The Department of Economics at Seoul National University has decided not to offer Marxist Economics courses in the upcoming fall semester.
According to Seoul National University on the 11th, the Department of Economics will not open any Marxist Economics courses this fall semester, including 'Introduction to Political Economy,' 'Marxist Economics,' and 'Contemporary Marxist Economics.' This decision was made by the curriculum committee composed of economics faculty members. The committee explained that they considered the management of the curriculum and the supply and demand situation for courses.
Marxist Economics is an economic thought that originated from Karl Marx's critical theory of political economy. It analyzes the economy based on the labor theory of value. Seoul National University’s Marxist Economics courses have been offered since the late Professor Kim Suhaeng, a Marxist economist, joined in 1989. After Professor Kim retired in 2008, no Marxist economist was appointed as his successor. However, the courses continued until now, but with this new measure, it has become difficult to sustain Marxist Economics courses at Seoul National University.
The main reason for not offering the courses is a shortage of faculty. Among the 38 current economics professors, three?Kim Soyoung, Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Commission; Jang Yongsung, member of the Bank of Korea’s Monetary Policy Committee; and Lee Jaewon, Director of the Bank of Korea Economic Research Institute?are unable to teach. Additionally, with the strengthening of tenure review standards and efforts to reduce teaching burdens while maintaining course sizes, there is a need to increase the number of faculty members.
Student interest in Marxist Economics has also cooled. Enrollment in 'Introduction to Political Economy' was 93 students in the fall semester of 2021, but dropped to 34 in the spring semester of 2022, 61 in the fall semester of 2022, 29 in the spring semester of last year, and 25 in the fall semester of last year. This spring semester, 30 students took the Introduction to Political Economy course.
The number of students enrolled in Marxist Economics and Contemporary Marxist Economics courses has shrunk even further. Although these courses are offered less frequently than Introduction to Political Economy, enrollment in Marxist Economics declined from 14 students in the spring semester of 2021 to 11 in both the spring semester of 2022 and last year’s spring semester, and down to 4 in the fall semester of last year.
Enrollment in Contemporary Marxist Economics dropped from 13 students in the fall semester of 2021 to just 1 in the fall semester of 2022, and the course was not offered last year. However, one economics professor explained, "Given the current situation, it is not easy to offer all the basic courses that should be provided to undergraduates," adding, "Marxist Economics courses might be offered again in the next semester."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
