Karl Polanyi and the New Economic Sociology: Notes on the Concept of (Dis)embeddedness

Cardoso Machado, Nuno Miguel (2011): Karl Polanyi and the New Economic Sociology: Notes on the Concept of (Dis)embeddedness. Published in: RCCS Annual Review No. 3 (2011): pp. 119-140.

Abstract

Within the context of the New Economic Sociology, Karl Polanyi is almost universally considered the “father” of the concept of embeddedness. However, this concept has been subject to selective appropriation by this discipline and its relationship to the remaining theoretical edifice constructed by Polanyi has been neglected. It is, in fact, possible to refer to the “great transformation” to which the concept of embeddedness has been subjected: whereas in Polanyi’s work it is associated with the macro(economic) level and is used as evidence of the exceptional nature of the capitalist market economy –disembedded from society – in NES, it is normally associated with the meso (and even micro) level, on the assumption that all economies – including capitalist economies – are embedded

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: capitalism; market economy; embeddedness; Karl Polanyi; New Economic Sociology.
• Subjects: A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics > A12 - Relation of Economics to Other Disciplines; A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics > A13 - Relation of Economics to Social Values; A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics > A14 - Sociology of Economics; B - History of Economic Thought, Methodology, and Heterodox Approaches > B2 - History of Economic Thought since 1925 > B25 - Historical ; Institutional ; Evolutionary ; Austrian; B - History of Economic Thought, Methodology, and Heterodox Approaches > B3 - History of Economic Thought: Individuals > B31 - Individuals; P - Economic Systems > P1 - Capitalist Systems > P10 - General; P - Economic Systems > P5 - Comparative Economic Systems > P51 - Comparative Analysis of Economic Systems

References

Barber, Bernard (1995), “All Economies Are ‘Embedded’: The Career of a Concept and Beyond,” Social Research, 62(2), 387-413.

Beckert, Jens (2003), “Economic Sociology and Embeddedness: How Shall We Conceptualize Economic Action?” Journal of Economic Issues, 37(3), 769-787.

Beckert, Jens (2007), “The Great Transformation of Embeddedness – Karl Polanyi and the New Economic Sociology,” MPIfG Discussion Paper No. 1/07, accessed on 18/04/2009, at http://www.mpifg.de/pu/mpifg_dp/dp07-1.pdf.

Block, Fred (2000), “Introduction to The Great Transformation,” accessed on 25/11/2010, at http://www2.dse.unibo.it/ardeni/papers_development/FredBlock_Introduction-to-Polanyi.pdf.

Block, Fred (2003), “Karl Polanyi and the Writing of The Great Transformation,” Theory and Society, 32(3), 275-306.

Cumberpatch, Chris G. (2001), “Some Observations on the Concept of ‘Embedded’ and ‘Disembedded’ Economies in Archaeological Discourse,” Assemblage, 6, accessed on 18/04/2009, at http://www.assemblage.group.shef.ac.uk/issue6/Cumberpatch_Econ_web.html.

Gemici, Kurtulus (2008), “Karl Polanyi and the Antinomies of Embeddedness,” Socio-Economic Review, 6, 5-33.

Ghezzi, Simone; Minzione, Enzo (2007), “Embeddedness, Path Dependency and Social Institutions: An Economic Sociology Approach,” Current Sociology, 55(1), 11-23.

Graça, João Carlos (2005), “Afinal, o que é mesmo a Nova Sociologia Económica?” Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais, 73, 111-129.

Granovetter, Mark (1985), “Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness,” The American Journal of Sociology, 91(3), 481-510.

Hess, Martin (2004), “‘Spatial’ Relationships? Towards a Reconceptualization of Embeddedness,” Progress in Human Geography, 28(2), 165-186.

Knowles, Rob (2000), “Political Economy From Below: Communitarian Anarchism as a Neglected Discourse in the Histories of Economic Thought,” History of Economics Review, 31, 30-47.

