PO 352 - Theory and Practice: Problems of Political Economy

This course aims to unite the study of political theory and contemporary politics by analyzing the problem of political economy as it currently exists in the United States in light of the understandings of this problem proposed by various political theorists. The course requires the analysis of empirical literature on the problem of political economy, faction, and the extent of government power in America today as well as the careful reading of primary texts in political theory. We will consider works by Aristotle and Aquinas; Locke, Smith, Malthus, and Ricardo; Marx, Mill, and Marshall; Keynes and Hayek; Axelrod and Hirschman; and contemporary treatments of the economic problems of poverty and the environment.

Four credits.