Loyola University New Orleans Professor Walter Block Department of Economics and Finance Spring 2017 Economics 493-002 Economics and Catholic Social Thought
Class Schedule: Tuesday, Thursday 9:30 a.m. – 10:45 p.m.
Room: 324 Miller Hall
Office Hours: Wednesday 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m., 2:00 p.m. – 5 p.m.
In addition to these formal office hours, I will be available most days, 9 a.m. –5 p.m. I am very available for student consultation and willing to give as much time as is needed for questions, discussion, dialogue. My office is 321 Miller Hall. My telephone number is 505 864 7934; e mail: [email protected]
Grades: Your term grade will be determined on the basis of total points scored
Midterm I 100 Term Paper 60 Edit Term Paper 30 Class Presentation I 20 Class Presentation II 20 Final exam 100 Class participation 10 ------Total 340
If you miss the midterm exam, for any reason, no make up exam will be given. Instead, I will double the mark I give you for the final. I follow this policy because it is difficult for me to assess the relative difficulties of an official exam and a make up one.
Brief Course Description:
My main motivation in offering this course, an entirely new one as far as the College of Business of Loyola University New Orleans is concerned, is that this is a Jesuit institution, and the number of Jesuit professors and administrators has been declining. How can I, not only a non-Jesuit but also a non-Catholic, make a contribution in this regard? There is a body of economic literature written by the various popes and several different national conferences of bishops that would otherwise go unstudied in the economics department and perhaps in the entire college of business were not such a course as this instituted. This literature consists of a number of papal encyclicals, bishops’ conference letters, commentaries and related publications. My thought was that focusing on this material would be a way for me to bring to the attention of the student body Catholic concerns in general and Jesuit ones in particular. It is in this way that I could make a contribution to our unique Jesuit educational system. For this literature is concerned with social justice, the preferential option for the poor, subsidiarity, ethics and morality, human work, land reform, and other issues of concern to our university community. 1 It is very important to realize however, lest any fraud be perpetrated on anyone, that this is a course in economics, not theology. I am an economist, not a theologian. I shall attempt to teach this course in much the same manner as my other offerings, with the signal exception that the texts we study shall be very much of a departure from the more usual economic readings.
Required Readings:
I. Papal encyclicals: 1. Rerum Novarum 1891 http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/leo_xiii/encyclicals/documents/hf_l- xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum_en.html (I will not be covering in class the following paragraphs: 16, 21-22, 23-27, 40, 54, 56-60, 62-64) 2. Gaudium et Spes 1965 http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat- ii_cons_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html (I will not be covering in class the following paragraphs: 1-3, 7-8, 11, 13-16, 18-26, 34-35, 38- 41, 44-62, 73-74,88-93 ) 3. Populorum Progressio 1967 http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p- vi_enc_26031967_populorum_en.html (I will not be covering in class the following paragraphs: 1-11, 13-16, 40-42, 50, 55-56, 64-69, 71, 73-75, 78-87) 4. Laborem Exercens 1981 http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp- ii_enc_14091981_laborem-exercens_en.html (I will not be covering in class the following paragraphs: 3-4, 24-27) 5. Sollicitudo Rei Socialis 1987 http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp- ii_enc_30121987_sollicitudo-rei-socialis_en.html (I will not be covering in class the following paragraphs: 1-7, 27, 29-41, 43-49 6. Centesimus Annus 1991 http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp- ii_enc_01051991_centesimus-annus_en.html (I will not be covering in class the following paragraphs: 1-3, 17-18, 22, 29, 46, 53-57, 59-62 7. Love in Truth 2009 http://www.papalencyclicals.net/; http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben- xvi_enc_20090629_caritas-in-veritate_en.html 8. Evangelii Gaudium, 2013 http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa- francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html
