HONR 2510 - Capitalism and Its Discontents

4 credit hours
This course is a philosophical examination of capitalist economics. It first examines its classical defense (Adam Smith), and then examines figures who worry about it, including Thomas Piketty, Noam Chomsky, and Joseph Stiglitz. It also examines possible alternatives, including indigenous economics, Buddhist economics, communist anarchy (Kropotkin), and communism (Marx). It also examines the economics of the global ecological crisis as well as global economic inequality. This class is neither a dismissal nor a defense of the status quo, but rather an examination of a broad range of issues at the heart of this timely issue.