Lehrman American Studies Center

Course Description:

This course is a study of the origin and tradition of political economy. Politics and economics, though separate academic disciplines, can be studied fully only with reference to one another. This course examines some of the major meeting points. We will study the original arguments for both "commercial republicanism" and "socialism." The course then proceeds to more recent arguments for and against democratic capitalism.

Course Objectives:

Students will understand the genius and the benefits – both material and political – of our economic system, but also its political limitations and its moral difficulties. They should be able to state clearly the arguments for and against some of the chief policy disagreements of our day regarding public power over property and its just distribution.

• Course Format:lectures with extensive class presentations
• Course Sequence: This course builds on another political science course, Enlightenment and Liberal Democracy, picking up economic themes that were left undeveloped. As it also includes philosophic texts, the course bridges the disciplines.
  

Required Readings

1. Francis Bacon, selections from Essays.
2. John Locke, selections from Second Treatise of Government.
3. Montesquieu, Spirit of the Laws, chapters 19 and 20.
4. Adam Smith, The Wisdom of Adam Smith. (purchase)
5. Alexis de Tocqueville, "Memoir on Pauperism," "Speech on the Right to Work."
6. George Will, “Á Conservative Welfare State,” in Keeping the Tablets by William Buckley.
7. Charles Murray, “The Constraints on Helping,” in Keeping the Tablets by William Buckley.
8. Karl Marx, Communist Manifesto, selections from The German Ideology.
9. Irving Kristol – Capitalism, Socialism and Nihilism
10. Bertrand de Jouvenel, "The Socialist Ideal."
11. Michael Walzer, "In Defense of Equality."
12. Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom. (purchase)
13. Robert Lekachman, "Capitalism or Democracy."
14. Charles Schultze, The Public Use of Private Interest. (purchase)
15. Steven Rhoads, The Economist's View of the World. (purchase)

Course Requirements

• Ten take-home “focus” assignments (20%)
• 5-6 page book review & class presentation (20%)
• 5-6 page research paper & class presentation (20%)
• Student administered quizzes for presentations (10%)
• Final exam (30%)

Grading Scale

A 93 – 100%

A- 90 – 92%

B+ 87 – 89%

B 83 – 86%

B- 80 – 82%

C+ 77 – 79%

C 73 – 76%

C- 70 – 72%

D+ 67 – 69%

F 00.0 – 59%

Course Structure

1. Introduction.
2. The Relationship between Politics and Economics.
3. Liberal Capitalist Political Economy - Bacon, Locke, Montesquieu, Smith.
4. Critiques from Within & from the Left - Tocqueville, Marx.
5. Should the State Radically Redistribute Income? - de Jouvenel, Walzer.
6. A Minimal or a Maximal State? - Friedman, Lekachman.
7. What Economists Can Teach Public Men - Schultze, Rhoads.
8. The Limits of Economic Analysis: the Need for a Political Economy - Rhoads.

Course schedule

• January 17 - Introduction

• January 19 - The relationship between politics and economics

• January 24 - Bacon - Essays Focus Assignment due

• January 26 - Locke – argument for property ownership and its political role Focus Assignment due

• January 31 - Locke

• February 2 - Montesquieu – use of economics to prepare people for liberty Focus Assignment due

• February 7 - Adam Smith – the father of free markets Focus Assignment due

• February 9 - 3 student book reviews

• February 14 - Adam Smith

• February 16 - Tocqueville – Pauperism, Right to Work Focus Assignment due

• February 21 - George Will & Charles Murray – welfare

• February 23 - Christian response to poverty (& to wealth!) + student book review

• February 28 - 3 student book reviews

• March 2 - Marx – Manifesto, German Ideology, Ltr to Weydemeyer Focus Assignment due

• March 7 - Marx + student book review

• March 9 - Irving Kristol – Capitalism, Socialism and Nihilism + student book review

• March 14, 16 - Spring Break

• March 21 - de Jouvenal – redistribution of wealth: no + student book review Focus Assignment due

• March 23 - Walzer – redistribution of wealth: yes + student book review

• March 28 - Milton Friedman, chapters 1-2 – minimal state Focus Assignment due

• March 30 - Robert Lekachman – maximal state + student research presentation

• April 4-6 - Interregnum – no class

• April 11 - 3 student research presentations

• April 13 - Rhoads + student research presentation Focus Assignment due

• April 18 - 3 student research presentations

• April 20 - Charles L. Schultze

• April 25 - 3 student research presentations

• April 27 - Rhoads – the limits of economic analysis Focus Assignment due

• • Research topics must take a position for or against a government policy (e.g. windfall tax, response to Katrina, farm supports, urban planning, faith-based initiatives, eminent domain) or agency (e.g. MTA, public schools). See the Manhattan Institute website and City Journal for ideas and direction, or perhaps the Acton Institute.

