Is Capitalism Good for Us?│Faith & Reason 2020, Villanova University Department of Humanities

In this debate Dr. Mary Hirschfeld and Dr. Eugene McCarraher consider the question: What is capitalism? A system of production and exchange providing unprecedented prosperity, or rather one justifying exploitation by those who succeed in it? Is it a vision of human nature and happiness, and then with what degree of truth or distortion? Or is it more, perhaps a whole morality, a metaphysics, or even a new religion? Two highly acclaimed scholars of modern economic life and thought debate these questions and their importance for assessing the benefits and costs of capitalism as a way of life. Dr. Thomas W. Smith moderates the debate.
Dr. Mary Hirschfeld is associate professor of economics & theology in the Department of Humanities at Villanova University.
Dr. Eugene McCarraher is professor of history in the Department of Humanities at Villanova University.
Dr. Thomas W. Smith, formerly professor in the Department of Humanities and the Anne Quinn Welsh Endowed Professor in the Honors Program at Villanova University, is now Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Catholic University of America. This debate took place on February 25, 2020 at Villanova University as part of the Department of Humanities Faith & Reason Lecture series.
About the Faith & Reason Lecture series: Each semester the Department of Humanities hosts a lecture that speaks from the heart of our commitment to the intellectual life at Villanova University. The annual spring Faith & Reason lecture has traditionally been given by a senior faculty member in the department, who, drawing on his or her research, offers insights into the great questions of human flourishing to which our curriculum is devoted.
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