The study of
economics was the founding inspiration for the School. Dismayed
by the poverty and despair of the great depression in the early 1930s
the founder became convinced that economics was profoundly
misunderstood and set about finding answers that conventional economics
had failed to provide.
Guided by the belief that truth and justice should guide their studies,
the founder looked for natural laws governing societies. They
found inspiration and insight in the writings of Henry George, who
highlighted the key significance of access to land and natural
resources as an economic factor.
Today, following the same inspiration, economics is studied and taught
in the School as economics-with-justice, or JustEconomics. This
is an approach to economics with justice at its heart, an approach that
offers new perspecives on more conventional economic thought and
practices.
Political pressures around land reform and 40 percent unemployment
threaten our young democracy. Grasping the heated axe and
smashing open the covers that make the phenomenon of rent the greatest
black hole in economic histrory will put South Africa firmly on the
path to prosperity and justice giving a lead to the world in the realm
of economics just as it has in political and constitutional solutions.
Is the outcome of our decisions to act
morally correct?
spiritually correct?
ethically correct?
Are we slaves of some defunct economist's ideas?
Ethics are the guidelines or rules of conduct by which we aim to live.
Organizations, like individuals, have ethical standards and are
frequently ethic codes. The ethical standards of an organization
are judged by its actions and the actions of its employees, not by
pious statements of intent put out in its name. (P & S Mgt D W
Dobler / D N Burt)
The practical man of affairs who thinks he is quite exempt from any
intellectual influences is usually the slave of some defunct economist.
(J M Keynes)
Courses on Economics are offered from time to time by the School of Practical Philosophy.
THREE COURSES OF TEN EVENING SESSIONS
The economics we are concerned with is economics with justice. Adding a sense of justice to the study of economics makes a difference. Wherever economic arrangements appear to result in injustice, we can be fairly sure tht something has gone wrong. By studying natural laws that govern human beings in our relations with each other and with the natural world which supports us it is possible to identify where things go wrong and what to do about them in order to restore economic justice. In these courses we attempt to identify natural laws which offer the possibility of economic justice and to show how they relate to the economic world around us in the 21st century.
Economics with Justice
The School of Economic Science offers a challenging perspective on economics for anyone who has wondered why economic affairs are organised the way they are - and whether there might be a better way. Most economic systems are based on assumptions. What are they? Whose are they? Whom do they benefit? To see different possibilities requires a different way of looking.
The Foundation Economics course examines such questions as: can everyone be wealthy? Why are there so many poor people in rich countries and why are there very rich people in poor countries? So few countries in the world produce and consume so much of its wealth. So many people in the world fail to reach their economic potential. The course asks: Is this inevitable? How could it improve?
Economics: Theory and Practice
This course builds on the principles discussed in Foundation Economics. Many students ask about the basic economic systems - classical, neo-classical, Marxist, Keynesian, monetarist. This course gives brief descriptions of these and assesses the extent to which they demonstrate natural laws and the effects they have had.
Study of great economists and their ideas is used to focus attention on some of the hidden assumptions of economic life - the idea of property, the place of land, labour and capital as factors of production; the importance of natural resources and the incomes derived from them and the role of government in managing modern economics. Understanding these enables students to see the causes of many of the modern economies and how they might be avoided or resolved.
Growth, sustainability and human development
Economic growth has become the standard by which the success of national economies and international businesses are judged. But economic growth is also having a devastating effect on our planet. Can the human economy continue to offer greater and greater wealth without destroying its own foundations?
This course looks at the big questions facing the globalised economy. Is economic growth sustainable? Can the natural environment survive the impact of the industrialisation? How can human beings cope with technological advance and ecological change? What can we do to help?
Building on the analysis offered in the previous two courses, this course explores how economic affairs can be arranged so as to offer freedom, justice and equity to humanity without destructive exploitation or misuse of the natural world.
| Date of new course: | Wednesday, 23rd May 2007 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 18h00 |
| Venue: | FNB Training and Conference Centre |
| Cost: | Members - R250.00 Non-members - R750.00 |
| Bookings: | 011 648 0785 spp@global.co.za |
