Understanding Capitalism
310-14300-01
Fall 2006
Sec 1; Friends 301
Office phone: 274-3028
Naeem Inayatullah (naeem@ithaca.edu)
Muller 325
Office Hours:MWF: 12:15-2:15 and by appointment
“…that which is beyond question is the solid ground on which one stands.”
- Tesnay Serequeberhan
1. Purpose
We want to understand capitalism not just as something outside us that requires explaining, but also as something inside us that requires uncovering. This is both an easy and difficult task. Evidence of the immense presence of capitalism in our lives seems clear, pervasive, and accessible. And yet, for most of us, these very qualities allow us to take capitalism for granted as natural, given, and seamless. It can be hard to study something critically that seems so ordained by both Nature and History.
Given this paradox, I can think of three ways for us to become students of capitalism: to momentarily step out of its time, to step outside of its space, and, most difficult of all, to acknowledge its alluring and disarming capacity. That is, we can examine those times when capitalism did not yet exist or times before it became as it is today. We can do the same thing with space: examine those global spaces that remain unconquered by capitalism (if there are any). Finally, and most importantly, we can examine our own inner relationship with capitalism. Which parts of us embrace capitalism, which resist, and which sustain an ambiguity towards it?
I find it impossible to examine capitalism without worrying about the ideological lenses through which we study. The ideological orientation of this course has three parts: some of the readings support capitalism; many are highly critical; and a few remain ambiguous in their assessment. Most of the readings are critical of capitalism and therefore the ratio of these three components is not 1:1:1. You might find this unfair – a criticism I accept and acknowledge at the outset. My problem is this: I believe that regardless of what we say, all of us bring with us an uncritically favorable view of capitalism. The culture in which we live and that has shaped us also does not have a 1:1:1 ratio. It seems, instead, to very much to favor capitalism. This course’s attempt to temporarily invert that cultural bias seems necessary in order to engage in productive dialogue – our central concern and objective. And yet, the course is not an exercise in mere reversal. It recognizes the importance of strong arguments that favor capitalism. Above all, it assumes that each of us harbor simultaneously a deep commitment to capitalism, a critical resentment towards it, and an ambiguity about its ultimate worth.
My goal is not to change your positions/views. Such an effort, I believe, is both futile and myopic. Freedom may not mean the absence of obstacles or even the presence of some set of goods or values. Rather, freedom may merely be a sudden and momentary glimpse of our deepest hidden assumptions. It may be the case that change finds its seed, soil, and water in such recognition. Our goal will be relatively modest. We will search for answers to the following questions: Why do we believe what we believe? How did we come to hold such views? Is my commitment really mine? Is it real? Is it honest?
2. Readings:
We will read between 70 to a hundred pages a week selecting the readings from the following materials:
• Levine, David, Wealth and freedom, Cambridge 1995;
• McCartney, Laton, Friends in High Places, Ballantine, 1989;
• Course Reader (Purchased from Gail Belokur in Muller 309):
Contents:
Whyte, Alan, “Hunger in America,” World Socialist Web Site, March 9, 2006. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/mar2006/hung-m09.shtml
DeParle, Jason, “Those People: An Unfinished Portrait of the Poor,” New York Times, December 26, 1993, pp. A1.
Krugman, Paul, “For Richer: How the Permissive Capitalism of the Boom Destroyed American Equality,” NYT Magazine; October 20, 2002.
Heilbroner, Robert and Lester Thurow, “Capitalism: Where Do We Come From?” in Economics Explained, 1994, pp. 11-25.
Rosendahl, Mona, “To Give and Take: Redistribution and Reciprocity in the Household Economy,” in Inside the Revolution, Cornell, 1997, pp. 28-50.
Sahlins, Marshall, “The Original Affluent Society,” Stone Age Economics, 1972, pp. 1-39.
Friedman, Milton and Rose, “The Power of the Market,” Free to Choose, 1979, pp.9-37.
Friedamn, Milton, “The Relations Between Economic Freedom and Political Freedom,” Capitalism and Freedom, 1962, pp. 292-302.
Boaz, David, “The Market Process,” in Libertarianism: A Primer, 1997, pp. 149-85.
Boaz, David, “Contemporary Issues,” in Libertarianism: A Primer, 1997, pp. 211-55.
Warren, Bill, “Capitalism and Historical Progress,” in Imperialism: Pioneer of Capitalism,” 1980, pp.11-47.
Marx, Karl, “Estranged Labor.”
Marx, Karl, “Communist Manifesto.”
Marx, Karl, “The Chapter on Capital,” Grundrisse, [1857-8], pp. 239-49.
Parenti, Michael, “The Means of Imperialism (I), Sword and the Dollar, 1989, pp. 37-54.
Parenti, Michael, “The Means of Imperialism (II), Sword and the Dollar, 1989, 55-62.
Parenti, Michael, “The Condominium Empire: Neo-Imperialism,” Sword and the Dollar, 1989, pp. 63-69.
Parenti, Michael, “The Empire Strikes Back Home,” Sword and the Dollar, 1989, pp. 70-82.
