Upper-Level Courses That Cross-Subfields
GOVT 20.02
Foundations of Political Economy
Course Description:
The basic assumption of “political economy” is so widely taken for granted that the term itself is no longer widely used. It is that liberal freedoms are nested in market relations—a society of choices—and that educated people cannot understand the responsibilities of government if they do not understand the ways market economies work and grow. Similarly, market relations cannot be understood without government’s legal frameworks and protections. We use the term government and “commonwealth” interchangeably because we expect government to advance the actions of free people creating wealth—not just rich and propertied people, but all who benefit from economic development and growth. As Adam Smith put it, it is the responsibility of the “sovereign” to “facilitate commerce-in-general.”