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

‘One of the most powerful books in social sciences ever written. ... A must-read.’ Thomas Piketty

Tracing the history of capitalism in England and beyond, Karl Polanyi-s landmark 1944 classic brilliantly exposed the myth of laissez-faire economics. From the great transformation that occurred during the industrial revolution onwards, he showed, there has been nothing -natural- about the market state. Instead, the economy must always be embedded in society, and human needs and relations. Witnessing the -avalanche of social dislocation- of his time - from the Great Depression, to the rise of fascism and communism and the First and Second World Wars - Polanyi ends with a rallying cry for freedom, and a passionate vision to protect our common humanity.