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Karl Paul Polanyi (; hu, Polányi Károly ; 25 October 1886 – 23 April 1964),''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. 2003) vol 9. p. 554 was an Austro-Hungarian economic anthropologist and politician, best known for his book '' The Great Transformation,'' which questions the conceptual validity of self-regulating markets. In his writings, Polanyi advances the concept of the Double Movement, which refers to the
dialectical Dialectic ( grc-gre, διαλεκτική, ''dialektikḗ''; related to dialogue; german: Dialektik), also known as the dialectical method, is a discourse between two or more people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing t ...
process of marketization and push for social protection against that marketization. He argues that market-based societies in modern Europe were not inevitable but historically contingent. Polanyi is remembered best as the originator of substantivism, a cultural version of economics, which emphasizes the way economies are embedded in society and culture. This opinion is counter to mainstream economics but is popular in
anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...
,
economic history Economic history is the academic learning of economies or economic events of the past. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the application of economic theory to historical situations and i ...
, economic sociology and
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...
. Polanyi's approach to the ancient economies has been applied to a variety of cases, such as Pre-Columbian America and ancient
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...
, although its utility to the study of ancient societies in general has been questioned. Polanyi's ''The Great Transformation'' became a model for historical sociology. His theories eventually became the foundation for the
economic democracy Economic democracy is a socioeconomic philosophy that proposes to shift decision-making power from corporate managers and corporate shareholders to a larger group of public stakeholders that includes workers, customers, suppliers, neighbou ...
movement. Polanyi was active in politics, and helped found the National Citizens' Radical Party in 1914, serving as its secretary.


Early life

Polanyi was born into a Jewish family. His younger brother was Michael Polanyi, a
philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
, and his niece was Eva Zeisel, a world-renowned
ceramist Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take forms including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is one of the visual arts. Whil ...
. He was born in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
, at the time the capital of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
. His father, Mihály Pollacsek, was a railway entrepreneur. Mihály never changed the name ''Pollacsek'', and is buried in the Jewish cemetery in Budapest. Mihály died in January 1905, which was an emotional shock to Karl, and he commemorated the anniversary of Mihály's death throughout his life. Karl and Michael Polanyi's mother was Cecília Wohl. The name change to Polanyi (not von Polanyi) was made by Karl and his siblings. Polanyi was well educated despite the ups and downs of his father's fortune, and he immersed himself in
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...
's active intellectual and artistic scene.


Early career

Polanyi founded the radical and influential
Galileo Circle The Galileo Circle (''Galilei Kör'') was an atheist-materialist student organization that functioned in Budapest between 1908 and 1919. Their center was located at the Anker Köz in Terézváros, Budapest. The circle had several subgroups with ...
while at the University of Budapest, a club which would have far reaching effects on Hungarian intellectual thought. During this time, he was actively engaged with other notable thinkers, such as György Lukács,
Oszkár Jászi Oszkár Jászi (born Oszkár Jakobuvits; 2 March 1875 – 13 February 1957), also known in English as Oscar Jászi, was a Hungarian social scientist, historian, and politician. Early life Oszkár Jászi was born in Nagykároly on March 2, ...
, and
Karl Mannheim Karl Mannheim (born Károly Manheim, 27 March 1893 – 9 January 1947) was an influential Hungarian sociologist during the first half of the 20th century. He is a key figure in classical sociology, as well as one of the founders of the sociolo ...
. Polanyi graduated from Budapest University in 1912 with a doctorate in Law. In 1914, he helped found the National Citizens' Radical Party of Hungary and served as its secretary. Polanyi was a
cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry in ...
officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, in active service at the Russian Front and hospitalized in Budapest. Polanyi supported the republican government of Mihály Károlyi and its Social Democratic regime. The republic was short-lived, however, and when Béla Kun toppled the Karolyi government to create the Hungarian Soviet Republic Polanyi left for Vienna.


In Vienna

From 1924 to 1933, he was employed as a senior editor of the prestigious ''
Der Österreichische Volkswirt ''Der Österreichische Volkswirt'' (also known as ''ÖVW''; German: ''The Austrian Economist'') was an economics and political magazine published between 1908 and 1998 with an interruption from 1939 to 1945 in Vienna, Austria. It was the first b ...
'' (''The Austrian Economist'') magazine. It was at this time that he first began criticizing the
Austrian School The Austrian School is a heterodox school of economic thought that advocates strict adherence to methodological individualism, the concept that social phenomena result exclusively from the motivations and actions of individuals. Austrian scho ...
of economists, who he felt created abstract models which lost sight of the organic, interrelated reality of economic processes. Polanyi himself was attracted to Fabianism and the works of G. D. H. Cole. It was also during this period that Polanyi grew interested in
Christian socialism Christian socialism is a religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing left-wing politics and socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe ca ...
. He married the communist revolutionary Ilona Duczyńska, of Polish-Hungarian background. Their daughter Kari Polanyi Levitt carried on the family tradition of economic academic research.


In London

Polanyi was asked to resign from ''Der Oesterreichische Volkswirt'' because the liberal publisher of the journal could not keep on a prominent socialist after the accession of Hitler to office in January 1933 and the suspension of the Austrian parliament by the rising tide of clerical fascism in Austria. He left for London in 1933, where he earned a living as a journalist and tutor and obtained a position as a lecturer for the Workers' Educational Association in 1936. His lecture notes contained the research for what later became '' The Great Transformation''. However, he would not start writing this work until 1940, when he moved to
Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...
to take up a position at Bennington College. The book was published in 1944, to great acclaim. In it, Polanyi described the
enclosure Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or " common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...
process in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
and the creation of the contemporary economic system at the beginning of the 19th century.


