Schools of Economics

There are two major schools in economic thought: Keynsian and Friedmanistic economics. The difference between the two is how they view government's role in the economy. Keynes, who beilieved that controlling demand was more important than supply, thought that the government should have an active hand in the economy. He thought that the best way to solve an economic problem is to have the government enforce rules and regulations and generally tke charge of the scene. Friedman, on the other hand, thought that managing supplies was more important than demand. He thought that the government should never intervene in the economy. According to Friedman, an economy has natural fluctuations and will eventually right itself after a hard spot. Also, he thought that these fluctuations weed out the weaklings and keep the economy healthy by only allowing the strongest competetors to survive.

One example of a demand side economy is communism. In communism the government decides what to produce and how much of it. In this way, the government controlls demand by producing only certain things. An example of a supply-side economy is the United States. Here there are few controls and the 'invisible hand' of the market guides production.

In my opinion, supply side economies are better. This leaves control in the hands of the masses and allows for the needs of the people to be metdirectly. It also is better for providing competition, which keeps prices low and quality high.