Econ 1 v. the roadblocks

Here is Don Boudreaux referring to Leland Yeager's remarks to the effect that Econ 1 (or Econ 101) is all you really need. The uncountable confusions that we hear from writers and talkers, especially the with reference to trade, are painful.  And the marginal benefits of more advanced econ are marginal (manner of speaking). This underscores the analytic power of the basics.  It also evokes some of the confusions of high-octane theory. "Secular stagnation" anyone?

There are many super-accessible texts that any bright high schooler can easily grasp.  The Economic Way of Thinking, my favorite, is cost-effective: many powerful ideas presented clearly.  So what is the problem?  How can so many smart people remain so confused -- about the gains from trade -- among many other such topics? How many prominent commentators would be laughed out of the room when they expound on "fair trade", free tuition, minimum wages, etc., were the audience not so confused?

Here are my five top roadblocks to greater understanding: First, non-zero-sumness is counter-intuitive to many -- even though cooperative behavior has been observed among primates and other animals. How then to grasp gains from trade among strangers, including those that populate international supply chains? Second, many people trust their own vague sense of "fair" outcomes and are loath to admit that fairness is a very difficult idea mainly invoked as rhetoric. Third, many retain an amazing trust in top-down "solutions", especially ones that are cooked up via a "democratic" process.  Fourth, too many people are ignorant of history. They simply do not know that they are amazingly well off compared to the vast numbers who came before them whose lives were simply "nasty brutish and short."  They also do not know that it is the exchange economy that lifted us to where we are. Fifth, conventional economic instruction can easily fail.  Young (and some less young) professors prefer to talk about the high-brow econ they learned in grad school. They do not grasp its irrelevance to non-economists.

It will be uphill for a very long time.

ADDED

"Many of the recommendations for growth and prosperity found in just about any standard 'Econ 101' textbook are the right place to start ..." (Brynjolfsson and McAdeem 2015, p. 206)