Exploring the Broken Window Fallacy through Game of Thrones’s Prince Doran Martell

by Nicholas Scarmozzinoin Lesson Planson Posted on

Learning Objectives:

  1. Define the Broken Window Fallacy and its relevance to economic growth.
  2. Analyze Prince Doran’s decision to avoid war as an example of economic rationality.
  3. Compare the economic trade-offs between war spending and productive investment.

Materials Needed

  1. Video: Broken Window Fallacy – Prince Doran (https://econthrones.com/broken-windows-fallacy/)
  2. Visual aids: Charts or slides on the opportunity costs of war spending

Lesson Steps

1. Engage (5 minutes)

  • Begin with a thought experiment: “Imagine your phone breaks and you spend $500 on repairs. Does this help or hurt the economy?”
  • Introduce the concept of the Broken Window Fallacy: the idea that replacing destroyed goods does not lead to economic growth because resources are diverted from other productive uses.

Show the Broken Window Fallacy – Prince Doran video

2. Explore (15 minutes)

Discussion Questions (Post-Video):

  • Why does Prince Doran choose to avoid war with the Lannisters?
  • What are the economic costs of waging war, according to Doran?
  • How does Ellaria Sand’s perspective differ from Doran’s? Why might she view the cost of war differently?

3. Explain (10 minutes)

Use the whiteboard or presentation to explain:

  1. The Broken Window Fallacy
    • Coined by economist Frédéric Bastiat, the fallacy suggests that destruction does not benefit the economy because it diverts resources from more productive uses.
  2. Connection to War:
    • War spending focuses on military goods (e.g., weapons, armor) that do not create lasting value for the economy.
    • Resources used for war could instead be invested in consumer goods, infrastructure, or education, which contribute to economic growth.
  3. Prince Doran’s Perspective:
    • Avoiding war preserves resources for constructive use.
    • Emphasizes opportunity cost: the value of what is foregone when resources are used for war instead of other priorities.

4. Elaborate (15 minutes)

Activity: Group Discussions or Think-Pair-Share

  • Have students go into groups or do a think-pair-share to answer two questions
    • Question: War is an real-world example of when destruction might boost GDP but is a case of the Broken Window Fallacy? Can you come up with other examples?

After students work together, ask some groups to share their answers with the class.

Extension Opportunity:
Have students research historical examples of post-war economies (e.g., post-WWII Europe) to examine how war affects long-term economic recovery and growth.

Broken Window FallacyDownload