Political Economy: Theories, Principles and Politics

The academic literature on political economy includes many models and theories. The contributions to this volume illustrate four basic principles that many exhibit. First, many different types of political economies exist. There are large differences between not just developed and developing countries but between early and late developers; and substantial differences are easy to discern even among superficially similar ones, such as the East Asian developmental states. Second, most political economies are marked by a myriad of interdependencies among market, state, and civil society. Third, change, both incremental and fundamental, occurs regularly in many. Fourth and as a result of the first three, the analysis of political economies is often quite complex. Chapter 1 focuses on change by analyzing the ongoing Great Reset in the U.S. political economy in the early 21st century. Chapters 2-4 discuss how China differs from western models: in particular, models for international relationships, Confucianism and the Belt and Road Initiative, and China's cooperation with the Central and East European Countries respectively. Chapter 5 also covers variety and complexity with an in-depth theoretical treatment of Marx's theory of value. Chapter 6 raises issues of interdependence by highlighting the social bases of political economies. Chapters 7 and 8 touch upon interdependence and complexity by demonstrating how the U.S. political economy marginalizes minorities in the areas of education and health care respectively. Chapter 9 focuses upon interdependence by linking fiscal policy to subsequent election outcomes. Finally, Chapter 10 relates workforce development policy to changes in the 21st century American economy.