The Great Transformation ( Karl Polanyi ) 台灣80年代(新光) 鉅變
atomizer, substance, substantive, Substantivism
Substantivism is a position, first proposed by Karl Polanyi in his work The Great Transformation, which argues that the term 'economics' has two meanings. The formal meaning, used by today's neoclassical economists, refers to economics as the logic of rational action and decision-making, as rational choice between the alternative uses of limited (scarce) means, as 'economising,' 'maximizing,' or 'optimizing.' [1]
The second, substantive meaning presupposes neither rational decision-making nor conditions of scarcity. It refers to how humans make a living interacting within their social and natural environments. A society's livelihood strategy is seen as an adaptation to its environment and material conditions, a process which may or may not involve utility maximisation. The substantive meaning of 'economics' is seen in the broader sense of 'provisioning.' Economics is the way society meets material needs.[1]
References
Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/substantivism#ixzz1k5QTe4C6
The Great Transformation is a book by Karl Polanyi, an Austro-Hungarian political economist. First published in 1944, it deals with the social and political upheavals that took place in England during the rise of the market economy. Polanyi contends that the modern market economy and the modern nation-state should be understood not as discrete elements, but as the single human invention he calls the Market Society.
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General argument
Polanyi argued that the development of the modern state went hand in hand with the development of modern market economies and that these two changes were inexorably linked in history. His reasoning for this was that the powerful modern state was needed to push changes in social structure that allowed for a competitive capitalist economy, and that a capitalist economy required a strong state to mitigate its harsher effects. For Polanyi, these changes implied the destruction of the basic social order that had existed throughout all earlier history, which is why he emphasized the greatness of the transformation.
His empirical case in large part relied upon analysis of the Speenhamland laws, which he saw not only as the last attempt of the squirearchy to preserve the traditional system of production and social order, but also a self-defensive measure on the part of society that mitigated the disruption of the most violent period of economic change. The book also presented his belief that market society is unsustainable because it is fatally destructive to the human and natural contexts it inhabits.
Polanyi turns the tables on the orthodox liberal account of the rise of capitalism by arguing that “laissez-faire was planned”, whereas social protectionism was a spontaneous reaction to the social dislocation imposed by an unrestrained free market. He argues that the construction of a ‘self-regulating’ market necessitates the separation of society into economic and political realms. Polanyi does not deny that the self-regulating market has brought “unheard of material wealth” , however he suggests that this is too narrow a focus. The market, once it considers land, labor and money as "fictitious commodities" (fictitious because each possesses qualities that are not expressed in the formal rationality of the market) “subordinate[s] the substance of society itself to the laws of the market.”[1]
This, he argues, results in massive social dislocation, and spontaneous moves by society to protect itself. In effect, Polanyi argues that once the free market attempts to separate itself from the fabric of society, social protectionism is society’s natural response; this he calls the ‘double movement’. Polanyi did not see economics as a subject closed off from other fields of enquiry, indeed he saw economic and social problems as inherently linked. He ended his work with a prediction of a socialist society, noting, "after a century of blind 'improvement', man is restoring his 'habitation.'"[2]
Before Market Society
Polanyi makes the distinction between markets as an auxiliary tool for ease of exchange of goods and Market Societies. Market Societies are those where markets are the paramount institution for the exchange of goods through price mechanisms. Polanyi argues that there are three general types of economic systems that existed before the rise of a society based on a free market economy: Redistributive, Reciprocity and Householding.
- Redistributive: Trade and production is focused to a central entity such as a tribal leader or feudal lord and then redistributed to members of their society.
- Reciprocity: The exchange of goods is based on reciprocal exchanges between social entities. On a macro level this would include the production of goods to gift to other groups.
- Householding: Economies where production is centered around individual household production. Family units produce food, textile goods, and tools for their own consumption.
These three forms were not mutually exclusive nor were they mutually exclusive of markets for the exchange of goods. The main distinction is that these three forms of economic organization were based around the social aspects of the society they operated in and were explicitly tied to those social relationships. Polanyi argued that these economic forms depended on the social principles of Centricity and Symmetry and Autarky (Self-Sufficiency). Markets existed as an auxiliary avenue for the exchange of goods that were otherwise not obtainable. They relied on the social Principles of Centricity and Symmetry.
