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This chapter examines Polanyi’s institutional theory of market-capitalist society. It shows that market society is, according to Polanyi, a peculiarly “economic” society: its economy appears both autonomous and dominant, constraining the structure and evolution of other social subsystems. The chapter also demonstrates that Polanyi’s theory and method allow an explanation of the institutional transformations of market society. In the face of today’s great economic difficulties, social uneasiness, and ecological distress, Polanyian institutionalism remains a rich source of insight on humanity’s challenges and possibilities.