Course Materials:

Course Audio: First Class

History of Keynesian Economics
Pre- World War I
Era of globalization prior to the first World War
Free movement of labor and capital, free and open markets before World War I
Post- World War I
Collectivism: Reparations payments for Germany
Russian Revolution during World War I, Bolsheviks rise to power, people are seen as subservient to the state
Keynesian Economics versus Free-Market Economics
Keynesians view political economy seen as a machine to be fine-tuned
Free Market economists viewed markets as a force Stagflation
Inflation + Unemployment in the 1970s
Keynesian theory replaced by Monetarist school to control inflation (Paul Volker)

Rise of the Free Market
Reagan's Economic Policy
Tax Cuts, incentives to grow business
Deregulation: Airline Industry; lower ticket prices, greater demand
Moving away from Market Controls
Price Controls caused shortages in Cold War Germany (eliminated by Erhard)
Examples of England, Soviet Union, China, Poland, and Latin America
Peron in Argentina v. Pinochet in Chile: Chilean Miracle
Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s

Political Ideologies
Collectivist v. Individualist

Definitions
Schools of Economic Thought
Neo-Classicists: Based on Adam Smith; Marshall's Supply-Demand Curves
Keynesian: Government manipulation of economy through fiscal policy, managing aggregate demand
Marxists: Planned economy, no private ownership, still exists among academics
Monetarists: Milton Friedman; Control demand through monetary, rather than fiscal, policy
Austrian School: Hayek and von Mises; Free-Market, no government manipulation through fiscal policy nor monetary policy

Philosophic Defense of Liberty
Placing the Individual above the Collective
John Adams, Natural Rights derived from the Creator
Lyn Beth Neylon, Natural Rights exist prior to law
Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged; morality of private property
Judeo-Christian Tradition
Ten Commandments; "Thou shalt not kill" and "Thou shalt not steal"
Ownership of your life and the proceeds of that life
Classical Thought
Aristotle; tradition of logic, individual virtues
Cicero; Administrative law different from Natural Law, inherent rights of the individual

Philosophy
Free-Market Libertarian Philosophy
Code of Ethics
Metaphysics
Epistemology
Everyone can engage
Objective observation
Logic in market activities Empirical Evidence
Reason and keep the proceeds of those activities.
Collectivist Philosophy
From each according to Subjective reality
Emotion his ability to each
Everything is relative
Feelings
according to his needs
No absolutes

Class-Discussion: Islamo-Fascism
History of Islam
Sunna; rights of life and property within the group
Rights outside of the group not respected

Additional Reading: