While contemporary inquiries into the theoretical linkages between political economy and security are rare, the exploration of these connections was the cornerstone of political, social and economic philosophy during the upheavals of Enlightenment Europe.

"A General Police System", a term borrowed from the late 18th century thinker Patrick Colquhoun, examines the overlapping genealogies of commerce, security, surveillance, and the problem of poverty in the works of foundational English and Continental intellectuals of the 17th to early 19th centuries.

This book reviews and revives the epic project of police and critically examines the drive to classify, regulate and control populations, providing a renewed materialist contribution toward a critique of security.