College courses are all about discussion. The sharing of
differing viewpoints, in a civil and thoughtful manner, is what
makes America so great. But, sadly, a popular and well-attended
class that discussed our capitalist system and the morality behind
it is no more on the campus of Stanford University.
The
Stanford Review
reports that the "Moral Foundations of Capitalism" class has
been canceled for the upcoming academic year due to a restructuring
of the school's general education requirements.
Although there seems to be nothing
sinister at play here, why would a very popular class be canceled?
"The Center on Ethics in Society will
play a role in supporting the creation of new courses
and existing courses in ethical reasoning, and the Center
decided to allocate its limited resources (human and
financial) to this task in the coming years," Professor Rob Reich,
Director of the EiS program told the Stanford
Review.
More from the Stanford
Review story:
While there was steady interest for
the course throughout the three years the class was offered, the type of students that it attracted varied.
According to [the course's Professor John] McCaskey, the class was largely made up of competing conservative students in the first
year,
largely because two students-one Catholic and one
Ayn Rand Objectivist-extensively promoted the course before registration. By the third
year,
however, the class was much more balanced. 'The
class attracted all sorts of students, right and
left wing,' said the junior. 'Some objectivists,
a couple of
libertarians, a member of Stanford Democrats, and even two
Marxists.'"
McCaskey told the Stanford Review that
the reason he started to teach the class in the first place was
after America's financial collapse in the late 2000s.
"I thought it was a wonderful
opportunity to get students to explore how Americans
have historically defended the morality of capitalism,"
McCaskey said.
Do you have any stories similar to
this one on your campus? Make sure to let us know in the comments
or by e-mailing atragone (at) yaf (dot) org.
