GVPT449E

Also offered as PHPE401. Credit only granted for PHPE401 or GVPT449E. Restriction: Must be in Government & Politics program or Government & Politics: International Relations program. This course examines capitalism and socialism as differing modes of economic production through several different theoretical lenses. We begin by examining capitalism and socialism as they developed historically, by looking primarily at the work of Adam Smith and Karl Marx. Then, we turn our attention to one of the most important debates 20th century economics: to what extent rational economic calculation is possible in a socialist commonwealth. After this we turn our attention to how capitalist and socialist modes of production functioned in practice. We end by turning our attention to the ethics of capitalism and socialism: which mode of economic production is most just?