The Great Transformation

Throughout the book, Polanyi discusses the liberal belief that the market should take precedence over the needs of society. Polanyi consistently refutes this belief, arguing that economy exists as a mere aspect of society. Despite this subjugation of the economy to society, the nature of the economy still affects various aspects of society, as it is part of the social fabric. In terms of market liberalism and the practices during the Industrial Revolution, Polanyi argues that liberals attempted to transform the very nature of society in order to fit the market: “Such an institutional pattern could not have functioned unless society was somehow subordinated to its requirements. A market economy can only exist in a market society” (74).

Even though this intent to subjugate society proved ultimately fruitless, as the market economy exists not as the ends itself but as the means to an end, Polanyi repeatedly demonstrates the negative effects of this implementation of the market system:“Machine production in a commercial society involves, in effect, no less a transformation than that of the natural and human substance of society into commodities […] the dislocation caused by such devices may disjoint man’s relationships and threaten his natural habitat with annihilation” (44).