- Crises of Capitalism. Outline the criticisms of capitalism and the market mechanism. What are ways to achieve deeper economic and social justice? Is taxation alone an adequate instrument to distribute wealth better?
- Do we live in an age where a new economic paradigm is emerging? Examples could be global collaboration, virtual assistants or AI, open source software, new income and ownership models, free products, the power of charities, micro-lending approaches like Kiva.org, focused volunteer movements, crowdsourcing, wisdom 2.0. Bitcoin. Choose one or two examples (you can also find your own), and discuss the potential for disruption and transformation. What makes these ideas or practices so innovative? What are the ethical or political considerations for them?
- Food, business, and public health. What are the ethical and business considerations? Research the food production system (beef, pork, chicken, fish)and the consumption patterns in the United States. (The US now has an obesity rate of around 35%.) Evaluate this system of production and distribution of food from an economical, medical, and ethical point of view. What recommendations would you make to the Government, if you were hired as a consultant?
- Green New Deal: Some Democrats have recently proposed a new law, called the "Green New Deal." Analyze their proposal. What does it mean for companies, the economy overall, and the political system? Here is the text: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-resolution/109/text
- Corruption. What is corruption? Describe the phenomenon and its manifestations. How pervasive is it? Is it universal? What are some philosophical issues related to it? Is it possible to combat corruption? What methods are effective? Websites for initial orientation:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/corruption/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption#Philosophy
http://www.transparency.org/