The equivalent course in Sociology BA Curriculum: ALR 3413 Sociologia mișcărilor sociale (Sociology of Social Movements)

ECTS: 3

Language of Instruction: English

Modular course beginning on Wednesday, 26 February 2025 (14 meetings of 2 hours)

Room 212, 2nd floor, Faculty of Sociology and Social Work

Feb 26 (Introduction): A discussion on the promise of and expectations from the course, the nature of the class requirements and the content of the syllabus. A chat on the contemporary political moment in the world and a basic query of the health of democracy today.

March 5: A discussion of the shifting moral standings in the creditor-debtor relation throughout history and a background to the struggles in ancient Greece over interest-bearing debt

· On The Experience of Moral Confusion. David Graeber. (Debt: The First 5000 Years, pp. 1-19)

· How Interest-Bearing Debt was Brought to Greece and Italy, 8th Century BC. Michael Hudson. (The Collapse of Antiquity, pp. 45-58)

March 12: The history of class struggle in ancient Greece aiming for debt-forgiveness and land redistribution. The political expression of this struggle in reforms enacted. The complex interplay between reformer-tyrants, democracy and despot-tyrants.

· Reformers Cancel Debts and Redistribute Land, 7th and 6th Centuries BC. Michael Hudson. (The Collapse of Antiquity, pp. 61-77)

· Sparta’s Oligarchy Defers an Early Political Crisis, 6th Century BC. Michael Hudson. (The Collapse of Antiquity, pp. 79-96)

· Solon Bans Debt Slavery in Athens, 594 BC. Michael Hudson. (The Collapse of Antiquity, pp. 97-111)

· From Democracy to the Thirty Tyrants, 508-404 BC. Michael Hudson. (The Collapse of Antiquity, pp. 113-130)

March 19: A detailed institutional description of Athenian direct democracy in form and substance. The role of restricted citizenship and the exclusionary category of the demos.

· Classical Democracy: Athens. David Held. (Models of Democracy, pp. 22-39)

· The Nature of the Polis. Ellen Meiksins Wood, Neal Wood. (Class Ideology and Ancient Political Theory, pp. 13-64)

March 26: Primary source reading of Plato as a total critic of democracy followed by a challenge to respond to his arguments.

· Excerpts From Plato on Democracy (The Republic, Book IV, V, VI, VIII)

· Socrates: Saint of Counter-Revolution. Ellen Meiksins Wood, Neal Wood. (Class Ideology and Ancient Political Theory, pp. 81-118)

April 2: Primary source reading of Aristotle as a partial critic of democracy followed by a discussion on what can be salvaged from his philosophy for pro-democratic purposes.

· Excerpts From Aristotle on Democracy (Politics, Book I, III, IV, VI)

· Aristotle: Tactician of Conservatism. Ellen Meiksins Wood, Neal Wood. (Class Ideology and Ancient Political Theory, pp. 209-257)

April 9: A comparison of ancient and modern democracy in terms of form, political subject and class/race/gender relations.

· Labour and democracy, ancient and modern. Ellen Meiksins Wood. (Democracy Against Capitalism, pp. 181-203)

· The demos versus ‘we, the people’: from ancient to modern conceptions of citizenship. Ellen Meiksins Wood. (Democracy Against Capitalism, pp. 204-237)

April 16: An elucidation of the underlying tension between democracy as a deeply egalitarian form of government and capitalism as a fundamentally unequal economic system. Liberal democracy as a political system for containing this tension. The possibility of resolving this tension and transcending liberal democracy.

· The separation of the ‘economic’ and the ‘political’ in capitalism. Ellen Meiksins Wood. (Democracy Against Capitalism, pp. 28-48)

· The Development of Liberal Democracy. David Held. (Models of Democracy, pp. 56-95)

· Direct Democracy and the End of Politics. David Held. (Models of Democracy, pp. 96-122)

April 30 (Midterm Exam)

May 7: Is democracy globally desirable or the product of a particular culture that is unjustly imposed on other cultures? Can identity politics remedy the perceived shortcomings of democracy and is communitarianism superior to universalism?

· “The Cultural Particularity of Liberal Democracy”. Bhikhu Parekh.

· Introduction. Brian Barry. (Culture and Equality, An Egalitarian Critique of Multiculturalism, pp. 3-18),

· “Equal Treatment & Same Treatment”. Brian Barry.

