Theories of Capitalism II

Undergraduate / Graduate

The Theories of Capitalism sequence introduces students to classic texts in the history of economic thought. Across the sequence, we examine diverse accounts of the forces that govern capitalist societies and the distinctive problems that emerge within them. As we do this, we also look closely at how the economists who developed these theories demarcated the economic domain of human life and we consider how their efforts to understand it were shaped by a rich body of intellectual resources. Many of the questions that we explore in the first part of the sequence reappear in Theories of Capitalism II. Yet, in this course, we also attend to new preoccupations that emerged as capitalism continued to evolve. Among these are questions about the role of uncertainty in economic processes, the nature of a competitive economic order, and the effects of private wealth accumulation on society and individuals. Readings may include works by Thorstein Veblen, Frank Knight, John Maynard Keynes, Friedrich Hayek, and John Kenneth Galbraith. Formerly Twentieth-Century Theories of Capitalism.