In this article you will learn about the Meaning of Political Economy in Political Science.
Political Economy : Meaning
In contemporary times, study of Political Science essentially involves a study of Political Economy.
Political factors of Economics, Economic factors of Politics, needs and compulsions and needs of the economy of state, nature of budget and budgeting, nature of issues of international economy, relations and interactions between Politics and Economics, policy-making and compulsions of state economy, economic policy of the government of state, welfare economics, welfare state, sustainable development, economic dimension of political development, planning, fiscal policy and planning, export and export regime, taxation policy and political compulsions and several other such topics are the subject of study in both Politics and Economics.
Political Economy studies the economic environment and compulsions of politics and it also concentrates on the study of economic roots and factors of politics.
In its traditional meaning Political Economy is held to be that branch of the art of the government which is concerned with a systematic inquiry into the causes and nature of the wealth of a nation. But in simple words we can say Political Economy studies the economic aspects of political policy-making and also the political aspects of economic policy-making.
Karl Marx and his followers try to elaborate and explain all political interactions and relations in terms of economic relations and class struggle between the rich and the poor. They forcefully indicate that politics has its roots in economics and hence study of economic factors, economic class structure and economic relations between the rich and the poor determines Politics. However, it is not accepted by most of the modern political scientists and they hold it to be an extreme, one-sided and narrow view. They, however, accept the importance of the study of political factors of economics and economic factors of politics because Political Economy studies both these dimensions.
Scope of Political Economy
Political Economy includes interdisciplinary studies drawing upon Law, Economics and Political Science in explaining how political organisations/institutions, the political environment, political relations and the economic system (The Capitalist Economic System, or Socialist Economic System) influence and interact with each other. It seeks to study (i) The role of government and power reactions in resource allocation in every economic system ; (ii) The role of economic factors and interactions among the nations in the world ; and (iii) Economic models of political processes. Each Political ideology has a large content of economic policies, principles and objectives.
In contemporary times, political scientists studying political economy principally study the role of political power-holders in the making of economic policy and the effect of economic performance on the credibility and popularity of power-holders of the state. They also study how the nations, in effect how their people and government, manage and organise the production and use of wealth.
In contemporary times, when the economy has come to be a major driver of politics and political policies, it has indeed become essential for political scientists to study political economy.
As such, the scope of Political Science involves Political Economy and no study of political science can be complete without the study of Political Economy.
This article on Meaning of Political Economy in Political Science is contributed by Dipshikha Anand. If you like LawStudyPoint.com do follow us on our Twitter handle.