S7 E4: Invisible Hand Guy?

Scene on Radio: Capitalism

Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University

Society & Culture, Audiodoc, Radio, Documentary, Stories

4.9 • 11K Ratings

🗓️ 10 July 2024

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Economic change happens in a cultural context. We trace the tectonic shifts in the Western mind that made capitalism thinkable – in part through a look at two Enlightenment thinkers: Baruch Spinoza and Adam Smith. (The real Smith, not the one held up as the patron saint of unfettered capitalism.).

By John Biewen, with co-host Ellen McGirt. Interviews with Kate Rigby, Glory Liu, Steven Nadler, and Wendy Carlin. Story editor: Loretta Williams. Music by Michelle Osis, Lilli Haydn, Alex Symcox, and Goodnight, Lucas. Music consulting by Joe Augustine of Narrative Music. Art by Gergo Varga and Harper Biewen. "Capitalism” is a production of the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University, in partnership with Imperative 21.

Transcript

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0:00.0	At Radio Lab, we love nothing more than nerding out about science,
0:04.8	neuroscience, chemistry.
0:06.8	But, but, we do also like to get into other kinds of stories,
0:10.0	stories about policing, or country music hockey sex of bugs
0:16.0	regardless of whether we're looking at science or not science we bring a rigorous
0:20.9	curiosity to get you the answers.
0:23.3	And hopefully make you see the world anew.
0:24.8	Radio Lab, Adventures on the edge of what we think we know.
0:28.8	Wherever you get your podcast.
0:30.6	How do you think capitalism started? Oh God, long, long time ago. I don't know, my goodness.
0:39.0	Capitalism has been around since like the beginning of dawn, I like like since like bartering since like I don't know I'm
0:46.4	I'm gonna guess I'm gonna say when Columbus got here he probably started it because I know when the natives were here they probably shared a lot.
0:54.0	I think maybe capitalism started around that time.
0:57.0	Am I wrong?
0:58.0	It's a colonialist structure, so it would probably be yeah I'm just going to say England is responsible
1:08.0	I would just lay the blame right there.
1:12.4	Capitalism started with our forefathers with the designation of our
1:17.2	Declaration of Independence by laying out all of the different laws that make
1:21.3	Americans Americans that is capitalism.
1:23.2	You start a war you take other people's shit you charge them for their shit you
1:28.7	up the price and then you say the risk could get rich the poor stay poor, and now you got to get rich to
1:34.3	understand what we got.
	...

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