I failed economics. Well, three unit economics. And I only failed it in year 12. And I passed two unit economics quite well. But I failed the third unit, the advanced unit, and it didn’t count towards my TER (that’s Tertiary Entrence Rank, for all the UAI babies out there). Which meant I only got into the BA at sydney uni, instead of the Bachelor of Social Science at UNSW, which was my first preference.
But, you see, of all the subjects I took for my HSC, economics has by far been the most useful since I left school. The concepts I learnt in economics, about classic economic theory, the market, business cycles, supply and demand, etc etc, are fascinating, and help me understand so much of what is going on in the world. And secretly, I love it. I love the sheer brutality of classic economic theory, how cold and heartless it is. I love being able to understand it all. And I find it beautiful in a terrible terrible way. I can’t help but be impressed by the sheer scale of the monster. Having studies economics in highschool has helped me so much in my study at uni, and when I was an activist, and during my whole career as a public servent so far. It helps me understand politics, and policy, and why something happening somewhere far off in the world can have such an impact here. It helps me understand people. I cherish the economist in me.