Why we write this blog.

Besides trying to educate and entertain, we are attempting to instil a culture of critical thinking in our students. Regular followers will know that not everything that is printed in the popular media is entirely accurate. It is our goal to explain some of the economic theory behind the articles that we bring to your attention, and use that theory to critically evaluate the articles.

We attempt to refrain from the use of “should” which implies a value judgement. Normative statements (value judgements) cannot be argued on the basis of fact or theory whereas positive statements can be. It is the latter that we wish to encourage. It is also the skill that allows one to separate fact from opinion, and the skill that we are supposed to be teaching in post-secondary education. An article on the McClatchy website looks at the findings of a study that followed students through university and found that our success in teaching critical thinking is not terribly successful. (Click here for article)

An example of the lack of critical thinking skills came up in class this week when I asked about the Hudson’s Bay Company’s sale of its Zeller’s division to Target. (Click here for article) A straw poll in all classes suggested that 2/3 of students had shopped at Target, while less than 25% had shopped at Zeller’s. There were a few in each class, however, that objected to the sale of a Canadian institution to American interests. This opinion is shared by commentators on several blogs.

For the record: Zellers was formed in 1931 when Walter Zeller purchased 14 locations from an American retailer. Zeller's was sold to the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1981. The Hudson’s Bay Company was incorporated in 1670, 197 years before Confederation. Hudson’s Bay was a British company. In 2008 HBC was acquired by a US based private equity firm – an American firm buying a British firm. The sale of Zeller’s to Target is really a sale from one US company to another.

And yes, an American company sold us those lovely red Olympic mittens.