The word 'economics' comes from a Greek word meaning 'household management'. A house can be anything from a mud hut to a great mansion. It can also be taken to mean one's country or the planet as a whole. Obviously the house, whether small or large, includes the people in it.
So economics in the sense of household management consists of the principles which govern how people live together, whether in a domestic setting, a nation or the whole world. The science of economics is the knowledge of those principles. Good economics allows people to live freely and well, and bad economics does the opposite.
In essence, the principles which govern human life are spiritual in nature. They have their origin in the unity of the human family. When that unity is reflected in decisions and conduct, the result will be good for all. When the unity is ignored and gain is sought for some at the expense of others, conflict is inevitable.
The acute financial difficulties which are being experienced among major institutions could result in economic hardship for many people. In one way or another these difficulties are the result of a disregard of the true principles of human living. In the School the aim is to understand these principles, both spiritually and practically. With such understanding, everyone may enjoy progress and prosperity. This is as pressing a matter now as it has ever been.
The course aims to redress some of the deficiencies and the result is a fresh and illuminating approach to many of the major issues of our time:
Above all, the course seeks to show that freedom and prosperity for every living human being is possible if economic laws are observed with the intention that economic arrangements will produce a just outcome.