Sixty years after the publication of Robert Heilbroner's The Worldly Philosophers, the Department of Economics at The New School for Social Research extends a warm welcome to an Economics Student Union-organized colloquium, "The State of Worldly Philosophy." The day consisted of lectures and panel-moderated discussions assessing the past, present and potential future of the economics department in academia and policy making.

Thomas Piketty, leading economist and best-selling author of "Capital in the Twenty-First Century," shares his view on what it means to be an economist at The New School.

William "Sandy" Darity presented "Does Racism Make You Sick?: Health, Wealth, and Race in America" at SCEPA's Annual Robert Heilbroner Memorial Lecture on the Future of Capitalism. Sandy Darity is the Samuel DuBois Cook Professor of Public Policy, African and African American Studies, and Economics and the Director of the Duke Consortium on Social Equity at Duke University. His research focuses on inequality by race, class and ethnicity.

Panelists:
Anwar Shaikh, Professor and Chair of the Economics Department at The New School for Social Research
Teresa Ghilarducci, Professor and Director of Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis

Moderator:
Darrick Hamilton, Associate Professor of Urban Policy at The New School for Public Engagement

So far, capital has been resistant to the regulation of time. Rather than balance the demands of work and life, US capitalism was dependent on the hidden subsidy of the American wife, a behind-the-scenes, stay-at-home fixer of what economists call market failures. When women left the home—out of desire and necessity—the old system fell apart. Families and the larger economy have yet to recover, and employers' demands for more of their employees’ time is a growing reality in US capitalism.

Economist Heather Boushey, a New School PhD and outside advisor to the Hillary Clinton campaign, presented SCEPA's annual Irene & Bernard L. Schwartz Lecture, “The Political Economy of Time and Work-Life Conflict” on April 6th, 2016. 

Boushey argued that economic efficiency and equity are not natural enemies. In fact, they must be reconciled to fulfill our country’s economic potential. In her new book, Finding Time, Boushey presents innovations to help Americans find the time they need and help businesses attract more productive workers.

The lecture was followed by a panel discussion with Economics PhD student Katherine Moos and moderated by New School Economics Professor Teresa Ghilarducci.

Boushey is executive director and chief economist of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth and senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. The New York Times called Boushey one of the “most vibrant voices in the field.” She testifies often before Congress on economic policy issues and received her PhD in economics from The New School.

SCEPA's annual Irene & Bernard L. Schwartz Lecture works to contribute to discussion of the crucial policy issues facing the U.S. and world economies by bringing a distinguished speaker or panel to the university. Past speakers include Thomas Piketty, Paul Krugman, Robert Rubin, Andy Stern and Laura Tyson.

SCEPA was honored to welcome Yanis Varoufakis to deliver SCEPA's annual Robert Heilbroner Memorial Lecture, "The Future of Capitalism."

We all know Varoufakis as the former Greek Finance Minister and media sensation who stood up to Europe in the fight against austerity. His lecture highlighted themes his new book, "And The Weak Suffer What They Must?," including the origins of a crisis that has affected not only Greece, but all of Europe. Varoufakis' remarks were followed by a panel discussion featuring New School Professor of Economics Mark Setterfield and economics student Ebba Boye.

Varoufakis’ career has spanned academia, public service, and the private sector. After three decades in academia, he was elected to the Hellenic Parliament in 2015 as a member of the Syriza Party and became Minister of Finance in Alexis Tsipras’ government. He currently serves as professor of economics at the University of Athens and as a consultant for the Valve Corporation.

SCEPA's Robert Heilbroner Memorial Lecture on the Future of Capitalism:

The Heilbroner lecture honors the work of Robert Heilbroner, who was both a student and a professor in the economics department of The New School for Social Research. This event is dedicated to understanding questions of economic justice and how the profit-seeking activities of private firms might also serve broader social goals. To use Heilbroner’s words, “capitalism’s uniqueness in history lies in its continuously self-generated change, but it is this very dynamism that is the system’s chief enemy.”

From an abstract level, explore the main foundations underlying the examined economic accounts, drawing on Shannon’s theorem, the history of Mathematics, and information technology.

The lecture elaborates on the general model of product and labor market.

Explore basic postulates of the Walrasian and Keynesian economic standpoint while appropriating main ideas of the said economists in terms of the hub and spoke model.

Learn Marx’s theory of the falling rate of profit in terms of the social interaction model, the alienation problem, and be introduced to Keynes’ perspective.

Learn the equalization of the profit rate in market competition based on the Marxist perspective.