The Constitution of Political Economy: Polity, Society and the Commonweal [Hardcover]

This book develops a new conception of political economy at the interface of economic theory and political thought.This book develops a new conception of political economy at the interface of economic theory and political thought. Political economy is constituted by the interdependence between the economy and the polity that rest on the complex relations of society in which both are embedded. Effective policymaking depends on reflecting this embedding.This book develops a new conception of political economy at the interface of economic theory and political thought. Political economy is constituted by the interdependence between the economy and the polity that rest on the complex relations of society in which both are embedded. Effective policymaking depends on reflecting this embedding.The two dominant conceptions of political economy are based on either reducing political decisions to rational-choice reasoning or, conversely, reducing economic structures and phenomena to the realm of politics. In this book, Adrian Pabst and Roberto Scazzieri contend that neither conception is convincing and argue for a fundamental rethinking of political economy. Developing a new approach at the interface of economic theory and political thought, the book shows that political economy covers a plurality of dimensions, which reflect internal hierarchies and multiple relationships within the economic and political sphere. The Constitution of Political Economy presents a new, richer conception of political economy that draws on a range of thinkers from the history of political economy, recognising the complex embedding of the economy and the polity in society. Effective policy-making has to reflect this embedding and rests on the interdependence between local, national, and international actors to address multiple systemic crises.Introduction: rethinking political economy; Part I. Interdependence and the Economic Constitution: 1. Political economy in question; 2. Sociability and interdl£‰