Recommended Reading

1. Beisner. E. Calvin. Prosperity and Poverty: The Compassionate Use of Resources in a World of Scarcity. (1988)
2. Berger, Peter. The Capitalist Revolution. (1986)
3. Berger, Peter. The Capitalist Spirit: Toward a Religious Ethic of Wealth Creation. (1990)
4. Buckley, William, ed. Keeping the Tablets: Modern American Conservative Thought. (1987)
5. Chilton, David. Productive Christians in an Age of Guilt Manipulators: A Biblical Response to Ronald J. Sider. (1985)
6. Cropsey, Joseph. “On the Relation of Political Science and Economics,” in Cropsey, Political Philosophy and the Issues of Politics. (1977) There are also other essays of interest in this book.
7. Fukuyama, Francis. Trust: The Social Virtues and The Creation of Prosperity. (1995)
8. Gay, Craig. With Liberty and Justice for Whom? The Recent Evangelical Debate Over Capitalism. (1991)
9. Gilder, George. Wealth and Poverty. (1981, 1993)
10. Goldwin, Robert and William Schambra, ed. How Capitalistic Is The Constitution? (1982)
11. Griffiths, Brian. The Creation of Wealth: A Christian’s Case for Capitalism. (1984)
12. Henry, Carl F. Aspects of Christian Social Ethics. (1964)
13. Kristol, Irving. Two Cheers for Capitalism. (1978)
14. Kuyper, Abraham. Lectures on Calvinism. (1899)
15. Murray, Charles. In Our Hands : A Plan To Replace The Welfare State. (2006)
16. Murray, Charles. In Pursuit of Happiness and Good Government. (1988)
17. Murray, Charles. Losing Ground. (1984)
18. Nash, Ronald H. Social Justice and the Christian Church. (1983)
19. Neuhaus, Richard John. Doing Well and Doing Good: The Challenge to the Christian Capitalist. (1992)
20. Novak, Michael. The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism. (1982)
21. Olasky, Marvin. The Tragedy of American Compassion. (1992)
22. Schansberg, Eric. “Common Ground Between the Philosophies of Christianity and Libertarianism,” Journal of Markets and Morality, v.5 no. 2 (2002) [www.acton.org/publicat/m_and_m/2002_fall/schansberg.html]
23. Schansberg, Eric. Turn Neither to the Right nor to the Left: A Thinking Christian’s Guide to Politics and Public Policy. (2003)
24. Sider, Ron. Just Generosity: A New Vision for Overcoming Poverty In America. (1999)
25. Sider. Ron. Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger. (1977)
26. Strauss, Leo and Joseph Cropsey. History of Political Philosophy, 3rd ed.
27. Thatcher, Margaret. “Capitalism and Its Critics” in Statecraft. (2002)
28. Walzer, Michael. Radical Principles: Reflections of an Unreconstructed Democrat. (1980)
29. Walzer, Michael. Spheres of Justice. (1983)
30. Weber, Max. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.

Academic Expectations

• Attendance and Tardiness: Students are expected to attend class regularly, having completed the reading assignment that is to be covered that day and ready to participate in the discussion of it. You cannot do well in this class if you are not in attendance and familiar with the reading. Students who arrive late or leave early will be recorded as absent. A student who misses seven class periods for any reason will be academically withdrawn from the course with a grade of “AW” recorded on the transcript (calculated as an F in the GPA). Students who are academically withdrawn from a class will receive no refund of any fees to which they may otherwise be entitled. Absences due to personal emergencies may protect the grade students earn in a course but it does not extend the number of days they are allowed to be absent. Students should guard their days carefully. Note: In classes that meet once a week, the maximum number of days a student can be absent for any reason is three. In classes that meet twice a week, the maximum number of days absent is six.

• Advice:
  • Guard your six allowable absences tenaciously. No one plans to get sick and few expect a relative to die. But you can ration your allowable absences so that such expected developments do not deprive you of your accomplishments and your investments this semester.
  • Plan to arrive at school at least 15 minutes before classes begin for you. This is a good life-habit to develop now. In this way, if you are delayed, for example, by a slow elevator you will not use up one of your six allowable absences.

• Use of technology in the classroom:
  • Laptop computers – Because there are so many who cannot resist the temptation to IM, surf the web, check e-mail and/or play video games during class, the use of laptop computers by students will not be permitted in the classroom. In addition, cell phones must be turned off while class is in session.
  • PowerPoint – I will be using PowerPoint in order to outline the lectures, but you are responsible to fill in information from the lecture and discussion under those headings. For pedagogical reasons, I will not be posting PowerPoint files for you to access. The presentations are an in-class teaching aid.

Grades and Grading:

• Submitting papers – I require both an electronic copy and a paper copy. If I do not receive both of these, I cannot give you a grade.
• Late papers – I will deduct one grade fraction (B  B-) for each day that a paper is late. After one week, I will no longer accept the paper. It will receive an automatic F (0%).
• Extra Credit – I do not give extra credit. You have many and various opportunities to demonstrate your understanding of the material. Take these opportunities seriously.
• Irrelevant considerations – DO NOT talk to me about any scholarship you have that could be affected by your grade in this course. Of course, I would be sympathetic. But that is precisely the problem.
• Exams: The usual restrictions, including no headphones and no breaks, not even for the bathroom. Once the exam has started, no one is allowed to leave the room without submitting their exam.

Honor Code Policy:

• Love for the truth and its attendant virtue, trustworthiness, are of the highest importance in an academic institution and especially in a Christian community. Accordingly, as the college policy states, “Each student should do all that is possible to avoid even the hint of any violation of academic honesty. If a student is in doubt, the best policy is to ask a faculty member for advice.”
  
  • Plagiarism – When writing your papers, make sure that every sentence and phrase is yours. If not, make sure that it is in quotation marks and the source properly cited. You need to conscientious about this because I will be conscientious about checking. The first offence will receive a failing grade for the paper, the second offence a failing grade for the class and the third offence expulsion from the college. Every instance of plagiarism will be reported to the Dean of Students.

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