History of Consciousness
HISC 267 Capital and Democracy in an Age of Finance
What is the connection between capital accumulation and democracy in an era when creating financial assets has been decoupled from producing goods and services? Democracy can pose a threat to capital accumulation when an accelerated rise in asset values deepens historical inequality; financial markets can pre-empt such threats by becoming suddenly illiquid, thereby bringing on an event of disaccumulation unless/until restoring the confidence that capital markets have in their own continuing appreciation becomes the highest political priority of the state. This course examines what it means–both politically and theoretically–for this consensus to break down.
Instructor
Robert Meister