The PINE Conference 2017 on "Capitalism and Democracy: challenges and alternatives" happened on 13 May 2017

Capitalism and Democracy

Thank you for attending the conference and thank you to our amazing speakers!

What’s economics? The term is as omnipresent as it is contested, yet a variety of scholars employ a definition which sees Economics as a science studying human behaviour under conditions of scarce resources with alternative uses to reach desired ends. This definition is, first, very abstract and, second, apolitical. Yet, students of economics usually study a capitalist system, not any system that could be used to allocate scarce resources, and economic questions are anything but apolitical. Nonetheless, discussions on normative questions regarding the effects of capitalism on society or political organisation, can be found in the sphere of political theory and sociology rather than in an undergraduate economics programme.

We from PINE UCM think it’s time to change that and to open up the discipline to other social sciences. You think so, too? Then, our conference on ‘Capitalism and Democracy: challenges and alternatives’, happening on May 13th 2017 may be of interest for you. All information and the call for students’ submissions can be found on http://www.pinecon-maastricht.nl/ and participation is free of charge!