Defenses of Capitalism

Catalog description

The moral justification for laissez-faire capitalism accepted in late eighteenth century came under attack in the nineteenth. Will examine four schools of thought that arose to defend capitalism: schools of free-market economists, Protestants and Catholics, Ayn Rand's followers, and libertarians. We will find the differences between these schools are as charged and fundamental as any between capitalism and its critics. Primary sources (including Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged) will provide the bulk of our reading. The course will conclude with an application of the rival theories to a few current public policy issues. Enrollment limited to 20 juniors and seniors.