Course Syllabus
Course Information
Political Science 3306: Political Economy. Collegium V Honors
Professor Contact Information
Edward J. Harpham
Class Time: 1:00-2:15PM on MW
Office: GC.1.208
Office Phone: 972-883-6729
Office Hours: 2:15-3:00 MW and by appointment
e-mail: harpham@utdallas.edu
home page: www.utdallas.edu/~harpham
Course Pre-requisites, Co-requisites, and/or Other Restrictions
This course is a Collegium V Honors Course. You must have the permission of the Collegium V Honors Director to register.
Course Description
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? This course will address such questions through a reading of the works of Bernard Mandeville, David Hume, Adam Smith, Karl Marx, John Stuart Mill, Joseph Schumpeter, Friedrich Hayek, and Simon Johnson/James Kwak.
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 the economic crisis of 2008-10.
Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes
On completing this course, students will be able to
1) evaluate competing philosophical perspectives on the nature of capitalism and market society
2) understand competing perspectives on the relationship between capitalism and modern democratic political systems
3) understand key issues and theoretical perspectives driving the contemporary debate over the economic crisis of 2008 and its aftermath.
Required Textbooks and Materials
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
Simon John and James Kwak 13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown
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.
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
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Assignments & Academic Calendar
For an updated version of the assignments and academic calendar, go to Dr Harpham’s homepage www.utdallas.edu/~harpham/toppage21.htm.
Overview of the Course
August 23 :
Political Theory and Capitalism
Morality, Self-Interest and Market Society
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
August 25 :
Hume on Commerce and Liberty
READ: Hume's "On Commerce." Liberty Fund Edition of Essay: www.econlib.org/library/LFBooks/Hume/hmMPL.html
Websites:
Stanford Encyclopedia Entry on Hume: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hume
Writing assignment #1 due on September 15: Would Hume agree or disagree with Mandeville’s assertion that private vices lead to public benefits? Why or why not. Limit your essay to 2 pages double-spaced, 12 font, reasonable margins.
August 30, September 1, 8, 13, 15, 23
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 27, 29, October 4, 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
HET Marx Site
HET Marxian Economics Site
October 13
The Vision of J.S. Mill
- John Stuart Mill: Principles of Political Economy Book IV chapters 1, 6, 7 (available on-line)
Websites: http://www.econlib.org/library/Mill/mlP.html
IN CLASS EXAM 1: October 11
October 18, 20, 25, 27, November 1
Technology, Democracy, and the Modern World
a) Rethinking Capitalism
READ Schumpeter Part II
b) Rethinking Democracy
READ Schumpeter Part IV
Websites:
HET Schumpeter Site
HET Business Cycle Theory
Socialist Calculation Debate
Essay #1 due on November 3: write an essay that either accepts or rejects the following thesis: Schumpeter’s theory of capitalism is a logical extension of Marx’s view of historical development. Limit your essay to 2 pages double-spaced, 12 font, reasonable margins.
November 3, 8, 10, 15, and 17
The Revival of Smith and the Critique of the Welfare State
READ: Hayek End of Serfdom (all)
Websites:
hayekcenter.org/friedrichhayek/hayek.html
Essay #2 due on November 22: write an essay that either accepts or rejects the following thesis: Hayek's vision of a free society is consistent with Schumpeter's theory of creative destruction.
November 22, 24, 29, December 1, 3
The Economic Crisis of 2008 and the Fate of Capitalist Democracy
READ: Johnson and Kwak 13 Bankers (all)
Websites:
http://uchicagolaw.typepad.com/beckerposner/
December 6:
Reflections on Political Economy and Political Theory
Handout prompt for take-home exam. Exam due on Friday December 10 at 12:00 noon in GC 1.208a.
Return to my homepage
E-mail Dr. Harpham at
harpham@utdallas.edu
