1st Edition

Capitalism: Should You Buy it? An Invitation to Political Economy

By Charles Derber, Yale R. Magrass Copyright 2014
    316 Pages
    by Routledge

    316 Pages
    by Routledge

    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. Contrasting three traditions - neoclassicism, Keynesianism, and neo-Marxism - Capitalism: Should You Buy It? traces the historical development of each and evaluates whether they view capitalism as the root cause of or the solution to the pressing problems now facing humanity. This accessible and hopeful book is a call to everyone - citizen, student, public intellectual - to revive the critical edge towards capitalism.

    Part I: Why Political Economy? 1 Economics Lost: Why We Need Political Economy 2 Social Sciences Found? Political Economy and the Sociological Imagination Part II: The Three Paradigms 3 The Neoclassical Paradigm 4 The Keynesian Paradigm 5 The Neo-Marxist Paradigm Part III: Political Economy and Contemporary Issues 6 Inequality 7 Democracy 8 Individualism versus Community 9 Globalization 10 Environment and Climate Change 11 Education 12 Race 13 Gender and Family Part IV: Conclusion 14 The Sociological Imagination, the New Economics, and Saving the World

    Biography

    Charles Derber, Yale R. Magrass