Capitalism and Its Discontents

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Since the financial collapse of 2008, it has been common to declare that capitalism is in “crisis”. But capitalism was born in crisis: from its earliest moments, it has been associated with boom-and-bust cycles, breathtaking stock bubbles, financial ruin, forced labor, and conquest. Moreover, as a historical social relation that in ways large and small organizes our lives, it is notoriously difficult to explain. Scholars of capitalism—historians, economists, sociologists—do not at all agree on what capitalism is; less agreement stands on its origins, its development, its future possibilities, even its current existence (more than one prominent thinker has declared capitalism “as we know it” to have ended). And yet at the same time, so overwhelming is the elusive presence of capitalism in our lives that one philosoher’s pithy remark has been repeated to the point of cliché: it is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism. Which begs the question: is human civilization, simply, capitalism? With particular focus on the comparative experience of historical capitalism in the Americas, this course revolves around three broad problems: the contested origins of capitalism; the bifurcation of experiences of capitalism through uneven development; and the possible futures of capitalism. Each problem will be dealt with through a set of texts. On the one hand, we will engage some basic scholarly (historical and philosophical) texts in order to build conceptual language and identify points of controversy. On the other hand, we will draw on creative (narrative fiction and film) texts in order to contemplate the lived experience of capitalism and its contradictions in a range of settings. Language of instruction is English. Comparative work is encouraged.