PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY AND GLOBALIZATION: HOW WE GOT WHERE WE ARE

                                                              Syllabus

                                                     Fall Quarter 2003

Alan Nasser                                                                                                                   Seminar 4119

16 Credit Hours                                                                                                                     Ext. 6759

Weekly Schedule

 

              Monday                           Tuesday                        Wednesday                         Thursday

 

         11:00 – 12:00

Workshop  Lab I  2033

12:30 - 2:30

  Lecture  Lab I 1037

 

 

        11:00 - 12:00

Workshop  Lab I  2033

        12:30 – 2:30

   Lecture  Lab I  1037

 

 

 

3:30 - 5:30

   Seminar  Lib 2127

          

 

 

 

3:30 - 5:30

    Seminar  Lib 2127

          

 

Required Reading

 

Robert Heilbroner, “The Economic Revolution,” “The Wonderful World of Adam Smith,” “The Emergence of Market Society,” “The Paradox of Progress: Decline and Decay in The Wealth of Nations,” “The Industrial Revolution”

E. K. Hunt, “The Ideology of Precapitalist Europe,” “The Transition To Early Capitalism and the Beginnings of the Mercantilist View,” “The Conflict in Mercantilist Thought”

Eric Hobsbawm, “Origin of the Industrial Revolution,” “The Industrial Revolution 1780-1840,” “The Human Results of the Industrial Revolution 1750-1850”

Milton Friedman, excerpt from Capitalism and Freedom

“A Chronology of U.S. Imperialism: From Wounded Knee to Iraq” www.meravt.com/left/invade.html “Expanding Empire”  www.workers.org/cm/empire4.html

“Imperialism 101” www.michaelparenti.org/Imperialism101.html

“The Age of Imperialism: Online History of the U.S.” www.smplanet.com/imperialism/toc.html

Alan Nasser, “Problems of Individualistic Motivation – The Prisoners’ Dilemma”

Susan George, “A Short History of Neo-Liberalism”

T. Riddell et al., “Property, Adam Smith, and the Division of Labor”

“Free Trade and Globalization – A Primer on Neoliberalism”

E. Martinez and A. Garcia, “What is Neoliberalism – A Brief Definition For Activists”

“NAFTA”S Hidden Costs”

“Seven Years Under NAFTA – Mexico”

“A Q&A on the WTO, IMF, World Bank, and Activism”

“Responding to Mainstream Attitudes on the IMF and World Bank”

1) Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (L)

2) Study Guide for Hobbes

3) Ellen Wood, The Origin of Capitalism (OC)

4) John Locke, Second Treatise of Government (STG)

5) Study Guide for Locke

6) Robert Heilbroner, The Nature and Logic of Capitalism (NLC)

8) Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract (SC)

9) Study Guide for Rousseau

10) John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (OL)

11) Study Guide for Mill

12) Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto (CM)

12) Ankie Hoogvelt, Globalization and the Postcolonial World, Second Edition (GPW)

13) Wayne Elwood, The No-Nonsense Guide To Globalization (N-NGG)

14) Walden Bello, Dark Victory (DV)

 

NOTE WELL: Numbers 1) –14) are available for sale in the Bookstore.

All the other readings are available on closed reserve at the Circulation Desk in the Library. Ask for them by title, not author. Copy each of these articles for yourself and return each one to the Circulation Desk when you are finished copying it. Be certain that you copy each page and return each page – if you do not return a complete copy of each copy, you make it impossible for your classmates to have a complete copy. And do not wait until the last minute to copy the articles. They will be removed from the Library well before the end of the quarter.

PLEASE NOTE:  You are required to own your own individual copy of each of the required readings.  No library copies, please.  (This is a requirement for full credit.)  And you must use the same edition that is available in the bookstore. When they are the subject of seminar discussion, you must have your copy at the seminar meeting.

PLEASE NOTE:  In addition to the writing assignments for each seminar, there are two required papers, the first three pages, the second four pages long.  The first is due on Tuesday, Oct. 28, at exactly 12:30.  The second is due on Tuesday, Dec. 9, at exactly 12:30.

