Before there was economics, there was political economy, an interdisciplinary adventure boldly and critically seeking to understand capitalism. Over time, the social sciences evolved into specific disciplines-economics, sociology, political science-that less often questioned capitalist perspectives and the state. This accessible and hopeful book is a call to everyone-citizen, student, public intellectual-to revive the critical edge and ask if capitalism provides a society that promotes the well-being, indeed the survival, of humanity. It contrasts three traditions-neoclassicism, Keynesianism,...

Before there was economics, there was political economy, an interdisciplinary adventure boldly and critically seeking to understand capitalism. Over time, the social sciences evolved into specific disciplines-economics, sociology, political science-that less often questioned capitalist perspectives and the state. This accessible and hopeful book is a call to everyone-citizen, student, public intellectual-to revive the critical edge and ask if capitalism provides a society that promotes the well-being, indeed the survival, of humanity. It contrasts three traditions-neoclassicism, Keynesianism,...