Making Sense of Modernity – Course Syllabus (Spring 2012)

Philosophy, Politics, & Economics 475-302 Spring 2012 Jeff Weintraub (Tel: 610-348-7161) (E-mail: aweintra@sas.upenn.edu) Williams Hall 217 MW 2-3:30 Office hrs: MW 4-5 (& by appointment) UPenn Bookstore Café MAKING SENSE OF MODERNITY READINGS: Most of the required readings will be drawn from the following books, which you can purchase at the UPenn bookstore. Please be sure to get the right editions, since otherwise the page numbers and, in some cases, the translations will be different: Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (Penguin) Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France (Hackett) Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations (Liberty Classics; 2 vols.) Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (Harper Perennial Classics) Marx & Engels, The Marx-Engels Reader, ed. R. Tucker (Norton, second edition) Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Dover or Scribner or Roxbury 2nd edition) In addition, some other assigned readings will be made available to you in xeroxed form during the course. Xeroxed readings are marked with an asterisk (*) in the list of reading assignments. Aristotle, The Politics (Chicago; tr. Carnes Lord), selections Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws, selections Robert A. Nisbet, "The Two Revolutions" (ch. 2 of The Sociological Tradition) Alexis de Tocqueville, The Old Regime and the French Revolution, selections James Madison, The Federalist, Essays #10 & #51 E.J. Hobsbawm, "The Springtime of Peoples" (ch. 1 & Introduction from The Age of Capital) Karl Marx, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, selections Max Weber, from Economy and Society: "Types of Social Action," pp. 24-26 "Power and Domination," p. 53 "The Types of Legitimate Domination," pp. 212-216 “The Transformation of Charisma in a Democratic Direction,” pp. 266-269 “Class, Status, Party,” pp. 926-939 "Bureaucracy and Political Leadership," pp. 1393-1405 Max Weber, The Vocation Lectures (ed. Owen & Strong): "Politics as a Vocation," pp. 32-43 & pp. 75-94 "Science as a Vocation," pp. 1-31 Jeff Weintraub, Freedom and Community (California, forthcoming), selections Course Procedures and Requirements The central aim of this course is to help you master some of the most fundamental approaches to understanding society and politics (and the interplay between them) that emerged from the seventeenth through the early twentieth centuries and that continue to shape scholarship and debates in social and political theory, comparative politics, sociology, political economy, and cultural inquiry—as well everyday moral and political controversies. This will involve careful, systematic, and critical examination of works by a series of major thinkers—Hobbes, Adam Smith, Montesquieu, Edmund Burke, Tocqueville, Marx, and Weber—and of larger currents of thought such as liberalism, conservatism, and the republican virtue tradition. In the process, we will explore contrasting approaches to issues including capitalism, socialism, bureaucracy, citizenship, sovereignty, domination, authority, freedom, community, individualism, democracy, revolution, the logic of history, the ethical dilemmas of political action—and the nature and dynamics of “modern society” itself. A brief consideration of Aristotle will highlight some classical sources, points of reference, and polemical targets for the "modern" conversation. <PPE 475-302: Making Sense of Modernity, p. 2> Certainly this course makes no claim to comprehensiveness. Any course on modern social and political theory (or, to put it another way, on the social and political theory of modernity) that can't include such figures as Machiavelli, Rousseau, Locke, Hume, Hegel, Constant, John Stuart Mill, Durkheim, Freud, Simmel, Arendt and a number of others is definitely truncated. However, it seems to me that you will get the most out of the course if we take a relatively focused set