Karl Polanyi on Ethics and Economics

Exploring Polanyi's lesser-known works as well as The Great Transformation, Baum provides a more complete and nuanced understanding of Polanyi's thought. He examines Polanyi's interpretation of modern economic and social history, clarifies the ethical presuppositions present in Polanyi's work, and addresses how Polanyi's understanding of the relation between ethics and economics touches on many issues relevant to the contemporary debate about the world's economic future. Baum argues that we should look to Polanyi's understanding of modern capitalism to reinstate the social discourse and, in political practice, the principles of reciprocity and solidarity. He points to examples, both in Canada and abroad, of attempts to formulate alternative models of economic development and to create new forms of institutional and cultural intervention. Karl Polanyi on Ethics and Economics provides fascinating insights into Polanyi's work and today's central social and political issues. It will be of great interest to sociologists, economists, political scientists, and philosophers.

"A concise and timely disquisition on Karl Polanyi's thought. Baum brings to light considerations that are still largely overlooked by Polanyi scholars and indicates alternative avenues of thinking about and solving the moral, social, and cultural predicaments of our times. He shows that there is, for people of the left, an intellectual and theoretical alternative outside the usual and well-worn radical discourse. This book is of extreme relevance." Daniel Salee, School of Community and Public Affairs, Concordia University. "A valuable and original contribution to a better understanding of Polanyi's lifelong concern with social ethics." Paul Medow, Department of Economics, York University.

Gregory Baum is professor emeritus in the Faculty of Religious Studies at McGill University and the author of Nationalism, Religion, and Ethics.