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This chapter looks into the mystery as to why many people think that capitalism is the only viable economic system. Globalisation has significantly transformed the economic lives of people, and this is visible on an everyday level. Beyond the process of production, capitalism also goes hand in hand with social transformations such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter campaign. Since capitalism is a deeply political system with far-reaching effects on the international system, the chapter explores the myth that capitalism operates as a system of free enterprise independent of state involvement. Additionally, it considers the importance of reflecting on new ways of thinking about capitalism and how a world after capitalism might look.

This chapter highlights the importance of critical thinking as a vital tool in bringing about change in global politics. It explains how critical thinking allows people to make informed and well-reasoned decisions in situations such as jobs, voting, and being either right or wrong. Voting and the Covid-19 pandemic are some examples of everyday experiences affected by global politics, power relations, and political relationships. The chapter also clarifies how myth often recounts historical events in terms of patterned signs, symbols, or meanings instead of narrating as factual chronology. Moreover, it introduces Nesrine Malik’s four tools for thinking differently in and about global politics, and Karen Armstrong’s analysis of mythology that could assist in imagining new and beneficial political ideas and arrangements.

This chapter describes a wide range of contemporary health challenges. It begins by assessing what it means to be healthy. The Covid-19 pandemic, and the response to it, have brought to the fore and shed new light on many of the issues that are core to Global Political Economy (GPE). Despite spectacular advances, there are huge inequalities in health in the world today, both within and between countries. Improving health requires both prevention and cure: public health efforts to protect and promote the health of populations, and healthcare services that are accessible to all in times of need. The chapter then considers how the social, economic, and commercial determinants of health can best be understood by adopting a GPE lens. A GPE framework can also reveal the challenges the world faces in its attempt to achieve universal access to quality healthcare.