of theorists and try to discuss them in some depth. Rather than pull a few isolated ideas from each thinker we will try, as far as we can in a short time, to do justice to each one's overall theoretical project. This means going carefully through the work of each theorist to get a sense of its inner logic and to see why he constructed—and, perhaps, reconstructed—his theories in the way that he did. Not only does this give you a clearer and more sophisticated grasp of the theorist's ideas, because you can place them in the context of his project as a whole; it's also the best way for you to strengthen your own theoretical capacities and sensibilities. Thus, the heart of the course lies in the careful reconstruction and exploration of complex and important theoretical arguments. Those of you taking the course should be clear in your minds that you are committed to serious and steady engagement with the texts, the ideas they contain, and the issues they raise. This is a seminar, so all of us need to be active participants. Class meetings will involve a mixture of lecture and discussion, with an emphasis on the latter. (In a few meetings I will give synthesizing lectures on particularly difficult and/or crucial material). Active, thoughtful, and informed participation is a key condition for the vitality and success of the course—and is, therefore, a basic requirement for all class members. In order to benefit fully from the course (and to fulfill your responsibilities to the other members) it is very important that you carefully read and think about the assigned material before each class meeting. => Discussion Groups: To provide a supportive framework for ongoing conversation and reflection about the readings and the issues they raise, members of the class will organize themselves the first week into discussion groups of 4-5 students apiece (depending on the overall size of the class). Each group will meet at least once a week outside the regular class meetings (set a firm time or times, and let me know when they are) to discuss the assigned reading. Every week, each group should prepare a memo of about 1-2 pages which <1> provides a concise synopsis or reconstruction of what seems to you to be the main thrust of the week's readings; and <2> identifies and addresses what you take to be one or more key issues or problems raised by the material; and, if you want, <3> suggests an issue (or issues) raised by the reading that you think ought to be addressed by the class as a whole. I will not give the memos a letter grade (nor will I necessarily write comments on them), but I will give each one a check or, if it is unsatisfactory, a minus. Accumulated minuses, or failure to turn in memos every week on time, will have a significantly damaging effect on group members' grades for class participation. => Written Work: There will be two take-home exams. For each, you will be asked to write an essay of about 8-9 double-spaced pages in response to one of several topics. (The first take-home exam may ask for two brief essays totalling about 10 pages.) The exams will probably be handed out around week 6 and week 10, with the essay due about a week later; precise due dates will be worked out as the term progresses. In addition, each of you will write a final research paper on a topic of your choice (formulated in consultation with me, and subject to my approval) dealing with issues raised by the course and drawing on one or more of the theorists—including Weber—whose arguments we will explore. (I may also offer suggestions about possible final paper topics myself.) Depending on the specific subject you choose to pursue, your essay should be roughly between 10 and 15 double-spaced pages (plus bibliography). In addition to assigned course readings, it should also draw on other work, which could include books, articles, primary sources, and/or intellectually substantial pieces (or information) from serous web-sites. (For starters, see the suggested