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J ournal of Economic and Social Policy Volume 15 | Issue 1 Article 1 1-1-2012 Principles of Political Economy Applied to Policy and Governance: Disembedded Economy, Contradictions, Circular Cumulation and Uneven Development Phillip Anthony OHara Global Political Economy R esearch Unit, Perth, Aus tralia Follow this and additional works at : .au/jesp Recommended Citation OHara, Phillip Anthony (2012) Principles of Political Economy Applied to Policy and Governance: Disembedded Economy, Contradictions, Circular Cumulation and neven Development, J ournal of Economic and Social Policy : Vol. 15: Iss. 1, Article 1. Available at : .au/jesp/vol15/iss1/1 ePublications@SCU is an electronic repository administered by Southern Cross niversity Library. Its goal is to capture and preserve the intellectual output of Southern Cross niversity authors and researchers, and to increase visibility and impact through open access to researchers around the world. For further information please contact epubs@.au. Principles of Political Economy Applied to Policy and Governance: Disembedded Economy, Contradictions, Circular Cumulation and Uneven Development Abstract The purpose of this paper is to apply some core general principles of political economy to central issues of policy and governance. After a short section explaining the nature of the science of political economy, we start with Polanyi’s principle of the disembedded economy, and how this relates to cycles and waves of policy- making concerning the double movement and the relationship between markets, reciprocity and redistribution. Then we go on to scrutinise the principle of contradiction, paying special attention to the importance of capital-labor relations, the finance-industry dichotomy, monopoly versus competition, profit and the environment, plus individual versus society. Thereafter the principle