Required Textbook:
Woods, Jr., Thomas E. 2005. The Church and the Market. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. Isbn 0-7391-1036-5 2 Not required reading:
Commentaries:
Fr. Robert Sirico: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124718187188120189.html#mod=djemEditorialPage Terence Corcoran: http://www.financialpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=4f44e123-e315-48f5-8db2- 9c3cc8747c05 Gabriel E. Vidal: http://mises.org/story/3594 Tom Woods http://www.lewrockwell.com/woods/woods120.html
Busch, Tim. 2015. “Teaching Capitalism to Catholics: Why I’m joining Charles Koch and others in funding a program to teach about free markets.” January 23; http://www.wsj.com/articles/tim- busch-teaching-capitalism-to-catholics-1421970676
Chafuen, Alejandro A. 2003. Faith and Liberty: The Economic Thought of the Late Scholastics. Studies in Ethics and Economics. Lanham: Lexington
Here are some excellent reviews of the book by Woods: David Gordon: http://mises.org/misesreview_detail.aspx?control=291 Christopher Westley: http://mises.org/journals/qjae/pdf/qjae8_4_8.pdf
Block, Walter E. 2013. Religion, Economics and Politics. Columbus, OH: Biblio Publishing; The Educational Publisher, Inc.; http://edupublisher.com/BiblioPublishing/thankyou.html
Additional readings (not required):
Barnett, William. 1987-1988. “Human Nature, the Bishops, and the American Economy,” 33 Loyola Law Review, 203; http://heinonlinebackup.com/hol-cgi- bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/loyolr33§ion=20
Block, Walter. 1983. Focus on Economics and the Canadian Bishops, Vancouver: The Fraser Institute. isbn: 0-88975-057-2; http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1349328
Block, Walter E. 1985A. "Neglect of the Marketplace: The Questionable Economics of America's Bishops," Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy, Vol. 2, No. 1, 1985, pp. 125-160; http://www.walterblock.com/wp- content/uploads/publications/economics_american_bishops.pdf Block, Walter. 1985B. "Liberation Theology and the Economy," Grail: An Ecumenical Journal, Vol. I, No. 3, September, pp. 75-85; http://cba.loyno.edu/faculty/Block/Blockarticles/liberationtheology.htm?? http://141.164.133.3/faculty/Block/Blockarticles/liberationtheology.htm
3 Block, Walter. 1986. The U.S. Bishops and Their Critics: An Economic and Ethical Perspective, Vancouver: The Fraser Institute; isbn: 0-88975-085-8; http://www.fraserinstitute.org/researchandpublications/publications/7221.aspx
Block, Walter. 1988A. “Economics of the Canadian Bishops," Contemporary Policy Issues, Vol. VI, No. 1, January, pp. 56-68; http://141.164.133.3/faculty/Block/Blockarticles/Bishops.htm
Block, Walter E. 1988B. "Discussion," The Preferential Option for the Poor, Richard John Neuhaus, ed., Grand Rapids, Mich.: William E. Eerdmans Publishing Co., pp. 87-114.
Block, Walter E. 1990. "Preface," James A. Schall, S.J., Religion, Wealth and Poverty, Vancouver: The Fraser Institute, pp. ix-xiii.
Block, Walter E. 10/1/04. “On the Record: Jesuit ideal of free market economics misstated at Loyola.” Loyola University New Orleans The Maroon. P. 7. http://maroon.loyno.edu/news/2004/10/01/Opinion/On.The.Record.Jesuit.Ideal.Of.Free.Market.E conomics.Misstated.At.Loyola-746518.shtml
Block, Walter E. 2008. “Religion and Libertarianism: Ayn Rand was wrong.” June 18; http://www.lewrockwell.com/block/block103.html
Block, Walter E. 2012. “Religion and libertarianism.” July 7; http://lewrockwell.com/block/block206.html http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/117010.html Vance: http://libertarianchristians.com/2011/03/16/is-libertarianism- compatible-with-religion/ Next time, add: Steven Yates, Lawrence Reed, William Norman Grigg, Jim Fedako, Paul Green, Robert P. Murphy, John M. Cobin, Douglas F. Newman, D. Eric Schansberg, Vox Day http://archive.lewrockwell.com/block/block206.html
Block, Walter, Geoffrey Brennan and Kenneth Elzinga, eds. 1985. Morality of the Market: Religious and Economic Perspectives, Vancouver: The Fraser Institute.
Block, Walter and Irving Hexham, eds. 1986. Religion, Economics & Social Thought, Vancouver: The Fraser Institute; http://www.fraserinstitute.org/researchandpublications/publications/7074.aspx
Block, Walter and Donald Shaw, eds. 1985. Theology, Third World Development and Economic Justice, Vancouver: The Fraser Institute.
