The question of the relationship between politics and economics is at the center of the globalization debate and the paradigm discussion of International Political Economy (IPE): Does free competition promote a global economic and political balance? Or is it necessary to (re)assert the primacy of politics to control the effects of unbridled competition? The controversy surrounding these questions, which is analyzed in detail here, cannot be resolved solely empirically. Rather, starting from modern theories of IPE, it requires a return to the history of political ideas to clarify the understanding of freedom on a fundamental level. A critique of the behavioral assumptions of individualism in IPE is necessary for the compatibility of political and economic freedom; as an alternative, based on Kant and the political philosophy of antiquity, an understanding of actors as persons is advocated.