How Conflating Finance and Economics Distorts Society and Threatens Stability Finance and economics, though intertwined, are distinct disciplines whose conflation creates a perilous misunderstanding with sweeping consequences. Economics explores how societies allocate scarce resources, analyzing systemic behaviors like supply and demand or GDP growth. Finance, however, focuses on managing money, investments, and risks, prioritizing practical tools like portfolio optimization. Their overlap in concepts, tools, and markets, amplified by media, academia, and powerful interests, fuels the perception that financial market success equals economic health. This misstep distorts policy, prioritizing Wall Street over Main Street, misleads the public, exacerbates inequality, heightens systemic risks, and sidelines issues like climate change and labor rights. Driven by financial institutions, media sensationalism, and political expediency, this conflation benefits elites while undermining societ...