Course coordinator
Dr Nicholas Heron
Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 2, 2025 (28/07/2025 - 22/11/2025)
- Study level
- Undergraduate
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Politic Sc & Internat Studies
This course studies the evolution of liberal-capitalist economies over the past century and how they are governed through a combination of markets and state activity. Specifically, the course charts the rise in influence of neoliberal thought and studies its consequences. It examines the historical backdrop to the emergence of this school of thought, analyses its recent dominance, surveys the problems it has generated and outlines some major challenges to it. Finally, it asks whether neoliberalism remains the dominant paradigm in contemporary economic governance. Broadly speaking, the course is framed around a basic question regarding the extent of government intervention in the economy.
Course requirements
Assumed background
This course does NOT assume that you have any previous knowledge of economics.ﾠEconomic concepts will be introduced, gently and without fuss,ﾠprogressively throughout the course.
Recommended prerequisites
We recommend completing the following courses before enrolling in this one:
2 units POLS course
Course contact
Course staff
Lecturer
Dr Nicholas Heron
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Additional timetable information
The course consists of 12 lectures (commencing in Week 1) and 8 tutorials (commencing in week 2 and finishing in week 10).
Aims and outcomes
This course aims to help students better understand how mainstream economists think and how they advise governments and other organisations involved in public policy and broader governance issues.
A graduate of Political Science understands the complexity of democratic systems in terms of the ideas, institutions, and policies that define them. They are capable of synthesizing diverse types of evidence and assessing it independently of their own beliefs and interests, communicating their judgements persuasively in written and oral forms. These skills are essential to policy and political leadership that addresses the challenges facing the world’s democracies.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Contextualise contemporary policy problems in relation to the history of economic thinking.
LO2.
Supplement mainstream economics with policy analysis and policy history.
LO3.
Acquire the ethical ability to quarantine personal beliefs when assessing political-economic arguments.
LO4.
Learn to speak and write eloquently and persuasively about the economic arrangement of liberal-democratic societies.
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tutorial/ Problem Set |
Tutorial Exercises
|
14% Best seven of 8 x 2 marks = 14% |
Tutorial exercises commence in Week 2 5/08/2025 5:00 pm Tutorial exercises finish in Week 10 7/10/2025 5:00 pm |
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation |
Essay plan (500 words)
|
14% |
5/09/2025 2:00 pm |
| Essay/ Critique |
Research Essay (2000 words)
|
42% |
24/10/2025 2:00 pm |
| Performance, Presentation |
Oral Assessment
|
30% |
10/11/2025 - 14/11/2025 |
A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.
Assessment details
Tutorial Exercises
- Online
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Tutorial/ Problem Set
- Weight
- 14% Best seven of 8 x 2 marks = 14%
- Due date
Tutorial exercises commence in Week 2 5/08/2025 5:00 pm
Tutorial exercises finish in Week 10 7/10/2025 5:00 pm
Task description
Students are required to complete a preparatory exercise for each tutorial. The tutorial exercises consist of four reading comprehension questions and two speculative questions. The weekly questions will be made available on Blackboard. Answers to the reading comprehension questions should be short (one to two sentences in length) and should refer to a specific passage in the weekly reading. Answers to the speculative questions should be more expansive (a short paragraph). These questions will form the basis of tutorial discussions.
To be awarded the two marks for each tutorial, you must:
a) Upload your responses to Turnitin by Tuesday (5pm) before the Wednesday and Thursday tutorials.
b) Correctly answer at least two of the short answers and produce answers of appropriate length and quality to the longer questions.
c) Attend the tutorial and participate meaningfully in class discussion.
There are no part marks, i.e. your mark each week will be either 2 or 0 (your score will be treated as a proxy for the quality of your participation).
There are eight worksheets in total, one for each of the tutorials. But only seven will count toward your final grade, totally 14%. In theory, this means that you can miss one tutorial exercise without incurring a penalty. For students who submit all eight exercises, we will take the best seven.
Missed tutorials due to illness will be counted if a doctor’s certificate is provided. If you are unable to attend due to technical issues or other unavoidable circumstances, then you may submit a 500-word summary for the set reading, along with the worksheet. Please note that there will be a limit to the number of summaries that can be submitted in lieu of participation.
***This task has been designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. Whilst students may use AI and/or MT technologies, successful completion of assessment in this course will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which artificial intelligence will provide only limited support and guidance.
A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Assignments for this course will be submitted electronically via Blackboard and using Turnitin.
In uploading an assignment via Turnitin you are certifying that it is your original work, that it has not been copied in whole or part from another person or source except where this is properly acknowledged, and that it has not in whole or part been previously submitted for assessment in any other course at this or any other university.
