The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time

Karl Polanyi's landmark 1944 work is one of the earliest and most powerful critiques of unregulated markets. Tracing the history of capitalism from the great transformation of the industrial revolution onwards, he shows that there has been nothing 'natural' about the market state. Instead of reducing human relations and our environment to mere commodities, the economy must always be embedded in civil society. Describing the 'avalanche of social dislocation' of his time, Polanyi’s hugely influential work is a passionate call to protect our common humanity.

‘Polanyi's vision for an alternative economy re-embedded in politics and social relations offers a refreshing alternative’ Guardian

‘Polanyi exposes the myth of the free market’ Joseph E. Stiglitz

With a new introduction by Gareth Dale

Review

‘One of the most powerful books in social sciences ever written. Polanyi convincingly shows that market fundamentalism, the religion of competition and the commodification of social relations largely contributed to fragilize Western societies and to lead to the authoritarian and totalitarian nightmare of 1914-1945. The same risk applies today at the global scale. A must-read.’

With this book Karl Polanyi explained the rise of fascism in the 1920s and 30s. Today his great work sheds light on the worldwide rise of authoritarianism, and on our predicament. It is as essential and relevant as it was in 1944.

Polanyi's vision for an alternative economy re-embedded in politics and social relations offers a refreshing alternative ― Guardian

Polanyi exposes the myth of the free market

The twentieth century’s most prophetic critic of capitalism . . . The Great Transformation, written for a broad audience, is witty and passionate as well as erudite ― Prospect

His masterpiece ― New Yorker

His magnum opus . . . a totem for social democracy ― Dissent

A vital counterpoint to the hegemony of political economics . . . one of the century’s classics ― Boston Review

[The Great Transformation] did more than any work of that generation to broaden and deepen the critique of market societies ― Progressive

Polanyi’s revolutionary work is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the complexities of our economic systems and debunking the myths around the free market -- Mariana Mazzucato

As the Second World War was drawing to a close in 1944, two great works of political economy were published. One was Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom, the driving force behind the free-market revolution in the final quarter of the twentieth century. The other was Karl Polanyi’s The Great Transformation . . . [It] is well worth reading ― Guardian

Karl Polanyi’s classic book describing the great transformation of European civilization from the preindustrial world to the era of industrialization, and the shifts in ideas, ideologies, and social and economic policies accompanying it . . . often seems as if [he] is speaking directly to present day issues -- Joseph E. Stiglitz

The Great Transformation provides the most powerful critique yet produced of market liberalism . . . it is indispensable for understanding the dilemmas facing global society at the beginning of the twenty-first century -- Fred Block

In The Great Transformation, published in 1944, the same year as Friedrich Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom, Karl Polanyi argued that human beings would not long tolerate living under a truly free-market system. Experience of the past four decades has vindicated this point of view -- Martin Wolf

About the Author

Karl Polanyi (1886-1964) is considered one of the twentieth century's most prophetic and perceptive economic historians. He left his native Austria with the rise of fascism and became a British citizen. During his academic career he taught at Bennington College, the University of Oxford, and the University of London, and wrote The Essence of Fascism, The Great Transformation, and (with A. Rotstein) Dahomey and the Slave Trade.