ECO 405 DBQ & WS
ANSWER QUESTIONS AND DOC.X WORKSHEET
PART 1:
Q1: Congratulations! You have now read two of the most important 20th century economic texts, each of which represents a different pole in economic policy. Now having read both the books, and drawing from your full course of economics study as you like, reflect on the merits of “economic planning” versus “laissez-faire” economic policy, and the strength of Polanyis argument versus Hayeks. Aim for 150-200 words.
WORKSHEET: ECO 405 Worksheet – May 4 and 6, The Road to Serfdom.docx
PART 2:
Q2: In reading Polanyi, Hayek, and Harvey, we see that the stakes of how we define freedom are very high. Assertions about the true meaning of freedom have been central to both neoliberalism’s advance, as well as to opposition to neoliberalism.
For Hayek and other neoliberals, market freedoms underpin political freedoms, and so it is supposedly of utmost importance to free the marketplace from all fetters, as much as possible regulations, taxes, capital controls, etc. Otherwise, Hayek and his allies argue, the slide toward totalitarianism is inevitable.
Polanyi and other social democrats and socialists argue that market freedoms are simply code for the freedom of the rich to dominate society as they see fit. They argue that true freedom requires material freedom from poverty and alienated work, or as Roosevelt put it, freedom from want. Thus, they say that any society claiming to value “freedom” must seek to liberate its people from the bondage of economic desperation.
After hearing both the cases, what is freedom for you? (150-200 words)
WORKSHEET: ECO 405 Worksheet – May 11 and 12 .docx
