This course examines the rise of financialization and its impact on modern economies, focusing on how financial profits are increasingly extracted from households and wage earners. Drawing on Costas Lapavitsas’s Profiting Without Producing, the course explores the historical development of financial systems, including the growth of derivative markets and earlier precedents in the 19th century. Through a combination of theoretical analysis and historical study, students will critically engage with both Marxist and Georgist interpretations of financialization and consider policy alternatives, such as public banking, as potential responses to contemporary economic challenges.
The instructor, Dr. Marty Rowland is a former environmental engineer with New York City’s Parks Department. Dr. Rowland is a faculty member as well as trustee at the Henry George School. He has published extensively on Georgist Economics and taught many courses at the School.
Dates: 7/8, 7/15, 7/22, 7/29
