Economics is are simple. It is the understanding the behavior of markets, countires and people with an emphasis on decisions. The difference between the numerious 'theories' of behavior range the gambit from rational to emotional.

The rational models believe that people, the ulitmate players, make decisions in their best interest based on the information available. When they don't the government should intervene. The emotional models believe decisions are feeling based with rationality playing a role in justification. It is a belief that ultimately people will make decisions than government.

Thanx to zerohedge for the following definitions.

Topics: Rational Models Marxism: a capitalist economy is not just flawed, but naturally self destructive and therefore requires outside intervention and regulation to be consistent with prosperity. In essence, the capitalist class will obtain exceptional power over the labor class resulting in massive inequality and general hardship. ​Socialism: derivative of Marxism where the state owns most of the means of product with some private enterprise activity Modern Monetary Theory: capitalism is naturally flawed and can only operate at full capacity if the government is used to permanently fill any demand shortages that exist. Behavioral: the economy is complex, dynamic and uncertain and is being navigated by imperfect participants. Because of this it could be appropriate for government intervention at times. Combination Models New Classical Economics: rational agents are always making optimal decisions and firms are always maximizing profits, but the economy is often shocked by “real” effects like unanticipated policy changes, changes in technology or changes in raw materials. New Keynism Economics: economic agents are rational, but markets are imperfect due to phenomena such as “sticky prices”. This can result in broad market failures leading to recession. Post Keynesian Economics: capitalism exists on an inherently unstable foundation and will at times require some forms of government intervention to achieve prosperity. ​Market Monetism: the economy is unlikely to reach equilibrium without a permanent nominal targeted income targeting rule in place. ​Emotional Models Classical: classical economists were the emerging capitalists from the age of feudalism. They saw outside intervention in the markets (such as regulation and government) as a disruption to the natural order of markets. Austrian: the less the government is involved in the economy the better it will perform; the concept that social phenomena result exclusively from the motivations and actions of individuals