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POLT 2500.05
Fall 2002
Downtown Campus		 Allan MacNeill
HSPC 210
tel: 968-7489
fax: 968-7403
macneiam@webster.edu
http://www.webster.edu/~macneiam

The Political Economy of Sex, Drugs and Garbage

Finally, there came a time when everything that men had considered as inalienable became an object of exchange, of traffic and could be alienated. This is the time when the very things which till then had been communicated, but never exchanged; given, but never sold; acquired, but never bought--virtue, love, conviction, knowledge, conscience, etc.--when everything, in short, passed into commerce. It is the time of general corruption, of universal venality, or, to speak in terms of political economy, the time when everything, moral or physical, having become a marketable value, is brought to the market to be assessed at its truest value.
                                            Karl Marx, The Poverty of Philosophy (1847) I refuse to adopt the currently popular stance as a martyr in order to legitimize myself as a women or a feminist. I will not channel all my desire for sex into love, romance and "meaningful relationships." I reserve the right to fuck. I reserve the right to pursue physical pleasure just because it feels good. And I refuse to eschew money and all that it can buy so I can earn merit badges for doing without and leading a life of self-sacrifice. I claim the right to want, to procure, and to be satisfied.
                                 Veronica Monet, "Sedition" (1997) Our society is one not of the spectacle, but of surveillance; under the surface of images, one invests bodies in depth; behind the great abstraction of exchange, there continues the meticulous, concrete training of useful forces...it is not that the beautiful totality of the individual is amputated, repressed, altered by our social order, it is rather that the individual is carefully fabricated in it, according to a whole technique of forces and bodies.
                                 Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish (1977) Course Description: This course will explore several different theoretical perspectives in political economy. Class lectures, discussions and readings will raise important philosophical and political questions concerning the relationship between economics and public policy. Among the questions we will address are: Do human beings have a natural right to buy and sell their bodies and/or sexual services? On what grounds can a government prohibit its citizens from consuming narcotics? Should policy makers consider the cost effectiveness of their actions, or should moral concerns outweigh economic considerations? What role, if any, should market forces play in addressing these issues?

Texts:

Ackerman, Frank. Why Do We Recycle?: Markets, Values and Public Policy. Washington D.C.: Island Press. (1997).

Schaler, Jeffrey A. Drugs: Should We Legalize, Decriminalize or Deregulate? Amherst, NY:
Prometheus Books. (1998).

Chapkis, Wendy. Live Sex Acts: Women Performing Erotic Labor. New York: Routledge. (1997).

Course Requirements and Grading:

The primary requirement for the course is that each student comes to class having read and thought about the assigned readings, and is prepared to participate in discussion. Other requirements are as follows:

Debates:

There will be three debates in which each student will participate on one side of one debate. The debate topics are listed below. Debates will be held at the end of the section dealing with that topic as indicated on the course schedule.
 
1. Public curbside recycling is cost effective, and therefore local governments should participate in such programs.

2. There should be no laws prohibiting the exchange or consumption of drugs.

3. Prostitution should be legalized.

Please note: while the debates will require you to work in groups, each student will be graded individually based on preparation, the strength of the arguments and logic, and performance.

Position Papers:

Students will also be required to write two papers (6-8 pgs.) on two of the three topic areas. The papers will be on the two topics that are not their debate topic.  For example, if you are doing your debate on recycling you will write position papers on sex and drugs.  In these papers you will take a position on the issue and defend your point of view.  The papers must discuss the counterarguments to your position and they must address specific arguments in the articles that are assigned in class (you can bring in arguments from other sources, but you must at least deal with the assigned articles).  The papers will be due on the dates when the debate on that topic will take place.

Grading:
 
Debates.............................................................

Position Papers: 2 papers@30%..........................

Participation.......................................................

