How should we understand Ayn Rand’s political philosophy? In this video, Professor Jennifer Burns of the University of Virginia argues that Rand belongs to the classical liberal tradition.
This course addresses the evolution of the modern capitalist economy and evaluates its current structure and performance. Various paradigms of economics are contrasted and compared (neoclassical, Marxist, socioeconomic, and neocorporate) in order to understand how modern capitalism has been shaped and how it functions in today's economy. The course stresses general analytic reasoning and problem formulation rather than specific analytic techniques. Readings include classics in economic thought as well as contemporary analyses.
In "Anthem", by Ayn Rand, Equality speaks of the Home of Eugenics in which males and females of his dystopian society must report to at the appropriate age. To help students better understand the ethical issues with eugenics, they will interact with this informational article from the Huffington Post. This article will allow students to discuss and learn about the issues of eugenics in their own back yard.
What is "classical liberalism?" Is it a specific set of beliefs, a philosophy, an economic theory, or something else? In this video mini-course, Dr. Nigel Ashford of the Institute for Humane Studies explores what classical liberalism -- sometimes referred to as "libertarianism" -- actually means. Dr. Ashford looks at 5 different schools of classical liberalism, and examines their similarities and differences.