The Livelihood of Man: Introduction

Abstract

In the book The Livelihood of Man—unfinished and unpublished during the author’s lifetime but first published in 1977 under the editorship of H. W. Pearson—Karl Polanyi continues to develop ideas that he previously outlined in his monumental work The Great Transformation (1944). In The Great Transformation, Polanyi emphasized that to gain a more realistic understanding of the economy's role in human society, it is necessary to rethink universal economic history based on broader conceptual foundations. The author also places the problem of man’s livelihood at the center of this book, reinterpreting it on three levels. At the theoretical level, he examines concepts of trade, money, and market institutions, which are proposed for application to to any type of society. At the historical level, specific examples are provided that bring theoretical generalizations to life through comparison or contrast. At the political level, the author seeks answers from history to pressing moral and practical problems of the 20th century. The Journal of Economic Sociology publishes an introduction in which Polanyi explains the book’s key idea. It is being prepared for publication in Russian by the Gaidar Institute Publishing House.