The Great Transformation

The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time

By: Karl Polanyi, Joseph E. Stiglitz - foreword

Narrated by: David Pickering

In this classic work of economic history and social theory, Karl Polanyi analyzes the economic and social changes brought about by the great transformation of the Industrial Revolution. His analysis explains not only the deficiencies of the self-regulating market, but the potentially dire social consequences of untempered market capitalism. New introductory material reveals the renewed importance of Polanyi's seminal analysis in an era of globalization and free trade.

This audiobook is expertly read by David Pickering, and was produced and published by Echo Point Books & Media, an independent bookseller in Brattleboro, Vermont. Audio engineering by David Pickering and Blake Rook.

(P)2024 Echo Point Books & Media, LLC

A classic

Polanyi’s most important work- it is hard to understate the importance of this work for our times

Self regulating markets eventually fail

Polonyi’s prose is ostentatious and difficult to follow, but if one can get through it, one will see how important this book is. He explains how the classical “liberal” economic and political system failed in the late 19th and early 20th century. He describes how an attempt at creating a self regulating market may only be done by making society subservient to the market system. The political economies based on self interest lead to fascism or socialism, as society tries to rescue itself from the ravages of the market. As the neoliberal order of our current time collapses, the ideas in this book might be worth a look.