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119 Free Harvard University Courses @ Edx (from Introduction to Computer Science to China and Communism)

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119 Free Harvard Courses @ Edx from Introduction to Computer Science (11wks) to China and Communism (15wks) and everything else between

Note: Course is free, but certificate is extra ($149). Cost may be reduced with coupon codes.

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Comments

  • +11

    So I can tell people I'm studying at Harvard now?

    • +6

      Going to enrol then drop out just to put it on my resume
      Everyone's doing it.

      At least enrolling in Harvard wouldn't exactly be a lie.

      • +11

        I will appear at the next Shark Tank Caption "Harvard drop out invented the new multi purpose sim card'

      • +1

        🤣

  • +2

    Do you actually get certificates for completing those courses?
    Edit: You have to pay for the certificate

  • +4

    What’s the cost of certificate ?

    • +1

      ranges from $99 to $149

  • China and Communism

    The story of a big bad wolf in another big bad wolf's clothing, as told by another big bad wolf pretending to be a sheep.

    When will people finally stop calling China and the CCP communists? They are the furthest thing from; if they are to be labelled anything then fascist would the closest.

    • +1

      So you know the details of the course then?

      • Not this specific one but I've taken numerous others with the same title.

        • +2

          According to the course précis, it is about China under Mao.

          Was that a period of fascism?

          • @jackspratt: It was the start.

            • +1

              @afoveht: I would hold China is still a communist nation, though fascism and communism do share similar traits.

              China holds most of its large businesses as state owned corporations (only 15% of the largest 100 are 'private enterprises') and any orders made by the CCP are carried out by private enterprise even if it means losing profit (for example the order to get more coal whatever the cost, just recently).
              Really the China's government only uses capitalism as so far as a means to allocate resources (and as a one of many goals, allow the SOCs to become profitable), but while maintaining total control. It is estimated that State owned corporations control 50% of industrial production.
              I think the classic formula for communism is: Gov > Big Biz = State control.

              Fascism encourages business through the use of tax deductions, government contracts, lowering taxes and hence larger profits. It is pro privatization and to a more limited extent also against international trade. Fascism wants big business to be friendly to the State so it does what the State wants, but it does this through profit motivation.
              Fascism is: Gov+Big Biz = State aims.

              Its fairly easy to see that profit motivation has little role to play if an order comes from the Chinese Communist Party.

              • @Other: Communism is the opposite of Capitalism, Fascism has aspects of both, because it is not a definition of an economic system, it is a definition of a political movement.

    • +1

      Is this one of those "real communism hasn't been tried" things, where every time someone practices it and force is inevitably required to hold power, it becomes not communism?

      • No, this is one of those "we have more private ownership and m/billionaires than anyone in the world and the authoritarian government is all for it if we tow the right line" things.

        • +4

          Extremely wealthy and corrupt elite… sounds like real communism to me.

          • @rokufan: Like:
            USSR
            Cuba
            Romania
            China
            Venezuela

            Just the elite is very much smaller and the poor very much more numerous.

            I remember watching a youtube video of a pro communist economist urging China (in a debate or a speech) to not try out capitalism and to reverse course while they "still had the chance".
            The irony is everything he urged them not to do, they did, and every thing he predicted (apocalypse) turned out the exact opposite.
            I really wish I could find it.

            • +2

              @Other:

              Just the elite is very much smaller and the poor very much more numerous.

              Exactly. Communism concentrates power and wealth, creating the most unequal of societies. Yet, people still believe in fairy tales.

              • -2

                @rokufan: Real Communism has never been tried because it requires people to not be real, everyone must be selfless and socially responsible for it to work.

                Capitalism is also flawed in that it requires, or rather rewards people who are completely selfish.

              • -3

                @rokufan: "Communism concentrates power and wealth, creating the most unequal of societies." If you substituted capitalism for communism, you would be 100% correct. For instance, in the US (the home of capitalism), the wealth of the three richest people equals that of the bottom half of the population. Inequality thrives under democracies, and the only way to prevent it is to disallow private ownership.

                China has proven that capitalism truly works. The quality of life of hundreds of millions of people has greatly improved over the last 50 years due to the excellent leadership of the CCP. The best thing that could happen to our dystopian grotesquely unequal capitalist country would be getting annexxed by China. China is the greatest country in the world now.

                • @Thaal Sinestro: China is hardly the greatest country in the world now, currently.

                  They are a middle income country - the workers average wage is $15k-$35k per year.

                  It is up for debate whether China can grow this, or if they will get trapped in the middle income trap.

                  The USA might create unequalness - but the top changes rather regularly.
                  mid 2017-mid 2019 Tesla was almost bankrupt. In 2021 Musk was the richest man in the world.

                  Sure the US might be unequal, but it follows a Pareto distribution.
                  And in fact the US top 10% control 45% of the wealth, which is LOWER than Africa, Middle East and Asia, South America (all above 50%).
                  Only Euro beats it, and then by only 10% - the top 10% control 35% of the wealth.

                  In fact if you look at it CHina dn the US is pretty similar in terms of inequality.

            • +2

              @Other: Where is North Korea

    • +1

      Once they take Taiwan with whatever force the world will suffer.
      Plenty of suffering hidden from the media in its East!

    • Sir, I wish I can have your confidence so I can just act like you to comment on something I totally don't understand. God bless ignorance.

  • Thanks for the post!

  • +5

    if you sign up as a free student (choose not to pay for a certificate during the enrolment process), they reduce the certificate fee from $169 (Neuroscience course) to $143.65. They provide a code - EDXWELCOME

  • +1

    Is this new? I've had some of the courses in the list from edX before.

  • No one asked yet: do you get a free . Edu email address?

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