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>