Mills, C. Wright, “The Higher Circles,” [1956] Power Elite in America, (N. Crockett, ed.), 1970, pp. 1-10.
Summers, John, H. “The Deciders,” New York Times, May 14, 2006, [book review section]
Goldwater, Barry, “Our Protective Sheild,” [1969] Power Elite in America, (N. Crockett, ed.), 1970, pp. 92-4.
Fishman, Ted C. “Making a Killing: The Myth of Capital’s Good Intentions,” Harpers, August 2002, pp. 33-41.
Parenti, Michael, “Military Empire and Global Domination,” Democracy for the Few, 2002, pp. 80-94.
Hartung, William D.“The $134 Billion Question,” And Weapons for All, 1994, pp. 1-20; 299-301.
Hartung, William D.“The Permanent Arms Supply Network [I]: The Corporate Arms Merchants,” And Weapons for All, 1994, pp. 155-75; 313-15.
Hartung, William D.“The Permanent Arms Supply Network [II]: The Corporate Arms Merchants,” And Weapons for All, 1994, pp. 176-97; 315-17.
Hartung, William D.“Epilogue,” And Weapons for All, 1994, pp. 176-97; 326-7.
Parenti, Michael, “Monopoly Culture,” Land of Idols, 1994, pp. 85-97; 184-5.
Alleyne, Mike, “Positive Vibration? Capitalist Textual Hegemony and Bob Marley,” in Belinda J. Edmondson (ed), Caribbean Romances: The Politics of Regional Representation, U Virginia, 1999, pp. 92-104.
McChesney, Robert, “Preface,” and “Political Problem, Political Solutions,” in The Problem of the Media, Monthly Review Press, 2004, pp. 7-15; 16-56.
Parenti, Michael, “Mass Media: For the Many, by the Few,” Democracy for the Few, 2002, pp. 178-93.
Oren, Ido, “Cold War Politics,” in Our Enemies and US:America’s Rivalries and the Making of Political Science, 2003, pp. 126-171.
Stavrianos, L. S., “A Note from the Author,” “Introduction,” “Chapters 2-3” in Global Rift, 1981, pp. 23-73.
Stavrianos, L. S., “Ch. 19: Era of Defensive Monopoly Capitalism…” in Global Rift, 1981, pp. 433-83.
Montag, Warren, “Necro-Economics: Adam Smith and death in the life of the universal,” Radical Philosophy, 134 (November/December 2005), pp. 7-17.
Instructor and students will jointly determine the pace and selection of the readings as the course proceeds.
3. Course Outline and the Design of the Course
Part I: General Analysis:
Capitalism and Everyday Life
Theory and Capitalism
Capitalism and History
Imperialism
Part II: (Possible) Topics
Arms Production and Sales
The Media
Culture
Academia
Design or Form:
I think of the design of a course as similar to a style of music. Most courses follow “classical (European) music” in design. That is, the audience hears music pre-determined by the score. The music may change slightly from performance to performance but this change is not usually a part of the design of classical music. In contrast, Jazz, classical Indian music, and West African drumming combine the structure of the piece, the interpretative skill of the players, and the response of the listeners to create a specific structured improvisation. Accordingly, I have designed this course to change from one experience to another according to the interaction of students, instructor, and the reading materials. Thus no two classes or experiences should be the same because the interaction of the three differs on each occasion. This design embraces the necessity of collective improvisation.
Such an anarchic (not to be confused with chaos) design has consequences for our sense of time in the course. To some the course will feel less structured and slower than what they might expect. The good news is that the course may also feel like something we create together.
4. Evaluation
I will determine your grade by evaluating the following components.
• 60% will come from two essays.
• 40% of your grade will be derived from a take-home final essay.
• An “entry paper” and an “exit paper” are required but not graded.
Note Well: If you are unclear about these expectations or feel that they do not suit your style of learning, please see me in my office. I will do everything I can to accommodate you. However, please see me by Wednesday, September 20. After this date, I will assume that you agree to the above arrangement.
Entry paper: due Wednesday, September 6, 2006.
First Essay: due Monday, October 9, 2006.
Second Essay: due Monday, November 13, 2006.
Final essay: due 1:00 PM Tuesday, December 19, 2006.
Exit paper: due by Noon on Friday December 22, 2006
5. Attendance Policy
I have never had an attendance policy because I believe in the importance of treating you as adults who can make your own decisions about how to best use your time. However, many students have suggested that this course works better if I institute an attendance policy. I want to take this suggestion seriously while still holding on to my belief that students should be treated as adults. So I have come up with the following menu. By Wednesday, September 6 (perhaps as an addition to your entry paper), I would like each of you to write me note that selects one of the following sentences:
__ Thank you, but I do not feel I need an attendance policy.
__ I sometimes need help making sure I attend class. I request that you to keep a record of how often I attend.
__ I sometimes need help making sure I attend class. I request that you to keep a record of how often I attend and to subtract credit if I miss more than ___ (select a number) classes.
__ I sometimes need help making sure I attend class. I request that you to keep a record of how often I attend and to subtract credit if I miss more than 3 classes.