Karl Polanyi and the Paradoxes of the Double Movement

<p>This book offers a critical reconstruction of the double movement, the central thesis of Karl Polanyi’s <i>The Great Transformation</i>, one of the most influential books of the 20th century. The double movement is the establishment of a free market economy and the subsequent effort by society to ameliorate the destructive effects of the market. </p><p>In Polanyi’s bold vision, the double movement constituted the hidden gear of social change and historical transformation within capitalism. The book is a forensic examination and critique of Polanyi’s argument. It develops an interpretive framework of the double movement as four interrelated social processes: the establishment of the self-regulating market, the rise of a market society that deepens and extends market imperatives, a social protection phase that constrains the market and safeguards society, and the contradictions and crises that result from this clash of social principles. </p><p>The book will be an indispensable guide for students and scholars across the social sciences which illuminates the relevance of Polanyi’s insights to a critical understanding of the contemporary era –the scourge of insecurity and inequality, the multiple crises of neoliberalism, the rise of right wing populism- as well as those interested in egalitarian and emancipatory alternatives to capitalism. </p> <p>1. Introduction: The Paradoxes of Karl Polanyi</p><p>2. The Origins of the Self-Regulating Market</p><p>3. The Dynamics of a Market Society</p><p>4. The Politics of Social Protection</p><p>5. Contradictions and Crisis in the Double Movement</p><p>6. The Double Movement in the Contemporary Era</p><p>7. Transcending the Double Movement</p>