When you successfully submit your assessment to Turnitin after previewing the uploaded document (to make sure that you have chosen the correct file), you should see the “Submission Complete!” message. After this, a downloadable Digital Receipt will display on your Assignment Dashboard. It is your responsibility to download the Digital Receipt as proof of submission. Turnitin will not send this receipt to you automatically.
If you don’t see the downloadable receipt on your assignment dashboard, you should regard your submission as unsuccessful.
If the submission was not successful:
- Note the error message (preferably take a screenshot).
- Go to your assignment page and see if it is possible to submit again.
- If you cannot submit again, then email your course coordinator immediately.
Deferral or extension
You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.
Essay plan (500 words)
- Online
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- 14%
- Due date
5/09/2025 2:00 pm
Task description
This task asks students to produce a plan for their research essay using a prescribed format. Instructions will be available on Blackboard.
***This task has been designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. Whilst students may use AI and/or MT technologies, successful completion of assessment in this course will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which artificial intelligence will provide only limited support and guidance.
A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Assignments for this course will be submitted electronically via Blackboard and using Turnitin.
In uploading an assignment via Turnitin you are certifying that it is your original work, that it has not been copied in whole or part from another person or source except where this is properly acknowledged, and that it has not in whole or part been previously submitted for assessment in any other course at this or any other university.
When you successfully submit your assessment to Turnitin after previewing the uploaded document (to make sure that you have chosen the correct file), you should see the “Submission Complete!” message. After this, a downloadable Digital Receipt will display on your Assignment Dashboard. It is your responsibility to download the Digital Receipt as proof of submission. Turnitin will not send this receipt to you automatically.
If you don’t see the downloadable receipt on your assignment dashboard, you should regard your submission as unsuccessful.
If the submission was not successful:
- Note the error message (preferably take a screenshot).
- Go to your assignment page and see if it is possible to submit again.
- If you cannot submit again, then email your course coordinator immediately.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Unless an extension is granted, penalties for late submission apply. Students are penalised 10% of the maximum possible mark allocated for the assessment item for every calendar day that an assessment item is late.
Marks will be deducted each day for up to 7 calendar days, at which point the submitted item will not receive any marks unless an extension has been approved. Each 24-hour block is triggered from the time the submission is due.
Research Essay (2000 words)
- Online
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Essay/ Critique
- Weight
- 42%
- Due date
24/10/2025 2:00 pm
Task description
This task asks students to compare how two thinkers from the course construe the relationship between politics and the economy. To make the task manageable, students will either choose from a list of suggested research topics (available on Blackboard) or propose one of their own. The linked essay plan is a preliminary step that will be used to consolidate topics and develop a provisional thesis statement.
This is a research essay focused on primary textual evidence and analysis. It is expected that no less than 10% of your essay should be direct quotes from appropriate primary sources with page numbers included (approximately 5 quotes per thinker). There is also the expectation that you will situate your argument in relation to the relevant secondary literature. No fewer than five secondary sources should be included.
***This task has been designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. Whilst students may use AI and/or MT technologies, successful completion of assessment in this course will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which artificial intelligence will provide only limited support and guidance.
A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
To pass this assessment, students may be required to demonstrate detailed comprehension of their written submission independent of AI and MT tools.
Submission guidelines
Assignments for this course will be submitted electronically via Blackboard and using Turnitin.
In uploading an assignment via Turnitin you are certifying that it is your original work, that it has not been copied in whole or part from another person or source except where this is properly acknowledged, and that it has not in whole or part been previously submitted for assessment in any other course at this or any other university.
When you successfully submit your assessment to Turnitin after previewing the uploaded document (to make sure that you have chosen the correct file), you should see the “Submission Complete!” message. After this, a downloadable Digital Receipt will display on your Assignment Dashboard. It is your responsibility to download the Digital Receipt as proof of submission. Turnitin will not send this receipt to you automatically.
If you don’t see the downloadable receipt on your assignment dashboard, you should regard your submission as unsuccessful.
If the submission was not successful:
- Note the error message (preferably take a screenshot).
- Go to your assignment page and see if it is possible to submit again.
- If you cannot submit again, then email your course coordinator immediately.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Unless an extension is granted, penalties for late submission apply. Students are penalised 10% of the maximum possible mark allocated for the assessment item for every calendar day that an assessment item is late.
Marks will be deducted each day for up to 7 calendar days, at which point the submitted item will not receive any marks unless an extension has been approved. Each 24-hour block is triggered from the time the submission is due.
