INDS 304: ਵਿਸਮਾਦੀ ਪੂੰਜੀ (Wondrous Capital)

Wondrous Capital

The world cannot function without an economy. Capitalism and socialism are the two representative models of economy in the present world. Capitalism and socialism are victims of serious internal crises. The crises within these models of political economy have become crises of the human kind. The discursive foundation of both the above models lie in Western philosophy, due to which the basis of the internal crises of both is common. Humanity needs a third alternative. To explore alrternative models of political economy, it is necessary to look beyond the limitations of Western philosophy. Sikhi is an important phenomenon that has emerged in the non-Western world. The purpose of this course is to consider the Sikh bases of an alternative to the current models of political economy.

Sikh scholar Dr. Gurbhagat Singh has written an important book titled Vismadi Poonji: Punjab atey Punjabi Di Maulikta (Wonderous Capital: Originality of Punjab and Punjabi). This book provides a profound analysis of the cultural, spiritual, religious, and philosophical foundations of political economy. Wonderous Capital advances by fostering a multi-directional dialogue with philosophy and critical theory. To engage meaningfully with the book, it is essential to engage with its philosophical bases.

In this course, we’ll have a reading of Wonderous Capital together. While reading the book, the basic definitions of the philosophical and intellectual references in it, their theoretical background, and the context will be discussed in detail. 

There will be a total of fifteen sessions of the course. The first and last sessions will be about the introduction and summary. In the remaining thirteen sessions, thirteen chapters of the book will be read and discussed. The course will be in Punjabi but most of the reading material will be in English.