Few figures are more crucial to understanding the upheavals of our contemporary era than Karl Polanyi. In a world riven by social and economic crises, from rising inequality to the decay of democratic institutions and profound technological disruption, Polanyi's path-breaking account of the dynamics of market capitalism and his defence of society and nature against the dangerous tendencies of the market capitalist system are more relevant than ever. This book brings together Polanyi's most important articles and essays to give a unique selection of his essential shorter writings, mixing classic texts with significant but previously little-known pieces. It highlights the coherence and richness of Polanyi's theoretical and political approach, making it indispensable for understanding his overarching intellectual contribution. The volume includes his interwar writings, which deal with the world economic crisis and the socialist alternative to conservative and fascist developments; his reflection on political theory and the international situation after the war; and his comparative studies of economic institutions. Polanyi's political writings are complemented and supported by the critique of economic determinism and what he termed ‘our obsolete market mentality'. This book is an invaluable companion to Polanyi's masterpiece, The Great Transformation, and an essential resource for students and scholars of political economy, sociology, history and political philosophy.
Author(s): Karl Polanyi, Claus Thomasberger, Michele Cangiani
Publisher: Polity Press
Year: 2018
Language: English
Pages: 351
Tags: Economics, Economics: Political Aspects, Economics: Sociological Aspects
Cover......Page 1
Title page......Page 5
Copyright page......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
Acknowledgements......Page 9
Introduction......Page 11
I: Red Vienna......Page 23
1: On Freedom......Page 25
Ought and Being in Marx......Page 46
[Effects of Alienation on Individual Lives]......Page 48
2: New Reflections Concerning our Theory and Practice......Page 51
3: The Functionalist Theory of Society and the Problem of Socialist Economic Accounting (A Rejoinder to Professor L. von Mises and Dr Felix Weil)......Page 61
II: The World Economic Crisis and the Rise of Fascism......Page 69
4: Economy and Democracy......Page 71
5: The Mechanism of the World Economic Crisis......Page 76
6: The Essence of Fascism......Page 91
[I]......Page 118
[II]......Page 121
Market Economy is Born......Page 122
Man Versus Market......Page 126
III: On Marx and the Christian Roots of Western Civilization......Page 133
Different Kinds of Revolution......Page 135
The Deadly Tangle......Page 136
Socialism is functional......Page 137
Inevitable Failure......Page 138
Orthodox Objections......Page 139
Hegel in Marx......Page 140
Why does the ‘inevitable’ happen?......Page 141
Self-interest and leadership......Page 142
The price of leadership......Page 143
[First Fragment]......Page 145
[Second Fragment. (The first page of six is missing).]......Page 149
The Manuscript......Page 150
Gild or ‘Korporation’......Page 151
Their anti-democratic function......Page 152
10: Community and Society. The Christian Criticism of our Social Order......Page 154
11: Christianity and Economic Life......Page 164
Draft Statement by a Christian Left Group......Page 173
IV: The Great Transformation, Political Philosophy and Democracy......Page 175
12: Jean-Jacques Rousseau, or Is a Free Society Possible?......Page 177
[Manuscript 1]......Page 187
[Manuscript 2; the first page is missing]......Page 191
14: The Meaning of Parliamentary Democracy......Page 197
15: Our Obsolete Market Mentality. Civilization Must Find a New Thought Pattern......Page 207
V: Alignments on the International Stage......Page 223
16: Why Make Russia Run Amok?......Page 225
17: British Labour and American New Dealers......Page 236
18: Universal Capitalism or Regional Planning?......Page 241
VI: Towards a Comparative Study of Economic Institutions......Page 251
19: On Belief in Economic Determinism......Page 253
20: The Livelihood of Man, Introduction......Page 261
21: The Economistic Fallacy......Page 273
22: The Two Meanings of Economic......Page 285
23: The Economy Embedded in Society......Page 300
Postscript......Page 309
24: Hamlet......Page 311
Introduction......Page 324
Chapter 1 On Freedom......Page 326
Chapter 3 The Functionalist Theory of Society and the Problem of Socialist Economic Accounting......Page 327
Chapter 5 The Mechanism of the World Economic Crisis......Page 330
Chapter 6 The Essence of Fascism......Page 331
Chapter 7 The Fascist Virus......Page 332
Chapter 8 Fascism and Marxism......Page 333
Chapter 17 British Labour and American New Dealers......Page 334
Chapter 20 The Livelihood of Man, Introduction......Page 335
Chapter 23 The Economy Embedded in Society......Page 336
Index......Page 337
EULA......Page 351
