3 credit(s) A modern course on a growing multidisciplinary field that focuses on the application of physics principles to economics. As the universal laws of physics apply equally to machines, living beings, and the life of communities, in this course students learn how such laws also affect complex processes such as the production of wealth, its consumption, and distribution. This course connects the basic laws of thermodynamics, probability, statistics, and standardized measurement units to fundamental economics concepts including the business cycle, market fluctuations, monetary systems, and global issues such as poverty, unemployment, pollution, energy and materials supply crisis. This course addresses the Franciscan Concerns of the Natural World, by describing economics and all human activities as part of the Natural World with its universal laws.