On TV, it was always the gardener ‘whodunnit’ – and today …

How often have you seen a TV crime show that portrayed an estate agent or property developer as a likeable character? I never have. Instead, I have seen countless crime thrillers in which real estate brokers bribed politicians, were in cahoots with organised crime, drove good tenants out of their apartments with gangs of thugs, or buried people in concrete while they were still alive. And no, it’s not just property professionals who are portrayed as the bad guys, it’s other entrepreneurs, too, as a recent study has shown.

The Friedrich Naumann Foundation, in collaboration with the Family Entrepreneurs and Young Entrepreneurs associations, conducted an analysis of 40 school textbooks used in a variety of subjects including economics, politics, social sciences, business, history, and geography. This comprehensive study applied quantitative content analysis methods to provide a thorough examination of the materials. The findings of this study will be published soon, and I have already received the draft version for review.

German textbooks: technological advances magically appear out of thin air
The study finds that entrepreneurial thinking and entrepreneurial individuals are barely ever mentioned. “However, the same does not apply to politicians and the government, who appear in the books as universal and often paternalistic problem solvers”. Overall, in their analysis of economics and politics textbooks, the authors conclude: “We find a very limited, frequently caricature-like and distorted portrayal of entrepreneurs”.

As far as history textbooks are concerned, the depiction of historical entrepreneurs “primarily serves to depict grievances that purportedly arose as a result of ‘free competition,’ in combination with the dubious character traits of the entrepreneurs themselves”. Technological advances? They magically appear out of thin air and cause more problems that then need to be solved by the government.

Furthermore, the authors note that contemporary aspects of economic globalisation are often presented in a simplistic and overly negative manner, with issues like wage dumping and climate change taking centre stage.

The tasks assigned to the students require little knowledge, but a lot of opinion: “Looking at the material on which the tasks are based, students are often asked to evaluate economic issues without any substantive background or factual information. In many cases, they are expected to adopt a (political) position … without any informed discussion. The emphasis obviously appears to be on fostering students’ ability to debate in the sense of encouraging political participation – but mostly at the expense of developing economic competencies and a deeper understanding of the subject matter at hand”.

Students are asked to suggest ways companies in Bangladesh can improve their practices
For instance, students are asked to come up with ideas to help companies in Bangladesh improve pay and conditions for seamstresses. Another task prompts students: “Discuss in class whether you think it is possible to achieve or maintain social justice in Germany”. The concept of “social justice” is often ambiguous, with the terms “justice” and “equality” frequently used interchangeably.
Other tasks are simply ridiculous: “Use the Word Bank to create a chat in which you explain to another person where you can buy a hair straightener for long hair or a selfie stick”, or, “Search the internet for the CE, GS and VDE labels and sketch them in your notebook”.

Too much opinion, not enough knowledge. The same could clearly be said of the authors of many schoolbooks. For example, in the textbook Wirtschaft & Du, social security contributions are erroneously categorised under household expenditure. Similarly, in Einblicke Wirtschaft, there is a misleading illustration depicting Poland as a member of the Eurozone.

The narrative of “evil” capitalism
Regrettably, the study does not examine how school textbooks present economic alternatives to the market economy. To address this gap, I personally conducted a comprehensive experiment over the course of 20 months in 30 different countries where I delivered lectures.

In each of these lectures, which I often delivered to audiences of students and other young people, I always asked: “At school, how many of you heard about Mao’s ‘Great Leap Forward’, the biggest socialist economic experiment in history, which cost the lives of 45 million Chinese citizens between 1958 and 1962?”

Whichever country I visited, very few participants responded – I estimate that 95 per cent had never heard of this significant historical event.

In contrast, all of these young people had heard about the supposed evils of capitalism at school, despite the fact that thanks to this economic system the global poverty rate has decreased from approximately 90 per cent in 1820 to less than 9 per cent today. I wonder if this figure can be found in any of the analysed textbooks?

Teachers are utterly incapable of teaching economics
There is a common demand for more economics to be taught in schools. However, I remain sceptical about this proposition, and the Naumann Foundation’s commendable study reinforces my scepticism. I worry that teaching more about economics would simply mean more anti-capitalist indoctrination.

I also think that teachers – in most cases – are among the least suitable people to teach economics. Typically, a teacher’s background consists of attending school, going to university for a few years, and then returning to a school environment. Most teachers have never had anything at all to do with business.

I think it would make a lot more sense to invite different entrepreneurs to visit schools each week to share their personal experiences and insights on the joys and challenges of entrepreneurship. By hearing first-hand accounts of the rewards and difficulties of starting a business, some students may be inspired and gain a better understanding of the entrepreneurial world. At the same time, students would be encouraged to critically question demands for ever greater government interference in the economy.

Rainer Zitelmann is the author of the upcoming book The Origins of Poverty and wealth. https://zitelmann-weltreise.de/