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  3. Economics has often been criticized as a science concerned only with the short term, to the exclusion of the consideration of ho

Economics has often been criticized as a science concerned only with the short term, to the exclusion of the consideration of ho

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问题     Economics has often been criticized as a science concerned only with the short term, to the exclusion of the consideration of how short-term goals affect long-term consequences. While it is true that economics is generally focused on achieving short-term maximization of resources, it must be kept in mind that the long-term is never neglected. One of the most intrinsic concepts in the field of economics is game theory, which examines how the choices immediately facing an individual will affect his subsequent breadth of choices that emerge afterward.
    For example, consider the case of a manager of a business who must decide whether to create a shoddy product, aware of the fact that ignorant buyers will buy an equal amount of the item regardless of its quality, since they know nothing about it yet. Assume that creating a shoddy product is less expensive than creating merchandise of higher quality. Short-term economics would argue that it is the best course of action for the manager to create the low-quality item, since the same reward would be achieved for a lower price.
    More properly applied economics, however, would demand further consideration, taking into account the long-term. While creating a shoddy product in the long term would boost short-term profits, it would also cause buyers not to purchase from the manager’s company in the future, resulting in a significant loss in long-term profits. Consequently, the boost in short-term profit would have to be weighed against the loss in long-term profits, providing a more realistic and applicable aspect to the decision making process. When game theory comes into play, economics becomes a more useful tool in real-world situations.
    Having examined the way in which game theory is applied, its name now makes sense. Game theory is similar to a chess game, in which the effects of one’s choices on the other players in "the game" must be considered prior to action. In that sense, the application of economics to practical decision-making becomes at once more complicated yet more sensible. One must always be thinking ahead and anticipating future scenarios based on current situations, for although economics is concerned with maximization, maximization is a long-term, not a short-term, goal.
The main purpose of paragraph 4 is to______.
选项 A、reiterate the argument that economics is not a short-sighted science
B、summarize the preceding argument presented in the text
C、state the concept of game theory’s application to economics in a condensed version
D、lead the reader to a conclusion supported by the author
答案C
解析 属主旨思想题。文章第一段第二句指出：经济学既关注短期利益又关注长期收益。第二、三段举例说明博弈理论的应用，最后一段把博弈理论与下象棋相比，总结性地说明它在经济学中的应用。由此可知，选项C正确。
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