Economic theory for Dummies is a performance lecture by Amund Sjølie Sveen investigating our present economic system;
the theoretical, historical, philosophical and psychological background of todays economic reality – and how the rhetorics of this system is present in our minds and media. How is «human nature» related to economic terms and the conditions of modern liberal market economy? If it is true that culture is way ahead of nature – that our human emotions and instincts today, through evolution, are perfectly tuned for living in a world of scarcity, threats and the need for short-term-thinking – how does this work today, now that we actually live in a world of affluence, security and the need for long-term-thinking? This project is a small contribution to the public need to regain power in the field of economy. We need to understand the economy in order to have an opinion about it. We need to understand the words and concepts of the ´economist-language´. We need to be able to separate politics from laws of nature. We need to grasp the connections between economy and ecology. We need a crash course, we need a bit of Economic theory for Dummies.
