Given the complexity of the coronavirus crisis, many members of the lay public, but also many Social Science students feel overwhelmed by the various topics and the policy initiatives responding to the health crisis and the later recession. This limits citizens’ ability to exercise their democratic rights in steering the future course of events. The book aims at narrowing the uncertainty regarding the future of the economic system, thereby contributing to a more informed decision-making process on the side of governments and of public discourse on the side of citizens.

In order to pursue this target, this book analyses modern capitalism by dividing it into several policy areas and spheres of action. These include the relationship between economy and society as well as the environments, domestic and international economic institutions, geo-economic shifts and core ideological controversies. For each of these features, the book examines the core alternatives, based on established debates in Political Economy scholarship, and reviews the early evidence at hand.

By breaking down the monumental developments within capitalism into manageable chunks, I try to assist readers in making up their mind about current political alternatives. The book is not necessarily meant to be read from front to back. Its main purpose is to serve as a post-coronavirus digest and as a guide towards literature with more in-depth discussions. Readers might want to focus on the topics they are most interested in. The book includes many cross references between chapters, but discussions do not build upon previous chapters.

Given that the book addresses readers with very diverse previous knowledge in the field of Political Economy, it explains theoretical concepts in a very accessible language, without assuming large amounts of previous knowledge. Based on this very basic approach, the book should also be useful as reading for introductory modules in (Comparative or International) Political Economy, particularly by highlighting how useful classical controversies in Political Economy are for understanding issues raised by the coronavirus pandemic. In order to assist students in connecting the dots, the book links discussions on the pandemic with widely used textbooks and readings of Political Economy.