United States and Canada

Polanyi joined the staff of Bennington College in 1940, teaching a series of five timely lectures on the "Present Age of Transformation.". The lectures "The Passing of the 19th Century", "The Trend Towards an Integrated Society", "The Breakdown of the International System", "Is America an Exception" and "Marxism and the Inner History of the Russian Revolution" took place during the early stages of World War II. Polanyi participated in Bennington's Humanism Lecture Series (1941) and Bennington College's Lecture Series (1943) where his topic was " Jean Jacques Rousseau: Or Is a Free Society Possible?" After the war, Polanyi received a teaching position at
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
(1947–1953). However, his wife, Ilona Duczyńska (1897–1978), had a background as a former
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
, which made gaining an entrance visa in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
impossible. As a result, they moved to
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
, and Polanyi commuted to New York City. In the early 1950s, Polanyi received a large grant from the Ford Foundation to study the economic systems of ancient empires. Having described the emergence of the modern economic system, Polanyi now sought to understand how "the economy" emerged as a distinct sphere in the distant past. His seminar at Columbia drew several famous scholars and influenced a generation of teachers, resulting in the 1957 volume ''Trade and Market in the Early Empires''. Polanyi continued to write in his later years and established a new journal entitled ''Coexistence''. In
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
he lived in Pickering,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, where he died in 1964.


Selected works

* "Socialist Accounting" (1922) * ''The Essence of Fascism'' (1933–1934); article * '' The Great Transformation'' (1944) * "Universal Capitalism or Regional Planning?", ''The London Quarterly of World Affairs'', vol. 10 (3) (1945) * ''Trade and Market in the Early Empires'' (1957, edited and with contributions by others) * ''Dahomey and the Slave Trade'' (1966) * George Dalton (ed), ''Primitive, Archaic, and Modern Economics: Essays of Karl Polanyi'' (New York: Doubleday & Company, 1968); collected essays and selections from his work. * Harry W. Pearson (ed.), ''The Livelihood of Man'' (Academic Press, 1977) * Karl Polanyi, ''For a New West: Essays, 1919–1958'' (Polity Press, 2014), *Gareth Dale (ed), ''Karl Polanyi'': ''The Hungarian Writings'' (Manchester University Press, 2016)


See also

* Michael Polanyi (brother) * John Polanyi (nephew) * Eva Zeisel (cousin)


Notes


References

* * *Dale, Gareth (2016), ''Reconstructing Karl Polanyi'', Pluto Press, ISBN 978-0745335186 * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* Robert Kuttner, "The Man from Red Vienna" (review of Gareth Dale, ''Karl Polanyi: A Life on the Left'',
Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fie ...
, 381 pp.), ''
The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of i ...
'', vol. LXIV, no. 20 (21 December 2017), pp. 55–57. "In sum, Polanyi got some details wrong, but he got the big picture right. Democracy cannot survive an excessively
free market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...
; and containing the market is the task of
politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
. To ignore that is to court
fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and t ...
. (Robert Kuttner, p. 57.)


External links


Karl Polanyi Digital Archive

The Karl Polanyi Institute of Political Economy
– The Karl Polanyi Institute of Political Economy at Concordia University web site.
Karl Polanyi Wiki

Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time (1944) Review Essay by Anne Mayhew, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Tennessee


– On the History of Economic Thought Website
The free market is an impossible utopia
(2014-07-18), ''The Washington Post''. A conversation with
Fred Block Fred L. Block (born June 28, 1947) is an American sociologist, and Research Professor of Sociology at UC-Davis. Block is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading economic and political sociologists. His interests are wide ranging. He has ...
and
Margaret Somers Margaret R. Somers is an American sociologist and Professor of Sociology and History at the University of Michigan She is the recipient of the inaugural Lewis A. Coser Award for Innovation and Theoretical Agenda-Setting in Sociology, Somers's wor ...
on their book, ''The Power of Market Fundamentalism: Karl Polanyi’s Critique'' (Harvard University Press, 2014). The book argues that the ideas of Karl Polanyi are crucial to help understand economic recessions and their aftermath.

– Why Two Karls Are Better Than One: Integrating Polyani and Marx in a Critical Theory of the Current Crisis by Nancy Fraser * {{DEFAULTSORT:Polanyi, Karl 1886 births 1964 deaths 20th-century anthropologists 20th-century Hungarian economists 20th-century essayists 20th-century Hungarian historians 20th-century Hungarian philosophers Austro-Hungarian Jews Burials at Kerepesi Cemetery Cultural critics Economic historians Historical school economists Columbia University faculty Hungarian anthropologists Hungarian Christian socialists Hungarian essayists Hungarian expatriates in Austria Hungarian nobility Hungarian socialists Hungarian sociologists Jewish historians Jewish philosophers Jewish sociologists Jewish anthropologists Liberal socialism People from Pickering, Ontario Philosophers of culture Philosophers of economics Philosophers of history Philosophers of social science
Karl Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austri ...
Social critics Social philosophers Socialist economists Writers from Vienna Jewish emigrants from Austria to the United Kingdom after the Anschluss