The Union for Radical Political Economics (URPE) was founded in the summer of 1968, when graduate students and faculty from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), Harvard University and Radcliffe College held a working meeting in Ann Arbor just a few weeks before the National Democratic Party Convention in Chicago. The prospectus of URPE, developed in the first few weeks of its inception, included the following objectives. First, to promote a new interdisciplinary approach to political economy which includes also relevant themes from political science, sociology and social psychology. Secondly, to develop new courses and research areas which reflect the urgencies of the day and a new value premise. Such areas include the economics of the ghetto, poverty, imperialism, interest groups, and the military-industry complex. And thirdly, political economics should be sensitive to the needs of the social movements of our day, and have more group research, with an approach that links all issues to a broad framework of analysis. The organization opposes all exploitation on the basis of class, race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and other social/economic/cultural constructs. URPE presents constructive critical analyses of the capitalist system and supports debate and discussion on alternative left visions of a socialist society. URPE was founded by activist-oriented individuals who realized the need for coherent strategy and theory. It has often experienced a tension between theory and activism. Those interested in theory see URPE as an intellectual community to discuss and develop research in left political economy. Those interested in activism see URPE as an organization that can be a proactive resource for non-economists to understand economic issues from a left perspective. Organizational efforts to wed these divergent views has focused on preparation and dissemination of publications and other activities that present alternative left visions of economic analysis. There are two main annual meetings of URPE. First there is the academic conference held in January of each year in a prominent US City, as part of the Allied Social Science Association (ASSA). In this forum, URPE members present papers in a collegial environment (usually about 30 URPE sessions are held), and socialize at dinners and other gatherings. And secondly, there is the annual summer camp conference, where both academics and activists informally participate in discussions, classes, work-in-progress, networking, and social activities. Topics are chosen to reflect relevant policy debates in the news.