394B Past and Future of Capitalist Democracy

Democracy, equality, capitalism, and progress are framing ideas so fundamental today, yet all four are coming under various kinds of pressure. Does democracy work? What does equality mean? Is capitalism sustainable, ecologically or socially? Is progress real, and, if it is, can it also go backward? This seminar examines this issue through an historical examination of these four ideas. We will focus on competing understandings of the relationship between the political order (today widely assumed to be democratic in some form if it is to be legitimate) and the economic order (today widely assumed to be a version of free-market capitalism). Throughout, we will consider how conceptions of progress and equality provide essential support for versions of these accounts of the relationship between economics and politics. This is a year long course.

Course Areas of Practice
Degree Requirements
Course Type
  • Seminar
Learning Outcomes
  • Knowledge and understanding of substantive and procedural law

Spring 2018

2018
Course Number Course Credits Evaluation Method Instructor

394B.01 3 Jedediah Purdy

Democracy, equality, capitalism, and progress are framing ideas so fundamental today, yet all four are coming under various kinds of pressure. Does democracy work? What does equality mean? Is capitalism sustainable, ecologically or socially? Is progress real, and, if it is, can it also go backward? This seminar examines this issue through an historical examination of these four ideas. We will focus on competing understandings of the relationship between the political order (today widely assumed to be democratic in some form if it is to be legitimate) and the economic order (today widely assumed to be a version of free-market capitalism). Throughout, we will consider how conceptions of progress and equality provide essential support for versions of these accounts of the relationship between economics and politics. This is a year long course.

Pre/Co-requisites
None

*Please note that this information is for planning purposes only, and should not be relied upon for the schedule for a given semester. Faculty leaves and sabbaticals, as well as other curriculum considerations, will sometimes affect when a course may be offered.