Philosophy of Economics

Catalog description

The science of economics has come to occupy a central position in contemporary society. Because of this central position in political decision making, economics is intertwined with a number of other philosophical issues surrounding justice, rights, and fairness. The central theme of this course will be on the arguments in favor and against markets as effective solutions to political problems. This issue will allow us to analyze a wide number of foundational issues in economics including the testability of economic claims, the use of "rationality" postulates, the foundation of the right to property, and measuring the success or failure of an economy.