· Civil society and the politics of identity. Ellen Meiksins Wood. (Democracy Against Capitalism, pp. 238-263)

· Capitalism and human emancipation: race, gender and democracy. Ellen Meiksins Wood. (Democracy Against Capitalism, pp. 264-283)

May 14: Populism, from a pro-populist perspective of the American tradition.

· Introduction: The Cure for the Common Man. Thomas Frank. (The People, No! pp. 7-19)

· What Was Populism? Thomas Frank. (The People, No! pp. 21-45)

· Peak Populism in the Proletarian Decade. Thomas Frank. (The People, No! pp. 70-94)

· The Money Changers Burn the Temple. Thomas Frank. (The People, No! pp. 159-179)

· Let Us Now Scold Uncouth Men. Thomas Frank. (The People, No! pp. 181-197)

May 21: Populism, from the anti-populist perspective of the European tradition.

· Introduction: Is Everyone a Populist? Jan-Werner Müller (What Is Populism? pp. 1-6).

· What Populists Say. Jan-Werner Müller (What Is Populism? pp. 7-40).

· What Populists Do, or Populism in Power. Jan-Werner Müller (What Is Populism? pp. 41-74).

· Conclusion: Seven Theses on Populism. Jan-Werner Müller. (What Is Populism? pp. 101-103).

· “The Mystery of ‘Populism’ Finally Unveiled”. Gaspar Miklos Tamas.

· Illiberal Democracy. Fareed Zakaria. (The Future of Freedom, pp. 63-84)

May 28: Proposals for the radical improvement of democracy. The revival of sortition / government by lot as a democratic institution assumed to be superior to elections. The introduction of democracy to the workplace and an ethnography of worker cooperatives.

· Legislature by Lot: Envisioning Sortition Within a Bicameral System. John Gastil and Erik Olin Wright. (Legislature by Lot, Transformative Designs for Deliberative Governance, pp. 14-45)

· From Deliberative to Radical Democracy: Sortition and Politics in the Twenty First Century. Yves Sintomer. (Legislature by Lot, Transformative Designs for Deliberative Governance, pp. 51-73)

· Surplus Possibilities: The Intentional Economy of Mondragon. J. K. Gibson-Graham. (A Postcapitalist Politics, pp. 101-126)

· Excerpts from Democracy at Work, A Cure For Capitalism. Richard Wolff.

June 4: Does democracy scale? What is the proper polity size and “shell” that democracy can function in, such as the city-state, nation-state or international institution.

· Democracy, the Nation-State and the Global System. David Held. (Models of Democracy, pp. 290-311)

· Introduction. Wolfgang Streeck. (How Will Capitalism End?, pp. 9-25)

· “Why We Must Save The EU”. Yanis Varoufakis.

Aristotle. Politics.

Barry, Brian. Culture and Equality, An Egalitarian Critique of Multiculturalism.

Barry, Brian. “Equal Treatment & Same Treatment”.

Frank, Thomas. The People, No!

Gibson-Graham, J.K. A Postcapitalist Politics.

Graeber, David. Debt: The First 5000 Years.

Held, David. Models of Democracy.

Hudson, Michael. The Collapse of Antiquity.

Müller, Jan-Werner. What Is Populism?

Parekh, Bhikhu. “The Cultural Particularity of Liberal Democracy”.

Plato. The Republic.

Streeck, Wolfgang. How Will Capitalism End?

Tamas, Gaspar Miklos. “The Mystery of ‘Populism’ Finally Unveiled”.

Varoufakis, Yanis. “Why We Must Save The EU”.

Wolff, Richard. Democracy at Work.

Wood, Ellen Meiksins & Wood, Neal. Class Ideology and Ancient Political Theory.

Wood, Ellen Meiksins. Democracy Against Capitalism.

Wright, Erik Olin & Gastil, John (eds.). Legislature by Lot.

Zakaria, Fareed. The Future of Freedom.

Class Participation (Attendance + Discussion) – 10%

Mid-term Exam (In-Class) – 40%

Final Paper (Home Essay) – 50%

– Understanding where democracy comes from in relation to the structure of societies, with reference to criteria for inclusion and competing class interests

– Ability to compare and contrast the basic archetypes of ancient direct democracy vs. modern representative democracy in terms of form and content

– Understanding the fundamental tension between capitalism and democracy that underlies the model of liberal democracy

– Heightened awareness of the nature of contemporary threats to democracy in today’s world, focusing on the surge of far-right political forces, often labeled “populist”

– Affinity with alternative proposals for the defense and radical improvement of democracy