ECONOMICS, FREEDOM, AND HUMAN
VALUES
COURSE SYLLABUS
ES 340E-01 and REL 324E-02
DONALD W. MUSSER, RELIGIOUS
STUDIES
RANJINI L. THAVER, ECONOMICS
SPRING 2001
Tuesday and Thursday,
We gain freedom only as we
accept responsibility
for using it with
mindfulness of the needs of the whole . . .
True freedom in either
economic or political life comes only
with mindful
responsibility. - David C. Korten
Success may be due to God alone, but failure is due to self. For God made this world a world of liberty, gave each the capacity freely to choose, and nourishes each in a multiplicity of ways, so that even the power to say yes is given as a gift. - Michael Novak
Marxism has failed, but the
realities of exploitation and marginalization
remain in the world. - Pope John Paul II
If you want to know what is
new in the modern world,
it is the modern
corporation. - James Coleman
COURSE OVERVIEW
The latter half of the twentieth century has boasted an
exponential growth of economic
prosperity and the proliferation of freedom of thought and political
democracies. Among the outcomes has
been unparalleled prosperity and marvelous creativity of minds set free to
explore and experiment. Taking their
signals from Western democracies, governments around the globe have embraced
free enterprise and freedom of expression in their attempts to achieve wealth
and prosperity for their populations.
Despite these celebrated accomplishments and aspirations
for the new millennium, however, contemporary societies continue to suffer
enormous poverty among significant sectors of their populations. Newly emerging freedoms seem to be matched by
new totalitarian hegemonies, and even in the most prosperous regions human
behaviors have manifested a murky darkness that undermines traditional
values. Prosperity has not necessarily
reduced the ugliness of hate crimes, teenage violence and suicides, rape, and
failed marriages. The advances of
freedom and economic development around the world seem to be threatened by a
global decline of civility. We are
puzzled over the mixed results of a rationality unleashed from traditional
constraints and a market increases wealth but not necessarily happiness.
The mantra of economics has been that freedom requires a laissez faire market system in which markets play the central role
of maximizing efficiency in the face of
scarcity, rendering the maximum output
possible. This material bounty in turn promotes the greatest happiness for
individuals and well being for societies.
The free market system, moreover, has been anchored upon the fundamental
rights of private property. Despite this
rhetoric about these fundamental freedoms and their utilitarian outcomes,
however, extensive poverty continues in the West, and an increase in absolute
poverty for the masses in the developing and underdeveloped worlds. A fundamental question that we will address
is whether or not the concept of market efficiency actually results in prosperity
for the many and not just the few. We
shall investigate whether our preoccupation with efficiency and scarcity has
and can bring the promise of happiness and material well being. Is it possible in thinking of the economy as
an amalgam of individual agents that we have lost sight of the role of the
human values of trust and altruism, resulting in both an impoverished quality
of life and also a less efficient economy?
In order to undertake this study our course divides into
two parts. In Part I we undertake a
study of the conceptual foundations of economics (for example, in the thought
of Smith, Friedman, Hayek, Nozick, Sen, and Marx) and freedom (for example, in
the writings of Aristotle, Augustine, Hobbes, Mill, and Camus). In Part II, then, having established a basic
understanding of economics and freedom, we pursue specifically proposals of
prominent twentieth theorists (such as Michael Polanyi, Novak, Gutierrez, Korten, and dos Santos) about the social and
economics structures that are conducive for prosperity in a free society.
COURSE GOALS
The goals of this course aim to address the interests of
the Freedom Project, the mission of Stetson University, and the purposes of the
Departments of Economics and Religious Studies.
Among the central goals are for students to:
1. Develop an understanding of the concept of
freedom, including the notions of free individuals, free societies, and
personal responsibility.
2. Discern the basic concepts of economics, including the ideas of a
free market.
3. Understand the basic ideals of capitalism.
4. Comprehend the significance of political democracy and its
socialist alternatives.
5. Expose the significance of world-views with regard to the content
of human values.
6. Commit to their own views of personal and social prosperity.
N. B. The course is open to all students who hold
sophomore academic status by Spring 2001.
It meets a requirement for both Economics and Religious Studies majors
and minors, counts toward the Applied Ethics minors, and is designated as an
“E” or “Ethical Decision Making” course.
The course will be limited to 20 students.
Note also that required reading is marked below as "Must;" recommended reading is
marked as "Should;" and an asterisk (*) indicates a "must"
reading that you should purchase in the University Book Store. All readings not for purchase will be
available in the University Library.
COURSE OUTLINE
Session 1 (Jan. 16): Introduce
Course, Requirements, Expectations.
Conceptual Foundations of Economics
Session 2 (Jan. 18):
Fundamentals Of Economics And The Core Assumption Of A Free Market
System
Readings: McConnell
and Brue, Principles of Macroeconomics, Chapter 1.
Must.
Marc Breslow, John Miller, and Richard Rosen, Real
World
Microeconomics, Dollars and Sense,
Chapter 4. Must.
Gary S. Becker, The Economic Approach to Human
Behavior, Chapter 1, Pp. 3-14.
Should.
