PCON 278   Capitalism and Global Justice

For the past few centuries, capitalism has brought unprecedented levels of prosperity for some but also poverty and conflict for others. As a result, scholars have long debated the morality of market capitalism. Students are introduced to this debate and examine several controversial issues. For example, is sweatshop labor in developing countries morally justified? What reforms (if any) are necessary to the economic norms that require developing countries to pay back debilitating levels of debt? Students also wrestle with whether pursuing economic justice is the responsibility of institutional actors or whether it falls primarily on individuals to build a more ethical world. Students read a broad array of philosophical texts and case studies that help them articulate their own answers to these pressing questions.