 

 

WEEK I                  THOMAS HOBBES: THE STATE OF NATURE AND THE SOCIAL CONTRACT              

                              INDIVIDUALISTIC MOTIVATION  

 

Tues., Sept. 30      Introduction to the program;  Study Guide on Hobbes; L, Macpherson’s Introduction, pp. 9-63; Part I, chs. 10-11, pp. 150-168; chs. 13-15, pp. 183-217; Part II, chs. 17-20, pp. 223-261

 

Wed., Oct. 1           Tutorial Time

 

Thurs., Oct. 2         SEMINAR: Same as Tues, Sept. 30, plus Prisoners’ Dilemma exercise

                              REMINDER: NEXT WEEK’S READING IS VERY DEMANDING – START EARLY

 

 

Week II                  PRE-CAPITALIST EUROPE AND THE TRANSITION TO CAPITALISM

 

Mon., Oct. 6            Tutorial Time

 

Tues., Oct. 7          SEMINAR: Hunt, “The Ideology of Pre-Capitalist Europe”, pp. 1-10

                                               Wood, OC, Introduction; Part I: Histories of the Transition, pp. 1-70;

                                                                                     Part II: The Origin of Capitalism, pp. 73-121

 

 

Wed., Oct. 8           Tutorial Time

 

Thurs., Oct. 9          SEMINAR: Wood, OC, Part III: Agrarian Capitalism and Beyond, Conclusion, pp.                                                                                                      

                                               125-198

 

 

                               

Week III                 JOHN LOCKE, PRIVATE PROPERTY, THE SOCIAL CONTRACT AND LEGITIMACY

                             

Mon., Oct. 13         Tutorial Time

 

 

Tues., Oct. 14         SEMINAR: Study Guide on Locke

                                                Locke, STG, pp. vii-68

 

Wed., Oct. 15          Tutorial  Time

 

Thurs., Oct. 16        SEMINAR: Locke, STG, pp. 69-124

                                               Friedman, excerpt from Capitalism and Freedom

 

 

Week IV                 ADAM SMITH, THE MARKET, THE DIVISION OF LABOR AND CAPITALIST DECAY

                              NOTE: FIRST MAJOR PAPER DUE TUES., OCT. 22, AT EXACTLY 12:30

 

Mon., Oct. 20          Tutorial Time

 

 

Tues., Oct. 21         SEMINAR: Robert Heilbroner, “The Economic Revolution,” “The Wonderful World of

                                                                            Adam Smith,” “The Emergence of Market Society”

                                               T. Riddell et al., “Property, Adam Smith, and the Division of Labor”

                                               Engler, AG, ch.1, pp. 1-32         

                                               Review Ellen Wood’s case against the commercialization model

                                               Compare “The Emergence of Market Society” with Wood’s account

                                               Hunt, “The Transition To Early Capitalism and the Beginnings of the        

                                                              Mercantilist View”, pp. 11-24

                                                              “The Conflict in Mercantilist Thought”, pp. 25-34

                                               Read Hunt carefully, but give this material no more than 20 minutes-1/2 hr.     in seminar

 

 

Wed., Oct. 22          Tutorial Time

 

Thurs., Oct. 23        SEMINAR:  Heilbroner, “The Paradox of Progress: Decline and Decay in The Wealth       

                                                                 Of Nations”

 

NOTE WELL -  NEXT WEDNESDAY’S READING IS DEMANDING: GET A HEAD START

 

 

Week V                  THE NATURE AND LOGIC OF CAPITALISM

 

Mon., Oct. 27          Tutorial Time

 

 

                             

Tues., Oct. 28         SEMINAR:  Heilbroner, NLC, Preface, chs. 1-3, pp. 9-77

 

Wed., Oct. 29          Tutorial Time

 

                                                   

Thurs., Oct. 30        SEMINAR:  Heilbroner, NLC, chs. 4-6, pp. 78-179

                                    

 

                                    

WEEK VI                THE DEVELOPMENT OF CAPITALISM AS A GLOBAL SYSTEM

                              THE DEVELOPMENT OF U.S. IMPERIALISM

                              NEOLIBERALISM

                                   

Mon., Nov. 3          Tutorial Time

                                                     Peet, “The Development of Global Capitalism”, pp. 131-144

 

Tues., Nov. 4           SEMINAR: Peet, “The Development of Global Capitalism”, pp. 114-130       

