Political-Economic Theory

According to Wikipedia, political economy was the original term for the study of production, the acts of buying and selling, and their relationships to laws, customs and government. However when applying that idea to communications it changes just a little bit. In the present, political economy refers to a variety of different, but related, approaches to studying economic and political behavior, which range from combining economics with other fields, to using different fundamental assumptions which challenge those of orthodox economics

According to McQuail “Political-economic theory identifies a socially critical approach that focuses primarily on the relation between the economic structure and dynamics of media industries and the ideological content of media. It directs research attention to the empirical analysis of the structure of ownership and control of media and to the way media market forces operate. From this point of view, the media institution has to be considered as part of the economic system, with close links to the political system" (McQuail 99)

So how does a communication theory help the world of politics?

Its simple, the basis of politics comes from the people, just as Smith and Marx believed. In order to keep the people informed, politicians need communication.

My article was taken from Newsweek.com. It is about the political economy of China. Fareed Zakaria, the author, believes that China is growing everyday and their economy continues to prosper. From a poor nation years ago, they now are slowly becoming a superpower among the worlds resources.

Although the article does not go directly into the meaning of the theory, it does directly show how the political economy of both the United States and China use communication to get their information to the public … through articles like this.

The question I pose to you as you read the article is, does the article do a good job of explaining the political economy of both the U.S. and China?

Finally, after you finish the article I ask, does the political economy of the United States seem weaker than that of China, a growing superpower?



http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7693580/site/newsweek/