In this compelling new book, Meghnad Desai takes a critical, introspective look at the bodies of thought that have driven economics across the world. From Adam Smith to John Maynard Keynes, and from the Great Depression to the collapse of the Lehmann Brothers, Desai studies the contributions of economics to domestic and international politics. The Poverty of Political Economy asks necessary and startling questions: Where have we fallen short? How have changes in the international order affected the making of economies?