There is a natural synergy between progressive economists who develop theories and policies for a fairer, more sustainable economy and progressive social change activists who aim to put those ideas into practice. This chapter reviews the opportunities and challenges facing economists and...

Economics imperialism occurs when practitioners of the mainstream economic approach to human behavior set out to conquer territories traditionally occupied by other social sciences. Such an attempt to reinforce the 'unity' of economics by extending its influence was evident during decades in the...

The intellectual case for the pursuit of pluralism in political economy deserves careful consideration. This chapter argues that it rests primarily on three arguments: that economic and social theory arises out of simplification; that economic and social reality exists as an open (rather than...

Behavioural economics and neuroeconomics are two analytical traditions that have sought to articulate novel, interdisciplinary accounts of economic subjectivity within mainstream economics. This chapter assesses the nature of this dual project and what it has achieved. First, it briefly outlines...

Spatial political economy is an important link between political economy and geography. This chapter discusses the work of its key practitioners, emphasising their claim that geography is not some mere epiphenomenon but must, instead, be integrated into the core of political economic...

How are the internal relations between class, gender, and race to be conceptualised within a historical materialist perspective? This chapter engages with social property relations approaches, Marxist Feminist perspectives, and work on racial capitalism to develop a critique and a contribution...

Social economics regards the economy as embedded in human society. Its goal of explaining and premising the concept of 'social' in economics distinguishes it from classical political economy, contemporary mainstream economics, and most other political economic approaches. This chapter reviews...

Methodological pluralism is a key feature of Ecological Economics (EE), but it creates some inherent contradictions. This article probes these characteristics of an important subject area that has major internal schisms. The neoclassical economics camp within EE focuses on formally rational...

The Austrian School of economics presents an understanding of the economy that differs from both neoclassical economics and other heterodox economics alternatives. This chapter describes the key tenets of the positive scientific analysis characteristic of the school. It also comments on the...

The capital as power approach to political economy was developed by Jonathan Nitzan and Shimshon Bichler. This chapter argues that it is an insightful and important approach that can be used to investigate and understand a variety of political economic problems associated with the accumulation...