Session 3 (Jan. 23): Scarcity
And Its Implications
Townsend, eds., MIT Press, 1994 . Must.
Simon, Julian L. “Resources, Population, Environment: An Oversupply of
False Bad News,” Science,
Vol. 208, June 1980. Must.
Simon, Julian L. Ultimate Resource, Chapter 1. Should.
Readings : Adam
Smith, The Wealth of Nations, Book 1.
Should.
Adam
Smith, The Theory Of Moral Sentiments, Part III, Should.
Robert Heilbronner, Teachings From The Worldly
Philosophy, pp.73-89; 197-214. Must. (From Adam Smith, Jeremy Bentham, and William
Stanley Jevons)
Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom,
Chapter 1. Should.
Milton Friedman, Free To Choose, Chapter 1. Must .
Friedrich A. Hayek, Individualism
and Economic Order, Chapter 1. Must.
Robert Nozick, The Nature
of Rationality, Chapter 3. Should.
Sessions 6 and 7 (Feb. 1 and 6): Challenges to the Assumptions of the
Market
Readings: Amartya
Sen, On Ethics And Economics,
Chapter 1. Must.
Amartya Sen, “Rational fools,” Philosophy And Public Affairs, 6, Summer 1977. Should.
Allen Buchanan, Ethics,
Efficiency and the Market, Chapter 2.
Must.
Kenneth Arrow, Social
Responsibility and Economic Efficiency, Chapter 1.
Should.
Charles Lindlum, Politics
and Markets, Chapter 6. Should.
Daniel Bell, The Cultural
Contradictions Of The Market, Chapter 1.Should.
John Rawls, A Theory of
Justice, Chapter 2. Should.
Marx and Engels, Manifesto
of the Communist Party. Must.
Maryanne Ferber and Julie Nelson, eds., Beyond
Economic Man, Chapter 3. Must.
Session 8 (Feb. 8): A Meeting of the Minds
PART II
CAPITALISM,
CORPORATIONS, AND HUMAN VALUES
Sessions 9 and 10 (Feb. 13 and 15): A Free Society
Readings: *Michael Polanyi, The Logic of
Liberty (Must: chapters to be
assigned) and Knowing and Being, pp. 49-72. Must.
NOTE: DINNER AND BOOKFEAST WITH PROFESSOR MICHAEL
NOVAK ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19. CLASS WITH
DR. NOVAK ON TUESDAY, FEB. 20, FOLLOWED BY LECTURE IN ALLEN HALL. REQUIRED!
Readings: *Michael Novak, The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism,
Parts I and III.
Must.
Theotonio dos Santos, “The Structure Of Dependence”,
in K. T. Fahn and
Donald C. Hodges, Readings in US
Imperialism. Should.
Readings:
Gustavo Gutierrez, A Theology of
Liberation, Chapter 2. Must.
Michael Novak, But Will It
Liberate?, Pp. 33-64. Must.
*Francis Fukuyama, Trust: The Social Virtues And The Creation Of
Prosperity, Free
Press, 1995. Must.
Serge-Christophe Kolm, “Altruism and
Efficiency,” Ethics, ENG;
94 (October, 1983): 18-65. Must.
as an Efficiency Boosting Factor in the Kibbutz,” Journal of Rural Cooperation, ENG; 24
(1996): 17-25. Must.
Conceptual Foundations Of Freedom
Sessions 16 and 17 (March 20 and
22): Formative Views of Freedom
Readings: Aristotle; Politics, Book III,
Chapters 1-6. Must.
Augustine, On Free Will,
Book III, and The Spirit And The Letter, Articles 52-58. Must.
Sessions 18 and 19 (March 27 and 29): Classical Views of Freedom
Readings: Hobbes, Leviathan,
Introduction: Part I, Chs. 6 And
13; Part II Ch 17.
Must.
*J. S. Mill, On Liberty. Must.
Session 20 (April 3): A
Contemporary View of Freedom
Reading: *Albert Camus, The Myth Of Sisyphus. Must.
Session 21 (April 5): A Meeting of the Minds
Market
Capitalism and Human Values
Session 22 and 23 Bookfeast,Discussion, and lecture with with Guest
Experts. Reading: *David C. Korten, The Post-Corporate World. Must.
Sessions 24, 25, and 26.
Empirical Research Reports
Session 27 Course Evaluation
Session 28 TBA
COURSE STRUCTURE
A.
Seminar With Student Groups.
The course will be taught as a seminar in which students will be divided
into four groups of five students in each group. During most class sessions one of these
groups, the “lead group,” will facilitate class discussion of the readings for
the day. The discussion will be prompted
by questions forwarded to the “lead group” prior to the class session. Each student will formulate two questions for
discussion, one which will be contextual to the readings and the other a more
personal and speculative question. The
“lead group” will ruminate over these questions and distill from them a set of
questions that will form the locus of class discussion. The “lead group” may
even consider synthesizing several questions into new questions. At other times, the “lead group” may explore
questions that other students had not contemplated. During preparation for class and during the
class discussions the instructors will serve as facilitators, discussants, and
gate keepers.
