Knowledge of Economy and Economy Thinking

The article substantiates the importance of updating knowledge about the economic set-up in Russian educational materials due to changing the concept of economic development in the context of modern international relations. It shows how the perception of economic phenomena depends on their interpretation in textbooks, while professional discourse influences management methods and the behavior of participants in the national economy. The concept of describing the economic system adopted in modern educational literature such as "Economics" is explained. A set of premises prescribed or implied by the authors for the convenience of mathematical modeling of the operation of a market-type economic system is outlined as well as a set of standard, not entirely substantiated, value-based statements from economic educational literature indoctrinated to readers. The authors explain the reasons for the modern economic mindset conveyed in educational literature. The standard structure of a modern basic course in economics and its ideological function are revealed. The rationale for modernizing the knowledge system is defined, based on the premise of long-term effective development, and the conceptual consequences of such changes for the creation of new educational economic material are described. The article presents opinions of leading Russian scientists on modernization of the system of economic education in modern Russia. The ideas on the structure of a new economics course for non-economic degrees, particularly, within the "DNA of Russia" project, are underpinned. The course depicts the current state of the economy through the historical path, internal and external conditions that influenced the formation of the current economic structure of Russia, and the specifics of modern economic development. The relationship between the factors of national economic culture and the behavior of economic agents, as well as the civilizational vector of economic development of Russia are given. The importance of a broad dialogue for thorough and consistent modernization of economic knowledge based on heterodox schools of economic theory is emphasized.