International Karl Polanyi Society

We are happy to present you with the opportunity to (re)visit the life and works of Karl Polanyi in such a fundamental way. On May 21st 2024 at 6:00 pm we welcome Polanyi-experts to share their insight into Karl Polanyi’s oeuvre:

Esteemed IKPS member, Michele Cangiani of the University Ca’Foscari in Venice who co-edited the “Routledge Handbook on Karl Polanyi” together with Polanyi connaisseur Claus Thomasberger, from the University of Applied Sciences Berlin who is also an IKPS Board member will present the finely curated contributions in their Handbook:

“Karl Polanyi is one of the most influential social scientists of our era. A report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) begins by noting that we are in a “Polanyi era”: a time of dangerously unregulated markets, where the greatest need for decisive political action is matched by the least trust in politics.

This handbook provides a comprehensive of recent research on Polanyi’s work and ideas, including the central place occupied by his thinking on the relationship between economics and politics. The stellar line-up of contributors to this book explore Polanyi’s work reflecting the intrinsic interdisciplinarity of Polanyi’s approach to understanding our society, its place in history, its fundamental dynamics, and its contradictions, as well as the methodological issues he raises.

The handbook broadly follows a chronological structure beginning with influences on Polanyi, his formative experiences and early works. A significant section is dedicated to Polanyi’s seminal work, The Great Transformation, and its impact. Further sections also look at Polanyi’s wider influence, on various disciplines and methodological debates, and his ongoing relevance for present-day issues including debates on populism, neoliberalism and low carbon transitions.

This handbook is a vital resource for students and scholars of economics, politics, sociology, and other social sciences.”