Capitalism, Economic Growth, and their Discontents

In this course we will study the history of capitalism and the causes and effects of economic growth. We will also assess historic and modern criticism of the dominant economic system of our time and the changes in global output that have transformed the human condition and our planet. The goal of the course is to develop a deeper understanding of the economic systems that have shaped ten generations of humanity. We will study academic articles and selections from recent books by leading scholars (e.g., Branko Milanovic’s Capitalism, Alone: The Future of the System That Rules the World) and analyze data from public sources (e.g., Our World in Data).