The Three Fields of Global Political Economy provides a systematic and future-oriented account of global political economy dynamics since the Industrial Revolution and argues that major changes and conflicting processes can be understood through the concept of these three fields.
The first field is constituted by the circuit of capital and is characterised by a tendency towards economic liberalism. The second field is brought about by reactions to, and learning from, cycles and crises and various negative experiences. The third field is the field of reason of state. It is evoked by struggles within and among states and has its own inner generative structures. This book analyses the generic dynamics of these three fields of global political economy and explores their most significant causal effects, such as growth, employment, distribution of income and wealth, wars, and ecological effects. Together, the prevailing three fields, as well as the ideas and causal forces which generate them, constitute the "holomovement" of the global political economy.
This book will appeal to advanced students and scholars of global studies, international relations, international political economy, economic theory, and governance, as well as those working in social theory and sociology, and to a broader audience interested in socioeconomics.
1. Introduction
2. Key Concepts: Field, Causation, Time, Process, and Holomovement
3. The First Field (OL): The Momentum and Energy of Economic Liberalism
4. The Second Field (C>L): Collective Learning from Critique and Crises
5. The Third Field (SSR): The Reason of State Bending Social Space-Time
6. Holomovement: Collective Learning Through the Dialectics of Fields
7. Political Economy of Scale: Toward Holoreflexivity in the 2020s and 2030s
8. Political Economy of Time: Holomovement and the Future of the C>L-Field
Biography
Heikki Patomäki is a Professor of World Politics and Global Political Economy at the University of Helsinki, Finland. He has published over 20 books and over 200 scientific articles and commentaries in various scholarly fields, and he is also the author of numerous popular writings. He is a full member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters and lifelong member of Clare Hall, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
“Against the background of impending civilisational collapse, this volume provides a systematic and future- oriented account of global political economy dynamics through a novel field- theoretical approach. Written by one of today’s most creative political economists, this book offers hope based on the possibilities of collective learning. A must- read for all interested in the potential futures ensuring the survival of our civilisation and planet”.
Andreas Bieler, Professor of Political Economy, University of Nottingham
“Cutting against the mainstream, Heikki Patomaki’s most recent book deftly examines global turmoil and suggests how to address it. With remarkable acuity, Patomaki traces historical trajectories and projects plausible scenarios for future world order. This concise volume offers fresh insights and demonstrates the power of critical thinking. It stacks up well against the very best books in political economy. A visionary study that will appeal across the social sciences”.
James H. Mittelman, Distinguished Research Professor, American University
“Heikki Patomaki has written a critical realist, theoretically innovative, and historically rich analysis of the three interwoven fields of global political economy: the liberal economic order, crisis and collective learning processes involving political mobilization oriented to socialism and democracy, and short- term state-based territorial Realpolitik that bends space-time. He explores how these fields have been linked unevenly through structures, concepts, and agency to form a single but discontinuous planetary system. He also proposes a reflexive planetary solution based on collective learning and moral responsibility to resolve current problems in the Anthropocene, including the threats of climate change, and to widen human freedom”.
Bob Jessop, Professor Emeritus, University of Lancaster
“The debate over the ‘state of the discipline’ in IPE has in recent years become parochially Anglo- centric, presented as it is as a debate between a constructivist ‘British’ and a positivist ‘American’ school. This highly original contribution by Heikki Patomaki is welcome exactly because his historical, socio- theoretical and philosophical sweep of vision opens the terms of debate wide open”.
Magnus Ryner, Professor of International Political Economy, King’ College London
Author Blog Post: https://www.ppesydney.net/towards-a-field-theory-of-global-political-economy/
