Economic education through computer games

There is an idea jumps into our mind from time to time which is: The best method of teaching students these days is computer games.

Steven Landsberg, the author of "Economic philosopher" book said: I have just come from a meeting about designing one of computer games about finance markets. In this game, each student runs an imaginary project and accumulates the capital through selling shares and bonds as he likes then uses this capital in buying different elements of production and coordinate the work of these different elements to get a product at the end and to achieve profits according to his performance.

Here, we find ourselves before an important question, which is: What is the standard of success in economic reality simulation game? My view is to use the same standard used by economists to measure success in real life. This standard does not consider production rate or assets, but considers the enjoyment of life journey.

In fulfillment of the economic reality simulation game, let us reward profitable commercial operations through printing some coupons which students can replace with goods of real value. Students can immediately replace coupons or keeping them to use in the future or borrowing some from students who like lending. There is a day that is chosen randomly for every student in which his role of the game ends when his character dies and his savings go to a certain heir, and his chances in consumption end.

Thus the game ends, so students do not get degrees for participating in this game, no educator exists to follow them, and they do not find someone to tell them if their performance good or weak, for students live then die and when they perform well, they are rewarded. If students decide that the matter is not worthy good performance, there is no harm in that.

Students learn a lot from this game, they learn that success in real life is not compared with what others achieve, but with the achievement that satisfy their ambitions. They learn that in life game, there are many winners and that the winning of one of the player does not reduce the value of others' winning. Students learn also that serious work must be rewarded although it deprives a person from practicing some other activities and that ambitions which people compete to achieve differ completely from a person to another. What is more important is that they learn that the essence of economic life is not serious work and accumulating things, but it is optimum consumption of these things and enjoying free times.

Do not think that I am one of the economists who outwardly enthuse the principles of economics, whereas they admit in themselves that life is completely different from the economic models it offers. The simulation game previously mentioned is a clear confirmation to the values which economists interest in. All prevailing economic models assume that the main concern of people is to consume much and work little. All these models do not judge any economic policy as successful but when it helps people to achieve one of these two goals. According to the standards of economics, the policy which only encourages people to work more to die rich is a bad policy.

We live in the time of experts of policies corridors who judge the success or failure of any program through its effect on production rate, quality, and the exerted efforts. Those experts use the terms of economics without its essence in analyzing these programs.