Block, Walter and Guillermo Yeatts. 1999-2000. “The Economics and Ethics of Land Reform: A Critique of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace’s ‘Toward a Better Distribution of Land: The Challenge of Agrarian Reform,’” Journal of Natural Resources and Environmental Law, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 37-69; http://www.walterblock.com/publications/ethics_land_reform.pdf
Chomsky, Noam. hypocrite http://www.hoover.org/publications/hoover-digest/article/6222 4 Epstein, Marcus, Walter E. Block and Tom Woods Jr. 2007. “Chesterton and Belloc: A Critique.” Independent Review. Spring, Vol. 11, No. 4, pp. 579-594 (industrial revolution, predatory pricing, economics and religion)
Epstein, Richard, on the Pope on social justice and putting profit before people: http://www.hoover.org/publications/defining-ideas/article/90261
Ianelli, James and Walter E. Block. 2009. “The Moral Resonance of Catholic Globalization Perspectives.” Humanomics; Vol. 25, No. 3, pp. 189-196
Lynch, Jr., Alberto Benegas. 2013. “Once Again, Pope Francis.” December 11; http://www.cato.org/blog/once-again-pope-francis
McMakin, Ryan. 2012. “6 Myths Catholics Tell About Libertarians.” January 5; http://lewrockwell.com/mcmaken/mcmaken139.html
Sowell, Thomas. Undated. “Welfare does not work.” http://www.targetliberty.com/2014/11/thomas-sowell-welfare-does-not- work.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TargetLib erty+%28Target+Liberty%29
Tucker, Jeffrey A. 2011. “There Is No Third Way.” May 21; http://lewrockwell.com/tucker/tucker195.html
U.S. Bishops. 1986. “Economic Justice for All: Pastoral Letter on Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy.” http://www.usccb.org/upload/economic_justice_for_all.pdf
Woods, Thomas E. Jr. 2002. Unpublished ms. "Catholic social teaching and economic law: an unresolved tension," http://www.mises.org/asc/2002/asc8-woods.pdf
Woods, Thomas. 2007. “An Open Letter to the Catholic Community in Behalf of Ron Paul,” November, 21; http://www.lewrockwell.com/woods/woods83.html
Woods, Jr., Thomas E. 2014. “Is Libertarianism Un-Catholic?” June 9; http://www.lewrockwell.com/2014/06/thomas-woods/takedown-of-a-left-wing-cardinal/
Readings in the School of Salamanca (not required): http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/schools/salamanca.htm#molina http://www.acton.org/publicat/randl/article.php?id=474 http://www.quebecoislibre.org/981219-3.htm (in French) http://www.mises.org/juandemariana.asp http://www.mises.org/blogdetail.asp?control=1244 http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig4/howell1.html
5 Calendar:
First day of class Jan 8 Midterm Exam Mar 3 Abstract of term paper (50 - 100 words) Mar 5 First draft term paper is due to editor (copy to me) Mar 26 Editors give edited paper to me and copy to buddy Apr 9 Last class Apr 30 Final exam, Final version of term paper due May 7 9:00am-11:00am
Academic Honesty: All students are expected to practice academic honesty in and out of class. Instances of academic dishonesty can result in a student receiving a grade of F for the course and referral to University judicial organizations, for possible expulsion. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, plagiarism, cheating on exams, and obtaining unauthorized assistance in completing exams and assignments.
Student Handbook: Students are urged to familiarize themselves with all policies listed in the Student Handbook. This handbook, along with the present syllabus, and other such documents, are in effect a contract between Loyola and the student; these specify the rules upon which we operate.
Disability Statement: If you have a disability and wish to receive accommodations, please contact Disability Services at 504-865-2990, [email protected], or visit the Office of Disability Services in Marquette Hall 112. Please note that before any accommodations can be implemented, you must obtain an official Course Accommodation Record from Disability Services for my signature.
Emergency Statement:
At times, ordinary university operations are interrupted as a result of tropical storms, hurricanes, or other emergencies that require evacuation or suspension of on-campus activities. To prepare for such emergencies, all students will do the following during the first week of classes:
1. Practice signing on for each course through Blackboard.
2. Provide regular and alternative e-mail address and phone contact information to each instructor.
In the event of an interruption to our course due to the result of an emergency requiring an evacuation or suspension of campus activities, students will:
3. Pack textbooks, assignments, syllabi and any other needed materials for each course ad bring during an evacuation/suspension
6 4. Keep up with course work during the evacuation/suspension as specified on course syllabi and on-line Blackboard courses.
