AMERICAN POLITICAL
ECONOMY
AMST 413—Spring 2009
Topic-Oriented
Seminar
Colin S. Cavell, Ph.D. Course Room No.: S17-229
Class MW:
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
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automatically withdrawn from the course and be given a grade of (WF) which will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.
InfoUSA: Information
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
Mar. 2: The
Neoclassical Tradition
Mar. 4: Market
Values: The Analytics of Supply and
Demand
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
Mar. 16: Market Values: The Analytics of Supply and Demand
Mar. 18: Market Values: The Analytics of Supply and Demand
Mar. 23: Market Values: The Analytics of Supply and Demand
Mar. 25: Market Values: The Analytics of Supply and Demand
Mar. 30: Market Values: The Analytics of Supply and Demand
Apr. 1: Market Values: The Analytics of Supply and Demand
Apr. 6: Efficiency and Markets: Adam Smith’s “Invisible Hand”
Apr. 8: The Challenge of Keynes
Apr. 13: The Challenge of Keynes
Apr. 15: Midterm Exam
Apr. 19-23: Mid-semester Break [No classes]
Apr. 27: The Marxian Tradition and Its Theories
Apr. 29: The Logical Structure of Marxian Theory
May 1: International
Labor Day [
May 4: The Logical Structure of Marxian Theory
May 6: The Marxian Concept of Class
May 11: The Marxian Concept of Class
May 13: The Capitalist Fundamental Class Process and
Commodities
May 18: The Capitalist Fundamental Class Process and
Commodities
May 20: Capitalists and Laborers
May 25: Capitalist Economies and Social Development [Research
Papers Due]
May 27: Capitalist Subsumed Classes [Last Day for In-Class
Presentations]
June 1: Marxism versus Neoclassical Theory
June 3: Analytical & Political Consequences of
Contending Theories
June 8: Which Theory Do We Choose? Last day of classes; Review
June 20: Final Exam
June 27: Last day for
submitting grades