`Author:` Karl Polanyi `Availability:` [[Suggestions]] > [!info] > ![[IMG_2873.jpeg]] ## Key Takeaways ## Summary Karl Polanyi’s The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time (1944) is a foundational text in economic [[Sociology]], exploring the development of modern market economies and their social consequences. ## Quotes - Below are some pertinent quotes, organised by key themes: #### The Nature of the Market and its Impact on Society 1. “The idea of a self-adjusting market implied a stark utopia.” • Polanyi critiques the notion of a self-regulating market, arguing that it is unrealistic and inherently destructive when applied to human [[Society]] and nature. 2. “To allow the market mechanism to be the sole director of the fate of human beings and their natural environment… would result in the demolition of society.” • This quote highlights Polanyi’s belief that unregulated markets cannot sustain social cohesion or environmental balance. 3. “Labour, land, and money are obviously not commodities.” • Polanyi asserts that treating labour, land, and money as if they were commodities (things produced for sale) is artificial and harmful, as these are intrinsic to human life and [[Community]]. #### The Double Movement 4. “The extension of the market organisation in respect to genuine commodities was accompanied by its restriction in respect to fictitious ones.” • Polanyi describes the “double movement,” where the expansion of the market is met with counter-movements to protect society from its negative effects, especially regarding labour and the environment. 5. “The [[Control]] of the economic system by the market is of overwhelming consequence to the whole organisation of society: it means no less than the running of society as an adjunct to the market.” • This reflects Polanyi’s critique of market fundamentalism and its tendency to subordinate societal needs to economic efficiency. #### Historical Context and the Role of the State 6. “Laissez-faire was planned; planning was not.” • Polanyi argues that the establishment of free markets was not a natural [[Evolution]] but a deliberate creation of the state. Conversely, the protective counter-movements arose organically in response to market failures. 7. “No society could stand the effects of such a system of crude fictions even for the shortest stretch of time unless its human and natural substance as well as its business organisation was protected against the ravages of this satanic mill.” • Polanyi likens the market’s destructive forces to a “satanic mill,” emphasising the harm done to communities and ecosystems. #### Economic and Social Dislocation 8. “Industrial society will continue to exist when the utopian experiment of a self-regulating market will be no more than a memory.” • Polanyi suggests that societies must transcend the [[Ideology]] of market self-regulation to survive and thrive. 9. “The market economy involves a society the institutions of which are subordinated to the laws of the market.” • He critiques how modern market economies invert the relationship between society and [[Economics|Economy]], prioritising economic gain over social well-being. These quotes illustrate Polanyi’s central argument that the unregulated market economy is incompatible with social stability, and that deliberate intervention is necessary to mitigate its destructive effects. ## Notes `Concepts:` `Knowledge Base:` [[Books index]]