Epiphanies for Economics

I absolutely love my economics class and am constantly reaching new conclusions and having different realizations from what we learn in the class. The more I learn not just about economics but learn how to use economics, the more I've come to realize that economic principles can explain all aspects of life. In all sincerity I can honestly say that I've been able to apply an economic principle to every part of my life. Sometimes it will be applications to very trivial things and other times it can be applications to deep subjects of eternal importance. In economics we learned about negative and positive externalities. Negative externalities are goods produced that have adverse effects on the rest of society such as the production of steel and the negative effects of pollution on the ecosystem. In an economy without regulation, there will be more steel produced than is optimal for society because o the negative effects pollution has on that society. Regulation is needed to cut back the pollution and improve the overall condition of society. I thought about some negative externalities in my life and came to the conclusion that sins I commit are negative externalities because my sins have adverse effects on society as a whole and there are too many of my sins produced if there isn’t any “regulation” or repentance. Just as government regulation of polluting activities improves society; my personal repentance of sin through the Atonement will improve society because I am reducing the production of a negative externality. Positive externalities are goods produced that have beneficial effects on the rest of society such as the inoculation of some children which protects the health of all the children. In an economy without regulation there is too little of that commodity produced than what is optimal for society because if there were more immunization shots given then society would be healthier and better of as a whole. I applied this principle to my own life in that the service I give to my fellow man is a positive externality because it benefits society and I don’t provide enough of it. There are so many other applications I’ve found in my life for economic principles and I’ve truly enjoyed learning and expanding my horizons through the class.