Moral Economy and Political Economy

Abstract

With the decline of socialism in thought and practice, radical political economy has recently been at a low ebb. Yet given the persistence of economic problems and their effect on the quality of life, the need for a radical political economy has certainly not diminished. If it is to regenerate, it needs to return to basics and re-think its critical standpoints. At present, these are typically unexamined and underdeveloped, tending to be limited to matters of equality and exploitation with little notion of economic responsibilities or sense of the public good.