Economic Minds

Course Description

Summary

This course explores how ideas about the economy – from money, to labor, to distribution – have changed over time. We will focus on different schools of thought in economics, including mercantilism, physiocracy, classical political economy, the Austrian school, Post-Keynesianism, and neoclassical economics, placing these ideas in their global context. A central focus will be on how different thinkers conceptualize capitalism: both its benefits and pitfalls. We will travel through the canonical texts of thinkers such as John Locke, Adam Smith, Karl Marx, John Maynard Keynes, Joan Robinson, and Friedrich Hayek, with the aim of demystifying them and making them accessible for engagement and critique. The purpose of this journey into the history of economic thought is to understand how we have arrived at the principles behind contemporary thinking about the economy, enabling a systematic evaluation of their strengths, limitations, and implications. 

(Please note: Students who have taken “A History of Economic Thought” already will not be able to enroll in this course).