Publication details
The book was originally published in the United States in 1944 and then in England in 1945 as The Origins of Our Time. It was reissued as a paperback in 1957 and a 2nd edition produced in 2001 by Beacon Press.[3]
Polanyi, K. (1944). The great transformation. New York: Rinehart.
Polanyi, K. (1945). Origins of our time: The great transformation. London: Gollancz.
Polanyi, K. (1957). The great transformation. New York: Rinehart.
Polanyi, K. (2001). The great transformation: The political and economic origins of our time. Boston: Beacon Press.
Polanyi, K., Stiglitz, J. E., & Block, F. (2008). The great transformation: The political and economic origins of our time. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
Polanyi, K. (2010). The great transformation: The political and economic origins of our time. Boston, Mass: Beacon Press.
Reviews
Clough, S. B., & Polanyi, K. (1944). Review of The Great Transformation. The Journal of Modern History, 16, December, 4, 313-314.
Block, F., & Polanyi, K. (2003). Karl Polanyi and the Writing of "The Great Transformation". Theory and Society, 32, June, 3, 275-306.
External links
- Excerpt from Chapter 4, Societies and Economic Systems, of The Great Transformation
- Review of The Great Transformation from Economic History Services
- Down With Primitivism: A Thorough Critique of Polanyi by Murray Rothbard
- The Karl Polanyi Archive - Concordia University, Montreal
Notes
紀伊國屋書店BookWeb■産業文明の人間化へ心血を注いだ先駆者
市場経済の行き詰まりと、それを打開すべき民主的政 府の無能、原子力など人間の制御能力を超えた巨大技術システムの限界と、経済決定論によって歪（ゆが）められた自由の危機、さらに格差や貧困の蔓延（まん えん）など。いまや「市場ユートピア」のバラ色の未来は色あせ、まるでダンテの描く地獄の扉に刻まれた「一切の望みを捨てよ」という言葉がリアリティーを もちつつあるかのようだ。
こうした経済的自由主義と市場経済システムが人間に強いる耐えがたい苦痛と社会の荒廃に対して敢然と反旗を翻し、「社 会の自己防衛」というテーマを制度的改革に託した先駆的な社会科学者がいた。カール・ポランニーである。本書は、ポランニーの社会哲学の核心を基礎に、経 済史、経済学、経済人類学、さらに経済社会学にまたがるポランニーの多面的な研究と活動に焦点を当て、その全体像を明らかにしようとする画期的な研究であ る。
青年時代のブダペストから亡命先のウィーン、大戦期のロンドン、さらに晩年の北アメリカ時代と続く「極端な時代」を生き抜いたポランニー は、その波乱に富んだ時代の中で変わることなくどんなテーマを追い続け、どんな思想や理論と格闘したのか。著者はこの問いに、経済学史・思想史の方法を駆 使し答えようとする。ポランニーは、マルクスやウェーバー、オーストリア経済学やルソー、アリストテレスなど、膨大かつ多岐にわたる先人の知的遺産との格 闘を通じて、経済を人間的共同体の目的に従属させ、産業文明の人間化をはかるために心血を注ぎ、志半ばで病に斃（たお）れたのである。
本書で特 に注目すべきは、主著『大転換』以後の、社会における経済の位置やその変化というテーマの到達点と言うべき『初期帝国における交易と市場』や遺稿集『人間 の経済』に光を当て、ポランニーが一貫して、ミーゼス、ロビンズ、ハイエクら経済自由主義者が描く「市場ユートピア」とは異なる経済と社会のあるべき姿を 求め続けたことを明らかにした点だ。
この背景には第１次世界大戦に従軍したポランニーの痛切な体験があったに違いない。ポランニーは、市場経済 は人間の文化的価値と衝突し、経済危機に陥れば、平和と民主主義を邪魔者扱いにし、ファシズムのような全体主義的な傾向を増長させてしまうと確信してい た。グローバル化した市場経済の危機をみるにつけ、ポランニーの憂慮はますます現実味を帯びつつある。この意味でマルクス主義に代わる新自由主義への対抗 軸としてポランニーの知的遺産に焦点を当てた本書の意義は高く評価できる。「ポランニー・ルネサンス」を予感させる力作だ。
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ＮＴＴ出版・４２００円／わかもり・みどり 首都大学東京准教授（社会・経済思想、経済思想史）。共著に『労働』『経済思想８ ２０世紀の経済学の諸潮流』など。
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