The History and Ethics of Capitalism

James - Resized.png

James Hoopes

Murata Professor of Ethics in Business

 

Why this course

  • Historical development and context is crucial to understanding any complex system – and this is no less true with our current market-based economic system. While business curriculum has traditionally been short on history, this course leans into what we can learn from the development of capitalism and the competing philosophies and values that continue to shape it.

  • Professor Hoopes includes non-Western examples of market rules, such as in Buddhist and Islamic cultures, to allow students to critically analyze different manifestations of capitalism, understand where it excels and where it falls short, the moral risks and opportunities of our system, and to recognize that it can look different than the version currently in practice.

Download Syllabus

Download Syllabus

 
 

Course Highlights

The Case of Siam Hands - Class PowerPoint:

Latest Coverage

Featured
Babson Thought & Action: Can Capitalism Be Ethical?
Babson Thought & Action: Can Capitalism Be Ethical?

Over the past three decades at Babson College, Hoopes has taught a course on the history of capitalism. But, about seven or eight years ago, seeing an opportunity to enrich his syllabus, he made a significant shift and changed the course to The History and Ethics of Capitalism.

Biography

James Hoopes is Murata Professor of Ethics in Business at Babson College. He is the author of a number of books on American history, business history, and business ethics including "False Prophets: The Gurus Who Created Modern Management" and "Corporate Dreams: Big Business in American Democracy from the Great Depression to the Great Recession." Currently, he is working on a book titled "Leading for Virtue" which is based on many of the sources he developed for his course on "The History and the Ethics of Democracy."