Oral Assessment
- Hurdle
- In-person
- Mode
- Oral
- Category
- Performance, Presentation
- Weight
- 30%
- Due date
10/11/2025 - 14/11/2025
Task description
This task (5 mins + question time) emphasises the critiques of neoliberal thought studied in Part III of the course.
Students will be allocated a time during the examination period to meet with the course coordinator. At the beginning of the assessment, the student will nominate one of the texts from Part III of the course AND one of the texts from Part II of the course. The course coordinator will pose the question to be answered. The question will be in the following form:
“What would the author of text A make of the arguments in text B?” OR “What would the author of text B make of the arguments in text A?”
Students will formulate their response using a specific template. Evidence will be drawn primarily from the relevant readings (with some use of the lecture materials also permitted). No additional research is required.
Following the presentation, two follow-up questions will be asked. The questions are intended to allow the student to amplify/clarify their answer and demonstrate their knowledge of the texts. None of the questions will be intended to trick or intimidate.
At least one of the text’s authors must be different to those that were the topic of your research essay.
Note: presentations will be recorded (audio only).
*** This assessment task is to be completed in-person. The use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT) tools will not be permitted. Any attempted use of AI or MT may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Hurdle requirements
Students must pass the Oral Assessment to pass this course. Students who do not pass the Oral Assessment can only receive an overall grade of 3 or less for the course. Students who receive an overall score of 3 in the Course are eligible to apply for a supplementary assessment (my.uq Supplementary Assessment).Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Discretionary extensions are not available for this task.
The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Extension will only be available where there are extenuating circumstances.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Fail 1 - 19% |
| 2 (Fail) |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Fail 20 - 44% |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes Course grade description: Fail 45 - 49% |
| 4 (Pass) |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Pass 50 - 64 % |
| 5 (Credit) |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Credit 65 - 74 % |
| 6 (Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Distinction 75 - 84 % |
| 7 (High Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: High Distinction 85 - 100 % |
Additional course grading information
Grades will be awarded on the following basis:
- Failﾠ 1 - 19%
- Failﾠ 20 - 44%
- Failﾠ 45 - 49%
- Passﾠ 50 - 64 %
- Creditﾠ 65 - 74 %
- Distinctionﾠ 75 - 84 %
- High Distinctionﾠ 85 - 100 %
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Additional assessment information
Word Length Penalty
Unless otherwise indicated, in the case of written submissions with a specified word count, you are given a +10% leeway on the lower/upper word limit.
Students should note:
• The Author-date in-text referencing system will count toward the word length
• References in the Footnote referencing system will not count toward the word length. If you are using footnotes, any content included in footnotes beyond the specific text reference will count towards the word length.
Marking Criteria/Rubric
Marking criteria and/or marking rubrics will be available in the relevant folders of the ‘Assessment’ tab on Blackboard.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Library resources are available on the UQ Library website.
Additional learning resources information
Essay Guide
The School of Political Science and International Studies Essay Guide can be downloaded from the School’s Student Support webpage.
The Guide sets out guidelines you should follow in preparing written assignments.
Essay Writing Assistance
The School of Political Science and International Studies schedules regular “drop-in” sessions designed to provide one-on-one advice and assistance in essay planning and writing.
There is no need to make an appointment and you are encouraged to bring your essay with you.
The day and time of these sessions will be finalized at the beginning of each semester and published on the Student Support webpage.
Student Services
Student services offer a variety of short courses during the semester which will help you improve your study, research and writing skills and thus your academic performance in this course.
Library Resources
UQ Library offers training in software, assignment writing, research skills, and publishing and research management.
The University’s library holdings for Political Science and International Studies are primarily located in the Central Library.
There is a help desk in the Library. Students are also welcome to contact the BEL/HASS Librarians for assistance.