                                               Hoogvelt, GPW, Preface, Intro., chs.1-2, pp. xi -28

                                               “A Chronology of U.S. Imperialism: From Wounded Knee to Iraq” www.meravt.com/left/invade.html

“Expanding Empire”  www.workers.org/cm/empire4.html

“Imperialism 101” www.michaelparenti.org/Imperialism101.html

“The Age of Imperialism: Online History of the U.S.” www.smplanet.com/imperialism/toc.html

 

 

Wed., Nov. 5          WORKSHOP: Bello, DV, Foreword, List of Acronyms, chs. 1-4, pp. x-31

                                                   

 

Thurs., Nov. 6          SEMINAR: Hoogvelt, GPW, ch.2, “Neocolonialism, Modernization and Dependency”, pp. 29-42

                               George, “A Short History of Neoliberalism”, pp. 1-8

                               Martinez and Garcia, “What is Neoliberalism: A Brief…”, pp. 1-2

                                “Free Trade and Globalization – A Primer on Neoliberalism”, pp. 1-8

                                “A Q&A On the WTO, IMF, World Bank, and Activism”, pp. 1-11

                                                     “A Citizens’ Guide To the WTO”

                                                     “Responding to Mainstream Attitudes on the IMF and World Bank”, pp. 1-6

                                “NAFTA’s Hidden Costs”, pp. 3-11

                                “Seven Years Under NAFTA”, pp. 1-7

 

 

 

 

Week VII                KARL MARX AND INDUSTRIAL CAPITALISM

 

Mon., Nov. 10          Tutorial Time

 

Tues., Nov.  11        SEMINAR:  Marx, CM, the entire book, including Wood and Sweezy essays

                                                Heilbroner, “The Industrial Revolution”

                                                Hobsbawm, “Origin of the Industrial Revolution,” “The Industrial Revolution 1780-1840,” “The Human Results of the Industrial Revolution 1750-1850”

                                                Peet, “The Development of Global Capitalism”, pp. 131-144

 

Wed., Nov. 12          Tutorial Time

 

 

Thurs., Nov. 13        SEMINAR:  Miller, “Democracy and Class Dictatorship,” pp. 59-76

                      

 

 

Week VIII                THE END OF THE GOLDEN AGE AND THE NEW GLOBAL AUSTERITY

 

  Mon., Nov. 17        Tutorial Time

 

 Tues., Nov. 18        SEMINAR:  Bello, DV, List of Acronyms, chs. 1-7,pp. xii-71

 

  Wed., Nov. 19      Tutorial Time

 

  Thurs., Nov. 20      SEMINAR:  Hoogvelt, GPW, chs. 3-5, pp. 43-119

 

                              NOV. 24-28  THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

                              NOTE: DEMANDING READING AFTER HOLIDAY – START EARLY

 

 

Week IX                 MORE ON GLOBALIZATION – CORPORATE STRUCTURE AND POWER

                               

  Mon., Dec. 1         WORKSHOP:  Elwood, N-NGG, the entire book, pp. 4-136

                                                     Re-read Bello on Structural Adjustment Programs/Loans, pp. 24-31

                                                     Bello, DV, more on SAPs, pp. 32-34

                                                     Hoogvelt, chs. 6-7, pp. 120-162

                                                     Engler, ch. 5, pp. 122-144

 

  Tues., Dec. 2         SEMINAR: :  Elwood, N-NGG, the entire book, pp. 4-136

                                                  Re-read Bello on Structural Adjustment Programs/Loans, pp. 24-31

                                                  Bello, DV, more on SAPs, pp. 32-34

                                                  Hoogvelt, chs. 6-7, pp. 120-162

                                                  Engler, ch. 5, pp. 122-144

 

 

  Wed., Dec. 3         Tutorial Time

 

  Thurs., Dec. 4        SEMINAR:      Engler, AG, chs. 2-4, pp. 33-121

 

 

Week X                  THE COMING OF THE POLITICAL-ECONOMIC DARK AGES

 

  Mon., Dec. 8         Tutorial Time

 

 Tues., Dec. 9          SEMINAR: Bello, DV, chs. 8-12, pp. 72-127

                                               Hoogvelt, DV, ch. 7, pp. 144-162

 

  Wed., Dec.10        Tutorial Time

 

Thurs., Dec. 11        SEMINAR:  Summing Up and a Preview of Next Quarter