The Great Transformation by Karl Polanyi

Description

The Great Transformation by Karl Polanyi is a groundbreaking work of economic history and social theory that explores the profound political and social changes brought about by the rise of market economies in the 19th and 20th centuries. Published in 1944, the book argues that the development of a self-regulating market system fundamentally disrupted traditional social structures and human relationships, leading to widespread social dislocation and instability. Polanyi traces how the industrial revolution and the spread of capitalism detached the economy from embedded social relations, transforming land, labor, and money into mere commodities. This shift, he contends, undermined social cohesion and provoked backlash in the form of protective movements, both democratic and authoritarian. He famously describes this dynamic as the "double movement," where society reacts to the disembedding of the economy by seeking to reassert social control over economic life. The Great Transformation remains a seminal critique of classical economic liberalism and free-market ideology. Polanyi’s insights into the social consequences of unregulated capitalism continue to resonate, offering a powerful lens for understanding modern economic crises, globalization, and debates over the role of the state in managing economic affairs.