Thomas Telios; smith marx and the ethical content of capitalism

Adam Smith and Karl Marx: Two people, two worldviews. On the one side stands Adam Smith, the first theorist of a type of economy that back then was still in its infancy and we nowadays call capitalism. For Smith, this type of economy was based on wealth, aimed at the wealthʹs expansion and privileged social structures that were able to further the expansion of wealth. Every grievance of the system is acquitted ‑ according to Smithʹs harsh critics ‑ thanks to the self‑regulatory power of the ʺinvisible handʺ and the free will that Smith ascribes to the individual gives rise to such manipulation so that the privileged few can continue to legitimately exploit the disadvantaged many. On the other hand stands Karl Marx who dedicated his life analyzing the same ‑ in‑between established ‑ form of economic production. Capitalism was no more a neutral economic form that based on free will, autonomy and self‑legislation could help the individual to express and develop itself. After his annihilating systemic reading, capitalism was henceforth a default system based on an insurmountable contradiction: Capitalism is a self‑destructive economic form which rests on alienation and exploitation and brings forward social structures that are geared towards increasing accumulation via the creation of national states who acts as instrument of the ones in possession of the means of production. Accurate as Marx might have been, he was not spared either. While Smith was accused of looking away as people tore each other apart in favor of expansion and wealth accumulation, Marx was accused of degrading people to a willless cog of a blind, suffocating, and inhumane system. Regardless of how formative and persistent these two images have been regarding our perception of Adam Smiths and Karl Marxʹs theories, there is more than just a yawning chasm between them. On the one hand, voices have recently been raised that want to draw our attention to the discrepancy between the earlier and the later Adam Smith. Adam Smith was not only the author of The Wealth of Nations published in 1776, but also the author of the Theory of Ethical Feelings published in 1759. While that later work reveals the course set out above, Smithʹs earlier theory of ethical feelings is a philosophical work that postulates ethical values such as solidarity and empathy in the tradition of the Scottish Enlightenment. This debate, re‑launched and called the ʺAdam Smith problemʺ, is being attempted to be resolved by rereading and reinterpreting the prosperity of nations from the background of the theory of ethical feelings. On the other hand, there is something similar to observe with Karl Marx. Karl Marx is not only the author of the three‑volume capital, the first volume of which appeared in 1867. He is also the author of the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts from 1844, which he wrote as a journalist in exile in Paris. While in that later work a structural theory‑critical, capitalism‑critical Karl Marx can be read between the lines, the manuscripts of the earlier Marx ʹare teeming with passages in which the focus is on people together with their passions and yearns for human coexistence. This ʺepistemological breakʺ of which we are talking is being attempted to be solved by reading and understanding capital now in a socio‑ontological and not merely structural way. Following these considerations, the first part of the course will focus on getting to know Adam Smith and Karl Marx better. Concerning Smith, we will begin by reading excerpts from the better known ʺThe Wealth of the Nationsʺ before we turn to his lesser known ʺTheory of Moral Sentimentsʺ. Concerning Marx, we will find our away in his ʺCapitalʺ after having read his earlier ʺEconomic and Philosophic Manuscriptsʺ. Following three axes will prove indispensable for our itinerary: (1) the structure and character of human nature, (2) social organizational structures, (3) interpersonal relationships. In the second part, we will try to understand the ethical content that both Adam Smith and Karl Marx tried to implant in the social fabric of economy by turning to the works of recent authors that attempted to bridge the supposedly yawning abyss between Smith and Marx. The works of John Maynard Keynes, Joseph Schumpeter, certain representatives of the Austrian (especially Friedrich August von Hayek) or the Chicago School (especially Milton Friedman, Murray Rothbard, and Garry Becker) will prove essential towards this objective. This last section will also help us scrutinize the differences between the prevailing neoliberalism and traditional liberalism as well as reflect upon current forms of capitalist ethics like ʺcorporate social responsibilityʺ, ʺcorporate governanceʺ and ʺcorporate citizenshipʺ

Introduction First Part: Adam Smith 2nd Session: The Historical Context: Between the Scottish and the French Enlightenment 3rd‑4th Sessions: The Wealth of the Nations 5th Session: Theory of Moral Sentiments Second Part: Karl Marx 6th‑7th Sessions: Economic and Philosophic manuscripts of 1844 8th Session: The Capital 9th Session: Introduction to the Critique of Political Economy Third Part: Mediations 10th Session: John Maynard Keynes // Joseph Schumpeter 11th Session: Friedrich August von Hayek // Milton Friedman

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