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  2. GOV 94PE

Political Theory and the Economy
GOV 94PE

Course Information

Description

We all know what politics is about: “it’s the economy stupid.” But what is the economy? From its origins in the conjunction of two Greek words, oikos (household) and nomos (custom, law), this course will take a whirlwind tour across the history of political and economic thought, from Aristotle to Smith to Marx to Keynes to Hayek, to see how changing notions of economics have constrained or expanded the horizon of politics.  Are we appendages on an inhuman machine or free and happy utility maximizers?

Class Notes

theory_subfield

 

School Faculty of Arts & Sciences
Credits 4
Cross Reg

Available for Harvard Cross Registration

Department Government
Course Component Seminar
Subject Government
Grading Basis FAS Letter Graded
Exam/Final Deadline Dec. 14, 2026
General Education N/A
Quantitative Reasoning with Data N/A
Divisional Distribution Social Sciences
Course Level Primarily for Undergraduate Students