The casts of Living Room Dialogue
in alphabetical order
Classical Economist believed that a free market can regulate itself. The main supporters of this ideal were Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, David Ricardo and John Stuart Mill. Smith's publication of "The Wealth of Nations" in 1776 is widely believed to mark the beginning of Classical Economics. In contrast to previous ideas where wealth centered around the ruling class, the classical economists focused more on the masses and their activities. National income was no longer mirrored by the King's treasury, but was henceforth seen as being income produced by labor applied to land and equipment. It popularized the ideas of Laissez-faire.
Keynesian Economics was developed by John Maynard Keynes. It theorizes that firm decisions sometimes lead to inefficient macroeconomic outcomes, such as skyrocketing prices or acute recessions. For that reason, it recommends that the public sector create policy or take action to stabilize the situation. One such fine-tuning method is the interest rate controlled by each country's national bank. When there is an inflation, central banks will increase interest rate to reduce national spending. In the case of a recession, interest rate will be reduced to encourage spending.
Malthusian, advocated by Reverend Thomas Robert Malthus, focused on the dangers of population growth because of the belief that food production can only increase in a straight line, while population grows in a steep curve. The Reverend argued that at the rate the population was growing, mankind was doomed to living at near-starvation level. He proposed sexual restraint and birth control to handle the situation.
Marginalism conceptualized the idea of how specific changes in the quantity of goods or services is affected by the behaviour of the consumer versus the behaviour of the firm. For example, when a firm lowers the price of goods, consumers will buy more goods. On the other hand, if consumers demand more of a certain product or service, then the firm will increase the price. We have W S Jevons, Carl Menger and M E L Walras to thank for the demand and supply curve. This concept is used to explain market choices, which leads to the decision on how "best" to allocate resources.
Marxism is a form of economic thought with a strong political flavour. It is derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, both of whom were critical of capitalism. Marxists believe that capitalism exploits labour - the true source of wealth - to gain surplus income. The Marxist ideal is a classless society where goods are produced for their usefulness and distributed to where they are needed. However, for this to happen capitalism must first be overthrown.
Mercantilism was based on the idea that wealth is represented by capital and that the volume of international trade is fixed. Proponents recommended that the head of state increases capital by exporting more and importing less. Mercantilists wanted government to be protectionists when it comes to trade by applying tariffs or subsidies that encourages exports but discourages imports. This ideal was used around the 16th century to the 18th century.
Physiocrats taught that it is the self-interest of individuals or groups of individuals that moves the economy. They also believed that wealth comes solely from the value of land by means of agriculture or development. This theory came from France and was made popular in the later half of the 18th century by Turgot and Quesnay. It introduced the early ideas of Laissez-faire.
Ricardo, David upholds that excess currency leads to inflation. He recommends the enforcement of laws that will prevent government interference in trade and competition. Another idea he introduced was the law of diminishing returns, which state that if one factor of production is increased while other factors are kept the same, then output will become ever smaller until it finally begins to fall.
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The casts of
Planet Comedy
in alphabetical order
Chauvinist - a person prejudiced against women
Comedy - a play or a film filled with amusing characters
Farce - short comedy with an absurd plot, e.g. sitcoms
Fool - a jester or a clown, sometimes used to mean stupid
Irony - the use of language that implies the opposite of what is meant
Metaphor - literal application of a word or phrase e.g. She is a flower among thorns
Miserly - used to described a person who hoards wealth and lives miserably
Oxymoron - the use of contradictory terms e.g. pretty ugly
Parody - to mimic and to exaggerate another's work in a humorous manner
Prankster - a practical joker, someone who is full of mischief
Sarcastic - the use of scornful and ironic language
Satire - a play or work that exposes vice or folly
Similes - poetical comparison of one thing to another e.g. She is as pretty as a flower
Stupid - a foolish or unintelligent person
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