Political Economy:
Capitalism and Its Critics
Pol Sci 3306
Fall 2008
Class Time: 10:30-11:45am MW
Office: GC.1.208
Office Phone: 972-883-6729
Office Hours: 9:00-10:00 am MW and by appointment
e-mail:
harpham@utdallas.edu
home page:
www.utdallas.edu/~harpham
At the heart of modern political thought lies an ongoing debate about capitalism. What is a capitalist economic system? What social, political, and moral relations flourish alongside a capitalist economy? Does a capitalist economy promote freedom for the individual or merely provide the framework for one class to exploit another? How does change in a capitalist society affect democratic political institutions? Is big government the solution to problems in a capitalist economy, or the problem itself? How are we to understand the larger historical significance of the breakup of communist regimes throughout the world? How has globalization changed the world in which we live? What is the relationship between globalization and terrorism in the early 21st century? This course will address such questions through a reading of the works of Bernard Mandeville, David Hume, Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Joseph Schumpeter, Friedrich Hayek, and Thomas Friedman.
The course will be structured around three great debates that have shaped our understanding of capitalism over the past 300 years: the debate over morality, markets, and freedom in the eighteenth century, the debate over technology and socialism in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and the debate over globalization in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.
Requirements
There will be 1 in-class exam in the course and 1 take-home exam, each worth 30% of the final grade. The in-class exam will be composed of a series of short answer questions and a long answer question. Potential long answer questions for the in-class exams will be handed out 5 daysbefore the exam. Questions for the take-home exam will be handed out on the last day of class and will be due by 12:00 noon on Monday December 8. You will be limited to 7 double-spaced pages on the final. Unannounced quizzes will comprise 10% of the final grade. Each student will receive a grade for their contributions (written and oral) to the Marketplace of Ideas classes worth 10% of their grade. Class participation will comprise 10% of the final grade.
Marketplace of Ideas
Four times during the semester we will convene into a "marketplace of ideas" class. Students will be divided into small groups that will be assigned to analyze a particular reading in terms of the ideas taken up in the course. Each group must provide the class with a 2-page summary of its conclusions and each group will then present its ideas in a 3 minute prepared talk to the class. Students in each group will be graded on the paper and the presentation.
Required Texts
Dr. Harpham strongly recommends that you purchase the following editions of the texts that we will be using in class. There will be a great deal of textual analysis in the course and having a common edition of the text will make life easier for everyone.
Adam Smith The Wealth of
Nations (Liberty Classics)
Adam Smith The Theory of Moral Sentiments (Liberty Classics)
Karl Marx Selected Writings (Hackett edition)
Joseph Schumpeter Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy 3rd. ed
Friedrich Hayek Road to Serfdom
Thomas Friedman The World is Flat
Recommended Texts
Robert Heilbroner's Worldly Philosophers. This book contains excellent introductions to the life and thought of many leading modern economic theorists, including Smith, Marx, and Schumpeter.
The Internet Connection:
Websites relevant to different portions of the course have been included in the syllabus. Students are encouraged to explore these sites and pass on new sites to the class. The internet is becoming an important resource for political science students. Learn how to use it and explore its many offerings.
Websites: The
following websites contain a large amount of primary and secondary information
relevant to the study of political economy. Students should take
their time and explore them.
Primary
Texts in Economic Theory
History of Economic Thought
Philosophy and Political
Theory: Malaspina Great Books
Philosophy and Political Theory: Episteme
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Overview of the Course
August 25:
Political Theory and Capitalism
Morality, Self-Interest and Market Society
August 27:
A) Mandeville's Paradox
READ: The Fable of the Bees (poem only). text of poem: www.xs4all.nl/~maartens/philosophy/mandeville/fable_of_bees.html
Websites:
HET Mandeville Site
HET Hutcheson Site
September 3:
B) Hume on Commerce and Liberty
READ: Hume's "On Commerce." Liberty Fund Edition of Essay: www.econlib.org/library/LFBooks/Hume/hmMPL.html
To get to the essay entitled "Of Commerce" click the "Table of Contents" link. Click the essay entitled "Of Commerce."
Websites:
Stanford Encyclopedia Entry on Hume: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hume
September 1 : Labor Day (no class)
September 8: Marketplace of Ideas I
The debate over benevolence, self-interest and patriotism.
September 10, 15, 17, 22:
C) Smith on Commercial Society
(note: read the pages of Smith's text, not the introduction)
a) The Moral and Philosophical
Background
READ Smith Theory pp.9-91, 109-13, 156- 70, 179-93, 212-64
b) Economics
READ Smith Wealth pp.10-37, 65-116, 276-78, 330- 349, 376-427, 429-35,
687-88
c) Politics
READ Smith Wealth pp.689-723, 781-88
Websites:
McMaster University Adam Smith Site
HET Adam Smith Site
HET Robert Malthus
Site
HET David
Ricardo Site
September 24, 29, October 1, 6
The Marxist Critique of Capitalism:
a) Philosophy
READ Marx pp. 28-39; 56-79; 99-101
b) Historical Materialism
READ Marx pp. 209-14; 157-86;
c) Economics
READ Marx pp. 216-300
d) Politics
READ Marx pp. 316-32
Websites:
Marx-Engels Internet Archive
Marx and Engels Writings
HET Marx Site
HET Marxian
Economics Site
October 8: Marketplace of Ideas II:
The Debate over Human Nature
IN CLASS EXAM 1: October 13
Technology, Democracy, and the Modern World
October 15, 20, 22, 27
Creative Destruction and the Critique of Marx and Keynes
a) Rethinking Capitalism
READ Schumpeter Part II
b) Rethinking Socialism
READ (selectively) Schumpeter Part III
c) Rethinking Democracy
READ Schumpeter Part IV
Websites:
HET Schumpeter
Site
HET
Business Cycle Theory
Socialist
Calculation Debate
November 3, 5, 10, 12
The Revival of Smith and the Critique of the Welfare State
READ: Hayek End of Serfdom (all)
Websites:
hayekcenter.org/friedrichhayek/hayek.html
November 17: Marketplace of Ideas III
The debate over socialism and the welfare state.
November 19, 24, 26 and December 1
Globalization and Its Critics
Read Friedman (all)
Websites:
Friedman
Biography
World Bank on
Globalization
Thomas Friedman Site
December 3: Marketplace of Ideas IV
The debate over globalization and the future of capitalism.
Take home exam handed out.
December 8:
Reflections on Political Economy and Political Theory
Take Home Exam due.
Friday December 5: take home final due at 12:00 noon in MP 3.206
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E-mail Dr. Harpham at
harpham@utdallas.edu
