`Author:` Fred Block and Margaret Somers ## Summary ## Key Takeaways ## Quotes - ## Notes The Power of [[Market Fundamentalism]]: Karl Polanyi's Critique (2014) by Fred Block and Margaret Somers is a significant work of economic [[sociology]] that does two main things: it revitalizes Karl Polanyi's mid-20th century critique of self-regulating markets, and it uses that framework to explain the perplexing resilience of free-market [[ideology]] (what they term "market fundamentalism") despite its repeated failures in practice. Here are the book's main ideas: 1. The Core Argument: Market Fundamentalism as a "Zombie Doctrine" Block and Somers argue that market fundamentalism—the [[belief]] that societies are best organized by self-regulating markets free from government interference—is a "zombie doctrine." Despite being repeatedly disproven by economic reality (e.g., the Great Depression, the 2008 financial crisis), it keeps coming back to life. The book's central puzzle is: Why does this ideology retain such powerful political and persuasive force despite its empirical shortcomings? 2. Reviving and Extending Karl Polanyi's Critique The book is built on the foundation of Karl Polanyi's The Great Transformation (1944). Key Polanyian concepts they elaborate on include: · The Myth of the Self-Regulating Market: Polanyi argued that the idea of a purely self-regulating market is a utopian fiction. Markets are always embedded in social and political institutions (laws, regulations, cultural norms) that create and sustain them. The attempt to disembed the market from society—to make society subordinate to the market—is destructive and provokes a inevitable "counter-movement" for social protection. · Fictitious Commodities: Polanyi said land, labor, and money are not true commodities produced for sale, yet treating them as such (e.g., subjecting human labor or nature to unfettered market logic) leads to social and [[Ecology|environmental]] devastation. · The Double Movement: Capitalist history is a perpetual dance between the movement to expand markets (deregulation, commodification) and the protective counter-movement (social safety nets, labor laws, environmental regulations) that arises to mitigate its damage. 3. The Three Key Explanations for Market Fundamentalism's Power Block and Somers go beyond Polanyi to explain the ideology's persistence. They argue its power comes not from economic truth, but from three interrelated sources: · Theories of Social Naturalism: Market fundamentalism derives its moral authority by presenting market laws as akin to laws of nature (like gravity). This framing makes social outcomes (like inequality or unemployment) seem inevitable and beyond human control, thereby discrediting democratic efforts to regulate or redirect the economy. It replaces moral economy (where economic arrangements are subject to ethical debate) with a supposedly amoral, natural science of society. · Theories of Morality and Poverty: They dissect how market fundamentalism reconceptualizes poverty and social policy. They trace the historical shift from seeing poverty as a social failing (requiring collective responsibility and institutional reform) to seeing it as an individual moral failing (due to laziness, poor character, or dependency). This moral narrative justifies slashing social welfare, as aid is seen as fostering bad behavior rather than correcting social injustice. The iconic example is the pervasiveness of "perversity thesis" arguments (associated with thinkers like Herbert Spencer and Charles Murray)—the claim that helping the poor only makes things worse. · The Power of Utopian Thinking: Market fundamentalism survives because it functions as a political project backed by powerful interests, not as a descriptive economic theory. It offers a simple, seductive utopian vision of freedom and prosperity. Its proponents treat any policy failure not as a refutation of the theory, but as evidence that the market was not truly free enough, leading to ever more extreme demands for deregulation and austerity—a move Block and Somers call "moving the goalposts." 4. The Role of "Polanyian Moments" The book analyzes historical and contemporary crises (like the 2008 crash and the subsequent austerity response) as "Polanyian Moments." These are times when the failures of market fundamentalism become starkly visible, creating an opening for a robust protective counter-movement. However, they show how elite narratives often successfully reinterpret these crises to reinforce market fundamentalism (e.g., blaming the 2008 crisis on government housing policy rather than financial deregulation). Conclusion: The Call for a New Narrative Ultimately, The Power of Market Fundamentalism is a call to arms for intellectuals and activists. Block and Somers argue that to defeat a powerful ideology, one must offer an equally compelling counter-narrative. They advocate for a revived "social economics" that: · Re-embeds market logic within democratic social governance. · Rejects the "natural law" framing and reasserts that economies are human creations subject to political and ethical choice. · Rebuilds a moral case for social protection, collective responsibility, and robust public institutions. In short, the book is both an explanation of why bad economic ideas persist and a prescription for how to challenge them by reviving the Polanyian insight that markets must serve society, not the other way around. > [!info] > ## Highlights `Concepts:` `Knowledge Base:`