Worlds of Political Economy

Worlds of Political Economy offers a sweeping exploration of the ideas, institutions, and historical forces that shape economic life. Edited by Jeffrey Iverson, the volume brings together a wide range of thinkers whose work has defined the field. The book presents political economy as a living conversation that stretches across centuries and cultures. It highlights the ways in which theories of value, power, development, and governance have evolved in response to changing social and political conditions.

Rather than treating political economy as a single tradition, the book reveals it as a collection of overlapping worlds. Readers encounter the foundational insights of Smith, Marx, and Keynes, the institutional analyses of North and Ostrom, the developmental critiques of Chang and Reinert, and the cultural investigations of Foucault and Gramsci. Each chapter examines how ideas emerge, how they travel, and how they influence the institutions that structure collective life. The volume shows that economic systems are not natural or inevitable. They are built through political choices, cultural norms, and historical struggles.

At its heart, the book argues that political economy is a study of possibility. It invites readers to see that societies can organize themselves in many different ways. It shows that institutions can be reformed, that ideas can reshape public life, and that influence can shift the boundaries of what people believe is achievable. The volume offers a panoramic view of how societies rise, falter, and reinvent themselves. It provides readers with the intellectual tools needed to understand the forces that shape the modern world and the futures that remain open to us.