Tell them to plan on emigrating to a country with an emerging economy and to study Spanish or Chinese. Explain the downside of expending public resources on wars. Explain that war is a mechanism for moving money from the public sector to the private, and that war starts when someone in a powerful position decides that war will help them make money, and that one war will cause another war, and still more money can be made. But not everyone will make a lot of money, only a few will. And many people will end up dead, so they won't need money, and that leaves more money for those that don't fight in the war. Use Switzerland as an example of what happens to an economy in a country that avoids war. Tell them to respect other cultures and to treat others as they would want to be treated, and that if everyone does that, the economy will be just fine, and their won't be any wars. Then explain that everyone is not doing that, and that is why the economy is not doing very well, and there are wars. And because there are wars a few people are getting very rich, but many more are getting poorer.
Not when I talk to my kids (ages 10 and 13). I teach my kids to think about problems, get a thorough understanding of the situation, and then come up with solutions. Blaming others is just a way to vent emotions. It's not a solution. Blaming others teaches kids that if you can find someone else to blame, you can absolve yourself of personal responsibility. That's not how I want my kids to behave.
Capitalism is asking permission for capital. As of the year 2011, currencies are slow theft from the population. Currencies are in demand only as long as supply is limited or until the population figures out the scam. Gold is not money. Gold is wealth or value. Same for silver. Money is an arbitrary abstraction to facilitate the exchange of promises. Supply-side economics is forcing the population to accept oversupply. Marketing aka propaganda and/or removing competing product. Competition is good. Without competition there is no innovation. (See the definition of capitalism above.)
All transactions are comprised of promises to deliver value. Only living beings can make promises. The value conveyed is determined by the people making the promise.
...need to travel a little farther back in time to look at the big picture. For kids, this is a pretty good bird's eye view. http://www.amazon.com/How-Economy-G...670X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316991410&sr=8-1