Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 7:00 PMEastern Daylight Time UTC -04:00
It’s often said that we live in a capitalist world, but what exactly is capitalism and how does it differ from its traditional rival, socialism? You might think of this as primarily a social-scientific question, to be answered by empirical inquiry into different forms of political economy — but it is also a question about the way we carve up the world into different concepts for the sake of different political goals. This course concerns the intertwined development of what we might call the “ideals” of capitalism and socialism: competing visions of how economic life should be organized in a good society. We begin with an emblematic 21st-century debate between the Marxist philosopher G. A. Cohen and the libertarian philosopher Jason Brennan, in their dueling books Why Not Socialism? and Why Not Capitalism? We then go back to Adam Smith and Karl Marx in the nineteenth century, and John Maynard Keynes and Friedrich Hayek in the twentieth century, before ending with a discussion of the prospects of capitalism and socialism today. This virtual class will be held on the following Wednesdays: Sept. 16, Sept. 23, Sept. 30, Oct. 7, Oct. 21, Oct. 28, Nov. 4, Nov. 11
This course is taught by Associate Professor of Political Science, Jonny Thakkar,. His work combines attention to normative questions, such as the responsibility to work for the common good, with scholarly work on historical figures, such as Plato, Aristotle, Hegel, and Marx. He is the author of Plato as Critical Theorist (HUP, 2018) as well as various essays and articles. In addition to his responsibilities at Swarthmore, he is also a founding editor of The Point, a Chicago-based journal of ideas that aims to foster the examined life through long-form writing about contemporary life and culture.Read more about the program on our website. About Lifelong Learning at Swarthmore: These seminar-style classes are offered virtually and taught by distinguished or emeritus faculty. Courses span a broad range of disciplines and welcome alumni and friends of the College from across the nation and around the globe. Questions? Please contact Mary Carr at mcarr1@swarthmore.edu.