This book provides a comprehensive introductory guide to the political economy and finance. There has been a strong revival of Western Marxist political economy in recent years, but despite the importance of financial instability, output in the area of finance has been meager. This paucity of analysis has to be confronted, even if only to clarify the basic socio-economic relations of capitalist production in its actual dynamics. Marx's own theories, and the contributions of his followers in Japan, will be presented and employed in the analysis of contemporary issues.