Required Texts. Andrew Haywood, Political Ideologies: An Introduction, 5 th Edition. Requirements:

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1 Democracy, Socialism, and Capitalism Fall 2015 Professor Alex Melonas Office Hours Monday and Wednesday, 11-12PM, and by Appointment Gladfelter Hall 414 Broadly, in this course we survey selected political ideologies, emphasizing the various ways they intersect with democracy, capitalism, and socialism. More precisely, in this course we interrogate the complicated questions: What is ideology? and, What is praxis? In the form of liberalism, conservatism, socialism, etc., ideology works to translate ideas (about how the world is and should be) into action (political platforms and policies). At their most refined, these political ideologies offer us a tool with which to engage the status quo, and as such are indispensable to political, and, more importantly perhaps, everyday life. However, an ideology can also blind its holder into seeing the world in a single, one-dimensional way. One primary aim for this course is, roughly speaking, understanding capitalism as an ideology its mechanism, goals, the conception of human nature that informs it, and its moral and political underpinnings. To this end, we need to understand capitalism s relationship to liberalism. This consideration raises the next: What is democracy and how is it distinct from liberalism? Finally, how is socialism a critique of both capitalism and liberalism, and an extension of political democracy into different domains of life (e.g. the economy)? The objectives of this course are several-fold. The first and foremost is to enable and encourage political thinking, i.e., a reflective stance toward the world that enables a person to reflect on and participate in politics. Political theory is essentially an argument about the meaning of inherently contestable themes and concepts (i.e., themes and concepts inherently open to debate and redefinition). Political praxis is where we apply political theory to reality and feed practical politics back into philosophy. Political theory does not simply offer a utopian vision of a good society, but also a conception of what human beings are capable of accomplishing in regards to conscious social organization and why human beings might act to achieve such ends. This is difficult; in this class you may be exercising muscles atrophied or undeveloped. Studying the political philosophy assigned in this course will enable you to critically engage the platforms and policies of American political parties to judge to what degree they reflect the philosophy that supposedly orients them. In addition, studying this philosophy will enable you to think more clearly about the foundational premises of American political institutions and practices. Finally, you will learn more about the ideology to which you subscribe. But you will also be asked to see political phenomena through different lenses, and to be able to articulate the strengths and weaknesses of various ideologies. Required Texts Andrew Haywood, Political Ideologies: An Introduction, 5 th Edition Requirements: Worth 15% of your grade, attendance and engaged participation are mandatory. You

2 should neither miss a class nor be late. Late arrivals and early departures are disruptive; if you anticipate being late or having to leave early on a regular basis, please make other arrangements. Merely attending class, however, is an approach to learning that I only modestly reward (roughly 5%). I have a very strong conception of classroom citizenship. The classroom is a social product, which will evolve and take shape according to our collective input. No exceptions. We need your voice. Worth 10% of your grade, there will be a series of short reading responses, designed to encourage reading, good note taking, and class participation. Late work will not be accepted and will receive a failing grade unless arrangements are made in advance. Students are expected to contribute one post to the discussion board per week. These can be original or in response to either my posts or the contributions of other students. The discussion board is designed to facilitate participation and critical reflection in a space outside of the classroom. This assignment is worth 25% of your grade. Worth 50% of your grade each, there will be two take-home assignments in this course (due October 11 th and December 11 th ), which will ask you to draw on the themes that we have explored the weeks prior to answer several short-essay questions. These assignments are not designed to test your memorization or test preparation skills, but to encourage you to read carefully and participate in class discussions. They are open-note, and open-book. No make-up exams unless arrangements are made in advance. Note on Academic Conduct: You are expected to abide by the University s rules of academic honesty. When you turn in someone else s work under your own name, and/or paraphrase, quote, or borrow ideas that are not your own without proper citation, you commit plagiarism, a serious academic offense with consequences ranging from failing the course to disciplinary action bythe University. Students with Disabilities: Any student who has a need for special accommodations due to disabilities should speak with me as soon as possible to discuss the specific situation and contact DisabilityResources and Services, located in Ritter Annex, at Statement on Academic Freedom: The University has adopted a policy on Student and Faculty Academic Rights and Responsibilities (Policy# ), which can be accessed at Sessions and Assigned Readings Week 1 August 24 th : Introductory remarks No reading August 26 th & 28 th : Ideology, the concept. How useful is the left/right divide in thinking about ideologies

