Polanyi's Magnum Opus ? Assessing the Application of the Counter-Movement in International Political Economy

The concept of the ‘counter-movement’ has had a significant impact within studies in International Political Economy (IPE). In the light of the credit crisis and the growth of growing resentment to the notion of the free market, the idea of the counter-movement has been utilised to understand social reaction to neoliberalism. This article argues that whilst the counter-movement has been used in unique and innovated ways, Karl Polanyi himself used the term largely to refer to a specific period in nineteenth-century British history. This article argues that whilst the counter-movement remains interesting, its application remains open to scrutiny. It questions whether the concept was indeed central to Polanyian economic thought and how much can be given to it in today's contemporary era of neoliberalism. It also suggests that by focusing merely on the counter-movement, Polanyian accounts within IPE are in danger of ignoring much of his wider critique of market economics.