First project: infamous people

Ivan Boesky, Marc Rich, Nelson Bunker Hunt, and Martha Stewart are all names that will deliver serious hits on an Internet search for capitalist risk-takers whose actions have brought them shame.

YOUR TASK: Choose someone who has been involved in a financial scandal in the history of US capitalism and post on your blog the circumstances of their 'fall from grace'. A google search of 'financial scandal' should get you started.

Don't feel limited to recent scandals, any financial scandal in the history of the US is your only confine.

Capitalism replaces Mercantilism

Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations ushered in a new era of economic thought. He is considered the father of capitalism. Capitalism replaced Mercantilism as the leading economic theory. Do some internet research on both terms and create a Blog entry including the following:

1. Definitions of Capitalism and Mercantilism.


2. When Wealth of Nations was published.


3. How this changed the role of Government in business.


4. What did Smith mean by the invisible hand.

Post your answer on your Blog.

Weekly reading and posting

Go to an internet news service (CNN, MSNBC, FOXNEWS, etc..) and find a business article that interests you. In a post on your own economics blog, create a link to the article and write a summary.

When you are finished, get two of your classmates to read your summary and post a reaction to it.

This assignment repeats every week we have class.

Send me an e-mail with a link to your blog so I can give you credit.

Thing's I'd like to know

Economics is a broad subject. When you're finished with this course, what are some things you'd like to know?

Project ideas

Instead of giving you a final exam. I'm looking for some good ideas of projects you might create. Post any suggestions here.