The article by Paul Krugman presents the author’s insight into what might be one of typical problems of undergraduate education, namely the introductory courses for non-specialists. These courses usually provide not much actual knowledge; due to the physical limitations of the format, the students are only able to barely get acquainted with basic concepts, but not their interrelations and real-life use (Krugman 23-26).
The universal problem of employing economic theories in real life is that economics has moved past strict mathematical correlations, and has always been a probabilistic science. Meanwhile, economics is a popular topic in media and a pressing issue in real life, and every single politician or politologist pretend to be an expert in it, and dare to provide their “analyses” and “forecasts” (Krugman 23-26) (the article was published almost 25 years ago, yet nothing have changed in this regard).
Speaking of this phenomenon, the author names it “pop internationalism”. This term has been frequently used by Mr. Krugman since this article; he even published an eponymous book in 1996. According to him, “”Pop internationalists”—people who speak impressively about international trade while ignoring basic economics and misusing economic figures” (Krugman). The article is devoted to busting some of the deliberately formulated myths of “pop internationalism” by the simple employment of basic economic principles.
The author claims that, despite internationalization, the basics of the functioning of the American economy remain the same; this is demonstrated by the proportion of import and export in the US’ output (Krugman 23-26). Another point is that international trade is not about international competition, but about a mutually beneficial exchange (Krugman 23-26). In addition, the purpose of this exchange are imported goods, not the export (Krugman 23-26). Mr. Krugman also explains the need to improve productivity not to compete with other countries, but to produce and consume more, therefore, improve the general quality of life (Krugman 23-26). Moreover, the very concept of “high-value sectors” of economy seem to be exclusively speculative idea, as it is explained by the country’s productivity. Another pair of interconnected resources are jobs and industries’ competition, both of which are mostly limited to the national scope, and have to be treated as homeland issue, not international one (Krugman 23-26).
Throughout the text of the article, Mr. Krugman repeatedly states that students ought to use age-old knowledge first (Ricardo’s theories, for example) to gain understanding of the contemporary issues, and I approve of this strategy. The understanding is granted by the knowledge of principles, not the details. However, one should be able to understand when and why a reliable method becomes irrelevant. The article was published in 1993, and a lot have changed since then, especially in international trade. The integration processes and globalization have lowered the barriers for free trade; the example of the EU shows how almost thirty countries can consolidate their economies to the point when national economy becomes almost powerless. And this ought to be the future; strictly speaking, we should organize a single global economy in order to survive as species. Yet it is to be governed by the very same principles Mr. Krugman repeatedly speaks of with regard to national economies. It seems to me that the whole article is not about economics, but about the inability of undergraduate students to extrapolate fundamental knowledge, be it physics, economics, or even math. Therefore, the message is that we need more practical exercises in undergraduate courses in order to prevent “pop internationalism” from growing and being considered something more than a demagogical instrument. Actually, this gap between knowledge and its practical use is education’s Scourge of God, and I am not sure we can defeat it. But we can hope, just as Mr. Krugman does.
- Krugman, Paul R. “What Do Undergrads Need To Know About Trade?”. The American Economic Review 83.2 (1993): 23-26. Print.
- Krugman, Paul. “Pop Internationalism”. MIT Press. Web. 4 Feb. 2017.
