동아시아의 평화와 화해의 정치학 Scrapbook: The Power of Market Fundamentalism by Fred Block, Margaret R. Somers

The Power of Market Fundamentalism Kindle Edition
by Fred Block (Author), Margaret R. Somers (Author)

4.9 out of 5 stars 12 ratings What is it about free-market ideas that gives them staying power in the face of such failures as persistent unemployment, widening inequality, and financial crises? The Power of Market Fundamentalism extends economist Karl Polanyi's work to explain why these dangerous utopian ideas have become the dominant economic ideology of our tim

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Length: 311 pages Word Wise: Enabled Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Page Flip: Enabled

File Size: 3079 KB
Print Length: 311 pages
Publisher: Harvard University Press; Reprint edition (April 1, 2014)
Publication Date: April 1, 2014
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B00JR176H8

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4.9 out of 5 stars
4.9 out of 5
12 customer ratings

12 customer reviews
Top Reviews

Shayn Mccallum
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent restatement of Polanyi's case against market fundamentalism for the neo-liberal eraNovember 14, 2014
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This is one of the best books that could have been written in the current era. Against the backdrop of the economic and social collapse wrought by the crisis of finance capitalism, neo-liberal orthodoxies retain their eerie and illogical power, yet how is this so? Despite the utter bankruptcy of virtually all the basic assumptions of the Washington consensus, the zombie ideology marches on. This book goes a long way towards explaining the stickiness of the mindset that fails to see the stark evidence of its own failure- just as the partisans of "free enterprise" failed to appreciate the dangers posed by the great depression or the disembedded policies that incubated the First World War attested to by Polanyi in his magnum opus "The Grest Transformation".
Arguably, no author came closer to understanding the true dynamics of modern capitalism better than Karl Polanyi. Operating under a unique analysis of market society and its failures, Polanyi's approach not only correctly diagnoses the illness (a utopian attempt to "disembed" the economy from its moorings in society through an attempt to create a self-regulating market) but also its solution (a democratic re-embedding of the economy in a system of economic democracy).
This excellent adaptation of Polanyi's ideas for the 21st Century by Fred Block and Margaret Somers deserves to become essential reading for university and college courses on political economy, globalisation, critical theory and economic history. It is a rich and indispensible book that very accurately and compellingly frames the neo-liberal era within a Polanyian theoretical approach. The result is a tour de force that is bound to delight Polanyi scholars and convince many scholars becoming acquainted with Polanyi for the first time of the value and practicality of Polanyian approaches to the social sciences.

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Sophie26
5.0 out of 5 stars A MasterpieceJanuary 14, 2015
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
This is, without doubt, my favorite book of the last year, perhaps the last decade, and I read a lot of books. When I have more time, I will write a longer review, but for now, I will just highly recommend the purchase of this multiply-layered, well-written book. I plan to require it for my contemporary social theory course, because not only do the authors explain and expand on Polanyi's thought in a highly accessible manner, they also show how theoretical perspectives can influence social and political trends. Their treatment of Speenhamland and PRWORA is a great example of using empirical historical evidence to interrogate both the theory of the free market and the ideology and social policies based on that theory, as well as Polanyi's critique.

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B. Brinker
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent review of Polanyi and excellent critique of the modern economyMay 10, 2014
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This book deserves to be a part of the national discussion, as do Polanyi's thoughts. I read Polanyi some years ago and was looking for a refresher when I came across this book. This book not only reviews Polanyi's work and places it in the context of modern economic and sociological research, but also adapts many of his theories to the current times. Along the way the authors offer useful insights into Polanyi's life and how his experiences shaped his thoughts.

Pros- Well written, clear, and concise for an academic book. Does an excellent job of bringing Polanyi's thoughts up to date.

Cons- The authors (two highly regarded professors) appear to have a very leftist bent. This isn't a bad thing, in my opinion, but some readers may be turned off by that.

UPDATED: I wanted to write a longer review on this book once I had time to reflect on it. I intended to write the typical academic style "summarize and critique" review but realized I can add more value to potential readers by explaining why this book is an important read.

Have you been noticing how politics is becoming increasingly polarized? If you hop over to look at the reviews for Piketty's "Capital in the 21st Century" you'll notice that literally 100's of ideological zealots have been attacking the book. Not reading and critiquing, but posting bad reviews even though they've never read it.

Ever wonder why people act like this? Why Market Fundamentalism has become so strong? This book will help you think on and answer these questions.

Isn't it odd that we have been pursuing neo-liberal policies for 30 years, even though they have already proven to be a failure? Debt is rising, health care costs are spiraling out of control, college is unaffordable, the gap between rich and poor is widening. Despite the fact that we live in an age of failed neoliberalism, rolling back such policies isn't the answer, oh no what we need is more neoliberalism.

This book will help you understand the appeal of neoliberalism and its emergence as a utopian ideal that can never be achieved. The book also explains the historical context of market fundamentalism and the decline of Keynesian economics to show why the one serious challenge to neoliberalism was eventually marginalized.

45 people found this helpful

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Jesper Doepping
4.0 out of 5 stars very clear in its writtingJanuary 13, 2018
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I Really liked this book and its reflexive discussion of Polanyi’s work. My only criticism is that its focus is almost exclusively on US.

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patoadam
5.0 out of 5 stars but it will appeal only to readers who wish to think carefully about the proper role of government in regulating private enterprMay 5, 2015
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This is an important, clearly written book, but it will appeal only to readers who wish to think carefully about the proper role of government in regulating private enterprise and in meeting the needs of the poor.

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Swampsnake
5.0 out of 5 stars Five StarsNovember 9, 2017
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Andrew Grandjean
5.0 out of 5 stars Five StarsNovember 15, 2016
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An excellent work.

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