B. A
Meeting of the Minds. Based on the
PBS program hosted by Steve Allen, at three times during the semester (Sessions
8, 15, and 21) one of the student groups will personify and role play an
intellectual inquiry based upon the material read and discussed in a particular
section of our study; namely, Session 8 on the conceptual foundations of
economics, Session 15 on prosperity and freedom in contemporary society, and
Session 21 on the conceptual foundations of freedom. Based upon several issues formulated by the
student group in consultation with the instructors, students will take on the
“personas” of three or four thinkers that we have read and discussed. These sessions will be open to the entire
University community and will be video taped for possible use elsewhere.
An example of the first meeting of minds on the
conceptual foundations of economics, for example, four students from the
selected group may choose to role play the ideas of Garrett Hardin, Adam Smith,
Milton Friedman, and Amartya Sen. With
the assistance of the instructors the students will choose a lively topic and
prepare to discuss it under the monitoring of the fifth student who will serve
as the host and guide.
C. Group Notebook.
Additional conversation on the course topics will take place in the
group notebook. Most weeks the
instructors will formulate a question for discussion that each group will respond
to in writing. The five students in a
group write and response to the question and also to the writing of each
student who has written previously.
Experience indicates that lively interchanges occur, often leading to
discussion over coffee late at night.
For example, the first Group Notebook assignment might be
to “Define prosperity for yourself.”
Each student in the group will pen up to a one page response to the
prompt. Additionally, the second entrant
will make marginal reactions to the first entrant. The third entrant will then make marginal
comments on both the first and second entrees, and so forth. All marginal comments will be initialed. Once all entrees are complete, one of the
instructors will join the discussion by making his or her marginal notes to the
entrees and to the students’ notes.
Further assignments will include prompts such as:
·
In what ways would expecting to inherit a windfall affect my motivation
to make money?
·
Does religion encourage competition between free individuals?
·
Does the objective of efficiency enhance or hinder social relations?
·
Are competition and trust compatible in human relationships?
·
Does altruism make economic sense?
D. Credo. On the first meeting of the course each
student will submit, before they commence to read, their personal view of human
freedom and economic prosperity. The
instructors will provide some food for thought for student thinking such as the
following questions: What is wealth? What
is prosperity? What is happiness? What are the limits of freedom, if any? What claims does society have on a free
individual, if any? Why are you a
capitalist? A socialist? The instructors will return these papers to
the students with notations.
Toward the middle of the course each student will meet
with one of the instructors to discuss the development of their thinking on
human freedom and economic prosperity.
For the final examination in the course each student will submit a
reformulated Credo that articulates his or her developed position.
E. Empirical
Research Project/Contest. During the
course each student will propose and complete an empirical research project on
a topic pertinent to the course and of current interest in the local community
of the University. The instructors will
consider well-conceived joint research projects. A ten to twelve page paper, documented, and
in good style, will be presented by the last day of class. The writer/s of the best paper in the class
will receive financial assistance to present the paper at an appropriate
conference during the next academic year.
We have budgeted for this item.
The research project will focus on actual issues under
discussion and debate in Volusia County.
Students will investigate how the broad issues of prosperity, freedom,
and human values manifest themselves empirically in the issues of a market
economy and major corporations. Among
current topics are the following:
1) Walmart. The public has divided over
the proposed construction of a Walmart Supercenter within the city limits of
DeLand. Will this increase economic
freedom and prosperity for the citizenry?
Or, will it create vacant store fronts, traffic snarls, and unnecessary
urban sprawl?
2) Victoria Square. Approval has been granted for a housing development for up to 18,000
residents that will double the urban population. Will this enhance prosperity? Will the project degrade the
environment?
3) Dominos Pizza and Stetson University. How will the agreement between Stetson
University and the local Dominos pizza outlet for exclusive rights to campus
delivery of food affect Stetson University’s different constituents; as well as
Dominoes competitive edge in the pizza market?
4) International Speedway Corporation. Should public tax money be used to fund the
construction of a walkway over a busy public highway to the Speedway?
F. Expert
Discussants. Periodically, experts
from the Stetson faculty will be invited to sit in on a class session and join
in the conversation.
G. Book Feasts. Stetson has a long history of having an
intense book discussion around dinner.
Typically, twenty faculty will commit to reading a current book with
side appeal and to join in a free wheeling discussion. In exchange, the faculty person is provided a
free book and a hot meal.
We propose and have budgeted for two book feasts that
will be sponsored by the course and administered by our students. Of course, our students will be present,
unlike our usual University faculty-only book feasts. They will join with about twenty faculty and,
we hope, the author of the book for a discussion over dinner. Additionally, we would expect the author, if
present, to deliver an appropriate public lecture and to meet with the class.
REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING
1. Attendance is required. More than one unexcused absence will negatively
impact your grade.
2. Submission of carefully structured questions for class
discussion. Graded for quality and
timeliness. 20% of grade.
3. Participation in group leadership of classroom discussion, meeting
of the minds sessions, and active involvement in class discussions. 20% of grade.
4. Group Notebook. Graded on quality and timeliness. 20% of grade.
5. Empirical Research Project. 20% of grade.
6. Credo on human freedom and economic
prosperity. 20% of grade.