Knowles, Rob; Owen, John R. (2008), “Karl Polanyi for Historians: An Alternative Economic Narrative,” The European Legacy, 13(2), 175–191.

Krippner, Greta (2001), “The Elusive Market. Embeddedness and the Paradigm of Economic Sociology,” Theory and Society, 30, 775-810.

Krippner, Greta et al. (2004), “Polanyi Symposium: A Conversation on Embeddedness,” Socio-Economic Review, 2(1), 109-135.

Krippner, Greta; Alvarez, Anthony (2007), “Embeddedness and the Intellectual Projects of Economic Sociology,” Annual Review of Sociology, 33, 219-240.

Lacher, Hannes (1999), “Embedded Liberalism, Disembedded Markets: Reconceptualising the Pax Americana,” New Political Economy, 4(3), 343-360.

Lie, John (1991), “Embedding Polanyi’s Market Society,” Sociological Perspectives, 34(2), 219-235.

Machado, Nuno (2009), “Sociedade vs. mercado – notas sobre o pensamento económico de Karl Polanyi.” Master’s Thesis in Economic and Organizational Sociology. Lisboa: ISEG.

Polanyi, Karl (1957), “Aristotle Discovers the Economy,” in Karl Polanyi, Conrad Arensberg & Harry Pearson (eds.), Trade and Market in the Early Empires. Chicago: Henry Regnery, 64-94.

Polanyi, Karl (1966), Dahomey and the Slave Trade: An Analysis of an Archaic Economy. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press.

Polanyi, Karl (1968a), “The Economy as Instituted Process,” in George Dalton (ed.), Primitive, Archaic and Modern Economies: Essays of Karl Polanyi. Boston: Beacon Press, 139-174.

Polanyi, Karl (1968b), “Our Obsolete Market Mentality,” in George Dalton (ed.), Primitive, Archaic and Modern Economies: Essays of Karl Polanyi. Boston: Beacon Press, 59-77.

Polanyi, Karl (1977a), “The Economistic Fallacy,” in Karl Polanyi & Harry Pearson (eds.), The Livelihood of Man. New York: Academic Press, 5-17.

Polanyi, Karl (1977b), “The Economy Embedded in Society,” in Karl Polanyi & Harry Pearson (eds.), The Livelihood of Man. New York: Academic Press, 47-56.

Polanyi, Karl (1977c), “The Two Meanings of Economic,” in Karl Polanyi & Harry Pearson (eds.), The Livelihood of Man. New York: Academic Press, 19-34.

Polanyi, Karl (2001), The Great Transformation – The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time. 2nd ed. Boston: Beacon Press.

Polanyi, Karl; Arensberg, Conrad; Pearson, Harry (1968), “The Place of Economies in Societies,” in George Dalton (ed.), Primitive, Archaic and Modern Economies: Essays of Karl Polanyi. Boston: Beacon Press, 116-138.

Polanyi-Levitt, Kari (2003), “The English Experience in the Life and Work of Karl Polanyi.” Paper presented at the conference on “Polanyian Perspectives on Instituted Economic Processes, Development and Transformation,” ESRC, Center for Research on Innovation and Competition, University of Manchester, 23-25 October.

Randles, Sally (2003), “Issues for a Neo-Polanyian Research Agenda in Economic Sociology,” International Review of Sociology, 13(2), 409-434.

Stanfield, James R. (1986), The Economic Thought of Karl Polanyi. London: Macmillan.

Swedberg, Richard (1997), “New Economic Sociology: What Has Been Accomplished, What Is Ahead?” Acta Sociologica, 40, 161-182.

Swedberg, Richard (2004), “What has been Accomplished in New Economic Sociology and Where is it Heading?” Archives Européennes de Sociologie, 45(3), 317-330.

Swedberg, Richard (2006), “The Toolkit of Economic Sociology,” SOCIUS Working Papers, No. 4/2006.