secondary works listed on pp. 6-8 of this syllabus.) The appropriate range and types of outside works will, again, depend on the kind of topic you have chosen. These matters will be discussed in more detail during the semester. <PPE 475-302: Making Sense of Modernity, p. 3> I would advise you to start thinking about and working toward your final paper topic by Week 10, if not earlier, though in most cases it will probably make the most sense to finalize the topic only after we have done the bulk of the course reading. Each of you should submit to me in writing a brief proposal—with a provisional title, a few paragraphs spelling out your intended topic, and a preliminary bibliography—by Friday, April 13 at the latest. During the last week of classes, each student will make a brief presentation on the topic of his or her final essay to the class. (You will have about 10-15 minutes apiece, so it’s important to be clear, cogent, concise, and well organized.) Your final paper will account for about 35% of your grade, each of the midterm essays about 25%, and class participation (including discussion groups) about 15%. All this is subject to slight variation. => My office hours will normally be held in the café on the upper level of the UPenn Bookstore (at 36th & Walnut) on Monday & Wednesday from 4-5 p.m. Incidentally, students are encouraged to come see me during office hours—either to raise specific questions, or just to talk over issues that interest you. You can make an appointment or just drop by. <PPE 475-302: Making Sense of Modernity, p. 4> Course Outline and Readings Week 1 M 1/11 Week 2 M 1/16 W 1/18 Introduction ARISTOTLE <No class: Martin Luther King Day> *Aristotle, Politics, Book 1, chs. 1-9, 12-13 Book 2, chs. 1-2, 5 Book 3, chs. 1, 4-9 Book 4, ch. 11 Book 7, chs. 2, 13-14 Week 3 M 1/23 W 1/25 Weeks 4-5 M 1/30 W 2/1 HOBBES – LIBERALISM, INDIVIDUALISM, AND SOVEREIGNTY Leviathan, Introduction (pp. 81-83), chs. VI (118-120 & 129-130), X (150-153), XI, XIII-XIV, XV (201-205, 214-217), XVI-XVII Leviathan, chs. XVIII-XXI, XXII (274-275), XXVIII-XXIX, XXX (376-385) ADAM SMITH – LIBERALISM, THE MARKET, AND SPONTANEOUS ORDER Wealth of Nations, Introduction and Plan of the Work (pp. 10-12) Book I: chs. I-IV, V (47-51), VI-VII, XI (264-267) Wealth of Nations, Book I: chs. VIII (82-89, 95-101), IX (105-106), X (116-117, 124, 135-140, 142-146) Book II: Introduction, chs. I (279-281, 284-285), III (330-333, 337-346) Book IV: ch. II (452-457) Wealth of Nations, Book III Book IV: ch. IX (687-688) Book V: ch. I (708-719, 722-723, 780-788) MONTESQUIEU – POLITICAL REGIMES AND THEIR SOCIAL LOGICS * (Jeff Weintraub, Freedom and Community, selections) The Spirit of the Laws, Author’s Foreword & Preface Books 1-3 Book 4, chs. 4-5 Book 5, chs. 1-4, 6, 9-14 Book 6, chs. 1-2 Book 8, chs. 1, 8, 10 M 2/6 Week 5 W 2/8 Week 6 M 2/13 W 2/15 EDMUND BURKE – COMMUNITY, AUTHORITY, AND CONSERVATISM *(Robert Nisbet, "The Two Revolutions") Reflections, pp. 1-19, 22-58, 66-78 Reflections, pp. 78-88, last paragraph on 95-99, 108-112, 118-122, 134-139, 144-148, 173, 216-218 <PPE 475-302: Making Sense of Modernity, p. 5> Weeks 7-8 M 2/20 W 2/22 TOCQUEVILLE – DEMOCRACY, DESPOTISM, & POLITICAL LIBERTY Lecture Introducing Tocqueville Democracy in America: Vol I: Author's Introduction Part I - chs. 3 (50-51, 55-57), 4, 5 (61-64, 68-70, 72, 87-98) Part II - p. 171, chs. 4, 6 (235-245), 8 (270-276), 9 (277, 286-294, 304-308, 311-315) M 2/27 Democracy in America: Author’s Preface to the 1848 Edition (pp. xiii-xiv) Vol II: Author's Preface to Volume Two (pp. 417-418) Part II - chs. 