Course Description:

From the Industrial Revolution to the dot com and housing bubbles of the 90s and 2000s, capitalism has been the driving force of incredible economic growth (and loss), as well as amazing social transformation. But how much do we actually understand about how it came to be and how it continues to work today?

This class will delve into both the history of ideas and the social forces that have shaped the capitalist world, taking an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the workings of capitalism. Together, we will examine the work of great thinkers, including Adam Smith, Karl Marx, John Maynard Keynes, Noam Chomsky, and more.