Theoretical political economy
We consider the theoretical principles of fairness, distributional justice, environmental and social sustainability, equality and freedom upon which political-economic orders ought to be based and their relationship to the contemporary political and economic institutions which shape capitalist social relations.
These debates bring the group into engagement with some of the eminent figures of the discipline, including Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Friedrich Hayek, Karl Polanyi, John Maynard Keynes and Milton Friedman who deliberated the philosophical and normative foundations of economic structures.
Current work encompasses research on the theoretical approaches of the Vienna Circle and the socialist calculation debate, the meaning of price and value, gender, rational choice economics, neo-Gramscianism. Empirical subjects being investigated include agricultural production, neo-colonial international relations, and the processes of European integration which expose a myriad of unjust relationships.
This research area is led by Prof John O'Neil. Please contact him directly if you would like to join the group and/or be informed about relevant events in this area.
People
- John O’Neill – John's research interests lie in philosophical and ethical underpinnings of the global economy, the limits of market governance, environmental unsustainability, the socialist calculation debates, and the philosophy of science.
- Greig Charnock – Greig’s research is associated with the 'Open Marxism' approach to political economy. He has engaged the approach with theories of the 'production of space'.
- Dr Adrienne Roberts - Adrienne is attuned to the gendered dynamics of political economy structures and zones in how these are manifested in finance and debt-driven models of development, state policy, and processes of social reproduction.
- Liam Shields – Liam’s work partly examines the equality of opportunity and work, and questions about the fair distribution of various benefits and burdens, such as rights, opportunities, wealth and well-being.
- Philipp Roessner – Philipp offers a historical perspective on the development of political economy in the early modern period, with a focus on Scotland, England and Germany in particular.
- Jonathan Benson – Jonny’s research is concerned with the epistemic dimension of democratic politics and legitimacy. This refers to the ways in which democracy represents not only a set of fair procedures for taking political decisions but also a set of institutions for social problem-solving which can achieve positive outcomes. His current research project compares deliberative models of democracy with a number of alternative institutional forms (such as markets, economic calculation, and expert decision-making), in order to investigate the extent to which they can ground democratic legitimacy.
- Magdalena Rodekirchen offers theoretical and methodological innovations with regards to feminist, ecofeminist, and political economy research.
- Ellie Gore's research advances theoretical approaches to feminist political economy and social reproduction approaches, including queer and trans social reproduction, queer theory, and the political economy of the body.
- John Haskell's theoretical interest lie at the intersections of law and political economy, law and religion, and legal theory.