Author: Karl Polanyi
Synopsis
Polanyi argues that modern market society emerged through major political and institutional changes rather than through the natural expansion of free exchange. He emphasizes that economies are embedded in social relationships and that attempts to create self-regulating markets provoke social reactions.
Why It Matters to Sociology
The book transformed economic sociology and political economy. Its concept of embeddedness remains central to understanding markets, welfare states, labor protections, globalization, and conflicts between economic liberalization and social stability.