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This essay examines the potential for a non-capitalistic market system that preserves human dignity and equity in modern economies. It argues against the notion that capitalism is the inevitable outcome of historical evolution, highlighting the need for alternative economic forms. By analyzing historical structures, the paper advocates for a reformist agenda focused on changing the management of interest rates and promoting social ownership, ultimately aiming to foster a more equitable economic environment.
For the past decade, the government has been ruthlessly pursuing free market policies. It has introduced market forces into many walks of life previously protected from them; and it has vigorously promoted the values of the `enterprise culture'. The economic and social consequences of these policies have been dramatic and profound. On the one hand, there has been a radical economic `restructuring': a ruthless sweeping away of much that was old and inefficient, and a considerable streamlining and modernizing of the economy. In the process, however, the lives of countless individuals have been disrupted. Communities, and even whole regions, have been devastated. Millions have been thrown out of work, or forced into new and often uncongenial occupations.
Abstract. State and market are complementary institutions. The state is the major institution coordinating modern societies; it is the constitutional system and the organizations guaranteeing it; it is the main instrument through which democratic societies have been changing capitalism so as to achieve their own agreed political objectives. Markets are institutions based on competition which the state regulates so that they contribute to the coordination of the economy.
10th International Karl Polanyi Conference, Istanbul , 2005
Polanyi’s analysis, according to Douglas C. North’s critique, “in contrast to his colorful de-scription, is vague, imprecise, and at times simply nonexistent”. The impression that The Great Transformation, in spite of its richness of fertile, fruitful, and interesting insights, lacks a rigorous theoretical foundation has become part of the standard interpretation of Polanyi’s Oeuvre during the last decades. Mark Granovetter takes a similar line when he complains about the theoretical vagueness which was typical of Polanyi’s central notions, i.e. ‘self-regulating mechanism’, ‘institutional separation’, and ‘embededdness’. Is Polanyi’s thesis that 19th century civilization was unique and extraordinary exactly because the economy was self-regulating, disembedded, and separated from society nothing else thana misunderstanding? Is the difference between the market society and earlier societies only a difference in degree? Is it accurate to say, as Polanyi asserts in The Great Transformation, that “the civilization of the nineteenth century was unique precisely in that it centered on a definite institutional mechanism”? Was “nineteenth century society, in which economic activity was isolated and imputed to a distinctive economic motive, … a singular departure”6 from the general rule that the economic order is merely a function of the social, in which it is contained? Are these assertions in contradiction to other statements of The Great Transfor-mation where Polanyi states that the idea of setting up a self-regulating market system was a “utopian endeavour” and that “the institutional separation of the political and economic spheres had never been complete”?8 In order to understand Polanyi’s propositions which we find in The Great Transformation – and the relations between the different assertions – we have to comprehend the theoretical framework which Polanyi applies in the book. I will try to investigate in this paper on what kind of analytical approach Polanyi’s study is based.
RCCS Annual Review, 2010
Recognising the existence, in this context of crisis, of widespread dissatisfaction with an economic and social system which is blind to social inequalities, insensitive to the social effects of unbridled competition, and complacent as regards the depredations wrought on nonrenewable resources, this article reflects on the persistence of economic forms differing from the capitalist system, which exist alongside it, as well as on the emergence of social movements and practices of resistance to the logic of this system, as is the case of the solidarity economy. The article goes on to ponder how these forms can serve as a basis for a far-reaching paradigm change, and thus contribute to a fairer system, better equipped to match resources to needs and maximise human and social well-being.
Competition & Change, 2021
The concept of the market is a linchpin notion in the analysis of contemporary capitalism. This article seeks to question how the term has tended to oscillate between two problematic types of use: either underspecifying the history and politics tied to the concept or, conversely, overloading the notion with a proliferation of too many meanings and applications. As a way to chart an alternative approach which can objectify and critique some of these patterns, this paper re-excavates the notion of 'the market' through a historicization of its ideological production and consumption. In particular, the argument brings political economy scholarship into a conversation with theoretical advances in the analysis of ideology, notably Michael Freeden's so-called 'morphological approach'. The article illuminates not only past usage patterns but also how the potency of the expression has been refreshed within recent decades associated with neoliberalism. In this way, through a dissection of this master category, the article also aims to contribute to identifying more precisely what is new in the neoliberal ideological ecosystem.
The liberal vision of the market society, based upon the "invisible hand" paradigm, is a "stark utopia," for it cannot solve the three important problems to which any social design must offer solutions: the economic problem of "coordination," the ethical problem of individual freedom, and the social problem of "order," without sliding into contradictions that could even jeopardize the reproduction of the system. There are some important institutional strains, or the "fault lines," in the constitution of the market system, as the sources of instabilities, that are emphasized by Marx, Schumpeter, and Polanyi. Marx (with the analyses of accumulation and fetishism), Schumpeter (with the notion of the "creative destruction"), and Polanyi (with his idea of "double movement") are all essential to show that the working of the market system undermines its own institutional structure, and thus make the reproduction of the c...
