Welcome, brave person. You clicked on a piece about economics markets, which is the least
interesting topic since “how to figure out tax brackets.” Don’t lie; you didn’t come here to
study. You came here because your finances are becoming worse and you thought, “Maybe I
should learn how the economy really works.”
Spoiler: it doesn’t.
In theory, markets are where buyers and sellers meet. In actuality, it’s where businesses
show off, customers ponder too much, and the government sometimes cries “stability!” into
an empty space. It’s like a collaborative project for capitalism: everyone pretends to be
helping, but one person (Amazon) does all the effort and gets all the credit.
Get some coffee, download the budgeting app you promised to use, and let’s break down
this circus that economists call “an efficient system.”
Market Basics: Or, The Part Where Textbooks Lie With Confidence
Economists like to suggest that “invisible hands” guide pricing in the market. Sure, Jan. That
unseen hand just hit me with a $5.89 oat milk latte that used to cost $3.50.
The basic idea behind markets is “supply” and “demand,” which is believed to explain why
prices go up and down. Easy, huh? It doesn’t seem like logic; it seems more like spiritual
anarchy combined with panic trading.
Let’s make this calamity too simple:
When there is a lot of demand and not enough supply, things get expensive and crazy (like
rent, healthcare, and emotional stability).
When there isn’t much demand and there is a lot of supply, there are clearance bins and
despair (I’m looking at you, 2020 planners).
This balance is called “equilibrium” by economists. We call it “barely getting by with inflation
while acting like avocado toast is the problem.”
Your grocery list and emotional arc don’t matter to the markets. They are full of enthusiasm
and respond to every rumor, tweet, and “breaking news” story faster than you can say,
“Please not another recession.”
An econ professor in a classroom with a PowerPoint slide that says “Market Forces” is
taking this very personally.
How Markets Really Move: Spoiler Alert: Not By Logic
People prefer to think that “the market” is a rational system where people make sensible
choices. Yes, and my cat pays his rent on time too.
Emotions drive markets. By fear. By memes. A billionaire tweets something stupid, and all of
a sudden, your assets drop like they saw a ghost.
Do you remember GameStop? A group of Reddit users decided to take on Wall Street with
internet jokes and anger, and it succeeded. For around two weeks. That’s the thing: logic
doesn’t control modern markets; caffeine-fueled chaos gremlins with Wi-Fi and a Robinhood
app do.
“Market efficiency” is the most popular word among economists. But “efficiency” seems to
include housing bubbles, crypto crashes, and $70 sweatshirts that are called “minimalist
apparel.”
Three universal rules govern how markets move:
Fear. Greed.
Tweets from Elon Musk.
The Different Kinds of Markets (Because One Mess Wasn’t Enough)
As if that would make the whole system less crazy, economists, who are like architects of
chaos, said there should be different sorts of markets.
Let’s go over the VIP list of capitalism’s recurrent characters:
- Perfect Competition: When everyone sells the same thing and no one makes money. So,
in a way, these are like participation awards for the economy. - Monopoly: The one firm that rules them all. Usually ends with Netflix’s subscription costs
going raised again and hurting people’s feelings. - Oligopoly: A small number of companies work together, like the Avengers, but for money.
Airlines and cell phone companies, I’m looking at you. - Monopolistic Competition: Everyone sells pretty much the same thing, but they use
marketing magic to make you think it’s different. Yes, that means 80% of all skincare brands.
There are different types of markets, but the recipe is always the same: a little bit of inequity,
a little bit of manipulation, and a whole lot of denial.
It’s a tasting menu for capitalism, and everything is too expensive and not guilt-free.
The Invisible Hand Is Really Just Vibes
Economists believe in something called “market forces,” which is the idea that markets will
fix themselves, establish equilibrium, and make everything better if you simply give them
enough time.
Oh yeah, that’s totally going to work out.
This is what “self-correction” looks like in real life:
Prices for homes go over the roof.
Everyone freaks out.
Prices keep going up.
Someone produces an article called “Why Millennials Don’t Buy Homes.”
The “invisible hand” of the market isn’t a nice piece of machinery; it’s more like your
intoxicated friend trying to put out a fire at a party with more tequila.
What is the truth? Investor vibes, consumer vibes, and corporate PR vibes all affect the
markets. What is inflation? Vibes. What are gas prices? Vibes. Those “recession-proof”
fields that are all the rage? A pure, hopeful lie.
“Markets are cyclical,” every economist says. In other words, “Yes, everything is falling apart,
but don’t worry, it will happen again later, maybe in a different way or worse.”
Inflation, recession, and other things that make dinner parties bad
When you talk about economics in 2025, you hear the same words over and over: the Fed,
“soft landing,” inflation, recession, and consumer confidence. It’s all just jargon for one thing:
no one knows what’s going on.
That’s what makes markets in economics so great: they offer everyone something to fight
about without fixing anything.
Prices go up, people freak out, and eggs are become luxury products for some reason.
When there’s a recession, the stock market goes down, your 401(k) tears softly, and news
anchors say “record low sentiment” over and over again.
Recovery: The economy fixes itself just long enough for billionaires to get rich again before it
all goes wrong again.
If markets were a person, they would be that friend who keeps dating bad people and says,
“This time it’s different.”
Twist: It’s always the same.
Why We Still Trust Markets (Even Though They Keep Ghosting Us)
It’s kind of sweet that we still believe in this system. We still say, “You know what?” after
every crash, bubble, and “economic adjustment.” This time, it might work.
We treat markets like horrible exes: they hurt us over and over again, but they make things
interesting. They crash, we freak out, they come back, and all of a sudden we’re like, “See?”
It just needed some room.
Maybe that’s what makes it so appealing: chaos that looks like refinement. Stock tickers,
graphs, and CNBC yelling matches all pretend that there is order when there isn’t. It’s simply
a group of people in suits who are crazy.
Markets make us think we have control. The truth? We’re all simply hoping that our
investments won’t go down before payday.
You now know nothing but think you do. Congratulations!
So this is it. You began this with the goal of “understanding” markets in economics, but you
ended up recognizing that economists are just astrologers with spreadsheets.
Markets aren’t stable, predictable, or moral. They’re just mirrors that show how crazy people
get when money is at stake.
Now go out and act like you know how to handle money. And remember, the market always
“corrects” itself, but only after wrecking your weekend plans.
Congratulations if you made it this far. You either have the attention span of a legend or too
much debt to quit now. Either way, good job. You have made it through a crash course in
capitalism’s favorite dream.
(Go get yourself a latte for $9. You deserve it.
