Conversations with the Ghost of Marx
This course introduces students to the study of political economy from a Marxian perspective. Unlike economics which focuses on various parts of the economy, whether at the micro- or macro- level, political economy focuses on the intertwining of power and money, or how politics affects the economic system and how the economy in turn shapes politics. As most of the world now lives with variants of the capitalist economic system, we will devote our time to understand the structure of capitalism, its functioning logics, as well as its contradictions and malfunctions. We will do so by engaging with Karl Marx’s original writings, which to this day still constitute one of the most fundamental and insightful critiques of the capitalist economic system. Marx’s Capital, Volume One will be both our guiding posts and a useful entry point for thinking about a wide range of issues, including labor and value, commodification and consumption fetishization, capital accumulation and growth, the role of the state in political economic processes, and the ongoing violence of accumulation.
As Eric Wolf, the late anthropologist, has noted, “the social sciences constitute one long dialogue with the ghost of Marx” (Europe and the People without History, 1982). Rather than being Marx’s disciples, we strive to be his interlocutor. As such, in addition to selections from Marx’s key works, we also read current Marxian political economy scholarship that draws on, critiques, and pushes its boundaries. Upon completion of this course, you will have developed practices of thinking critically and imaginatively about capitalism’s fundamental drives, uneven development, insatiable appetite for technological innovation, and tendency towards violent expansion. You will also be attuned to the need to contextualize contemporary debates regarding capitalism in its transnational, raced, and gendered dimensions.
The course is valuable for any students who want to better articulate the conditions of living under capitalism, or to cultivate a political imagination about the future of capitalist economic systems. Previous knowledge in economics is not necessary, but students must have an appetite for reading and parsing out complex, abstract texts. Prior exposure to Marxist theories or critical theories can be helpful. Students will be evaluated through bi-weekly reading reviews (approximately 3-5 pages of critical reflection based on assigned readings) and a final research proposal to investigate a socioeconomic issue of your choice.