5. Complete any reading and/or writing assignments given by professors before emergency began.
Assuming a power source is available....
6. Log on to university Web site within 48 hours of an evacuation/suspension.
7. Monitor the main university site (www.loyno.edu) for general information.
8. Log on to each course through Blackboard or e-mail within 48 hours of an evacuation/suspension to receive further information regarding contacting course instructors for assignments, etc.
9. Complete Blackboard and/or other online assignments posted by professors (students are required to turn in assignments on time during the evacuation/suspension period and once the university campus has reopened.)
10. Contact professors during an evacuation/suspension (or as soon as classes resume on campus) to explain any emergency circumstances that may have prevented them from completing expected work.
Further information about student responsibilities in emergencies is available on the Academic Affairs web site: http://academicaffairs.loyno.edu/students-emergency-responsibilities
Goals: The student goals for this semester are for you to improve in various skills and capacities; mine is to help promote this process. Specifically, your objective is to enhance your abilities as an
1. economic theorist 2. economic historian 3. ethicist-philosopher 4. public speaker 5. writer 6. critical thinker
Attendance Policy:
You can have two cuts per semester with no explanations needed. Any cut past that point will cost you 5 points. Three latenesses equal one cut. You may be excused from class or from any exam for reasons sufficiently compelling to the dean. All you need do is give me a letter from him. A doctor’s note or one from a hospital will also suffice.
7 Class Presentations:
You will be asked to give two speeches in class on course material. I include this because it is an integral part of your education to be able to articulate your views in public. I shall expect a 5 – 7 minute talk. You may use notes, but I don't want you to read (or memorize) a speech. According to several opinion polls, public speaking is, second to jumping out of a plane with a parachute, the most frightening legal act respondents can think of. I am convinced that the main reason for this is that we are not accustomed to formally addressing groups of people. I guarantee that if you gave 100 public speeches, you would likely get over this fear. If this is a particular problem for you, I urge you to consider joining Toastmasters. There, you can practice to your heart's content. For our purposes, however, I suggest merely that you practice your speech a few times before delivering it to class. Try it out on your friends, room-mates or a few fellow classmates. If you can’t exploit such people, who can you exploit?
College of Business Administration Student Writing and Publication Program
1. The Term Paper:
At the very outset of the course, before you begin even thinking about writing the two papers, take at look at Don McCloskey's "Economic Writing," Economic Inquiry, April 1985. My advice on writing is as follows: Do your homework. Read widely about your subject. Take copious notes. Make an outline. Then, after you have all "your ducks lined up in row," begin the actual process of writing. The more preliminary work you do, the more the paper "will write itself." If done well, often your manuscript will be different than you had visualized it. This is because the writing process is a creative one: things come out of you that you didn't know you had in you. But the preliminary steps are crucial; ignore them, and not much good comes out of you and onto the page. The term paper required for this course should be a minimum of 3000 words, written in a scholarly style (use the University of Chicago Style Guide) with at least 5 footnotes, and 5 text references. (My list of readings is designed to help you along on this.) Also required is a 100- 150 word synopsis of your paper, the titles, and the name of your "editorial partner(s)." You are not to use your name in the text; the only place this can appear in on the title page. (Do you know the reason for this requirement?) You will be marked not only as a writer of this paper, but also as an editor. Please try to do as good a job as you can on both these tasks. I also urge you to avail yourself of the services of the university writing center. You are strongly advised against handing in a first draft. Instead, write it up at least a week before it is due, so that you can put some "distance" between it and yourself. Also, you will be required to give it to someone else in the class, your "editorial partner," for constructive criticism. Then, a day or two before it is due, please revise it, taking what you like of the criticism you have been offered, and leave out the rest. I shall be judging this paper on two grounds: content and style. The latter is important because it better enables you to do the former. That is, be the content ever so accurate and informative, be your insights ever so compelling, this will not come shining through unless your writing is clear.
