What comes first: Certainty of goals or scarcity of means?

Abstract

The article continues the discussion of the topic of improving higher education, which started on the pages of the journal „Voprosy Ekonomiki“ at the end of 2023. Special attention is paid to the content of the introductory course, which should comprehensively present basic concepts reflecting the realities of business: decision-making in conditions of scarce resources and uncertainty; opportunity costs; input and output/outcomes in real time; interests; the world economy. The importance of understanding the differences between „island“ and „continental“ thinking techniques, which are used by representatives of different scientific schools, as well as in business practice, is noted. According to the author, the developers of introductory textbooks on economics should also take into account the ideological aspect of the material proposed for study, and thereby contribute to eliminating the criticism that existing textbooks are subject to from a number of reputable orthodox scientists. It is also proposed to pay much more attention to the concept of „uncertainty“ at the introductory level.