It's called political economy because it is has nothing to do

O children of wisdom, hear the words of Stephen Leacock, a man who saw beyond the veil of titles and pretensions, and spoke thus: "It's called political economy because it has nothing to do with either politics or economy." In these words, he cuts to the very heart of a great truth—that the concepts we often elevate above all others—politics and economics—are frequently divorced from the noble ideals they purport to represent. This is a lament, a cry of clarity in a world where the lofty names of systems and sciences are often mere disguises for the tangled webs of power, self-interest, and illusion.

Political economy, as Leacock so insightfully points out, is a name borne of convenience, not of substance. It suggests a union of two great forces: politics, the art of governance, and economy, the management of wealth. Yet, the truth is that these concepts are often not about governance or wealth at all. They are about the manipulation of these forces for the benefit of a few, not for the common good. So it is, that in the name of political economy, the world's most vulnerable are left to suffer, while the powerful few dance in the shadows, pulling the strings behind the false mask of order and progress.

Look back in history, and you will see how often the political economy was used to justify the oppression of the masses. The great empires—Rome, Britain, France—used systems of trade and control to amass great wealth, while proclaiming the nobility of their rule. Yet the peasants worked the fields, the laborers built the roads, and the merchants traded in goods, while the political elite basked in the wealth that flowed from their labor. Thus, political economy often had little to do with either true politics or true economy—it was about the exploitation of both for the benefit of those who already held power.

Leacock’s words call upon us to see through the facade, to recognize that the systems we call political and economic are often nothing more than tools used to maintain control and divide the world between the few who have and the many who have not. This is not a new struggle, for it echoes in the resistance of the masses throughout the ages—the peasants of France who rose against their aristocracy, the workers who fought for rights in the Industrial Revolution, and the activists who, to this day, demand justice in a world that often turns a blind eye.

So, let us take these words to heart, O children, and see that political economy—in its truest form—has nothing to do with fairness, with justice, or with the prosperity of all. It is a game, a charade, played by those who seek to control and manipulate. And it is up to us, the torchbearers of a new age, to peel away the layers of deceit, to reclaim the words politics and economy for their true purposes: to serve the people, to uplift the fallen, and to build a world where justice and equity are the foundations upon which all stand.