Admission requirements
Admission to this course is restricted to:
BA students in Filosofie, who have successfully completed at least 70 ECTS credits of the mandatory components of the first and second year of their bachelor’s programme, including History of Modern Philosophy, History of Political Philosophy or Griekse en Romeinse filosofie, Ethiek, Politieke filosofie / Political Philosophy.
BA students in Philosophy: Global and Comparative Perspectives, who have successfully completed at least 70 ECTS credits of the mandatory components of the first and second year of their bachelor’s programme, including World Philosophies: Greek and Roman Antiquity, World Philosophies: Modern Europe, Ethics, Political Philosophy.
Pre-master’s students in Philosophy who are in possession of an admission statement and who have to complete an advanced seminar, to be selected from package B.
Description
Capitalism dominates the modern world. Is this a good thing? Is there any alternative? This course investigates key philosophical arguments for, against, and beyond capitalism by classic authors such as Epicurus, Rousseau, Adam Smith, Marx, Schumpeter, and Keynes as well as more contemporary writers like Milton Friedman, Fred Hirsch, G.A. Cohen, Philip van Parijs, and David Graeber.
Course objectives
Students who successfully complete the course will have a good understanding of:
- Key philosophical arguments about capitalism.
Students who successfully complete the course will be able to:
- Critically evaluate the arguments that philosophers have made about capitalism and its future/alternatives.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
- Seminars
Class attendance is required and includes preparatory reading and commenting on texts.
Assessment method
Assessment
Midterm essay: 30%
Final essay: 70%
Class attendance requirement: students who miss more than 3 classes will not be allowed to take the final essay.
Weighting
The final mark for the course is determined by (i) the weighted average of the essays combined with (ii) the class attendance requirement.
Resit
Students can resit an essay assignment if their overall grade for the entire course is 5 or less. It is not possible to make up for the attendance requirement.
Inspection and feedback
Students will have an opportunity to discuss the grading of their essays with the instructor.
Reading list
A reading list will be made available on Brightspace.
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudymap is not possible for this course. Students are requested to submit their preferences for the third-year electives by means of an online registration form. They will receive the instruction and online registration form by email (uMail account); in June for courses scheduled in semester 1, and in December for courses scheduled in semester 2. Registration in uSis will be taken care of by the Education Administration Office.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the information bar at the right hand side of the page.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc., contact the Education Administration Office Huizinga
Remarks
Not applicable.