Ethics of the Socio-Economic Order

6 ECTS credits
150 h study time

Offer 2 with catalog number 4020778FEW for working students in the 2nd semester at a (F) Master - specialised level.

Semester

2nd semester

Enrollment based on exam contract

Possible

Grading method

Grading (scale from 0 to 20)

Can retake in second session

Yes

Enrollment Requirements

NOTE: registration for this course is only possible for working students. Day students can register for courses whose code ends with an R. At Inschrijven / studentenadministratie@vub.be you must be registered at the VUB as a working student for the current academic year.

Taught in

Dutch

Faculty

Faculty of Law and Criminology

Department

Faculty of Law and Criminology

Educational team

Koen Byttebier (course titular)

Activities and contact hours

26 contact hours Lecture
13 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals
110 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study

Course Content

The course is a "reflection course" and has as its object the "ethics of the socio-economic order".

In the course a central attention is paid to the legal mechanisms and the economic thought patterns that affect and give shape to society in general to its socio-economic order in particular.

Remarks:

The lessons of this course as well as the exam can be offered fully (or partially) digitally at the request of the lecturer.
The provided contact hours consist of a combination of lessons taking place (digital or otherwise) and previously made lesson recordings (the latter in particular when it concerns unaltered learning material).

Course material

Handbook (Recommended) : De onvrije markt, K. Byttebier, Garant, 9789044133066, 2015
Handbook (Recommended) : Nu het gouden kalf verdronken is, Van hebzucht naar altruïsme als hoeksteen voor een Nieuwe Monetaire Wereldorde, K. Byttebier, Maklu, 9789046607510, 2015
Handbook (Recommended) : The tools of law that shape capitalism, And how altering their use could give form to a more just society, K. Byttebier, Springer E-book, 9783030241827, 2019
Handbook (Recommended) : The unfree market and the law, Of the immorality of making capitalism unbridled again, K. Byttebier, Springer E-book, 9783319973821, 2018
Handbook (Recommended) : Towards a New International Monetary Order, K. Byttebier, Springer E-book, 9783319525181, 2017
Handbook (Recommended) : And How Altering Their Use Could Give Form to a More Just Society, K. Byttebier, Springer International Publishing, 9783030241841 , 2020
Handbook (Recommended) : How economics became the problem, An urgent call to legal action, K. Byttebier, VUB Press, 9789461171276, 2021

Additional info

Specific subjects covered in the course are:

The essence of capitalism and the free market and the ideologies that shape them ;
"Tools" of capitalism I: the dichotomy of labor and capital and their legal design ;
"Tools" of Capitalism II: Freedom, Equality and Anti-Solidarity ;
Right vs. Left: How ideologies have determined the view of the socio-economic order;
The view of the capitalist world;
From ideological dogmas to a new socio-economic ethics?
Specific ad hoc matters ;
Guest lectures and external speakers. The teaching of the aforementioned learning content and / or of the recent developments in the field can possibly be supported and facilitated by occasional guest lectures or lectures by external (possibly foreign) speakers.

Learning Outcomes

General Competencies

In the context of this course, the following learning outcomes are pursued:

The students acquire specialized knowledge within the domain of economic law (in particular of the subject matter covered in the course).
The students are able to reflect critically on economic law as an evolving social (universal or otherwise) phenomenon; they are able to frame and understand new evolutions in their context and know that they have to constantly adjust their knowledge.
The students situate their thorough knowledge of law in a broad context - political, economic, legal-theoretical, historical, philosophical, ethical, psychological, sociological or cultural.
The students understand how legal rules (in particular for the design of the socio-economic order) are established, which principles underlie them, which objectives are intended by them; they know that these rules and principles and their interpretation evolve and can reflect critically on them.
The students are able to think and act independently and critically; they can learn and work independently.
The students are able to analyze problems that relate to different areas of law and to find legally and socially responsible solutions for these complex problems.
The students are able to apply the requirements that apply to scientific research in law in its different phases: research approach, formulation of research questions, elaboration of research method, strategies for searching, gathering and selecting sources, determining the relevance of the research in its broader legal and social context
The students are able to communicate with lay people and with colleagues, articulate their points of view clearly, collaborate and enter into discussion, they are able to argue logically and correctly and defend their point of view.
The students can consult resources in other languages (especially French and English), and can follow, understand and summarize presentations in each of these languages.
The students are familiar with the skills and techniques required to draft legal texts clearly and in a coherent structure, in view of their objectives, and are able to take a critical attitude towards this. They present the result of their research in a logically constructed and written report and in a group presentation.
The students know the existing instruments for legal protection, enforcement of legal rules, conflict avoidance; they have insight into alternative solutions for regulations and conflict management.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
PRAC Presentation determines 60% of the final mark.
SELF Paper determines 40% of the final mark.

Within the PRAC Presentation category, the following assignments need to be completed:

WPO Presentation with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 60% of the final mark.

Within the SELF Paper category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Individual Paper with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 40% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

The assessment consists of the following assignment categories:

1. Individual paper: 40%

An individual paper (s) to be written by the student determines 40% of the final mark. It concerns a subject that is imposed by the subject teacher, whether or not after a possible proposal by the individual student.

2. Group assignments and individual cooperation: 60%

Other assignments, respectively (1) a group presentation on a subject imposed by the subject teacher (30%); (2) an imposed group assignment on the compulsory literature (20%) (see compulsory literature section in the study material section) and (3) participation in the group discussions and the required lesson preparation (10%) together determine 60% of the final mark.

Through this system, the deployment during the academic year becomes the subject of a continuous evaluation.

Optionally, the student can ask for an additional, classic oral exam in which the student's understanding of the material taught and the material that is discussed during the workshops is assessed. This oral exam can be offered completely digitally at the request of the lecturer.

The points are communicated to the students at the end of the semester. Optionally, the student can ask for an additional, classical oral exam in which the student's insight into the taught material is assessed, as well as the deepening thereof during the various workshops. This oral exam can be offered completely digitally at the request of the lecturer.

Remarks:

The education of this course unit as well as the exam will be offered fully (or partially) digitally at the request of the lecturer.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark

The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context