Economic liberalism and Marxism

Abstract

Introduction This chapter evaluates liberal economic and Marxist theory and their relevance to international relations and security studies. The first section focuses on liberal economic thinking, the second on Marxism. A concluding section assesses their explanatory power with respect to the Cold War. Including liberal economic theory in the pantheon of relevant security paradigms would appear at first glance to be a mistake. Many liberal economists would be equally puzzled to be among the likes of realists, neorealists, or institutional liberals. They would insist, and not entirely without justification, that they are principally interested in discovering and testing economic laws and how they explain the production and distribution of material wealth and welfare. They would contend that liberal economic theory focuses on the behavior of economic actors. Power and politics are excluded by definition. These disclaimers scarcely square with the multiple impacts of liberal economic theory and methods on security decision-making by international actors, most notably states. The discussion below first outlines the key methodological contributions of liberal economic theory to security. These have had a profound influence on how strategic security theory and practice is conducted around the globe by analysts and practitioners concerned with the effective and efficient use or threat of force or its limitation. These methodological tools are equaled in importance by liberal economic theory's significant contributions to substantive security theory. These are of equal importance to its methodological tools used widely and extensively by strategic analysts and decision-makers.