DECO 27A31 - Age of the Economist

Globalization and its opposition, growth, and its possible end, rising inequalities, …all those subjects will be studied. From Gilgamesh and Aristotle to neuroeconomics and ChatGPT, this course contextualizes contemporary debates and underline how the economic “way of thinking” is now the dominant scheme in our lives. Whether facing a Tinder account, a fiscal policy proposition or global warming, one’s “natural” reaction to the challenge is the same: a combination of cost/benefit analysis in a coordination game framework. How did we come to that?

Drawing on economics and current events, we will use case studies to show how the history of economic thought shaped - if not totally constructed - some of our most important contemporary debates (attitudes towards inequalities, the value of globalization, the commodification of human interaction, the quantification of, well everything, etc.).

Written and oral English. No other requirements.

Students will be expected to have read, seen or listened to all the required materials ascribed for every class

A team-oriented work yet to be defined 50%

Or

A Book review about a work published in the last year 50%

And