How schools teach about capitalism is changing

Summary

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Marketplace Morning Report

Episode: How schools teach about capitalism is changing
Host: David Brancaccio
Guest: Ayelet Sheffey (Senior Education Reporter, Business Insider)
Date: January 30, 2026

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Overview

This episode explores the evolving landscape of economic and financial literacy education in U.S. high schools, focusing on the ways in which curricula are adapting to reflect current events and ongoing debates about capitalism. Host David Brancaccio speaks with Business Insider’s Ayelet Sheffey about what’s driving new state-level requirements for financial literacy courses, how teachers navigate conversations around capitalism, and the tension between textbook orthodoxy and real-world economic and political developments.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

News Recap & Economic Context (00:59–03:53)

• Federal Reserve Leadership Change

  • President Trump is nominating Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor, as the new head; Warsh is expected to favor lower interest rates, aligning with Trump’s views.
  • Brief historical context on Warsh’s previous role in the 2008 financial rescue.

• Minnesota General Strike and Economic Shutdown

  • Coverage of a general strike in Minnesota led by clergy, unions, and immigrant rights activists against ICE and Border Patrol tactics.

  • Historical parallels: Civil War-era slowdowns, 1886’s eight-hour workday nationwide strike, and the 1934 general strikes in Minneapolis.

  • Quote:

    • “By refusing to work, destroying crops, escaping to join the union army, enslaved men and women profoundly damaged the Southern economy.”
      —Mitchell Hartman, 02:16

  • Noted that current shutdowns are “aim to bring pressure on the system from consumers even more than workers” (Mitchell Hartman, 03:07).

  • Marketing professor Americus Reed highlights the collective power of small reductions in consumption:

    • Quote:
      • “5, 10, 15%, add it up across hundreds of millions of people…that could pressure some big brands to speak out more forcefully on the issues of the day.”
        —Mitchell Hartman quoting Americus Reed, 03:25

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Main Interview: Teaching About Capitalism in Schools (04:54–08:17)

Financial Literacy Requirements on the Rise

• Pop Quiz (04:54): Used as a segway to place listeners in the shoes of students navigating high school finance classes. (“What market structure best describes NASA in the 1990s?”)
• Growth in State Legislation
  • Over a dozen states since 2022 have mandated financial literacy as part of school curriculum.
  • Quote:
    • “I think it ultimately boils down to the need for students to be able to graduate high school with a basic understanding of economic principles, especially the understanding that capitalism is the dominant economic system in the US...”
      —Ayelet Sheffey, 05:45

Variability Across States and Changing Attitudes

• Divergent Approaches:
  • Curriculum varies, sometimes presenting capitalism as a near panacea, other times introducing skepticism.
  • Student Awareness:
    • “Students are just more aware of economic conditions in the US…they see headlines all the time that, you know, the rich keep getting richer...”
      —Ayelet Sheffey, 06:33
    • Recognition of a “wealth gap” and increased skepticism about whether capitalism “best works for Americans.”

The Challenge of Keeping Curriculum Updated

• Political Influence:
  • Current events, like Trump’s direct intervention in companies, clash with free-market orthodoxy typically taught in textbooks.
  • Real-world developments force teachers to adapt and discuss how these events may challenge theoretical principles.
  • Quote:
    • “Teachers…start each day by just looking at the headlines and having their students share, you know, how they think what the Trump administration is doing or what's happening outside of the classroom is affecting them, their family, their peers.”
      —Ayelet Sheffey, 07:36

The Ongoing Balance in the Classroom

• Teachers strive to deliver a “well rounded lesson” by teaching economic basics while connecting them to political and social realities.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Students and Capitalism’s Shortcomings:

  • “That has a lot of, not just young people, but Americans of all ages increasingly skeptical that capitalism is the system that best works for Americans and for the United States.”
    —Ayelet Sheffey, 06:33

• On Adapting Curriculum to Politics:

  • “It's something that teachers are having to constantly think about to make sure that they're giving a well rounded lesson, that these are the basic economic principles. But what's coming from the Trump administration, what's happening politically outside the classroom and is definitely influencing those conversations.”
    —Ayelet Sheffey, 07:36

• David Brancaccio’s Pop Quiz:

  • “So what market structure best describes the space agency NASA in the 1990s? If you went with a government monopoly, congratulations, you might do well in a high school course in financial literacy.”
    —David Brancaccio, 04:54

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:59 — News: Fed nomination and general strike background
• 03:07 — Economic context: How consumer power can influence change
• 04:54 — Introduction to financial literacy education and ‘pop quiz’
• 05:32–07:12 — Interview with Ayelet Sheffey on state legislation and societal shifts
• 07:12–08:17 — Curriculum adaptation to political realities and closing thoughts

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Tone and Style

The episode maintains Marketplace’s signature mix of brisk reportage and approachable analysis, focusing on clarity, relevance, and encouraging listeners to connect broad economic concepts to the news and their daily lives.

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This summary captures the evolving discussion about capitalism, education, and curriculum, spotlighting how real-world events and generational shifts are influencing what and how students learn about the economic system that shapes their lives.