8 Here is a list of "things to watch out for when writing a paper." Read this after you have written your first draft, or long beforehand; otherwise you run the risk of atrophying your creative juices:
1. I would like a cover sheet, separate from the paper. Does anyone know why this is commonly done? 2. In cases of repetitive language, use synonyms, the passive voice, or delete the word when the context makes the meaning clear. 3. The paper should take either a pro or anti market point of view, but your perspective should not appear in the title 4. As an editor, I sometimes whine about awkwardness. Sometimes it helps to break up run on sentences. Sometimes it helps to rewrite a particular sentence or paragraph. 5. I want you to argue for a position, and defend it, and to attack the other side; therefore, I don't want you to be a mere reporter. Here, you are a lawyer, or, better yet, a consulting economist, for one side or the other; you are not a journalist. 6. My comments are suggestions, not orders; I am more than willing to negotiate with you about them. 7. Try not to use first person expressions 8. Which is more important, style or content? Neither. One helps the other 9. I seek to root out excess verbiage; try to edit your own work with this in mind. 10. When you use expressions such as "mentioned above, below," this usually indicates that better organization is needed. Try to root out summaries, conclusions, repetitiveness. You see? I have now reiterated this point, and it’s already getting boring to read. 11. A non sequitur means that one point doesn't follow from another. Watch out for them. 12. It is important that you understand each and every comment of mine. If not, ask. 13. Although this is a relatively short paper, please think in terms of (or actually write up and then use) an outline. 14. All quotes, statements made by others, must appear in between quote marks (“”); if not, this constitutes plagiarism. Every statistic that appears in the paper, every graph (unless you draw it yourself in which case say so), must be accompanied by a source. 15. The biggest problem I have with student papers is that you don’t think like a critic of your own paper. Think like a critic. Examine each sentence, well, not every one of them, but certainly your assertions, quotes and all use of statistics, and say to yourself, how will my critic react to this? First off, your critic will say, Hey, where’d this person get that info from? I’m gonna check it out. Make it EASY for your critic to check things out. Supply urls, full cites, etc.
2. Publication
If you agree (see below) I shall submit a selection of these term papers that may include your own, to an appropriate journal. The benefits of this exercise are several: a. Rejection slips are good for the soul; they combat hubris. They will give you more of an appreciation of the "publish or perish" syndrome that operates in academia. b. Although I don't expect it in all cases, there is always the outside chance of an acceptance. Several students of mine in previous semesters have had their term papers published. One can always hope.
9 c. Most important, you will in this way gain an additional "partner," "buddy," or editor. In addition to myself (1), one of your fellow classmates (2), and a counselor from the writer's workshop (3) to whom you are urged to apply, there will now be an editor (4) of a scholarly journal of economics - environmentalism who may give you some additional helpful hints as to how you can improve your work. Thus, you will benefit from the reactions to your written work of four different people, plus any friends, relatives, room-mates you can cajole into helping you. (If you can't exploit the free labor of such persons, who can you exploit?) I put you through this torture to help you replicate my practice with my own professional writing: after I finish a first draft, I circulate it amongst those of my colleagues whom I trust to give me a critical reaction. I don't (much) mind making mistakes on first drafts; but I recoil from the prospect of allowing errors to survive into publication as books or articles. These form part of the permanent record of scholarship, and can haunt an academic for an entire career. I regard the possible publication of the term paper you write for me as a centerpiece of the semester. Of course, not all papers will be published, but, based on my past experience (I will e mail you this record), I am sure that at least some of them will be. At the very end of this syllabus I place a permission form to this end. It is not mandatory that you take part in this initiative, and your grade will be unaffected by it. But if you are interested, please sign and return it to me.
3. How does the process work?
This is a five-part program. First, the student writes a first draft of the term paper. Second, his buddy, or partner, edits this paper. Third, I mark the editing. Fourth, the student revises the paper based on the editing and my reaction to the editing. Fifth, I send out the paper, if I deem it worthwhile, to an editor of a journal; this usually elicits more feedback.
4. Letter
If you want to be part of this program, you must sign and send me the following letter:
(Date)
Dear Dr. Block:
I hereby give permission that you edit my term paper for the purpose of seeking publication for it in a magazine, or as an article in a refereed scholarly journal. I realize that, at your discretion, you may add/subtract material to it and co-author it with me, and/or may combine it with the term paper(s) of other students, into a multiple authored paper. I realize that the final editorial decisions will be yours.
Yours truly,
Your signature (Print your name)
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