psychology of economics ;)

why do we have so many conflicting financial ideologies?
what does economics study? is it how resources/materials are interchanged? or is it all a reflection of human motivation? - and is it the reason for such diverse ideas such as capitalism, communism, socialism and other multiple combos and permus...

basically they reflect the complex mental states of humans and we haven't been able to understand it well to develop a system to manage the motivators and needs etc.

are humans basically individualistic? or social or altruistic or selfish or family or clique based or universal/global? the problem is such a black or white labeling is not enough and each one of us is all of these and change from one state to another...  just one person finds at times agreeing & disagreeing with just one philosophy...

an individual cannot survive alone in this world... but the individual ego or need for self control (self drive/free will) is also huge - thus the system or ideology should be able to incorporate both the sides - need for individual control and cooperation/coexistence with others and put efforts as a team/community/group.

such a system hasn't been developed, as these systems are not been viewed & designed with human being (or their mental processes) in focus.  the economic behavior (or any other specific system's analysis such as government, sports, media etc) are but reflections of the human mental states, rather than separate entities.

what we do is a reflection of our internal processes - but rather than focusing on this internal process, we tend to analyze external behavior - and get obsessed with it, and start seeing it as a separate entity.  of course, i do try to check whether my opinions are self-propagating...  a capitalist would vehemently encourage capitalism, a religious person can be fanatic and for a student of psychology, mental state becomes the one & only center of the world or universe..  so should you, so should we all.

but let me not end with a question hanging.  let me try to explore a bit about solutions as well.  the group, community should be strong for all of us to survive.  individuals should contribute to the larger group, put efforts to cooperate and coexist and be equal...  but these efforts should not stem from force or pressure.   it should happen through individual decision - individual freedom to decide, direct their own energies should not be suppressed.

but the larger picture of being together has to be part of cultural exposure - exceptions be tolerated; and each individual like a child be exposed to the consequences of their decisions and actions.

it is more difficult, but long term.  its not self indulgence - the short cuts and instant gratification.  it changes when insecurity is reduced, which is a part of our mental state. its a tall aim, but worth climbing towards...