3 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Andrew Heywood, Political Ideologies, pp August 31 st : For liberals, what do the ideas liberty, individualism, and equality mean? Andrew Heywood, Political Ideologies, pp September 2 nd : Social contract theory and its relationship to the US s founding. No reading September 4 th : What inconveniences of nature does Locke s civil government eliminate? How and why are property rights essential to liberty? Selections from John Locke s Second Treatise on Government September 7 th : On liberty and the threat of majority tyranny. Selections from John Stuart Mill s On Liberty September 9 th : Is the only fair condition of choice one behind the veil of ignorance? According to Rawls, when is social inequality justified? Selections from John Rawls s A Theory of Justice September 11 th : How is taxation analogous to slavery, according to Nozick? What is the entitlement theory of justice? Selections from Robert Nozick s Anarchy, State, and Utopia September 14 th, 16 th, & 18 th : What is the relationship between liberalism and capitalism? In capitalism, what is the role of the profit motivation? What is the free market? Selection from Milton Friedman s Capitalism and Freedom

4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Milton Friedman s The Power of the Market September 21 st & 23 rd : Are there moral limits to markets? What is the difference between a market economy and a market society? Selections from Michael Sandel s What Money Can t Buy September 25 th : No class September 28 th : Is liberalism the same thing as democracy? No reading September 30 th & October 1 st : Why does Barber believe that the radical individualism that underpins liberal theory and practice undermines democracy? Selections from Benjamin J. Barber s Strong Democracy October 5 th, 7 th, & 9 th : Rousseau writes, Man is born free, and everywhere in chains. One man thinks himself the master of others, but remains more of a slaver than they are. What does he mean? Why does Rousseau believe that in a democratic society whoso gives himself to all gives himself to none? Selections from Jean-Jacques Rousseau s On the Social Contract Assignment #1 due Friday, October 11 th Week 8 October 12 th & 14 th : What is a conservative view of human nature? According to conservatives, what is the role of tradition?

5 Week 9 &10 Week 11 Week 12 Andrew Heywood, Political Ideologies, pp October 16 th : Is conservatism more of a disposition than an ideology? Selections from Edmund Burke s Reflections on the Revolution in France October 19 th : For socialists, what is the difference between equality and social equality? What is the view of human nature that informs socialism? Andrew Heywood, Political Ideologies, pp October 21 st : What is alienation? What does liberal economic theory miss, according to Marx? Andrew Heywood, Political Ideologies, pp October 23 rd & 26 th : According to Marx, what is the distinction between political and human emancipation? How are liberal rights of separation designed to protect us from perceived threats? Are there limits to liberalism? Karl Marx s On Bruno Bauer s On the Jewish Question October 28 th & 30 th : What is class struggle? How does the transition from capitalism to socialism to communism occur? Karl Marx s The Manifesto of the Communist Party November 2 nd : What is the anarchist case against the state? Andrew Heywood, Political Ideologies, pp November 4 th & 6 th : Anarchism: What does it really stand for? Selections from Emma Goldman s Anarchism and Other Essays

6 November 9 th : What is the difference between sex, gender, and sexuality? How thoroughgoing is patriarchy, really? Week 13 Andrew Heywood, Political Ideologies, pp November 11 th and 13 th : Is it possible to separate one s ideas from one s economic and racial position? In other words, what is situated knowing? What is Black feminism? Patricia Hill Collins, Black Feminist Thought and the Matrix of Domination November 16 th : Ecologism: Introduction and history. Week 14 Week 15 Week 16 Andrew Heywood, Political Ideologies, pp November 18 th : What is Leopold s critique of anthropocentrism? Does the land ethic maintain an ethical distinction between human and nonhuman animals (and nature)? Selections from Aldo Leopold s A Sand County Almanac November 20 th : Does justice mean just-us? What is speciesism, and what is Singer s critique of it? Peter Singer s Animal Liberation at 30 November 23 rd -27 th : Fall break November 30 th, December 2 nd & 4 th : Iris Marion Young s case for a politics of difference. Selections from Iris Marion Young s Justice and the Politics of Difference

7 December 7 th : Conclusion and discussion Assignment #2 due Friday, December 11 th