Ethical Capitalism: A Critical Introduction

Modern economies are often criticised and often praised for being capitalist, but it is far from clear what capitalism really is, let alone whether it is good or bad. We will address capitalism from several perspectives: the history of economies that are described as capitalist, the pure and modified theory of competitive markets, and the complex reality of today's economies. Then we will ask how this real-world capitalism should be evaluated? Is it a good thing, the source of unprecedented modern prosperity and freedom? Or it is an evil system that destroys communities, worships greed and pointless consumption, and oppresses the poor? Or can it somehow manage to be both good and bad? We will try to think about what makes an economy good, and to what extent our modern post-industrial economies actually have - or potentially can have - that economic goodness. Topics for discussion will include inequality, the profit motive, globalisation, and environmental destruction.