From the barracks to the banks of Europe, five cadets embarked on the History of Western Economics AIAD to explore the evolution of economic ideas and institutions from the late Roman Empire to the present day. Throughout their journey, they studied how predominant philosophy, technological innovation, access to naval ports, military funding, and the distribution of wealth influenced institutional development.
Led by MAJ Caleb Stenholm ’12 and CPT Sara Downing ’14, cadets traveled to Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Belgium to develop their individual theses. In Rome, cadets visited CiFE and several historical sites to learn how property rights and rule of law enable trade. A lecture from the University of Florence and a visit to a few art galleries illuminated the rise of the merchant class and how the Catholic church shaped the development of banks as savings and lending platforms. In Amsterdam, cadets reflected on equity financing and the wealthy colonial European powers that such financial systems produced. A visit to Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow gave cadets insight to the Scottish Enlightenment, namely Adam Smith’s emphasis on specialization and naval trade and the nascent development of national banks. Lectures at Kings College London and Cambridge distilled how the world became increasingly interconnected as colonial powers drove international trade, two world wars entrenched interdependent military industrial bases in Europe and North America, and sanctions as a form of economic warfare. Cadets ended their trip in Belgium, learning how the EU stabilized European trade and finance and how NATO generates economies of scale in military deterrence for its members.
Learn more about AIADs here.
Cadets have an opportunity to travel and experience significant out-of-the-classroom opportunities like the Western Economics AIAD, thanks to donor support of the Margin of Excellence.
Excerpt and image taken from https://www.facebook.com/WestPointSocialSciences.
