The Great Transformation

‘One of the most powerful books in the social sciences ever written ’ Thomas Piketty 'The twentieth century's most prophetic critic of capitalism' Prospect ‘Polanyi’s revolutionary work is a must-read’ Mariana Mazzucato 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

‘One of the most powerful books in the social sciences ever written ’ Thomas Piketty 'The twentieth century's most prophetic critic of capitalism' Prospect ‘Polanyi’s revolutionary work is a must-read’ Mariana Mazzucato 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

The first thorough account of a formative and little understood chapter in Chinese history “A superb history of China’s transition into and out of the Cultural Revolution. . . . Chen and Westad—two of the best archival historians of Communist China writing today—coolly but vividly recount the extraordinary drama of this metamorphosis.”—Julia Lovell, Financial Times Odd Arne Westad and Chen Jian chronicle how an impoverished and terrorized China experienced radical political changes in the long 1970s and how ordinary people broke free from the beliefs that had shaped their lives during Mao’s Cultural Revolution. These changes, and the unprecedented and sustained economic growth that followed, transformed China and the world. In this rigorous account, Westad and Chen construct a panorama of catastrophe and progress in China. They chronicle China’s gradual opening to the world—the interplay of power in an era of aged and ailing leadership, the people’s rebellion against the earlier government system, and the roles of unlikely characters: overseas Chinese capitalists, American engineers, Japanese professors, and German designers. This is a story of revolutionary change that neither foreigners nor the Chinese themselves could have predicted.

The first thorough account of a formative and little understood chapter in Chinese history "A superb history of China's transition into and out of the Cultural Revolution. . . . Chen and Westad--two of the best archival historians of Communist China writing today--coolly but vividly recount the extraordinary drama of this metamorphosis."--Julia Lovell, Financial Times Odd Arne Westad and Chen Jian chronicle how an impoverished and terrorized China experienced radical political changes in the long 1970s and how ordinary people broke free from the beliefs that had shaped their lives during Mao's Cultural Revolution. These changes, and the unprecedented and sustained economic growth that followed, transformed China and the world. In this rigorous account, Westad and Chen construct a panorama of catastrophe and progress in China. They chronicle China's gradual opening to the world--the interplay of power in an era of aged and ailing leadership, the people's rebellion against the earlier government system, and the roles of unlikely characters: overseas Chinese capitalists, American engineers, Japanese professors, and German designers. This is a story of revolutionary change that neither foreigners nor the Chinese themselves could have predicted.

One of the twentieth century's most important pieces of social and economic theory, highlighting the rise and reality of capitalism as it shaped our world A limited Beacon Classics edition In this classic work of economic history and social theory, Karl Polanyi tracks the economic and social changes brought about by the "great transformation" of the Industrial Revolution. He pays particular attention to capitalism's rise and its role in fundamentally altering life after the Industrial Revolution. While previous economic arrangements were embedded within social relations, capitalism reverses this: social relations are defined by economic relations. This seminal analysis explains not only the deficiencies of the self-regulating market, but the potentially dire social consequences of untempered market capitalism. In an era of ever-increasing globalization and free trade, Polanyi's cogent historical, social, and economic analysis offers grounded insight into the inner workings of the modern world. Polanyi suggests that capitalism is a historical anomaly. The rules of reciprocity, redistribution and communal obligations were far more consistent as guiding principles of exchange than market relations throughout human history. Capitalism, however, does not exhibit these obligations, and in fact its rise irreversibly destroyed them. The true "great transformation" of the industrial revolution was to completely replace all modes of interaction with capitalism and market relations, forever altering the function, and result, of human relations. Now with a new hardcover package, this treatise from one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century will illuminate seminal economic and social theory for fans old and new.

One of the twentieth century's most important pieces of social and economic theory, highlighting the rise and reality of capitalism as it shaped our world A limited Beacon Classics edition In this classic work of economic history and social theory, Karl Polanyi tracks the economic and social changes brought about by the "great transformation" of the Industrial Revolution. He pays particular attention to capitalism's rise and its role in fundamentally altering life after the Industrial Revolution. While previous economic arrangements were embedded within social relations, capitalism reverses this: social relations are defined by economic relations. This seminal analysis explains not only the deficiencies of the self-regulating market, but the potentially dire social consequences of untempered market capitalism. In an era of ever-increasing globalization and free trade, Polanyi's cogent historical, social, and economic analysis offers grounded insight into the inner workings of the modern world. Polanyi suggests that capitalism is a historical anomaly. The rules of reciprocity, redistribution and communal obligations were far more consistent as guiding principles of exchange than market relations throughout human history. Capitalism, however, does not exhibit these obligations, and in fact its rise irreversibly destroyed them. The true "great transformation" of the industrial revolution was to completely replace all modes of interaction with capitalism and market relations, forever altering the function, and result, of human relations. Now with a new hardcover package, this treatise from one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century will illuminate seminal economic and social theory for fans old and new.