When the term ‘development’ is attached to political economy, its primary objective is to ensure that economics contributes to greater liberty and justice within society. Contemporary development political economy emphasizes achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, building on the progress made with the Millennium Development Goals. This approach likely originates from the knowledge management strategies of the United Nations Development Program, which issues global public policy directives on development. These directives are implemented in national plans and programs worldwide, particularly through the frameworks of a green economy and inclusive development in both the Global North and Global South. The goal is to foster a durable political economy supported by finance, capital, and technology. However, financial resources alone are often insufficient for planners, practitioners, and national political leaders, who may harbour reservations about the effectiveness of these efforts.
Political economy is fundamentally guided and driven by ideologies. Therefore, the development of political economy aims to establish economic justice, appraise contemporary economic history, and acknowledge the diverse and plural stakeholders—both domestic and foreign. The aspiration for green, resilient, and anthropocentric inclusive development is a shared dream among many countries. However, today, time and resource constraints necessitate a viable, progressive, and durable approach to development economics. If these demands are unmet, social tensions may arise, potentially leading to political disorder. Contemporary political economy operates within this undercurrent, continuously encountering both dissent and consensus as the process of modernization unfolds.
One of the major concerns of the discipline of political economy is contestations of pursuing liberal economics by liberal idealists – the centre or the centre of right, a socialist contemplation envisioning an economic system without capitalism by the centre of Left or the Left and radical political economist to address dependencies and unjust world economic systems. While the International Political Economy influences national economics, global economic problems manifest everywhere due to the enactment leading to a uniformity of fiscal and monetary policy templates. The political economy of countries today is facing the challenge of national resilience. Whether the political economy can withstand the pressures and imperatives of poor economics or it is a poverty of working or viable thoughts. Or it can trigger to steamroll every country in the unchecked process of capitalism with all its pitfalls and pillage on the turf of the political economy. So that economist has an imperative to focus on to rectify and sustain durable wealth generation and multiplication of prosperity.
Vulnerability is the norm in human society. But to make it an exception depends on the promotion of virtues instead of the non-imitation of vices. A right blending of policy execution is a must. In this matter, emulation in competitive sectors and promotion of local ingenuity and knowledge economic application in business ventures are reliable and promising to deliver fast prosperity to the urban-rural connecting economies. It gives impetus to niche-building products – goods and services that keep money in to reduce poverty and unemployment challenges. Income-generating careers and sectors tied with this strategy and inter-allied palliative measures would further solidify a sustainable economy. It can coopt in the liberal democratic framework with a global democratic pulse on the backdrop.
Donor countries that grant aid and loans are the countries investing in the corporate world including small-, micro-, and medium enterprises too. A small-thinking entrepreneurial business makes it possible to turn to transnational corporations or MNCs in terms of capital, finance, or technology. It adds value to the power systems of society craving for it. Therefore, the political economy domain recovers or needs stimulation depending on the peace economics – sustainable, individual or community-based relief, promotion, and protection from risks and mitigating extra-probable offense from the international system. Economics when exposed to start-ups, novice aspiring magnates along with similar exposures are witnessing in regular economics and finance. Politics with running entities reckon the economic trajectory no different in salience. Thus, economics reflects politics or vice versa.
There are no doubt socio-political tensions are rising without redressing exacting entrepreneurial habits. On the other hand, geopolitics is also constraining the potential and prospects of the home-grown development model. Great powers strategize their epistemic model of development of political economy. Its consensus in their boardroom encounters conflicts in other theatres of the world or peripheral regions where marginalization or dominated feeling is rife with criticisms of power and hegemony of the superior entities and agents. Sometimes democracy derails from the compounding problems of policies spinning somewhere outside the native land. Their conflict and contradictions fall out in countries where they indulge or express or get addicted more to power politics. It, therefore, limits external sovereignty and breaches internal sovereignty. In a country between the Global North and the Global South, it is changing economics and finance in Favor of human development, debunking the traditional mindset of vocation in political economy: liberty and justice demand development. Once the bottom line in political economy is hammered out, peace, happiness and prosperity roll out determinants with scripted development public policy dividends. To some extent, such political forgings try to address its periphery or prioritized welfare sectors. It is unnatural to find the state turns to philanthropy in juxtaposition to the private foundation or endowment that engages in charity programs. On the contrary, justice remains an overdue state of public affairs. The problem manifests when policies and plans impregnate overlooking the state apparatus and political society’s apathy.
