Classic Liberalism versus Critical Theory in Understanding Global Political Economy

Global Political Economy
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Global political economy (GBE) refers to the collaboration between economic and political factors that affect a nation. Public well-being is the central factor, and the state behaves in a way that benefits the majority. Traditionally, it focuses on international affairs, building connections in various parts of the world. As a result, it frequently focused on the elites and neglected the condition of the non-elites. This is why the term transformed from international political economy to GBE to make it more comprehensive. The existing inequality of treatment can be proven by the critical theory and disproven by classic liberalism, both of which are philosophies that existed in different ages. Between these two, critical theory emphasizes culture and society as means to challenge power structures, favoring the concept of inequality through the dominance of one group over the other. At the same time, liberalism focuses on the free markets and the matters of the state and the public, demonstrating the equality in free trade secondary to the harmony in interests.
Freedom is the central concept of classic liberalism. This pertains to a person’s liberty or independence under the rule of law. It functions in negative freedom, where there is non-existence of barriers, constraints, or obstacles. Here, there are more efficient free markets and trades than the state's plans and interventions because it limits the latter’s capacity to rule and elaborates the former’s liberty to play within the market economy. This prevents the state from hosting unbending federalism that imposes tremendous taxes on those participating in the market and trading (Pack, 2016).
In the context of the economy, classical liberalism allows the people to liberate themselves from the economic rules of the government, removing the restriction in land transfers and occupational choices. Here, all the stakeholders act based on their self-interest, ultimately leading to the service of the majority’s interest. This is because its central component is human nature. An example of this is when the producers deliver products for their profit and not for the majority's betterment. Similarly, the laborers sell their services to have money to buy the producers' goods, satisfy their wants and needs, and not to benefit the producers. Despite the differences in agenda, satisfying personal objectives mean that these people work in harmony with their interests, leading to the cumulative best interest of the society. As a result, there is a free competitive market that models manufacture, exchange, and deliver the products and services even when the government does not mediate. Since the public acts based on individual interests, the government can only maintain external security and ensure equal protection of property rights and contracts (Gissy, 2008).
On the other hand, Robert Cox’s Gramscian critical theory pertains to the common choice of the people to favor sociopolitical or...