American Commerce and American Culture

By any number of measures, the American social fabric is fraying. Long before the exacerbations of a global pandemic, polarization was increasing, trust was plummeting, deaths of despair were on the rise, civic participation was down, and we heard talk of a growing epidemic of loneliness. All this amidst a world-historical expansion of wealth, and falling rates of crime. What is going on? This course begins with the suspicion that Americanbusiness plays a central, underappreciated role in the ongoing evolution of our social fabric. It aims to ask: how do the business community's deep assumptions, values and practices shape our sense of ourselves and each other? Our senses of safety and precarity? Our inclinations to creativity and conformity? This course will examine key documents from management theory, social science, philosophy and literature to explore some ways that American commerce and American culture shape one another, and how this relationship can be brought into healthier alignment.