0. Preface to Reisman's Lectures on Capitalism

0. Preface to Reisman's Lectures on Capitalism

Author: George Reisman September 7, 2020 Duration: 2:36

OBJECTIVES

1. To provide the student with a comprehensive knowledge of the nature, foundations, and operations of a division-of labor, capitalist society, with special emphasis on the institutions of private ownership of the means of production, competition, the profit motive, and the price system as the basis for economic coordination and economic progress. The consequences of government intervention with respect to these institutions will be considered in depth.

2. To teach the student to think of economic phenomena in terms of their long-run effects on all groups, not merely their short-run effects on those directly concerned.

OVERVIEW

The course will focus on five main current problem areas: 1) The validation of economic activity and fundamental economic institutions in the face of widespread criticisms. 2) Environmentalism and energy supplies. 3) Economic “planning” and the reasons for the worldwide collapse of socialism. 4) The monopoly question and antitrust policy. 5) Prevailing ideas on the nature of productive activity and the effect of government intervention on the standard of living of the average wage earner.

Two leading themes of the course will be 1) The possibility of continuous economic progress based on the combination of economic freedom, private ownership of the means of production, division of labor, saving, and technological progress. 2) The ethical implication of the harmony of the rational self-interests of all men under capitalism.


For anyone who has ever wanted to sit in on a rigorous university course about the economic system that shapes our world, The Capitalist Professor with George Reisman, Ph.D.-Free College Courses on Capitalism opens the classroom doors. Hosted by George Reisman, a Pepperdine University Professor Emeritus of Economics and the author of the seminal work *Capitalism: A Treatise on Economics*, this series transforms his detailed academic lectures into an accessible audio format. Each episode functions as a chapter in a comprehensive education, delving into the principles, history, and philosophical underpinnings of capitalist theory without the tuition fee. You’ll hear Reisman’s direct, scholarly analysis, breaking down complex ideas on production, prices, profit, and the market process with the clarity of a seasoned educator. This isn't a casual interview show but a structured curriculum, offering listeners the rare opportunity to absorb a full, systematic defense and explanation of capitalism from one of its most dedicated intellectual proponents. Tune into this podcast for a methodical and thought-provoking journey through economic theory that challenges conventional narratives and provides a foundational understanding straight from the lecture hall.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 28

The Capitalist Professor with George Reisman, Ph.D. - Free College Courses on Capitalism
Podcast Episodes
Capitalism Macroeconomics Lecture 13 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:03:32
Inflation. Exposition and critique of alternative theories of rising prices, leading to the conclusion that the quantity theory of money is the only valid explanation. The meaning of inflation. Its roots in deficits, the…
Capitalism Macroeconomics Lecture 12 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:13:39
Keynesianism and Neo-Keynesianism. Exposition and critique of the Keynesian analysis: the unemployment-equilibrium doctrine and the IS curve; the consumption and savings functions; the diminishing marginal efficiency of…
Capitalism Macroeconomics Lecture 11 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:12:30
Relationship of the net-consumption/net-investment theory to the time-preference and productivity theories. The alleged problems of underconsumption and lack of “investment opportunities.” How the demand for capital good…
Capitalism Macroeconomics Lecture 10 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:04:59
Capital accumulation and its causes. The role of saving. The role of technological progress and the productivity of capital goods. The role of economic freedom. Critique of the secular-stagnation doctrine. National incom…
Capitalism Macroeconomics Lecture 9 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:56:41
Capital accumulation and its causes. The role of saving. The role of technological progress and the productivity of capital goods. The role of economic freedom. Critique of the secular-stagnation doctrine. National incom…
Capitalism Macroeconomics Lecture 8 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:16:04
The role of saving in spending and income payments. Saving versus hoarding. Saving and aggregate economic accounting: the national income/net national product identity. J. S. Mill’s proposition that demand for commoditie…
Capitalism Macroeconomics Lecture 7 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:06:08
The role of saving in spending and income payments. Saving versus hoarding. Saving and aggregate economic accounting: the national income/net national product identity. J. S. Mill’s proposition that demand for commoditie…
Capitalism Macroeconomics Lecture 6 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:59:58
Mass unemployment: the causes and the remedy. Real wages and the productivity of labor. Is government intervention to promote labor unions and raise wages in the self-interest of the wage earners or is its actual effect…
Capitalism Macroeconomics Lecture 5 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:45:31
Say’s Law. Monetary demand and real demand; why only more production and supply can increase real demand. Say’s Law and the harmony of long-run self-interests. Say’s Law and the impossibility of a general overproduction;…
Capitalism Macroeconomics Lecture 4 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:11:09
The economic problem and its denial: production versus consumption—the scarcity of wealth versus the alleged scarcity of the need or desire for wealth; the making of goods versus the making of work. Opposite appraisals o…