Strategy 255/Philosophy 141 The Moral Foundations of Market Society Georgetown University

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1 Strategy 255/Philosophy 141 The Moral Foundations of Market Society Georgetown University Prof. Jason Brennan Spring 2016 Office: Hariri 302 Time: MW 9:30-10:45 Phone: Location: Hariri Office hours: TBA Course Content Are markets good or bad? How free should markets be? How much should government intervene to attempt to regulate markets? Is capitalism a compromise with corrupt human nature, or would we have grounds to prefer capitalism over socialism even in utopian conditions? Why are some nations rich and others poor? What good are economic and commercial liberties, and how strong should those liberties be? Is capitalism an impediment to social justice, or could capitalism be a way of achieving social justice? Is it possible for a society to be free, prosperous, and fair? Is market society cooperative and peaceful or competitive and exploitative? Do markets promote or undermine community and virtue? What sorts of things should or should not be for sale on the market? This course is meant to introduce you to political economy to the intersection of politics, philosophy, and economics by focusing on a particular set of questions about capitalism, markets, and the ethics of wealth creation. We will evaluate the institutions of the market using the tools of ethics, political philosophy, economics, history, and political science. We will investigate issues concerning the nature of money and prices, the role of the division of labor, business ethics, commerce and entrepreneurship, overconsumption and overpopulation, exploitation and alienation, the relationship between wealth and happiness, the motivations of market actors, the rule of law, liberty and market society, rent-seeking and corporate welfare, commodification, paternalism, and more. We will read and discuss evaluations of markets from multiple ideological perspectives: socialist, communitarian, left-liberal, classical liberal, libertarian, and conservative.

2 Academic Freedom You have the right to engage in reasoned disagreement with me without any penalty to your grade. I have the right to challenge any belief, ideology, worldview, or attitude you have, including those beliefs you hold sacred. Students likewise have this right against each other and me. Everyone has the right to express his or her views without fear of bullying or reprisal. The classroom and the university is a forum for the pursuit of truth. I intend for this class to aid in the pursuit of responsible ideology. Responsible ideology means putting in the hard work to be justified in one s political views. It requires a synthesis of humanistic and social scientific methods. It requires that one understand and, in a sense, can get inside the head of views entirely foreign to one s own. Finally, it requires that one experience and overcome, rather than flee from, serious intellectual discomfort. Course Objectives Sharpen analytical thinking, writing, presentation, and debating skills. Learn basic issues and theory in political philosophy, political science, and economics. Confront and think through difficult moral and political issues. Learn about institutions through real-world entrepreneurial experiences. General Education Requirements This course satisfies the university-wide ethics requirement as a bridge philosophy class. You must still take the general introduction to philosophy class. Course Materials There are two required books to be purchased from the bookstore or other retailers, or borrowed from the library. Additional readings will be on Blackboard. 1. G. A. Cohen, Why Not Socialism? 2. Johnny Anomaly, Geoffrey Brennan, Michael Munger, and Geoff Sayre-McCord, editors, Politics, Philosophy, and Economics. Attendance and Participation at Lectures This class works best with active, prepared participation. Students also do much better when they attend class and do the daily readings. To encourage you to do so, I will ask you to write an optional, 1-page response to the readings for each day of class. At random, I will collect response papers for the current day s class. Each paper you pass in is worth 1 point (out of 100) on your final term paper. Assignments and Grading 1. Short essays: 20% each

3 You ll write 2 short essays, about 3 pages. Due: Feb 10, Apr Take-home exam: 10% You ll be issued a take-home exam asking you to identify and explain some basic economic concepts. Due: Mar 2 3. Final paper: 25% You ll write one longer essay. Due: May The Ethics Project: 25% Presentation due: Apr 27 or May 1 Report due: May 1 You will form 6 groups of students by Feb. 1. Your main task as a group is to do what I call the Ethics Project : Think of something good to do. Do it. The goal of this project is for you to do something that adds value to the world. To help you complete the project, the Georgetown Institute for the Study of Markets and Ethics will provide each group with $1000. However, the university regulates how the money can be spent, and so using the money will require you to navigate complicated spending rules and to deal with often capricious administrators. On one of the last two days of class, your group will make a presentation that answers the following questions. You will also write up a report answering these questions, due on the last day of class. How did you interpret the imperative to do something good? Did you focus on moral or nonmoral goodness? Why? How did you decide about the tradeoff between what s most desirable in itself and what s most feasible? What were your opportunity costs? How did you allocate labor in your group? What obstacles did you expect to encounter and how did you pre-emptively plan to overcome them? What obstacles did you in fact encounter, and how did you respond? Did you add value to the world, taking into account the costs of your

