MX3087 Political and Economic Thought for a Humane Society Syllabus:

MX3087 Political and Economic Thought for a Humane Society Syllabus – Anna University Regulation 2021

OBJECTIVES:

 This course will begin with a short overview of human needs and desires and how different political-economic systems try to fullfill them. In the process, we will end with a critique of different systems and their implementations in the past, with possible future directions.

COURSE TOPICS:

Considerations for humane society, holistic thought, human being’s desires, harmony in self, harmony in relationships, society, and nature, societal systems. (9 lectures, 1 hour each)
(Refs: A Nagaraj, M K Gandhi, JC Kumarappa)

Capitalism – Free markets, demand-supply, perfect competition, laissez-faire, monopolies, imperialism. Liberal democracy. (5 lectures)
(Refs: Adam smith, J S Mill)

Fascism and totalitarianism. World war I and II. Cold war. (2 lectures)

Communism – Mode of production, theory of labour, surplus value, class struggle, dialectical materialism, historical materialism, Russian and Chinese models.
(Refs: Marx, Lenin, Mao, M N Roy) (5 lectures)

Welfare state. Relation with human desires. Empowered human beings, satisfaction. (3 lectures)

Gandhian thought. Swaraj, Decentralized economy & polity, Community. Control over one’s lives. Relationship with nature. (6 lectures)
(Refs: M K Gandhi, Schumacher, Kumarappa)

Essential elements of Indian civilization. (3 lectures)
(Refs: Pt Sundarlal, R C Mazumdar, Dharampal)

Technology as driver of society, Role of education in shaping of society. Future directions. (4 lectures) (Refs: Nandkishore Acharya, David Dixon, Levis Mumford)

Conclusion (2 lectures)
Total lectures: 39
Preferred Textbooks: See Reference Books
Reference Books: Authors mentioned along with topics above. Detailed reading list will be provided.
GRADING:
Mid sems 30
End sem 20
Home Assign 10
Term paper 40

TOTAL : 45 PERIODS

OUTCOME:

 The students will get an understanding of how societies are shaped by philosophy, political and economic system, how they relate to fulfilling human goals & desires with some case studies of how different attempts have been made in the past and how they have fared.