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Political Economy, Philosophy and Law

Overview

Module description

This module will trace key themes from classical political economy into Marx’s critique and contemporary responses that form the basis for much thinking on law and economy. In so doing, we will also touch upon classical and contemporary liberal justifications for ‘freedom’, markets and limited government. The module is focused on reading certain key texts from Hobbes, Smith, Ricardo, Marx, Posner and Hayek that will introduce the main themes and modes of argument. Should law simply provide the framework, and allow markets to function and spread wealth; or, must lawyers grasp the fact that left to its own devices, the market will destroy itself?

Indicative module syllabus

  • Introduction: Hobbes, Wealth and Law
  • Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations
  • The Wealth of Nations II
  • Introduction to Ricardo
  • Locke: Property Law, and Government
  • Marx I: Absolute and Relative Surplus Value
  • Marx II: Commerce and Finance Capital
  • Posner and Law and Economics
  • Hayek: Freedom, the Market and Law

Learning objectives

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

  • demonstrate knowledge of key themes in law and economic thinking
  • relate themes from law and economics to classical concerns in Smith and Ricardo
  • assess key themes in the critique of political economy, in particular the law of value, the role of competition, the relationship between production, consumption and distribution
  • understand key concepts and themes such as surplus value, the relationship between profit and interest and the classical/critical theme of the tendency of the rate of profit to fall
  • understand and assess the relationship of law and legal thinking to these themes in classical and critical economics
  • convey an understanding of monopoly and crisis formation
  • critically appreciate the limits of conventional law and economics thinking, in particular ideas of the free market and market freedom
  • understand the role of law in the structure of market capitalism.