Title: The teaching commons: using a short story to discuss capitalism, property rights, public goods, power, justice and class

Authors: Jack Reardon

Addresses: Department of Management and Economics, School of Business, Hamline University, 1536 Hewitt Avenue, MS-A1740, St. Paul, MN 55104-1284, USA

Abstract: This article suggests using a short story to elucidate the concepts of power, class and property rights, and as a springboard for class discussion. I feel there is no better primer on the diversity of the human condition than fiction. The article starts with a formal definition of property rights, then introduces Ivan Turgenev's 'The Loner' - a powerful short story depicting mid-19th century Russia. The article concludes with several questions to precipitate class discussion.

Keywords: fiction; property rights; class; power; economics education; teaching commons; short stories; capitalism; public goods; justice; class discussion; Ivan Turgenev; The Loner.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPEE.2015.070455

International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education, 2015 Vol.6 No.1, pp.100 - 104

Published online: 06 Jul 2015 *

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