Acta Oeconomica, 2022
2006
This book develops a nicely organized and clearly written moral and rational case for the free enterprise system. Younkins is concerned to defend a laissez-faire capitalism in which state activity is restricted to a few clearly enumerated functions, such as codifying individual natural rights and punishing those who violate the rights of others via coercion or fraud. In this environment, Younkins argues, not just business can flourish and create wealth and prosperity in a competitive marketplace, but so can cooperation towards a variety of desirable social ends. Following a brief introduction, this book is divided into six parts. Part I sets out the initial premises regarding individual rights and the relationship between individuals, communities and the state. Part II considers ownership, property, and exchanges of all kinds. Part III outlines the nature of entrepreneurship and the conditions of progress in a free society. Part IV examines the role of the state in maintaining the rule of law and the differences between corporations and the state. Part V reviews the various ideological opponents of individualism and limited government, with a compact but in-depth examination of their philosophical roots. Part VI recaps, and ponders the prospects for the kind of free society envisaged in this book. Part I is, of course, crucial, for it is here that Younkins lays out his premises: rights belong to individuals (not groups); they antecede all governmental structures the justice of which is conditional on their recognition of individual natural rights. Rights cannot be confused
The Libertarian Ideal, 2016
This article examines markets as structures independent of capitalist socio-economic organisation. It rethinks markets as economic tools that can be placed in radically different economic systems far removed from the normalities of capitalism. By examining how markets are shaped by five monopolies created by state intervention and artificial economies of scale that rely on massive subsidisation, I see how some of the fundamentals of capitalism, the factor markets and capital-labour relations, are reshaped in a conception of free markets that are not influenced by capitalist agency. I go on to see how the Austrian School's subject of the individual as an agent of subjective economic desires is changed when placed within structures of free, or freed, markets. The institutions of markets, the surplus value distribution and the multiple social relations that present themselves as possible under a regime of rethought markets shows this subject as instituted in a diverse economy of possibilities and existences. I then examine how, even under capitalism, such a diverse economy already exists on the peripheries and in the interstices of the modern economy.
British Journal of Political Science, 2017
:There has been a remarkable shift in the relation between market and state responsibilities for public services like health care and education. While these services continue to be financed publicly, they are now often provided through the market. The main argument for this new institutional division of labor is economic: while (public) ends stay the same, (private) means are more efficient. Markets function as ‘mere means’ under the continued responsibility of the state. This paper investigates and rejects currently existing egalitarian liberal theories about this division of labor and it presents and defends a new theory of marketization, in which social rights and democratic decision-making occupy center-stage.
"Abstract: The core economic functions of production and distribution of goods can be handled by many different methods. After the fall of communism, the market mechanism has become nearly universal. Conventional economic theories argue that this is natural, because it is the best and the most efficient method for organizing economic affairs in a society. This paper, based on the analysis of Polanyi (1944) and Klein (2008) argues that the opposite is true. Market mechanisms conflict with natural mechanisms for production and exchange in traditional societies. Unregulated markets cause tremendous damage, as can be witnessed today in terms of countless economic crises, wars, environmental destruction, as well as damage to social networks. Because of this damage, market societies can only be maintained by force, as well as disinformation. To resolve crises on myriad fronts caused by the unregulated market, it is the need of the hour to find viable alternatives."
RCCS Annual Review, 2012
The State and the Market: An Institutionalist and Relational Take * State-market relations call for a holistic view of the relationship between the material and relational dynamics of society, on the one hand, and between these dynamics and institutional dynamics on the other. As the institution-of-institutions, the state contains mechanisms that are essential to the existence of markets themselves, and these mechanisms are not natural givens. It is therefore a mistake to conceive of the state, the market and society as opposing entities. One should turn instead to the institutionalist perspective, which draws from Polanyi, in order to offer a political approach to the state and the market. Economies are actually institutional production systems wherein the material density of the state both as organization and administration is of relevance. The institutionalist perspective thus needs to be fine-tuned in order to show that the state is more than a political-legal entity. That is one of the main goals of the present article.
Critical Horizons, 2018
2001
A central theme in this series is the importance of understanding and assessing the market economy from a perspective broader than the static economics of perfect competition and Pareto optimality. Such a perspective sees markets as causal processes generated by the preferences, expectations and beliefs of economic agents. The creative acts of entrepreneurship that uncover new information about preferences, prices and technology are central to these processes with respect to their ability to promote the discovery and use of knowledge in society. The market economy consists of a set of institutions that facilitate voluntary cooperation and exchange among individuals. These institutions include the legal and ethical framework as well as more narrowly ‘economic’ patterns of social interaction. Thus the law, legal institutions and cultural and ethical norms, as well as ordinary business practices and monetary phenomena, fall within the analytical domain of the economist.
Advances in Austrian Economics, 2010
There is a transformation which is antecedent to Marx's Rise of Capitalism, and which. .. looks like being even more fundamental. This is the Rise of the Market, the Rise of the Exchange Economy.'
This paper talks about the evolution of capitalism starting with Adam Smith model of this system as a framework that improves opportunities for all.However, the majority of the paper covers Karl Marx insights about capitalism and several articles are discussed as well along the piece to support Marx's view. At the end the analysis about capitalism made by Marx is very realistic as he talks about the the deprivation of freedom, the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few, and the conflict existing between social classes. However, his argument can not be set as " the right way to see capitalism " as this one has proved to be way better his idea of socialism which has been already tried by several countries that up to date live in an endless poverty.
International Journal of Management Concepts and Philosophy, 2009
New institutional economies and the work of Coase, Williamson, North and others today occupies a central place in thinking about the nature of economic hierarchies institutions. This paper argues that it cannot offer a guide to history of the real development of markets, hierarchies and institutions. Those writers like MacIntyre and Sennett who focus on focus on social embedding and the potential conflict between pure markets and social cohesion offer a better basis for understanding of the real history of capitalism. But this approach too needs extending if it is to be a guide to the real history of markets, hierarchies and institutions.
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