Capitalism vs. Socialism: Comparing Economic Systems

By: The Great Courses

Narrated by: Professor Edward F. Stuart PhD

Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

Ever since we produced our course Thinking About Capitalism, customers have expressed interest in a follow-up course that could help them understand socialism in the same way. After much consideration, we determined that it actually would be more beneficial to create a course that compares and contrasts the two major global economic theories, examining them in ways that move past the polemics many of us are used to and looking at these systems as they relate to one another and the world at large.

Politics and economics are inextricable, so it can be difficult to find the right person to tackle such a complex and often polarizing subject as objectively as possible. Luckily, we found Professor Edward Stuart, an economist and teacher who specializes in comparative economics. Professor Stuart brings not only economic expertise, but personal experience gleaned from teaching, traveling, and consulting all over the world, and it is this wide lens of experience that helps make Capitalism vs. Socialism such an engaging new entry in our library of courses.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2018 The Great Courses (P)2018 The Teaching Company, LLC

Interesante

Excelente Resumen de la economía mundial, fácil de entender por la manera como el profesor explica.

Not Entirely About Comparing the Two Systems

More about history than comparing economic systems. Well detailed and excellently spoken. Speaker was clearly knowledgeable and gave many examples.

great story telling and lots of amazing contents

enjoy the trivia during the lecture as much as the lecture. I really like the diversity of the economies that have been discussed in the course. I wish there was a separate chapter discussing and summarizing all the learnings. All in all, great book and highly recommended.

Excellent Comparison

This was one of my most enjoyable listens on the subject of comparative economic systems. Professor Stuart is clearly an expert on the subject, and has spent time in the Soviet Union and adds his first hand experiences to the story, which adds a lot. I'm a Political Science Major so have a good amount of background on the subject, and his clear and concise history is wonderful and easy to listen to. All around excellent for those interested in this subject whether a student, or just someone who is interested.

brilliant delivery of a comprehensive course!

I highly recommend... even if you have never had an economics class. very informative. it should be a requirement for all citizens

High Quality Digestible Content

I found this content very enjoyable! Nothing was too technical and there was some excellent historical context given to the comparisons. The lessons were concise and well focused on the specific topic being discussed.

not quite what I expected

it was a little more of a history of the economic ideas than directly explaining each one

Very balanced and informative

Obviously my “balanced” comment is based on my socially liberal perspective. However I am not averse to “free” markets and competition as long as the wealthiest and corporations have very little say in government.

That said, like alcohol consumption, moderation is likely to be best in most circumstances. A total socialist state ownership of businesses is not good, and dictatorship is not good. But neither is drastic inequality and high rates of poverty and, health care uninsured and underinsured people in the wealthiest nation. Dictatorship by wealth is not good as well.

balanced, interesting and informative.

A well narrated and balanced introduction to understand the economic history of the last century.

Very eye opening.

Explains how Communism’s method of operation clearly created its own downfall. But also the evils of pure Capitalism’s premise are nit sustainable. There is a mix of socialism and capitalism in thriving economies. It also showed how benevolent dictators can be the success or selfish dictators the downfall of their societies.