Welcome to Understanding Economics!

So much of what we "know" about the world is really what "specialists" tell us. Do we really know that the earth is round, that men have walked on the moon, that nothing can travel faster than light, or that there's always a trade-off between inflation and unemployment?



You can pretty much tell what is in this picture, can't you? A tree, a house, a field, some rats? But... do you see the cat?

We don't. But we accept the "expert" opinion. What choice do we have? Life is chaotic enough.

Political economy is different from other sciences, such as physics or biology. Its principles affect every single one of us, every day of our lives. Political economy asks the questions we all ask, such as:

  • Why is there poverty?
  • Why does it always seem to get harder to make a living?
  • Why are there boom/bust cycles?
  • Why are taxes so high, and getting higher?

In this course, we won't ask you to accept anything unless you can clearly see the proof. We are going to help you look at everyday situations as a context for thinking about social problems. Here's an example. We go out to look at houses. We find out that houses in certain school districts are worth more; houses near Interstate highways are worth more; houses with a view of the ocean are worth more.

But is the house really worth more? Are the boards and mortar, nails and shingles worth more because they're near the ocean? The evidence is easy to find: when we check building-supply prices, we find them to be just about the same in each location. What accounts for the difference in price? It would have to be the land under the house, would it not?

And so it goes in the study of political economy. It's all about helping you to see what you already know.

We call this course "Understanding Economics," because that's what we intend to give you. We won't teach you secret handshakes or advanced mathematics. We'll define our terms and hold consistently to those definitions throughout, and we'll ask you to reason clearly from point A to point B.

Take a Tour of the Course

at this site map  and investigate the readings and lessons. Once you have enrolled in the course, we'll provide you with a link to www forms for the lessons (or, you can download plain text versions of the lessons, and work on your own word processor). Your answers will be e-mailed to an instructor, who will evaluate them and respond to your questions.

Our course is tuition-free

but we do charge a small fee for materials and server space: twenty-five bucks. Whe could charge more, but we want to make this course available to as many people as we can! At the Henry George Institute, our goal is a broader understanding of the principles that lie at the root of our social and economic problems. You may choose to read the course yourself, and you are welcome to do so, at no cost whatsoever. Your $25 enrollment fee entitles you to feedback from a qualified instructor, and upon satisfactory completion of the course, a certificate and transcript of your performance.

You CAN Understand Economics!

Sign up online! (Click on a button to add to your "shopping cart" -- using PayPal's secure server. You can remove them later if you wish. You DO NOT have to be a member of PayPal.)

      $25.00: Enroll in Understanding Economics, get feedback from a qualified instructor on your lessons, and receive a certificate and transcript upon completion.
      $10.00: Get a copy of the abridged edition of Henry George's classic Progress and Poverty. (This text is available online.)
      $8.00: Get a print version of the Understanding Economics study guide (helpful, but not required for enrollment).

Click button
to view your shopping cart:
Would you rather use a printed version of the text and lessons for this course? They aren't required -- but they are available! We will send you the Progress and Poverty abridged text for $10.00, and the Understanding Economics study guide for $8.00 ($18 for both) Note: Outside the United States or Canada, please add the postage amount shown for each printed item. If you don't want to order online, you may send your payment to:

Henry George Institute
238 Hadley Mill Road
Jackson, ME 04921 USA

Outside the United States, please send US funds only. If you cannot do this, you may use international postal reply coupons.