Capitalism in Transformation

Edited by Roland Atzmüller, Brigitte Aulenbacher, Johannes Kepler University, Ulrich Brand, Fabienne Décieux, University of Vienna, Karin Fischer, Johannes Kepler University and Birgit Sauer, University of Vienna, Austria

'The book provides new historical and theoretical reflections on the work of Karl Polanyi and its relevance to today's movements and countermovements, including new fictitious commodities, such as knowledge and care, the rise of the populist right throughout the world and the transformation of labour markets.'--Marguerite Mendell, Director, Karl Polanyi Institute of Political Economy, Concordia University, Canada'What connects climate ecocide, soy expansion in Latin America, digital Taylorism, the commodification of care, and the rise of ''völkisch populism''? They're among the morbid symptoms of contemporary capitalism that are diagnosed in this important book.'--Gareth Dale, author of Karl Polanyi, A Life on the Left and Reconstructing Karl Polanyi: Excavation and Critique'Capitalism in Transformation is a work of cutting edge political economy that addresses, through the lens of Karl Polanyi, the fundamental issues of our times - the financial crises, austerity, climate catastrophe, social and gender inequality, and the pressing crisis of democracy. In a single provocative and essential volume, this collection reveals the analytic exhaustion of mainstream economics, and demonstrates why Karl Polanyi has become the indispensable theorist of our times.'--Margaret R. Somers and Fred Block, authors of The Power of Market Fundamentalism: Karl Polanyi's Critique

• Contents:Polanyian perspectives on the movements and countermovements of “our time”: an introductionRoland Atzmüller, Brigitte Aulenbacher, Ulrich Brand, Fabienne Décieux, Karin Fischer, Birgit SauerPART I: Historical and theoretical reflections: Karl Polanyi, capitalism and society 1. A life-long search for freedom. From Budapest to America: a journey through Karl Polanyi’s lifeKari Polanyi-Levitt interviewed by Michael Brie and Claus Thomasberger2. “Plunges into utter destruction” and the limits of historical capitalism Beverly J. Silver3. Crises and transformations: suggestions from Karl Polanyi’s worksMichele Cangiani4. Karl Polanyi as a theorist of disembedded marketsChristoph Deutschmann5. A Polanyian paradox: money and credit as fictitious commodities, financialization, finance-dominated accumulation, and financial crisesBob JessopPART II: Contemporary developments of society and capitalism in Europe and beyond6. Polanyian perspectives on capitalisms after socialismDorothee Bohle and Béla Greskovits7. Economy-society tensions in the Eurozone: the “anti-democratic virus” revivedMaria Markantonatou8. Political Islam as reactionary countermovementAyşe Buğra9. “Freedom’s utter frustration ...” Neoliberal social-policy reforms and the shift to the far-right through Polanyi’s theory of fascismRoland Atzmüller, Fabienne Décieux10. Völkisch populism: a Polanyian-type movement?Karina Becker, Klaus Dörre11. Cultural war 2.0? The relevance of gender in the radical populist-nationalist rightBirgit SauerPART III: “Fictitious commodities” and the challenges of ‘our time’12. Contested social-ecological transformation: shortcomings of current debates and Polanyian perspectivesUlrich Brand, Christoph Görg, Markus Wissen13. Polanyi, nature and the international: the missing dimension of imperial ecocideVishwas Satgar, Michelle Williams14. Soy expansion and countermovements in the Global South: a Polanyian perspectiveKarin Fischer, Ernst Langthaler15. Navigating between improvement and habitation: countermovements in housing and urban infrastructure in ViennaAndreas Novy, Richard Bärnthaler, Basil Stadelmann16. The “fictitious commodity” care and the reciprocity of caring: a Polanyian and neo-institutionalist perspective on the brokering of 24-hour careBrigitte Aulenbacher, Michael Leiblfinger17. The commodification of informal care: joining and resisting marketization processes Bernhard Weicht18. Polanyi’s double movement and the making of the “knowledge economy”Antonino Palumbo, Alan Scott19. Polanyi and the digital transformation of labour: on fictitious commodities and real conflictsHans-Jürgen UrbanIndex