Admission requirements
Admission to this course is restricted to:
BA students in Philosophy: Global and Comparative Perspectives, who have successfully completed at least 70 ECTS credits of the mandatory components of the first and second year of their bachelor’s programme, including Philosophical Skills and Ethics.
BA students in Filosofie, who have successfully completed at least 70 ECTS credits of the mandatory components of the first and second year of their bachelor’s programme, including Filosofische vaardigheden and Ethiek.
Description
Capitalism dominates the modern world. Is this a good thing? Is there any alternative?
This course investigates key philosophical arguments for, against, and beyond capitalism by classic authors such as Epicurus, Rousseau, Adam Smith, Marx, Schumpeter, and Keynes as well as more contemporary writers like Milton Friedman, Fred Hirsch, G.A. Cohen, Philip van Parijs, and David Graeber.
In part I we analyse and debate the strongest arguments in favour of capitalism: that it generates economic prosperity, respects the freedom of individuals, and nurtures certain virtues. In part II we turn to the case against capitalism, drawing on various arguments such as the critique of exploitation (Marx); corruption (Sandel); bullshit jobs (Graeber); and self-destruction (Hirsch). Finally we turn to considering possible solutions to the challenges of capitalism, at the level of the individual (for example, Epicureanism); at the level of policy (for example, basic income); and at the level of the system (for example, Cohen's case for socialism).
Course objectives
Students who successfully complete the course will be able to:
paraphrase, interpret, analyse, and criticise key concepts and arguments that philosophers (and non-philosophers) have made about capitalism and its future/alternatives;
contribute successfully and constructively to class discussions that advance the group’s understanding of complex issues;
research an important problem in the area of the course; Identify an appropriate philosophical approach to framing and addressing it, systematically develop and justify an answer of their own;
provide constructive peer feedback on writing to fellow student and successfully incorporate peer and instructor feedbck on intermediate writing stages;
work together in a team to develop and present an interesting application of concepts from the course.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
- Seminars.
Class attendance is required and includes preparatory reading and comments.
Assessment method
Assessment
Final paper (60%);
Team presentation (25%);
Intermediate writing assignments (15%).
Additional requirements:
- Class attendance requirement: Students absent for more than 3 classes will not be allowed to take the final essay and will not be allowed to pass the course.
Weighing
The final mark for the course is determined by the weighted average of the grades for each assessment.
A passing grade requires that both:
- The weighted average of the partial grades must be 5.5 or higher;
- Class attendance requirement is met.
Resit
Students who fail the course because they failed the final essay can submit a resit, which will be an extended essay assignment that replaces the grade for the original final essay and intermediate writing assignments.
Students who fail the course because they failed or missed the team presentation can submit a resit, which will be an individual written assignment.
It is not possible to make up for the attendance requirement.
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
A reading list will be made available on Brightspace.
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Huizinga
Remarks
Not applicable.