SOCY 73 Economic Sociology: From Tax to Fraud
Just over a century ago, Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter argued that human history, culture and politics cannot be properly understood without taking fiscal events—such as taxation and state budgeting—into account. War, the development of industry, and of capitalism itself all stemmed, he claimed, from the evolution of a “tax state.” From this insight, a century of research has emerged, spanning a wide range of fiscal activities by states, as well as by private actors.
This course will review key themes of this subfield of sociology through four empirical topics: the world of high finance, including the social coordination and networks involved in the trading of securities and commodities; social organization and consequences of financial fraud in a variety of domains, including currency counterfeiting; social history of taxation, including social movements stemming from tax revolts; and system of offshore finance as a mechanism for reproducing inequality and elites.
Instructor
Harrington