Reconstructing Karl Polanyi

Excavation and Critique

By (author) Gareth Dale

Not available to order

Publication date:

20 September 2016

Length of book:

272 pages

Publisher

Pluto Press

ISBN-13: 9781783717934

*Shortlisted for the Deutscher Memorial Prize 2017*

Karl Polanyi's contribution to political economy and social science is immeasurable. In Reconstructing Karl Polanyi, Gareth Dale, foremost scholar and biographer of Polanyi, provides a sweeping survey of his contributions to the social sciences.

An opponent of traditional economics and a believer in economics' contingency to society and culture, Polanyi's work has a cross-disciplinary appeal, finding popularity in anthropology, economic history, economic sociology and political science. Paradoxical formulations, such as 'liberal socialist' and 'cosmopolitan patriot', are often used to describe Polanyi's intellectual and political vision. In exploring these paradoxes, Dale draws upon original writings and transcripts to reconstruct Polanyi's views on a range of topics long neglected in critical literature; including the history of antiquity, the evolution and dynamics of Stalin's Russia, McCarthyism and Polanyi's critical dialogue with Marxism.

Accompanying the reconstruction of his work is Dale's analysis of Polanyi's relevance to current issues, notably the 'clash' between democracy and capitalism, and the nature and trajectory of European unification. This proves an indispensable critical guide to Polanyian thought.

'Indispensable for understanding and applying Polanyian thought. Dale's book is a model of critical scholarship, placing Polanyi in historical context and skillfully tracing thedevelopment of his theory'