This course aims to examine the debates on the relationship between the individual, society, the state, and the market within the framework of philosophical and economic thought traditions, focusing on how the role of the state in the economy have changed from Ancient Greece to the present in parallel with transformations in modes of production. The course also seeks to enable students to comparatively analyze different schools of thought, to evaluate the state–market tension in its historical context, and to adapt theoretical debates on public economics to contemporary conditions.

This course examines the relationships between the individual, society, the state, and the market within a historical and theoretical framework, focusing on how the role of the state in the economy has evolved in parallel with transformations in modes of production. The discussions extend from Antiquity through the transition from feudalism to capitalism, and further into the 20th century and contemporary developments. The course analyzes the historical and theoretical foundations of the state–market tension through key concepts such as freedom (negative/positive), the distinction between civil and political society, the individual–citizen duality, and the public–private sphere divide. In this way, students are expected to grasp historical continuities and ruptures, and to apply theoretical debates in public economics to contemporary economic, social, and political issues.