The trouble is that - like the story of Columbus discovering America - everything about this classical formulation is wrong. How did capitalism develop? For centuries, the standard formulation - laid out by Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations and repeated uncritically ever since - has gone like this: humans used to trade and barter, but as society became increasingly complex, barter became harder to manage and money developed. More credit, more investment, more profits." -Historian Yuval Noah Harari This is the engine of two wheels: the wheel of scientific discoveries and the wheel of capitalist economy. begins with the discovery of the Americas. "The magical circle of investment and conquest. The series was chosen as one of the ten best programs in France in 2014. "10 Stars! A truly captivating series that delves into history, philosophy, investigates four corners of the planet, and stimulates the viewer with a re-examination of the basic concepts that define our lives." -Globes (Israel) "Should not be missed! Combines highly educational explanations of concepts, economic history and contemporary life, to create a series of documentaries, each of which it is difficult to stop watching!" -Alternatives Economiques (France) the point of view is very different and surprising, the result is an impressive, visually rich series.” -Israel HaYom (Israel) but in a second look CAPITALISM is the seminar that you must take in the second semester. "In first look CAPITALISM seems like the economics class you should have skipped. is going to revolutionize our vision of the economic world." -La Vie (France) "Brings clarity to confusion, makes complexities accessible, and produces a clear narrative of a system that seems opaque to most people." -Journal du Dimanche (France) a major contribution to economic and social reflection." -Le Monde (France) The series features some of the world's top economists, historians, anthropologists, and sociologists, including Thomas Piketty, Noam Chomsky, Yanis Varoufakis, Nicholas Phillipson, Kari Polanyi Levitt, David Graeber, and Abraham Rotstein. The series can be watched as a whole, but each episode also stands alone. Could the commodification of labour and money ultimately be as disastrous as floods, drought and earthquakes?ĬAPITALISM is an impressive series that makes economics accessible through an interdisciplinary approach that explores the work of great thinkers, while embedding economics in specific social, political, and historical contexts. Is it time for the pendulum to swing back to Keynes? Or do we need a whole new approach that goes beyond this dualism?Įpisode 6: Karl Polanyi, The Human FactorĪn exploration of the life and work of Karl Polanyi, who sought to reintegrate society and economy. The ideological divide between the philosophies of John Maynard Keynes and Friedrich Hayek has dominated economics for nearly a century. Have we gotten Marx wrong by focusing on the Communist Manifesto instead of on his critique of how capitalism works - a critique that is relevant and as penetrating as ever?Įpisode 5: Keynes vs Hayek: A Fake Debate? Together, they would restructure society in the image of the market. The roots of today's global trade agreements lie in the work of stockbroker David Ricardo and demographer Thomas Malthus. But his work on morality is largely forgotten, leading to tragic distortions that have shaped our global economic system.Įpisode 3: Ricardo and Malthus: Did You Say Freedom? Indeed, it predates Smith by centuries and took root in the practices of colonialism and the slave trade.Įpisode 2: The Wealth of Nations: A New Gospel?Īdam Smith was both economist and moral philosopher. But how much do we understand about how it originated, and what makes it work?ĬAPITALISM is an ambitious and accessible six-part documentary series that looks at both the history of ideas and the social forces that have shaped the capitalist world.īlending interviews with some of the world's great historians, economists, anthropologists, and social critics (view the complete list of participants), with on-the-ground footage shot in twenty-two countries, CAPITALISM questions the myth of the unfettered free market, explores the nature of debt and commodities, and retraces some of the great economic debates of the last 200 years.Įach fifty-two minute episode is designed to stand alone, making these ideal for classroom use or as an additional resource for students:Įpisode 1: Adam Smith, The Birth of the Free MarketĬapitalism is much more complex than the vision Adam Smith laid out in The Wealth of Nations. With the fall of the communist states and the triumph of "neo- liberalism," capitalism is by far the world's dominant ideology. Capitalism has been the engine of unprecedented economic growth and social transformation.
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