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 14 Part IV - chs. 5-6 *The Old Regime and the French Revolution (selections) W 2/29 Democracy in America: Vol. I: Part II - chs. 7, 8 (262-270) Vol. II: Part II - ch. 13, 20 Part III - chs. 1, 17, 21 Part IV - ch. 7 *James Madison, The Federalist, Essays #10 & #51 <No Class Monday 3/5 & Wednesday 3/7: Spring Break> Weeks 9-11 M 3/12 W 3/14 MARX – ALIENATION, DOMINATION, AND HUMAN EMANCIPATION Lecture Introducing Marx "Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right: Introduction" pp. 53-54 (in The Marx-Engels Reader) "On the Jewish Question," part 1 (M-E, 26-46) The German Ideology, Part I, pp. 148-166, 172-174, 189-193, 197 (M-E) Communist Manifesto (M-E: skim Part III, read the rest closely) Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy (M-E, 3-6) Lecture on Capital Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy (M-E, 3-6) [re-read] Prefaces to Capital (M-E, 294-302) Wage Labor and Capital (M-E, 203-217) Capital, volume I, selections (M-E): chs. I, sections 1 & 4 (pp. 302-308 & 319-329) | VI (336-343) | VII, sections 1-2 (344-361) | X, sections 1-2 & 5 (361-367 & 373-376) | XII (376-384) | XIV, sections 4-5 (392-403) | XXV-XXXII (419-438) *(E.J. Hobsbawm, "The Springtime of Peoples" & Introduction to The Age of Capital) *Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte (selections) Weeks 12-14 M 4/2 W 4/4 WEBER – POWER, MEANING, AND RATIONALIZATION Lecture Introducing Weber The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, pp. 13-128, 153-183 M 3/19 W 3/21 M 3/26 W 3/28 <PPE 475-302: Making Sense of Modernity, p. 6> M 4/9 *"Types of Social Action" *"Power and Domination" *"The Types of Legitimate Domination" *"Class, Status, Party” *"Politics as a Vocation," pp. 32-43 (in The Vocation Lectures) *"The Transformation of Charisma in a Democratic Direction” *"Bureaucracy and Political Leadership" *"Politics as a Vocation," pp.75-94 (VL) *"Science as a Vocation" (VL) W 4/11 M 4/16 Weeks 14-15 W 4/18 & M/4/23 Student Paper Presentations Some Recommended Secondary Readings What follows is a very partial and selective list, and I want to emphasize that these readings are suggested extras. The key point is to wrestle with the ideas and arguments of the theorists themselves, and no secondary works can substitute for a close and thoughtful engagement with the texts. However, here are some secondary treatments of these and other thinkers which you might (optionally) find useful for background or elucidation and might want to use in connection with your final paper (and/or pursue in the future). => Overviews of the development of western social and political theory and its historical and intellectual contexts: Leo Strauss & Joseph Cropsey, eds., History of Political Philosophy (good treatments of most of the theorists we will be reading—approached from a certain point of view) Sheldon Wolin, Politics and Vision: Continuity and Innovation in Western Political Thought Leo Strauss, Natural Right and History Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition J.G.A. Pocock, Politics, Language, and Time Virtue, Commerce, and History Quentin Skinner, The Foundations of Modern Political Thought Robert Nisbet, The Sociological Tradition Anthony Giddens, Capitalism and Modern Social Theory (Marx, Durkheim, Weber; clear and substantial) Raymond Aron, Main Currents in Sociological Thought (good sections on Marx, Tocqueville, Weber) Herbert Marcuse, Reason and Revolution: Hegel and the Rise of Social Theory Raymond Williams, Culture and Society 1780-1950 H. Stuart Hughes, Consciousness and Society (about the intellectual generation of the 1890's) John Dunn, ed., Democracy: The Unfinished Journey, 508 BC to AD 1993 Gianfranco Poggi, The Development of the Modern State (brief and cogent) John Hall, Powers and Liberties: Causes and Consequences of the Rise of the West Ernest Gellner, Plough, Sword, and Book: The Structure of Human History E.J. Hobsbawm, The Age of Revolution: 1789-1848 The Age of Capital: 1848-1875 The Age of Empire: 1875-1914 The Age of Extremes: A History of the World, 1914-1991 <PPE 475-302: Making Sense of Modernity, p. 7> => Interpretations of specific theorists or theoretical traditions: Hobbes: Richard Tuck, Hobbes (a concise intellectual biography) C.B. Macpherson, editor's introduction to Leviathan Leo Strauss, Natural Right and