 30%

60%

10%

Attendence:
Students are allowed one excused absence.  An excused absence is for exceptional circumstances and emergencies only.  An unexcused absence will result in a reduction of one letter grade. More than one unexcused absent will result in an "F" for the course.  The class will meet for four hours.  Coming to class late or leaving early may be treated as an absence.

Academic Dishonesty:
It is the policy of the instructor that any student caught cheating or committing plagiarism will receive a failing grade for the course and may be subject to further disciplinary action. Plagiarism occurs when a writer intentionally or unintentionally use someone else's words or ideas without proper acknowledgement.

Avoiding Plagiarism
Plagiarism: What it is and How to Recognize and Avoid It
Citing Sources in APA Style
Citing Sources in MLA Style

Course Outline and Schedule:
 
Aug. 22

Week 1: Some basic issues about markets, commodities and social welfare
    Milton Friedman and Rose Friedman, "The Power of the Market." Free to Choose. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 1980

    Margaret Radin, "Commodification as a Worldview," Contested Commodities. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 1996
     
Aug. 29

Week 2: Intro to the economics of the environment & recycling
  • Frank Ackerman, Why Do We Recycle? Chs. 1-3
Optional Readings:
Sept. 5

Week 3: Economics of recycling: the debate
  • John Tierney, "Recycling is Garbage." New York Times Magazine. June 30, 1996. (available on electronic reserve)
  • Richard A. Denison and John F. Ruston, "Anti-Recyling Myths." The Environmental Defense Fund
  • Frank Ackerman, Why Do We Recycle? Chs. 4 & 7 (Chs. 5, 6 optional) 
Optional Readings:
  • Frank Ackerma and Sumreen Mirza, "Waste in the Inner City: Asset or Assault?" Global Development and Environment Institute. Working Paper No. 00-08. Tufts University. June, 2000. (available on electronic reserve)
  • Liz Sisco, "Good Neighbors" Rethinking Marxism. Vol. 12, no. 2. 2000. (available on electronic reserve)
Sept. 12
 
 
 

Week 4: Drugs & Drug Policy

 DEBATE #1: Recycling
Position Papers on Recycling Due
  • Jeffrey A. Miron "The Economics of Drug Prohibition and Drug Legalization" Social Research. Fall 2001. (available on electronic reserve)
From the Schaler Text:
  • James Q. Wilson, "Against the Legalization of Drugs"
  • William Bennett, "Should Drugs be Legalized?"
  • David T. Courtwright, "Should We Legalize Drugs? History Answers...No."
  • John Kaplin, "Taking Drugs Seriously"
Sept. 19
 
 
 
 

Week 5: Drugs & Drug Policy
  • Peter D. A. Cohen, "Crack in the Netherlands: Effective Social Policy is Effective Drug Policy." in Reinarman and Levine,eds. Crack in America: Demon Drugs and Social Justice.Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. 1997. (available on electronic reserve)
  • Timoth Egan, "Crack's Legacy: A Special Report." New York Times. Sept. 19, 1999. (available on electronic reserve)
  • Larry Collins, "Holland's Half-Baked Drug Experiment" Foreign Affairs. Vol. 78:3. May/June 1993. (available on electronic reserve)
  • Craig Reinarman and Peter Cohen, "Dazed & Confused: Smoke and Mirrors over Dutch Drug Policy" Foreign Affairs. [Response to Collins] (available on electronic reserve)
From the Schaler Text:
  • Thomas Szasz, "Drugs as Property: The Right We Rejected" 
  • Jeffrey A. Schaler, "Drugs and Free Will." 
  • Milton Friedman, "There's No Justice in the War on Drugs"
  • David Musto, "Opium, Cocaine, and Marijuana in American History"
Sept. 26

Week 6: The Political Economy of the Sex Industry

 DEBATE #2: Drugs
Position Paper on Drugs Due
Oct. 3
 

Week 7: The Sex Industry cont.
Oct. 10

Week 8: Conclusion

 DEBATE #3: Sex
Position Paper on Sex Due