About Polekon
Politics, economics, and philosophy are modern specializations of an older and much broader subject: political economy.
polekon is short for political economy.
The Terrain
Political economy is the study of how societies organize production and distribution, and how power, incentives, and institutions shape what becomes possible.
It is also difficult terrain.
Not because the ideas are inherently forbidding, but because most people encounter political economy in fragments: a textbook chapter, a policy debate, a podcast episode, a forwarded paper, an online thread. You accumulate pieces, but they don't settle into a usable picture.
This creates three problems: no clear learning path, conceptual roadblocks when you encounter unfamiliar frameworks, and surface-level understanding that cannot connect different concepts and facts into a coherent explanation.
Polekon exists to provide what is usually missing: structure. Good maps, clear routes, and sign-posts that actually point somewhere.
What We Make
We design structured learning experiences for serious, intellectually curious adults.
Our flagship offering is Political Economy of Development
A workshop built around a single question: why do some countries develop and others don't? It uses India as the central case, with Taiwan and South Korea as comparative counterpoints.
We also run symposia—small-group seminars where we read slowly, argue carefully, and return to first principles.
Who It's For
Polekon is for people who are interested in public policy, but feel that their understanding is scattered.
You may be a working professional, a journalist, a founder, a policy practitioner, or simply a serious reader. What you're looking for is a structured way to learn—not just content, but the frameworks that help you make sense of it.
About Me
I'm Abhinav Singh, the founder of Polekon.
Before starting Polekon, I led ipolicy at the Centre for Civil Society—one of India's top-ranked think tanks—where I designed and taught public policy courses to thousands of students and professionals across the country. I've written editorials on economic policy for Mint.
Polekon began with a grant from Emergent Ventures, Tyler Cowen's fellowship program for high-potential projects. I hold a Master's degree in Behavioral and Computational Economics.
I started Polekon because I realized that the most insightful ideas in political economy are not necessarily the most challenging to understand. What's missing is a structured path through them.
Why Trust Polekon
We take structure seriously because we take your attention seriously.
We are deliberate about what to read, what to watch, what to think about, and in what order. We treat learning as a craft: sequencing, revision, clarity, and disciplined argument, rather than accumulation.
If you are looking for a quick primer, polekon may feel slow.
If you are looking for principles and frameworks, you are in the right place.