Morgenthau and Carr (Kelsey Hunter, Week 2 Substantive)

In "A Realist Theory of International Relations," Hans Morgenthau points out that one of the six principles of realism is that for Realists "interest is defined in terms of power." He goes on to point out that the concept of interest never changes, although the definitions of interest and power are subject to circumstances.
E.H. Carr, in the "Power in International Politics" chapter, said that "economic power" is a form of power whereby states use economic superiority to put themselves in positions of power, however for Morgenthau in the field of economics the primary interest is defined as wealth. These seem on the surface to be conflicting ideas if we understand that Morgenthau believes the primary interest of politics and economics to be different and that Carr sees economics as potentially having the same interest as politics. However this brings me back to Morgenthau's concession that interest though constant takes different forms due to the political and cultural context of different political decisions. It is possible that the interest of the nation is "economic power" rather than power in a form of violence or power in the form of power over opinion. A state could set the goal of becoming wealthier than all nations in order to serve as a hegemon, and this we may determine is interest defined as "economic power" that has power as the goal rather than wealth as the goal.
As a student of both IR and Economics, I find this to be an interesting analysis, and one that I find to be true. The intersection of politics and economics is very important in the relations between states in the international system.