The Bondage of Liberal Economics
Strange, Susan. “The Bondage of Liberal Economics.” SAIS Review 6, no. 1 (1986): 25-38.
Here Strange returns again to the inadequacy of economics in its analysis of international trade, made in ‘International Trade’ (1955) and ‘International money matters’ (1970), and elsewhere. Noting the contradictions between economic models of international trade and what was actually happening in the international economy, Strange argues economists have failed to appreciate that trade is only a secondary international structure. This leads her to briefly lay out the argument that would be developed at more length in States and Markets (1988). Most importantly she firmly concludes that international economics is an ideological construction which serves the interests of the powerful states, most significantly the United States.
Keywords: Economics; Hegemony; Theory; Trade; General Framework