DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS
SECOND SEMESTER 2019/2020
POL 223: INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL ECONOMY
Lecturer: Adelaja ODUKOYA and Ebenezer ISHOLA
Office: E 11 FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES BUILDING
E-mail: lajaodukoya@yahoo.com; eishola@unilag,edu.ng
Lecture Hours: Tuesday 10:00 am -12:00 noon.
Zoom Meeting ID: 68455231397 Password: 423646
Course Description and Objectives
The course introduces students to the intricacies of the interface between politics and
economy, the struggles for power amongst social classes within social formations, the
(mis)use of state power as a basis for accumulation by vested interests and how these shapes
socio-economic and political dynamics in terms of social relations, policy outcomes and
(under)development. As an introductory course, particular attention is placed on ontological,
conceptual and methodological issues in order to engender a robust appreciation and
comprehension of the subject-matter of political economy given its utility and values in other
areas of political (social) science enterprise.
Requirements and Evaluation:
Regular attendance and full participation in class activities shall be required of all students.
The Senate policy of 65% lecture attendance as a precondition for sitting for
examination would be enforced. Students will bear full responsibility for every class
that they miss, and no exceptions to this rule shall be allowed.
Policy on Late Submission of Essays, Continuous Assessment and Academic Integrity:
This course would be assignment driven. Hence, late submission of assignment would not
be condoned. Any late submission shall attract a loss of 5 percent of the mark scored.
Assignments submitted three days after the deadline would not be collected. Students are
required to submit their essays on time. The penalties for late submission of essays are stiff.
The continuous assignment is a Senate requirement. Hence, it is compulsory and on no
account would continuous assignment be waived for any student. By implication,
grading examination over 100 percent and answering four questions in the examination
to make up for continuous assessment is against the spirit and intent of the Senate
policy hence would not be tolerated. In very rare cases, only medical cases backed with
Medical reports from the University Health Centre or Government Hospital would be
tenable for missing continuous assessment.
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In all essays and assignments, students are strongly advised against plagiarism, which is an
unethical and unlawful conduct. All students enrolled in this course should familiarize
themselves with policy on academic integrity.
According to the policy:
‘Plagiarism includes but is not limited to the following: (a) The direct copying of any source,
such as written and verbal material, computer files, audio disks, video programs or musical
scores, whether published or unpublished, in whole or in part, without proper
acknowledgement that it is someone else’s. (b) Copying of any source in whole or in part
with only minor changes in wording or syntax even with acknowledgement. (c) Submitting as
one’s own work a report, examination paper, computer file, lab report or other assignment
which has been prepared by someone else. This includes research papers purchased from any
other person or agency. (d) The paraphrasing of another’s work or ideas without proper
acknowledgement.’
Plagiarism will result in a failure of the assignment or possibly of the course:
Lateness to Lecture:
Late coming to the class is disrespectful and a mark of unseriousness. A grace period of 15
minutes would be given to students to settle down in the class. The class is expected to be
perfectly settled ahead of my arrival. No student enters the class after my arrival in the class
for lecture. Disobedience shall be seriously sanctioned.
Grading Policy:
Standard for Grading: Your work will be evaluated according to the following criteria.
A: designates work of extra-ordinarily high quality; reflects thorough and comprehensive
under-standing of the issues at hand; arguments are clearly organized with supporting ideas
and/or evidence. Through familiarity with the suggested reading for the course are sine qua
non to get an A grade in the course.
B: designates work of high quality; reflects a clearly organized but less than comprehensive
understanding of the issues at hand; presents organized arguments that are supported by ideas
and/or evidence. A reasonable familiarity and demonstrated knowledge of the recommended
text is important.
C: Designates work which meets the minimal requirements of the assignment; written work
reflects adequate organization and development of ideas, but arguments are communicated in
a superficial or simplistic manner.
D: Designates work of poor quality which meets the minimum requirements of the
assignment, but demonstrates poor organization of ideas and/or inattention to development of
ideas, grammar, and spelling; treatment of material is superficial and/or simplistic; may
indicate that the student has not read assignments thoroughly.
F: Designates work of poor quality that does not meet the minimum requirements of the
assignment or task; fails to reflect an understanding of the issues at hand; fails to present
organized arguments or fails to adequately support arguments with ideas; or which is not
handed in on time.
Note: I operate an open grading system. Hence, students are free to ask for a review of their
scores where they have reservations. Together with the concerned student, a review using the
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marking scheme would be carried out in order for the student to come to self-judgment of the
score.
Course Outline
Introduction and Overview: On the Ontological foundation and Politics of Development
and Underdevelopment:
1. Conceptual and Ontological issues:
a. What is Political Economy?
b. Leading lights on Political Economy.
i. Adam Smith
ii. David Ricardo
iii. Thomas Malthus
iv. Karl Marx
v. John Maynard Keynes
vi. V. I. Lenin
vii. Claude Ake
viii. Bade Onimode
2. Approaches to Political Economy:
(a) Classical Political Economy
(b) Neo-classical Political Economy
(c) Marxist Political Economy
(d) Dependency
3. Conceptual Issues in Political Economy:
(a) Labour Power
(b) Object of Labour
(c) Means of Labour
(d) Productive Forces
(e) Modes of Production
(f) Social Relations of Production
(g) Economic system.
(h) Social Formation
4. Historical Periodization of Modes of Production
(a) Communal
(b) Slave
(c) Feudal
(d) Asiatic
(e) Capitalist
(f) Socialist
(g) Communist
5. Analytical Concerns:
i. State
ii. Market
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iii. Class: Bourgeoisie; petty bourgeoisie, comprador bourgeoisie, proletariat, etc.
iv. Accumulation: capital and primitive accumulation
v. Imperialism
vi. Globalization
vii. Transnational Corporation
viii. Washington Consensus
6. The State in Political Economy: The Problematic of the African State.
7. Political Economy of African Crisis
8. Revision.
Required Texts
Deliberate efforts have been made to ensure that recommended texts are those available at the
University Library and Bookshop, as well as my personal library.
1. Mill, J. S. (1909), Principles of Political Economy. London: Longman Green and
Company.
2. Marx, K. (1970), A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy. Moscow:
Progress Publishers.
3. Lenin, V. I. (1949), The State and the Revolution. Moscow: Progress Publishers.
4. Ake, C. (1981), Political Economy of Africa. London: Longman.
5. Aina, T. (1986), “What is Political Economy”, in Nigerian Economic Society, The
Nigerian Economy: A Political Economy Approach. Ibadan: NES.
6. Onimode, B. (1983), Imperialism and Underdevelopment in Nigeria. London: Zed
Books Ltd.
7. Onimode, B. (1985), An Introduction to Marxist Political Economy. London: Zed
Books Ltd.
8. Onimode, B. (1985), The Political Economy of the African Crisis. London: Zed Books
Ltd.
9. Momoh, A. and Hundeyin, T. (1999), “Perspectives on Political Economy”, in
Anifowose, R. & Enemuo, F. C. (eds.), Elements of Politics. Lagos: Malthouse Press
Ltd.
10. Beckman, B. (1983), “Political Science and Political Economy”, in Barongo, Y. (ed.),
Political Science in Africa Critical Review. London: Zed Books Ltd.
11. Nikitin, P. I. ( ), Fundamentals of Political Economy.
12. Ihonvbere, J. (ed.) (1989), Political Economy of Development and Underdevelopment
Selected Work of Claude Ake. Lagos: JAD Publishers Ltd.
13. Kulikov, A. (1986), Political Economy. Moscow: Progress Publishers.
14. Emekwe, E. (1986), Class and State in Nigeria. London: Longman.
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