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Capitalism vs. Socialism: Comparing Economic Systems

Series: Capitalism vs. Socialism: Comparing Economic Systems

4.8

(30)

Episodes

Rating

TVPG

Year

2021

Language

English

Publisher

The Great Courses

About

Economics is really about people and their lives, and societies have pursued the ideal system for centuries-one that can balance competing desires for freedom and security. Capitalism vs. Socialism will show you the many ways the most influential modern economic theories were developed, how they function, and how they manage to operate both together and in opposition to each other.

Related Subjects

Episodes

1. Gorbachev's Hello and the Soviet Goodbye

31m

Begin your foray into comparative economics with a look at the USSR in the final few years before its collapse and the restructuring known as perestroika, which led to an increased interest in the study of capitalism versus socialism in the US. Examine some of the major questions that shape economic systems and close with a brief overview of the goals and scope of the course.

2. Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Keynes, and Friedman

32m

Meet four of the most influential economic thinkers in history: Adam Smith, Karl Marx, John Maynard Keyes, and Milton Friedman. As you examine their individual philosophies and influences across three centuries, you may be surprised by how many of their ideas overlap even as their philosophies differ.

3. How to Argue GDP, Inflation, and Other Data

31m

From GDP and inflation to unemployment and standard of living, there is no one absolute measurement that determines the health of an economy. Get an overview of the different metrics for economic success and a general understanding of how they are calculated and interpreted-and why these data points can start more arguments than they resolve.

4. British Revolution: Industry and Labor

30m

Travel to the birthplace of industrial capitalism: Great Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries. A fortuitous meeting of politics, technology, and economics would shape the future and give the world innovations like insurance and extended payment systems. It would also inspire writers like Charles Dickens to reveal the horrifying social repercussions of unregulated industrialization.

5. American Capitalism: Hamilton and Jefferson

30m

Modern capitalism may have been born in England, but America would be defined by it from the very beginning. Look at some of the paradoxes inherent in free market systems and how Protestant religious philosophy played a significant part in the direction of the economy. Then, see how founding figures like Hamilton and Jefferson set the course for American economic dominance in the years to come.

6. Utopian Socialism to Amana Microwave Ovens

29m

The opportunities and innovations of capitalism in the US did not come without a cost. Religious and political thinkers alike turned to new solutions to alleviate the often horrible conditions many workers experienced, resulting in socialist projects that fell into two camps: utopian and scientific. Close with a look at the difficulties in running socialist systems in a largely market economy.

7. The Bolsheviks: Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin

28m

Why was Soviet communism doomed to failure? Beginning with the Bolshevik revolution, witness the birth and troubled development of communism in a country that was ill-equipped to start a government from scratch. See why Marx never envisioned communism taking root in an illiterate, agrarian society and how the lack of economic experience in Soviet leadership created a spiral of disasters.

8. Soviet Planning and 1,000 Left-Foot Shoes

28m

Examine the ways Stalin sought to exercise complete control of the Soviet economy, focusing on his Five-Year Plan for production-an object lesson in the complexities of anticipating and satisfying the material needs of a society. Professor Stuart also gives you an eye-opening look at the ways economics and politics can feed off of one another. Or, in this case, starve each other.

9. Economic Consequences of European Peace

29m

The end of World War I illustrates one of the iron laws of capitalism: upheavals in one part of the world have repercussions all around it. Understand how the Treaty of Versailles set up harsh terms for a depleted Germany and why shortsighted leadership from the Allied powers led to economic fallout and, eventually, the second World War.

10. How FDR and Keynes Tried to Save Capitalism

29m

Was the stock market crash of 1929 the cause of the Great Depression? Find out why Black Tuesday was actually a symptom rather than a cause and trace the origins of the Depression in the US to events and policies of the 1920s, both domestic and international. Then, look at the ways FDR applied the ideas of John Maynard Keynes to help America recover from economic devastation.

Extended Details

SeriesCapitalism vs. Socialism: Comparing Economic Systems

Closed CaptionsEnglish

Artists

The Great CoursesDirector

The Great CoursesProducer

Edward StuartActor