Description
Can capitalism have moral foundations? Though this question may seem strange in today's world of vast economic disparities and widespread poverty, discussions originating with the birth of capitalism add a critical perspective to the current debate on the efficacy and morality of capitalist economies.Authors Daniel Halliday and John Thrasher use this question to introduce classical political philosophy as a framework by which to evaluate the ethics of capitalism today. They revisit and reconstruct historical eighteenth- and nineteenth-century defenses of capitalism, as written by key proponents such as Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill. They ask what these early advocates of market order would say about contemporary economies, and argue for the importance of connecting these foundational defenses to discussions of economic systems and the roles they play in economic justice and injustice today.The textbook covers longstanding problems that are as old as the discussion of capitalism itself, such as wage inequality, global trade, and the connection between paid labor and human flourishing. It also addresses new challenges, such as climate change, the welfare state, and competitive consumption, and provides topical global case studies. Additionally, it includes study questions at the end of each chapter and an author-created companion website to help guide classroom discussion.
Table of Contents
ContentsChapter 1: Introduction: What is this book about?1. Everyone hates capitalism?2. What is capitalism?3. What are the alternatives to capitalism?4. "Ethics of Capitalism": an oxymoron?ConclusionsStudy QuestionsChapter 2: Capitalism seemed like a good idea at the time: The rise and fall (and resurrection?) of Political Economy1. 1770-1868: The "Golden Age" of Political Economy2. The "Fragmented Age": Economics and Political Philosophy in the 20th Century3. The Idea of Economic JusticeConclusionsStudy QuestionsFurther ReadingChapter 3: Getting out of feudalism--and staying out!1. Feudalism and Capitalism2. Great Escapes: Australian convicts, American radicals, and other heroes3. Signs of a revival of feudalism?4. Inherited wealth and the return of the 'rentier'5. Big business and labor market dominationConclusionsStudy QuestionsFurther ReadingChapter 4: Market Order and Market Failure1. Spontaneous orders and why they matter2. Prices and information3. Can markets fail?4. Markets behaving badlya. Price gougingb. Positional goodsc. Public goods5. Market failure or government failure?ConclusionsStudy QuestionsFurther ReadingChapter 5: So, why not socialism?1. The century of socialism2. What is socialism?3. Types of socialisma. "Utopian" socialismb. Anarchismc. Marxism4. Market socialism5. Problems with socialism6. Ideals and reality7. Ethical socialismConclusionsStudy QuestionsFurther ReadingChapter 6: Low wages and lousy jobs1. The old stories: Malthus, Mill, and competitions among the unskilled2. What makes a lousy job lousy?3. Is alienated labor under-rated?4. Exploitation-not getting out what you put in5. Exploitation-alternatives to Marx6. The new story: runaway incomes at the topConclusionsStudy QuestionsFurther ReadingChapter 7: The welfare state and its rivals1. Labor markets and the minimum wage2. The classic welfare state3. Subsidized idleness or empowerment for the masses? The case for Universal Basic Income4. Prevention is better than cure? Property owning democracy5. Meritocracy6. Comparing SystemsConclusionsStudy QuestionsFurther ReadingChapter 8: We are the world, or how I learned to stop worrying and love global trade1. Globalization-the new common enemy?2. Homo Mercator3. Why do we trade, anyway?4. The British Empire and the persistence of pseudo-trade5. The old skepticism: mercantilism and why the British Empire was actually bad for the British6. The new skepticism: populism in the 21st century7. Trade injustice in the 21st century8. If trade isn't the enemy, then what (or who) is?a. Protectionism and subsidizing failing industriesb. Mobility of capital and its impact on taxationc. AutomationConclusionsStudy QuestionsFurther ReadingChapter 9: Keeping up with the Jones's (and the Kardashians): Positional goods and wars of all against all1. We can't all be better than average2. Zero-sum versus positive-sum3. Capitalism's greatest disappointment?4. Arms races, good and bad5. Peace treaties and finish linesConclusionsStudy QuestionsFurther ReadingChapter 10: Why are we still working so hard?1. Keynes and the 15-hour week2. What jobs are machines "stealing", and how?3. More on machine misbehavior4. The (moral) importance of leisure time5. The end of work?ConclusionsStudy QuestionsFurther ReadingChapter 11: Do markets wreck the planet?1. Stories of destructiona. Markets aren't the only culpritsb. Resources often get consumed more readily than conservedc. Resources aren't intrinsically limited2. Why is the environment so vulnerable? Collective action problems and the distribution of incentivesa. Preventionb. Alleviation3. If it ain't broke don't sell it? Planned obsolescence4. Who wants to shoot a rhino? Markets and conservationConclusionsStudy QuestionsFurther ReadingChapter 12: Boldly going where no market has gone before--should some things not be for sale?1. Kidneys, used underwear, and tossed dwarfs: intuitive discomfort about commodification2. The moral downsides of prohibition3. Are some things "beyond price"?4. Markets as hierarchy-reinforcers5. Maybe it's all just too much? Privacy and the need for (any kind of) market-free zoneConclusionsStudy QuestionsFurther readingReferences
