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Join Mr. Campbell as he guides students through Hilaire Belloc’s classic 1912 essay, The Servile State. Written to address the appalling poverty of Industrial England in the early 20th century, Belloc’s book weaves a poignant argument that the excesses of Capitalism (as well as the attempts to remedy them through collectivist Socialism) will lead ultimately to the reintroduction of legalized slavery, The Servile State.
Total classes: 10
Prerequisite: None
Suggested grade level: 11th to 12th
Suggested credit: 1-semester Literature
Description
Join Mr. Campbell as he guides students through Hilaire Belloc’s classic 1912 essay, The Servile State. Written to address the appalling poverty of Industrial England in the early 20th century, Belloc’s book weaves a poignant argument that the excesses of Capitalism (as well as the attempts to remedy them through collectivist Socialism) will lead ultimately to the reintroduction of legalized slavery, The Servile State.
Outline
Week 1: Introduction of the Book and Core Concepts
Week 2: Defining Belloc’s Terms
Week 3: Slavery as the Foundational Institution of Pagan Europe
Week 4: How Christianity Abolished Slavery
Week 5: England’s Transition to Capitalism
Week 6: Belloc’s Theory of Inherently Unstable Capitalism
Week 7: Socialism, Property, or Slavery
Week 8: The Aims of Reformers
Week 9: Towards a Servile State
Week 10: Observations and Critiques of Belloc’s Thought
Materials and Homework
Course materials: The Servile State (Recommend the Cavalier Books edition from 2018, ISBN 978-1948231053)
Homework: Each week students will need to read an assigned portion of the textbook and watch a 10-25 minute video lecture on the subject matter. They will complete an automated quiz and complete reflection questions based on the concepts of the readings. The estimated commitment per week is 2 hours.
