Political Economy

Watch

• Why nations fail | James Robinson | TEDxAcademy ↗TEDx Talks
• The Power of the Fed (full documentary) | FRONTLINE ↗FRONTLINE PBS | Official
• Clinton - Episode 1 (2012) | Full Documentary ↗PBS America
• Money, Power and Wall Street, Part One (full documentary) | FRONTLINE ↗FRONTLINE PBS | Official
• POLITICAL THEORY - Karl Marx ↗The School of Life
• POLITICAL THEORY - John Maynard Keynes ↗The School of Life

Read

• An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations ↗The foundational text of modern economics, this work articulates the principles of free markets, division of labour, and the invisible hand, arguing for the prosperity that arises from individual self-interest.Adam Smith
• Das Kapital, Vol. 1: A Critique of Political Economy ↗A trenchant critique of capitalism, this volume dissects the mechanisms of exploitation, class struggle, and the inherent contradictions within the capitalist mode of production, offering a powerful counter-narrative to classical liberalism.Karl Marx
• The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money ↗This seminal work revolutionised economic thought by challenging classical assumptions, introducing the concept of aggregate demand, and advocating for government intervention to stabilise economies and combat unemployment during downturns.John Maynard Keynes
• Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty ↗A compelling examination of why some nations thrive while others languish, arguing that political and economic institutions, rather than geography or culture, are the primary determinants of a country's long-term success.Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson
• The Problem of Social CostThis groundbreaking essay introduced the Coase Theorem, demonstrating how, in the absence of transaction costs, efficient outcomes can be achieved regardless of initial property rights assignments, profoundly influencing law and economics.Ronald Coase
• The Tragedy of the CommonsThis influential essay elucidates the dilemma where individuals acting independently and rationally according to their self-interest behave contrary to the best long-term interests of the group by depleting a shared limited resource.Garrett Hardin

Voices to follow

• Daron Acemoglu ↗His rigorous analysis of institutions and their role in shaping economic prosperity and political power offers a foundational understanding of development disparities.Economist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Thomas Piketty ↗His meticulous historical data on wealth and income inequality has reshaped global discourse on capitalism's inherent tendencies and policy responses.Economist, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales
• Dani Rodrik ↗A pragmatic voice on globalization, he dissects the tensions between economic integration, national sovereignty, and democratic accountability with nuanced insight.Economist, Harvard Kennedy School
• Branko Milanović ↗His empirical work on global income distribution provides an indispensable lens through which to understand the shifting landscape of inequality across and within nations.Economist, City University of New York

Glossary

• EconomyThe system in a country or region that deals with how money is made and used, and how goods and services are produced, bought, and sold. For example, India's economy includes everything from farmers selling crops to big companies making cars and people buying groceries.
• GlobalizationThis describes how countries and people around the world are becoming more connected and interdependent through trade, technology, and culture. For example, you can buy a smartphone made in China, listen to music from Korea, and watch a movie from Hollywood, all thanks to globalization.
• Government PolicyThese are the plans and actions that a government takes to solve problems or achieve goals for its citizens. For example, a government might create a policy to make education free for all students or to build new roads.
• MarketA place or system where buyers and sellers meet to exchange goods and services, usually for money. For example, the local vegetable market is where you buy fresh produce, and online stores like Amazon are also a type of market.
• Public GoodsThese are services or facilities that are available to everyone and are usually provided by the government because it's hard to stop anyone from using them, and one person using them doesn't stop others. For example, streetlights, national defense, and public parks are public goods.
• RegulationRules or laws made by the government to control how businesses operate or how people behave, often to protect consumers or the environment. For example, the government might put a regulation in place that says all food products must list their ingredients to protect consumers.
• ResourcesThese are the things available that can be used to produce goods and services. They include natural things like land and water, human effort (labor), and tools or machines (capital). For example, a bakery's resources include flour, sugar, the baker's skill, and the oven.
• ScarcityThis is the basic economic problem that there are never enough resources to satisfy everyone's wants and needs. It means we always have to make choices about what to produce and consume. For example, if a school has limited funds, it faces scarcity and must choose between buying new sports equipment or updating the computer lab.
• Supply and DemandSupply is how much of something is available, and demand is how much people want it. These two forces together decide the price of things. For example, if there's a huge supply of mangoes (many available) but not many people want them (low demand), the price will likely go down.
• TradeThe act of buying, selling, or exchanging goods and services, either within a country or between different countries. For example, when you swap your lunch snack with a friend, that's a simple form of trade. Countries trade when India sells software to the USA and buys oil from other nations.

Threads 5

Where this connects to other fields, and why it's worth knowing.

• Resource and Energy Geography Geography

  A leader who has to tax citizens for money must also listen to them, because people demand a say in return for their cash. But a leader who just pumps oil and sells it gets rich without asking anyone for anything, so they owe the public nothing. 'No taxation' quietly flips into 'no representation,' which is how oil eats away at democracy.

• The Energy Transition Environment

  Coal had to be dug and hauled by huge crews of miners and railway workers, and those workers could shut everything down by striking, which is how they won the vote and built mass democracy. Oil flows through pipelines run by almost nobody, so there's no crowd to strike, letting a few rulers hoard the wealth and power. The fuel a country runs on quietly shapes whether it's free.

• Networks & Graphs Mathematics

  Draw a map of which companies own shares of which other companies, and it doesn't spread out evenly, it collapses into a tiny tangled core. One study found just 147 firms secretly control 40% of the world's corporate value through these ownership webs. Real economic power isn't on any org chart; it's a hidden pattern in the network.

• Electric Vehicles Technology

  Ditching gas engines yanks power away from oil-rich countries and hands it to the few nations sitting on lithium, cobalt, and copper for batteries. Going electric doesn't just change cars; it changes which governments the whole world has to keep happy.

• Climate Security Global Challenges

  Climate shocks can affect livelihoods and resources, but power and institutions shape who bears losses and whose response is supported. Political economy helps explain these unequal pathways.

  Sources: States and Nature: The Effects of Climate Change on Security ↗ · Climate, Peace and Security Toolbox ↗