ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on political economy. It reviews some definitions of political economy and identifies a problem central to it. The chapter then explores several possibilities for transcending that problem. It examines the epistemological origins and strains that have shaped the intellectual traditions of political economy from classical to modern times, in particular, with a focus on Marx's assessment of those efforts. The chapter discusses the new synthesis of political economy, suggesting lines of inquiry that may be pursued in the study of comparative and international political economy and identifying the major thinkers who shape focus on political economic themes today. Marxist thought is holistic, broadly ranged, unified, and interdisciplinary in contrast to the ahistorical, compartmentalized, and often narrow parameters of the mainstream paradigm. Although recognizing that the central concerns of international political economy are imperialism and dependency, the chapter also reviews the complementary concerns of comparative political economy, namely state and class.