The price of neglect of commons and discrimination of uncommons are the innate nature of contemporary society. Wherein the presence of radical democrats exhibits the tirade and burden of competition and unsynchronized pace of times and circumstances. I think the relic of history is seen, felt and actualized in the quotidian affairs of life and society. This fosters contradictions and paradoxes simmering in the trajectory of human history. It, therefore, calls on political society to intervene to democratize society and mete out justice to the excluded sections from the power politics of the central or hegemonic capitals within the country or outside. Criticisms need not be against a parlance of imperialist temptations or a neo-colonial mentality. However, self-learning is the right option to better the human condition.
It is the result of the mainstreaming of thinking inside the country and outside. Human nature and the state of nature are in the momentum of uniformity or homogenizing irrespective of differences or heterogeneity. The reflections of diversity and pluralism are spread in every entity and agency inside the state and outside its domain. So, once conflict erupts the contours and subtleties of peace-building have their keenness to resolve to heal the wounds of the past or narratives and counter-narratives laden with violence. This is an interesting anthropocentric involvement in tasks of humanitarian concern. I believe that this type of scenario or phenomenon is replete in countries and across the world where the concept of power based on interests, justice and the pursuit of truth prevails.
In this regard, change management is an eternal spirit in the statecraft impinged by political, economic, social, and cultural status and identity evolution, growth and development. Since the 1980s when the Bretton Woods Institutions coupled with the neo-classical thought on economics had been adopted, a mismatch and missing opportunities cost political order with the onset of yet another political disorder against the Cold War. That war was waged within us. The world experienced the long peace in bipolarity that was the peace order maintained domestically. This thermidor or temperament opened up like Pandora’s box once the macro level in world politics crumbled due to internal contradictions to support it. The same phenomenon is continuing and the political reordering is happening with economic conditions seeing no traction of becoming genuine or authentic. I am saying this because development and political economy practices are affected and effected by the constant continuity, conflict and change in governmentality at the state and the global level or global governance shortcomings or weaknesses or devoid of global consensus on global public policy praxis concretized in reality. It concomitantly sets the trail of the trajectory of political and economic crises that have not been addressed with gravity or importance till now. What we hear from the economic and finance news is the measures best suited to survival rather than sustainability.
Meanwhile, fiscal and monetary policy are formulated to specific tasks to run the routine or serve the power centres be it in the political society or the interests’ agenda of stakeholders. I think the sovereignty we talk about in politics and economics is abused, misused and disused. It can trigger a revolutionary blaze to rethink the simple understanding of the introduction of political economy. Until or unless we bridge the democracy deficit in these basics, we are not going to see the fundamental or tangible realization of an open, free, tolerant and just society anytime or anywhere near the future. While the talking point seems many, the freedoms and liberties cannot be overlooked when we experience the development of political economy including displacement or replacement or placement of habitat in either residence, industrial settings, or corporate working spaces.
In due course of time, some political metamorphosis could be a new beginning everywhere in the world that may not be heard or seen or in buzz, unlike the populism or publicity we find on the media, or even issues and concerns academics might get blind. As the silent cry resonates in our territory so does the silent growth of individuals or spaces where the rhythms of persevering sanity prevail from underestimating or belittling insanity or policies that are intrusive or invasive. Instead of these attitudes and stereotypes a practical, natural, or non-surgical development heals the pristine nature of political economy. Thus, the Hegelian dialectical mode of situation again in this historical journey of human society sounds truer than rarer.
If politics is shaping and democracy is imperfect so goes the dismal or pig science of economics undertakings that enlivens and embodies the dynamism of human forces at the dance of the predominant elite of particular political-economic state and global forces. In the matter of the free market economy, a vogue of political economy, the level of freedom is questioned when injustice is perpetuated between and among the market leaders and the consumers. It is furthering to discredit the economic philosophy that is rooted in a democracy based on liberty, equality and equity bundled in justice. An invisible hand intervenes and corrects this system is real when the decline and disadvantage to this benevolent concept of capitalism. It meets its death knell in the nemesis of miscreants or spoilers like bullies in the neighbourhood or schools ragging the innocents or nobles or the malafide intentions of mafioso actors.
Human nature is similar in the economic domain and not confined to the political arena. Because the state of mind of individuals or agents or entities are on the same page, gaze and conduct every day. It is inured firmly in the mindscape of sovereign people aka citizens qua consumers service seekers or public good beneficiaries. Financial markets, depending on the fiscal and economic policy of the executive decisions and the credibility of the lawmakers, deliberate in the sound footing and reality of the territory where they fight the battle of existence. Development political economy has this nexus in the government, lawmakers and concerned agents or agencies getting their attitude, mind-sets and deliberations showing reflection in the human face without humane development. Development hurdles today are the grappling with the problems of human society where changing dimensions of human affairs and human sciences are the constant belief that we are in motion of life-world desiring or wanting to be in the station.
