AMERICAN POLITICAL ECONOMY

AMST 413—Spring 2009

Topic-Oriented Seminar

 

Colin S. Cavell, Ph.D.                                                                                                   Course Room No.:  S17-229

Class MW:  9:30-10:45                                                                                     INTERNET:  cscpo@arts.uob.bh

Office Hours:  By appointment                                                                                                 Office No.:  S17-263

VOICE:  17438775 (W)                                                                                                                           39631156 (H)

                                                                                                                                       

Economics (“oikos” or household plus “nomos” or management), according to Aristotle, entailed the management of a household which, for him, included master and slave, husband and wife, father and children.  It also entailed the acquisition of property, for, he says, “no man can live well, or indeed live at all, unless he be provided with necessaries.”  Foremost amongst the items of property for Aristotle were slaves.  Slavery was a natural phenomenon to Aristotle who justified it thusly when he asked:   “But is there any one thus intended by nature to be a slave, and for whom such a condition is expedient and right, or rather is not all slavery a violation of nature?  There is no difficulty in answering this question, on grounds both of reason and of fact.  For that some should rule and others be ruled is a thing not only necessary, but expedient; from the hour of their birth, some are marked out for subjection, others for rule” (The Politics, 350 B.C.E., Book I, Part V).  That some humans are forced to labour for others gave rise to a division in society, an estrangement from the natural community of love, affection, and trust, replacing these feelings with those of alienation, mutual enmity, or indifference.  Slavery and other unfree forms of labour were significant, for as M.I. Finley argues, the first articulation of the concept of personal freedom was linked to the rise of slavery as the main dependent labour force in ancient Greece.  It is only after this fact, he tells us, that “words were then created or adopted to express that idea” (Finley, 1968/1972, p. 308).  It was through such an analysis of estranged labour by which Marx was able to pinpoint private property as the basis of the capitalist system of economics and called for its abolition.  He writes:  “It further follows from the relation of estranged labour to private property that the emancipation of society from private property, etc., from servitude, is expressed in the political form of the emancipation of the workers.  This is not because it is only a question of their emancipation, but because in their emancipation is contained universal human emancipation.  The reason for this universality is that the whole of human servitude is involved in the relation of the worker to production, and all relations of servitude are nothing but modifications and consequences of this relation” (Marx, Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts, 1844, First Manuscript, Estranged Labour).  The modern science of political economy has as its focus the study of production and consumption and the political structures which govern this relation.  This not only includes the acts of buying and selling and the customs which regulate such activity but as well the laws which regulate these relations.  In this course, we shall examine the underlying assumptions behind the two dominant economic theories of the past century:  Neoclassical versus Marxian.  In so doing, we will analyze the different concepts used in each theory as well as the goals and consequences which follow from adopting one or the other of these theories as the economic foundation for a social formation or society.  Specific focus will be on the US political economy and its capitalist system, and thus we will be examining whether so-called “free market” economics either supports or contradicts America’s democratic goals of liberty, freedom, and equality.  Marxian theory and its related concepts will be counterposed to Neoclassical economic theory for critique and analyses of each perspective.

 

Grading Policy:  20% for Attendance*; 20% for the Class Presentation; 20% for the Midterm Exam; 20% for the Research Paper; and 20% for the Final Exam. A Guidelines sheet will be distributed outlining the requirements for your Class Presentation and for your Research Paper.

 

Grading Scale:  93-100=A; 90-92=A-; 88-89=B+; 83-87=B; 80-82=B-; 78-79=C+; 73-77=C; 70-72=C-; 68-69=D+; 63-67=D; 60-62=D-; 0-59=F

 

Attendance Policy*:  Attendance in class is mandatory.  It is the student’s responsibility to sign the attendance sheet each day of class; failure to sign the attendance sheet—even if in attendance—will be counted as an absence.  If your unexcused absences exceed 25% of the total number of lectures of the course in this semester, you will be automatically withdrawn from the course and be given a grade of (WF) which will be counted towards your GPA.  As well, you are expected to follow the syllabus and accordingly be prepared for each day's class.  This means that you must read the pre-assigned readings before class so that you will be prepared to discuss and debate in class the subject matter scheduled for that day and answer questions related to the issues being covered.

 

* Absence from class may be made up by preparing a two-page, typed (i.e. using maximum 12 point font size and maximum double-spaced text with one-inch margin on all sides), summary on the missed material scheduled to be covered the day(s) of your absence.  The summary must be in your own words and must not be copied material from the text(s), the internet, or any other source(s).   All summaries must be turned in to me by the last day of classes if you want credit for your absences.

 

Cell Phone Policy:  TURN OFF all cell phones during class.  Any student whose cell phone rings, sounds alarm, or makes any noise whatsoever during class must immediately leave the classroom for that day.  This policy applies to any electronic device students carry with them.

