"A Market Where We All Fit" Adult Education and the Fair Trade Movement

The global market continues to create the "great and permanent evils" so well outlined by Karl Polanyi in his book, The Great Transformatioit His description of the destructive effects of the emerging self-regulating market during the Industrial Revolution is reflected today in the ongoing erosion of social, environmental, and economic sustainability in both the North and the South. In this downward spiral of life parameters, fair trade opens up the possibility of a market where we all fit, not where we all ultimately fail. Adult education has a vital role to play in opening up spaces where fair trade can prosper and grow, thus contributing to a second great transformation to a more sustainable society.