Transcript

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[David Brancaccio]

A man calling for quote regime change at the Federal Reserve appears on track to run it. I'm David Brancaccio in Los Angeles. Just a couple seconds ago, I got a Reuters bulletin that says President Trump is nominating a new head for the Federal Reserve. It will be Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor who almost got the job last time back in 2017. Warsh, in line with the president, thinks interest rates should be lower. Warsh is said to have played a key role in the government's rescue of Wall street during the 2008 mortgage crisis. In a pushback against ICE and Border Patrol tactics, clergy unions and immigrant rights activists mounted what they called a general strike and economic blackout in Minnesota last week. Some businesses closed, employees stayed home, with some participating in public protest. For today, there are calls for a national shutdown in solidarity with people in Minnesota opposed to Trump administration immigration activities. Marketplace's Mitchell Hartman has more on an American tradition that leverages the work.

[Mitchell Hartman]

Mass work slowdowns and stoppages go back as early as the Civil War, says Peter Ratcliffe, a Labor Historian at McAlester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. By refusing to work, destroying crops, escaping to join the union army, enslaved men.

[David Brancaccio]

And women profoundly damaged the Southern economy.

[Mitchell Hartman]

In 1886, a nationwide general strike called for the eight hour workday. 1934 was a year of general strikes, including in Minneapolis, where the Teamsters joined with unions across industries, supported by neighborhood businesses and residents setting up soup kitchens, health commissaries, mass meetings similar to what Minnesotans are doing to support protesters today. There's another parallel with history, says UC Irvine sociologist David Meyer.

[David Brancaccio]

These general strikes come at times of economic privation and crisis. Depressions, recessions, shutdowns, slowdowns Remember, lots of Americans feel left out of the growing GDP right now.

[Mitchell Hartman]

Today's economic shutdowns aim to bring pressure on the system from consumers even more than workers. And while one day of not shopping might have limited impact, Wharton marketing professor Americus Reid says consumers don't realize how much power they have if they just.

[David Brancaccio]

Reduce consumption a little bit.

[Mitchell Hartman]

5, 10, 15%, add it up across hundreds of millions of people, reid says. That could pressure some big brands to speak out more forcefully on the issues of the day. I'm Mitchell Hartman for Marketplace Foreign.

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[David Brancaccio]

Everyone loves a pop quiz, right? So what market structure best describes the space agency NASA in the 1990s? A government monopoly b commercial monopoly c Oligopoly or d monopolistic competition? If you went with a government monopoly, congratulations, you might do well in a high school course in financial literacy. A subset of US States now require schools to teach some kind of financial literacy in economic as part about teaching about markets, entrepreneurship, and our system of capitalism. Ayelet Sheffey got a better sense of some of those curricula. She's senior education reporter at Business Insider. Welcome.

[Ayelet Sheffey]

Hi. Thanks so much for having me.

[David Brancaccio]

In the last couple years, since 2022, a dozen states have passed legislation requiring some kind of financial literacy in schools. What's driving this at the state level, you think?

[Ayelet Sheffey]

I think it ultimately boils down to the need for students to be able to graduate high school with a basic understanding of economic principles, especially the understanding that capitalism is the dominant economic system in the US and students need to have that basic knowledge to graduate high school, be successful in the real world. Whether that's entering the workforce directly going to college. They need to have that basic understanding of econ.

[David Brancaccio]

I assume you see some variance across states with how this question of what is capitalism, how does it work, how that gets answered. I mean, you know, you can imagine a classroom where the gist is that, you know, capitalism and the market system solves most things. And that, of course, is a notion that's in great dispute.

[Ayelet Sheffey]

Students are just more aware of economic conditions in the US they're aware that there is a wealth gap. They see headlines all the time that, you know, the rich keep getting richer, they're continuing to accumulate wealth. And that has a lot of, not just young people, but Americans of all ages increasingly skeptical that capitalism is the system that best works for Americans and for the United States. So teachers are forced to kind of reckon with this balance of teaching about capitalism, what it is, how it works, while also understanding that it might not work in the best way for some people.

[David Brancaccio]

I, having been married to a teacher for a long time, know that it takes a long time to change curriculum, but there may have to be some updating of the curriculum, right? With President Trump's impulse to intervene directly in the running of companies, you know, who should be CEO, which logo a company should use. I mean, that cuts against free market orthodoxy.

[Ayelet Sheffey]

Some of the teachers who I've spoken to, they start each day by just looking at the headlines and having their students share, you know, how they think what the Trump administration is doing or what's happening outside of the classroom is affecting them, their family, their peers. And curriculum can be difficult to update. But it's something that teachers are having to constantly think about to make sure that they're giving a well rounded lesson, that these are the basic economic principles. But what's coming from the Trump administration, what's happening politically outside the classroom and is definitely influencing those conversations.

[David Brancaccio]

Ayelet Cheffey is senior education reporter at Business Insider. Thank you so much.

[Ayelet Sheffey]

Thank you.

[David Brancaccio]

We have a special edition posted of the Marketplace News quiz now featuring questions akin to the ones the high school students are getting. Test your own [e-mail] Quick, what does the acronym EBITDA stand for? Earnings Before? I don't know. In Los Angeles, I'm David Brancaccio, Marketplace morning reporter from apm, American Public Media.

[Mitchell Hartman]

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