Peer2Politics

Fred Block (research professor of sociology at University of California at Davis) and Margaret Somers (professor of sociology and history at the University of Michigan) have a new book, “The Power of Market Fundamentalism: Karl Polanyi’s Critique” (Harvard University Press, 2014). The book argues that the ideas of Karl Polanyi, the author of “The Great Transformation,” a classic of 20th century political economy, are crucial if you want to understand the recession and its aftermath. I asked the authors a series of questions.

The severe economic crisis has neared meltdown with the only deciding factor left to determine the fate of the economy being the actual meltdown, or to have a massive drop in the stock market that brings on a depression. Technically speaking a meltdown follows such definition, however, for many people in the US, meltdown is clearly the case already, as they have watched their lives fall into serious insecurity from potential lack of employment, home-ownership, education and perhaps even food. The intervention or bailout is supposed to prevent a meltdown and is the right choice at this moment, but it may or may not work for the masses of people.