International Political Economy in the Society

International Political Economy
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POL4401Instructor Date
* Why are there conflicts between politics and economics?
Political and economic forces or the states and markets try to influence outcomes, and since politics involves exercising power. Political interest may be antagonistic to the economic interests on the global stage. For instance, the US focusing on maintaining economic ties with China but also limiting China’s influence in Asia creates conflicts as Chinese politicians want to be more influential in their backyard. The government implements policies to grow the economy, but opposition to policies involving wealth distribution indicates the differences in who ought to benefit from growth. For instance, fiscal policies involving tax cuts were adopted under the Trump administration, but there were disagreements on how this affected poor people.
Politicians and policymakers often have to evaluate both economic and political interests, but either interest can prevail over the other. President Clinton considered whether to grant China favorable entry into the US market at a time when China’s human rights record was worse than today. In the end, Clinton decided to allow China’s entry and focus on improving US-China relations. Economics involves wealth and income and focuses more on individual interest, unlike politics that emphasizes national interest.
There is more pressure to maintain national unity in politics, and sometimes this is at the exposes of economic freedom and rights. Additionally, when undertaking economic reforms, governments require support from various stakeholders, including legislators who have divergent views on what are the best policies. Winning public acceptance is essential in politics to get things done, and leaders may fail to adopt policies that they prefer based on the public sentiment and wheth...