History, ch. V Maurice Cranston & Richard Peters, eds., Hobbes and Rousseau Smith: D.D. Raphael, Adam Smith (brief and comprehensive; informative, though not deep) A.S. Skinner & Thomas Wilson, eds., Essays on Adam Smith Wilson & Skinner, eds, The Market and the State: Essays in Honour of Adam Smith Albert Hirschman, The Passions and the Interests: Political Arguments for Capitalism before Its Triumph Istvan Hont & Michael Ignatieff, eds., Wealth and Virtue: The Shaping of Political Economy in the Scottish Enlightenment Samuel Fleischacker, On Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations: A Philosophical Companion Friedrich A. Hayek, The Constitution of Liberty Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation (particularly Polanyi’s treatment of the idea of the self-regulating market as one of the central utopias of 19th- and 20th-century thought) Montesquieu: Isaiah Berlin, “Montesquieu” (in Against the Current) Raymond Aron, Main Currents, section on Montesquieu Thomas Pangle, Montesquieu’s Philosophy of Liberalism Judith Shklar, Montesquieu Emile Durkheim, Montesquieu and Rousseau Rousseau: Judith Shklar, Men and Citizens: A Study of Rousseau’s Social Theory Leo Strauss, Natural Right and History, section on Rousseau (ch. 6, part A) Roger Masters, The Political Philosophy of Rousseau Jean Starobinski, Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Transparency and Obstruction Maurice Cranston & Richard Peters, eds., Hobbes and Rousseau Emile Durkheim, Montesquieu and Rousseau Lucio Colletti, “Rousseau as Critic of ‘Civil Society’” (in From Rousseau to Lenin) Burke: J.G.A. Pocock, editor's introduction to Reflections on the Revolution in France Alfred Cobban, Edmund Burke and the Revolt Against the Eighteenth Century Conor Cruise O'Brien, The Great Melody: A Thematic Biography and Commented Anthology of Edmund Burke Tocqueville: Jean-Claude Lamberti, Tocqueville and the Two Democracies Andre Jardin, Tocqueville: A Biography Raymond Aron, Main Currents, section on Tocqueville Roger Boesche, The Strange Liberalism of Alexis de Tocqueville Francois Furet, Interpreting the French Revolution (especially the first and third essays) "The Conceptual System of Democracy in America," from In the Workshop of History Larry Siedentop, Tocqueville Jon Elster, Alexis de Tocqueville, the First Social Scientist <PPE 475-302: Making Sense of Modernity, p. 8> Marx: Raymond Aron, Main Currents, section on Marx George Lichtheim, Marxism Shlomo Avineri, The Social and Political Thought of Karl Marx Leszek Kolakowski, Main Currents in Marxism Louis Althusser, For Marx Steven Lukes, Marxism and Morality G.A. Cohen, Karl Marx's Theory of History: A Defense Louis Dumont, From Mandeville to Marx A.J. Polan, Lenin and the End of Politics Weber: Raymond Aron, Main Currents, section on Weber Anthony Giddens, Politics and Sociology in the Thought of Max Weber Gerth & Mills, Introduction to From Max Weber Randall Collins, Introduction to The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Roxbury edition) Reinhard Bendix, Max Weber: An Intellectual Portrait Bendix & Roth, Scholarship and Partisanship: Essays on Max Weber Gianfranco Poggi, Calvinism and the Capitalist Spirit Wolfgang Mommsen, The Age of Bureaucracy: Perspectives on the Political Sociology of Max Weber Guenther Roth & Wolfgang Schluchter, Max Weber's Vision of History Rogers Brubaker, The Limits of Rationality: An Essay on the Social and Moral Thought of Max Weber Karl Löwith, Max Weber and Karl Marx Sam Whimster & Scott Lasch, Max Weber, Rationality and Modernity Richard Swedberg, The Max Weber Dictionary: Key Words and Critical Concepts Stephen Kalberg, ed. Max Weber: Readings and Commentary on Modernity => If you would like to consult just one treatment apiece of the French revolution and/or the industrial revolution, I recommend: R.R. Palmer, The World of the French Revolution, Introduction (pp. 3-10), chs. 1-4 & 10 David Landes, The Unbound Prometheus, Introduction