Email: librarians@library.uq.edu.au
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Week 1 (28 Jul - 03 Aug) |
Lecture |
1. Introduction Course introduction |
Week 2 (04 Aug - 10 Aug) |
Lecture |
2. The End of Laissez-Faire For John Maynard Keynes, the experience of total war revealed the delicate fault lines on which European economic prosperity rested. His 1924 Sidney Ball lecture announced the end of the tacit policy of laissez-faire or non-interference in the economy. His subsequent work – above all, his 1936 General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money outlined an alternative program: the use of macroeconomic intervention to smooth the fluctuations caused by human uncertainty. This would prove to be highly influential. |
Tutorial |
Tutorial 1: Keynes |
|
Week 3 (11 Aug - 17 Aug) |
No student involvement (Breaks, information) |
READING WEEK No lecture/tutorials this week (Ekka holiday) |
Week 4 (18 Aug - 24 Aug) |
Lecture |
3. The Third Way Profoundly shaped by the experience of Nazism, German ordoliberals worried that the very compensatory mechanisms used to promote economic freedom could in turn become restrictive of it. Like Keynes, they too advocated a "third way" between laissez-faire and collectivism (in Wilhelm Röpke's phrase). But their approach emphasised the virtues of the decentralisation brought about by the market economy. Crucially, such an economy was not to be liberated from the state, but facilitated by it. |
Tutorial |
Tutorial 2: Röpke |
|
Week 5 (25 Aug - 31 Aug) |
Lecture |
4. Spontaneous Order Arguably the twentieth-century's leading market advocate, Friedrich Hayek combined a pessimistic account of the imperilled state of liberalism with an optimistic vision of the capacity of the free market to stimulate its renewal. What brought these two apparently contradictory positions together was a social philosophy that emphasised the importance of dispersed knowledge. |
Tutorial |
Tutorial 3: Hayek |
|
Week 6 (01 Sep - 07 Sep) |
Lecture |
5. Limited Government For Milton Friedman, economic freedom was the precondition for political freedom (and not vice-versa). And the best way to ensure economic freedom was to keep the discretionary powers of government within limits. This was the foundation of the numerous influential policy proposals advanced in his 1962 bestseller Capitalism and Freedom, including the argument that government should increase the money supply at a fixed and predictable rate to avoid inflationary and deflationary pressures. |
Tutorial |
Tutorial 4: Friedman |
|
Week 7 (08 Sep - 14 Sep) |
Lecture |
6. Human Capital Gary Becker sought to analyse aspects of human behaviour typically considered outside the scope of economics using economic tools. Racial discrimination, crime, the allocation of time, the choice of spouse, the family structure – all these and more constituted markets that could be analysed in terms of utility maximisation and preference formation. Among his most famous contributions is the elaboration of a theory of human capital, understood as the rate of return that one can expect from investment in individuals, including one's own self. |
Tutorial |
Tutorial 5: Becker |
|
Week 8 (15 Sep - 21 Sep) |
Lecture |
7. Public Choice Simply put, public choice theory proposes to apply the economic approach to politics. The resulting analysis yields what the grandfather of public choice theory, James McGill Buchanan, has styled a "politics without romance": an account that treats public actors as utility maximisers analogous to their private counterparts. But public choice theory does not limit itself to the study of existing political institutions. Bypassing the short term of the election cycle, it also seeks to interrogate the constitutional authorisation of these institutions, with a view to constraining state action if need be. |
Tutorial |
Tutorial 6: Buchanan |
|
Week 9 (22 Sep - 28 Sep) |
Lecture |
8. Nudge How to preserve individuals' freedom to choose while simultaneously helping them to make choices that are advantageous both to them individually and to society as a totality? This is the challenge to which behavioural economist Richard Thaler and legal scholar Cass Sunstein's nudge theory seeks to respond. The resulting framework of libertarian paternalism advances a subtle critique of neoliberalism from a neoliberal perspective. |
Tutorial |
Tutorial 7: Thaler and Sunstein |
|
Mid Sem break (29 Sep - 05 Oct) |
No student involvement (Breaks, information) |
MID-SEMESTER BREAK No lecture/tutorials this week |
Week 10 (06 Oct - 12 Oct) |
Lecture |
9. Undoing Democracy Political theorist Wendy Brown advances a normative critique of neoliberalism. Unleashed precisely at the moment of democracy's ostensible global triumph following the end of the Cold War, this new form of governmental reason, she argues, which pursues the "economisation" of hitherto noneconomic spheres and seeks to remake homo politicus as homo economicus, threatens to destroy democracy. And it does so by hollowing out democratic institutions from within. |
Tutorial |
Tutorial 8: Brown |
|
Week 11 (13 Oct - 19 Oct) |
Lecture |
10. Inequality The empirical data collated by the French economist Thomas Piketty has demonstrated the massive rise in inequality under the ascendancy of the neoliberal – or what he calls neo-proprietarian – ideology. Building on Piketty’s analysis, Lisa Adkins, Melinda Cooper and Martijn Konings argue that the driver of this inequality has been the shift from a wage to an asset economy. Nowhere is this more evident than in the real estate market of Australia’s largest city, Sydney. |
Week 12 (20 Oct - 26 Oct) |
Lecture |
11. Financial Instability Thirty years prior to the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-8, the heterodox economist Hyman Minsky predicted it. The simple message of his financial instability hypothesis was that periods of prolonged financial stability in capitalist economies encourages risk-taking that paves the way for dramatic ensuing instability. Just as his forecast was informed by Keynes, so too was his proposed response. |
Week 13 (27 Oct - 02 Nov) |
Lecture |
12. Conclusion Course review |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments for Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.