POLT 252 - Capitalism, Socialism, Anarchism: Perspectives on States, Markets, and Justice

FC SSCI

4 credits
Is the state or the market the greater threat to individual and communal freedom? Can we live without either (or both)? Is capitalism identical with the market and trade or is it better understood as state-licensed exploitation? Does the state make us free from the ravages of market discipline or do voluntary exchange and cooperation liberate us from the despotism of state violence? Can libertarians be socialists? Are anarchists leftist radicals or arch-conservatives? This course undertakes a broad survey of historical and contemporary debates over such questions, exploring rival conceptions of states, markets, property, and justice.