ECON BC3063 Senior Seminar: Human Freedom and Human Capital

Professsor Lalith Munasinghe, Spring 2003

1. Course Description:
In this senior seminar we read a collection of essays written by economists and philosophers that relate to three broad topics: Human capital theory (HCT), human freedom, and the role of the worker in the modern workplace.

Human Capital Theory. Our readings will focus on the historical origins of HCT and on the puzzles and facts of labor market phenomena that the theory is designed to explain. We will read some of the pioneering works by two Nobel laureates in economics Schultz and Becker.

Human Freedom. We will read about and discuss various notions of human freedom, starting with a highly romantic and individualistic vision of Marx, and then moving on to more contemporary ideas of negative and positive conceptions of human freedom. Our readings will begin with Marx (selections from the 1844 Manuscripts, Grundrisse and Capital Vol. III), and continue on to some modern essays by Isaiah Berlin, Charles Taylor and Amartya Sen.

Worker and Firm. The final topic focuses on economic theories of the employment relationship between the worker and the firm. The readings will be aimed at providing multiple perspectives on the worker-firm relationship. In particular, we will read about the employment relationship from the radical, neoclassical and the managerial perspectives, with a view to unraveling the philosophical differences in these accounts. Readings will include papers by Marglin, Stiglitz, Bowles, and Lazear, to mention a few.

Here are some broad questions that I hope these readings will prompt us to think about and discuss in class.

1. The first set of questions relates directly to freedom. For example, what constitutes human freedom or what is the locus of human freedom? Is freedom about whether human beings as moral agents live up to some predetermined ideal in the Platonic sense? Or is it more about the nature of human activity as it relates to the creative pursuit of diverse human interests?

2. A second set of questions is to ask whether human freedom might in any way relate to human capital theory. For example, do we have to learn skills or cultivate our tastes, interests and desires to become free agents just like we learn skills to become lawyers and carpenters?
3. A third set of questions relate to whether freedom can be achieved within the context of the modern workplace. For example, is work necessarily alienating? Is it a mere means to other ends? Or is it possible to find freedom and meaning in our working lives?

2. Course Requirements:

1. A class presentation based on one of the readings
2. A short write-up of your presentation and discussion to be distributed to the entire class a week after the presentation
3. A substantial final term paper, to be written and revised over the second half of the semester
4. Short presentation of your final paper to the entire class during the last week of class

3. Prerequisites:
All courses for the major except the senior requirment.