Your search

Few would have predicted the rapid progress of the EU in developing common economic institutions 20 or 30 years ago, although many commentators might have foreseen the relatively slow development of convergent social policies. This paper sets the European debate in the context of the path-breaking work of Polanyi and Schumpeter at the end of the Second World War. It argues that the economic institutions of the EU are at least as important as the social policy institutions in understanding...

The hegemony of neoliberalism now poses a fundamental challenge to planners worldwide. Most influential in this regard has been Francis Fukuyama's 'end of history' ideology and its progenies - or mutations - such as the Third Way. A close reading of their proponents (especially Anthony Giddens) and critics (Perry Anderson, Pierre Bourdieu, Alex Callinicos, John Gray and others) with reference to the contrasting political-economic theories of Friedrich von Hayek and Karl Polanyi, however,...

Towards an Inclusive Democracy, it is argued, offers a powerful new interpretation of the history and destructive dynamics of the market and provides an inspiring new vision of the future in place of both neo-liberalism and existing forms of socialism. It is shown how this work synthesizes and develops Karl Polanyi's characterization of the relationship between society and the market and Cornelius Castoriadis' philosophy of autonomy. A central component of Fotopoulos' argument is that social...

This article compares Mexico and India's experiences with neoliberalism to propose that the collapse of the development state generates countermovements. In both nations, neoliberalism is associated with the decline of the one-party deminant system, and a restructuring of civil society. Variations emerge in the timing of democratization in these countries. In India, democratization preceded neoliberal reforms, whereas in Mexico democratization followed neoliberal reforms, but in both cases...

Whether globalization will result in improvement or deterioration in protection of human rights is not a matter that can be observed in the short term. Globalization is, in effect, the second ‘great transformation’ (Polanyi) spreading capitalism over the entire world. In consequence, many of its short-term effects will be negative. Nevertheless, its medium and long-term effects may well be positive, as it impels social changes that will result in greater moves to democracy, economic...

In examining the world-historical context of the rise of pan-Islamic nationalism in Iran, this paper posits Islamic fundamentalism as a modern and global (rather than premodern and local) movement. Drawing on Polanyi and linking economy, polity, and culture, this study traces the origins of pan-Islamic nationalism in Iran to the transformation of the world-market relations in the second half of the nineteenth century and the rise of the food/agrarian regime after 1870. It shows that the...

Neo-liberal policies and practices which impugn state policies as artificial interferences in the smooth operation of markets are at work globally, nationally and locally. Based on research about the Justice for Janitors in California, this paper examines the experience of the campaigns in San Jose and Sacramento. The paper is organized around a tension between two issues about markets that are explained by Karl Polanyi: their social reality as complex political constructions and the...

Revisits the debt peonage debate, central to understanding Latin American transitions to capitalism, particularly in Diormo, Granada, Nicaragua. Differences between capitalist and noncapitalist societies according to Karl Polanyi and Robert Brenner; Land peasantry in Diriomo; Legislation enacted to compel peasants to work in plantation agriculture.

Polanyi argued that the project of creating a fully self-regulating market was utopian, in the sense of impossible. However, movement towards this utopia, the ever greater but never completed process of disembedding the economy from both society and nature, creates growing dislocations and tensions which call forth a counter movement. This double movement may be thought of as successive changes in the way in which the economic process is instituted. The focus of the paper is on the meaning...

Presents views of scholar Karl Polanyi on economic integration. Views of Polanyi on modern capitalist society; Distinction between external, local and internal markets by Polanyi. The three forms of economic integration include reciprocity, redistribution, and exchange. The article discusses Polyani's book "The Great Transformation," the development of market economies, the self-regulating market, some of the writings of Max Weber, big businesses, the efficiency of the market system, and...

Presents the perspective of philosopher Karl Polanyi on economic change. Works of Polanyi on the topic; Analysis of pre-modern economies by Polanyi. According to Jeffrey Nugent, institutions make social life fairly predictable by restricting some actions and providing incentives for other actions. The article discusses Polanyi's book "The Great Transformation," the self-regulating market economy, scarcity, individual choice, economic development in India, trust in India's corporate...

Discusses various conceptions of law. Concept of law as an epiphenomenon of underlying structures; Views of economist Karl Marx on law. Discusses doctrine of individualism, constitutive role of law, property rights, contracts, the emergence of law, social ontology, the relations of individuals with social structures, self-organizing institutions, self-enforcement, Karl Polyani's view that self-regulating markets are unattainable, rule of law, social reality, and how the nature of legal...

Focuses on the issue of moral philosophy and economic sociology. Views of philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre on morality; Works on morality. Discusses morality in social science, Karl Polyani's writings on the social context of economic change, Marxist socialism, human cooperation, social relations, self-interest, moral responsibility, market order, public ownership, redistributive taxation, social welfare, Max Weber's ethic of responsibility, and the connections between MacIntyre's and...

Focuses on the creation of the European market for mobile telephony. Merits of the global system for mobile communications; Reasons for the emergence for a market for mobile telephony. Discusses the socio-economic factors that influenced the development of the mobile telephony market, the writings of Karl Polyani, instituted process, the process of standardization, digital technology, European telecommunications during the 1980s, and the development of market structure in the global...

Focuses on the presentation 'Polanyian Perspectives on Instituted Economic Processes, Development and Transformation' at an international workshop held at Manchester, Connecticut. Organizer of the workshop; Theme of the workshop. The workshop was organized by the Centre for Research on Innovation and Competition. The article discusses varieties of capitalism, supply and demand, price formation, competition, economic motives, market economy, and the book "The Great Transformation," by Karl...

Kari Polanyi Levitt has commented that her father's writing was met with a 'deafening silence' in England, a silence which she suggests is 'yet to be explained'. Given The Great Transformation was purposefully, situated in England Polanyi Levitt's point is an interesting one, and one which still deserves attention. But the last two decades have witnessed an intensification of interest in Karl Polanyi's methodological approach and theoretical insights, from England as well as elsewhere, and...

Karl Polanyi’s 1944 book, The Great Transformation , has been recognized as central for the field of economic sociology, but it has not been subject to the same theoretical scrutiny as other classic works in the field. This is a particular problem in that there are central tensions and complexities in Polanyi’s argument. This article suggests that these tensions can be understood as a consequence of Polanyi’s changing theoretical orientation. The basic outline of the book was developed in...

Analyzes the Marxist concept of society to interpret the rise and fall of communist orders, the shift from politics of class to politics of recognition, the transition from colonialism to postcolonialism and the development of an emergent transnationalism. Relationship between sociology and Marxism; Genesis of a sociological Marxism; Theorists of society and socialism.

Provides an overview of some critical moments in the history of liberal capitalism as perceived by some historical witnesses. Views of brothers Max and Alfred Weber on the world economy before 1914; Historical parallels to the introduction of euro bills and coins in January 2002; Access of Germany to the world market for demographic and geographic reasons.

Presents a comparative analysis of the double movement of the belle époque and collapse of British hegemony with the double movement of the late 20th and early 21st century belle époque and current crisis of U.S. hegemony. Emphasis on the book 'The Great Transformation,' by Karl Polanyi; Liberal crusade for free markets in the 1830s and 1840s; Role of Great Britain as the central entrepôt of world commerce and finance.