should it be given to the children, the workers at home or the elderly when the whole family has to eat it to survive? At that time, I simply thought of giving it to the labor force, because it can create value and maintain life. But under the reminder of Teacher Tong, I found my own narrow mind.
This is where our values lie. We attach importance to the health and development of the next generation, which is a value of social sustainable development. Do we distribute according to the current efficiency principle, a value of giving priority to efficiency, or do we maintain the fairness of the whole society? Western scholars believe that efficiency and fairness sometimes promote each other, so we should pay attention to the adjustment of government measures.
Finally, the textbook talks about "market failure and microeconomic policies", which makes us fully realize that there will always be inevitable contradictions in every market. The market will also have its failure, because its market competition is incomplete and there is monopoly; Information is also incomplete and asymmetric, and it has its externalities. ...
Under its various theoretical assumptions that are difficult to realize, we have constructed our economic knowledge skeleton. These questions and their answers are divorced from any special relations of production because of harsh assumptions, which obviously violate the reality of capitalism and have nothing to do with the research object of microeconomics (capitalism), so the theory of microeconomics cannot be established.