 

Required Texts:

 

Wolff, Richard D. and Stephen A. Resnick.  1987.  Economics:  Marxian versus Neoclassical.  Baltimore & London:  The Johns Hopkins University Press  (ISBN: 0-8018-3480-5)

 

InfoUSA:  Information USA [CD-ROM].  2007-2008.  Washington, D.C.:  U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Information Programs.  [Supplied by professor.]

 

NOTE:  Certain required readings as well as recommended class readings are available online and can be printed from the AMST 413 class webpage:   [http://userspages.uob.edu.bh/cscpo/amst413.htm].

 

Feb. 23:  Introduction to Political Economy

 

Feb. 25:  Introduction to American Political Economy

 

Readings:  InfoUSA:  Information USA [CD-ROM]:  Overview of the U.S. Economy, An Outline of the U.S. Economy, Chs. 1-3 “Continuity and Change,”  “How the U.S. Economy Works,” and “The U.S. Economy:  A Brief History.”

 

Mar. 2:  The Neoclassical Tradition

 

Readings:  InfoUSA:  Information USA [CD-ROM]:  Overview of the U.S. Economy, What is a Market Economy?

 

Mar. 4:  Market Values:  The Analytics of Supply and Demand

 

Readings:  Wolff & Resnick, Ch. 1, pp. 1-37

 

Mar. 5:  [Last day for dropping courses]

 

Mar. 8-Apr. 30:  [Withdrawal period with a “W”]

 

Mar. 9:  Prophet’s Birthday—Holiday

 

Mar. 11:  Market Values:  The Analytics of Supply and Demand

 

Readings:  Wolff & Resnick, Ch. 2, pp. 38-60

 

Mar. 16:  Market Values:  The Analytics of Supply and Demand

 

Readings:  Wolff & Resnick, Ch. 2, pp. 61-69

 

Mar. 18:  Market Values:  The Analytics of Supply and Demand

 

Readings:  Wolff & Resnick, Ch. 2, pp. 70-72

 

Mar. 23:  Market Values:  The Analytics of Supply and Demand

 

Readings:  Wolff & Resnick, Ch. 2, pp. 72-80

 

Mar. 25:  Market Values:  The Analytics of Supply and Demand

 

Readings:  Wolff & Resnick, Ch. 2, pp. 80-82

 

Mar. 30:  Market Values:  The Analytics of Supply and Demand

 

Readings:  Wolff & Resnick, Ch. 2, pp. 82-87

 

Apr. 1:  Market Values:  The Analytics of Supply and Demand

 

Readings:  Wolff & Resnick, Ch. 2, pp. 88-92

 

Apr. 6:  Efficiency and Markets:  Adam Smith’s “Invisible Hand”

 

Readings:  Wolff & Resnick, Ch. 2, pp. 92-99

 

Apr. 8:  The Challenge of Keynes

 

Readings:  Wolff & Resnick, Ch. 2, pp. 99-109

 

Apr. 13:  The Challenge of Keynes

 

Readings:  Wolff & Resnick, Ch. 2, pp. 109-124

 

Apr. 15:  Midterm Exam

 

Apr. 19-23:  Mid-semester Break [No classes]

 

Apr. 27:  The Marxian Tradition and Its Theories

 

Readings:  Wolff & Resnick, Ch. 3, pp. 125-133

 

Apr. 29:  The Logical Structure of Marxian Theory

 

Readings:  Wolff & Resnick, Ch. 3, pp. 133-138

 

May 1:  International Labor Day [Holiday—No Classes]

 

May 4:  The Logical Structure of Marxian Theory

 

Readings:  Wolff & Resnick, Ch. 3, pp. 138-141

 

May 6:  The Marxian Concept of Class

 

Readings:  Wolff & Resnick, Ch. 3, pp. 141-144

 

May 11:  The Marxian Concept of Class

 

Readings:  Wolff & Resnick, Ch. 3, pp. 144-151

 

 

May 13:  The Capitalist Fundamental Class Process and Commodities

 

Readings:  Wolff & Resnick, Ch. 3, pp. 151-154

 

May 18:  The Capitalist Fundamental Class Process and Commodities

 

Readings:  Wolff & Resnick, Ch. 3, pp. 155-163

 

May 20:  Capitalists and Laborers

 

Readings:  Wolff & Resnick, Ch. 3, pp. 163-179

 

May 25:  Capitalist Economies and Social Development [Research Papers Due]

 

Readings:  Wolff & Resnick, Ch. 3, pp. 179-192

 

May 27:  Capitalist Subsumed Classes  [Last Day for In-Class Presentations]

 

Readings:  Wolff & Resnick, Ch. 3, pp. 192-204

 

June 1:  Marxism versus Neoclassical Theory

 

Readings:  Wolff & Resnick, Ch. 4, pp. 239-244

 

June 3:  Analytical  & Political Consequences of Contending Theories

 

Readings:  Wolff & Resnick, Ch. 4, pp. 244-256

 

June 8:  Which Theory Do We Choose?  Last day of classes; Review

 

Readings:  Wolff & Resnick, Ch. 4, pp. 256-268

 

June 20:  Final Exam  14:30-16:30

 

June 27:  Last day for submitting grades