PPEL150C1

This class is an introduction to the comparative analysis of economic systems. We will cover questions like the following: What is an economic system? How do we evaluate the performance of an economic system? What is the connection between economic and political institutions? What is capitalism and how did it emerge out of the earlier feudal economy? What is socialism and why did socialist systems collapse? What is the connection between socialism and social democracy, and how do we analyze the differences between the varieties of capitalist systems? Over the longer term should we aim for the replacement of capitalism with some better system or only for the improvement of the social democratic variety of capitalism? Is capitalism sustainable over the long term?

GE - T1-INDV (Tier 1 Individuals & Societies), GEED - BC (Gen Ed: Building Connections)