4 time, effort, and any money spent? Did you succeed or fail, and by what standards should we judge you? What did you learn? What would you have differently? For your final project, write up a paper explaining what you did or tried to do, why you thought it was good to do, what happened along the way, whether you succeeded or failed (and by what measure?), and what you learned. You will also present your project to the class at the end of the semester. Presentations needn t be formal, but should be informative and worth everyone else s time. One big tip: Historically, every project turns out to be at least 100% harder than students expect. Every project encounters unforeseen obstacles. Groups that start early usually overcome the obstacles; groups that start late usually fail. You can wait until the night before an essay is due and still pass in a decent essay, but no one can do an Ethics Project a week before it s due. Start working on it earlier than you think you need to. SCHEDULE OF CLASS TOPICS AND READINGS Note that in general, I will cover topics in class that supplement the readings, rather than just lecturing about the readings. To get the most out of the class, you ll want to read the readings carefully and also attend the lectures/discussions. (BB)= On Blackboard PPE = Anomaly et al textbook. DATE TOPIC READING/ASSIGNMENT Jan 13 The Fact of Growth None Jan 18 MLK DAY NO CLASS Jan 20 Does Money Buy Happiness? (BB) John Maynard Keynes, Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren. (BB) Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers, Economic Growth and Subjective Well-Being: Reassessing the Easterlin Paradox, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity 2008 Jan 25 The Marxist Critique of Cohen, Why Not Socialism?

5 Jan 27 Feb 1 Feb 3 Market Society The Marxist Critique of Market Society How Do Markets Work?: Supply and Demand How Do Markets Work?: Trade and Division of Labor PPE, (Marx) PPE, (Becker) PPE, (Smith, Hayek Read) PPE, (Cowen, Anomaly, Friedman) PPE, , (Olson, Ostrom) Feb 8 How Do Markets Work?: Institutional Economics PPE, , (Locke, Schmidtz) (BB) Leeson, Two Cheers for Capitalism Feb 10 How Does Politics Work?: Public Choice Economics PPE, (Buchanan, Downs, Munger) Feb 15 PRESIDENTS DAY NO CLASS Feb 17 How Does Politics Work?: PPE, (Huemer) Voter Behavior (BB) Brennan, Ignorant, Irrational, Misinformed Nationalists and Political Participation Corrupts Feb 22 Is Morality Rational? PPE, (Schmidtz, Gauthier) Feb 24 Conservative Thought (BB) Jonathan Haidt, Moral Capital (BB) Charles Murray, Coming Apart (excerpts) Feb 29 Left-Liberal Thought PPE, (Rawls) Mar 2 Libertarian Thought PPE, , (Nozick) Mar 7-9 SPRING BREAK NO CLASS Mar 14 Authoritarian Thought (BB) Benito Mussolini and Giovanni Gentile, The Doctrine of Fascism Mar 16 Is There a Duty to Vote? PPE, (Lomasky and Brennan, Brennan) Mar 21 Duties of Charity (BB) Singer, Famine, Affluence, and Morality Mar EASTER BREAK NO CLASS

6 Mar 30 The Ethics and Economics of Immigration (BB) Michael Huemer, Is There a Right to Immigrate? Apr 4 NO CLASS: I m away Apr 6 Exploitation and Sweatshops PPE, (Powell and Zwolinski, Coakley and Kates) Apr 11 Paternalism PPE, , (Mill, Thaler and Sunstein) Apr 13 Commodification PPE, (Nussbaum) PPE, (Anderson) PPE, (Caplan) Apr 18 Price-Gouging PPE, (Munger, Snyder, Zwoliski) Apr 25 Gender and Racial Pay Gaps (BB) Roback, the Political Economy of Streetcars (BB) Bertrand, Goldin, Katz, Dynamics of the Gender Pay Gap Apr 27 Ethics Projects Half of the groups present May 2 Ethics Projects Remaining groups present Ethics Project Report Due for All Groups May 9 FINAL PAPER DUE FINAL PAPER DUE