2.10 The Great Transformation - Becoming Homo Economicus Flashcards
Great Transformation,
refers to the 19th and 20th century shift from subsistence economies to market economies characterized by the commodification of land, labor, and money
Market Society,
instead of the economy being embedded in social relations, social relations are embedded in the economy
Myth of the Self Regulating Market,
the myth that markets can naturally and independently regulate themselves for the greater good without societal or governmental intervention
Dis-embedded Economy,
describes the process by which economic activities, which were traditionally embedded within social, cultural, and political institutions, become increasingly detached and separated from those contexts, and begin to operate according to market principles (disembedded economy is a bad thing according to polanyi)
Fictitious Commodities,
land, labor, and money.
Polanyi states the great transformation occurred as a result of the commodification of these “fictitious commodities”. they were gradually removed from their social and cultural contexts and subjected to the logic of the market. Land (enclosures), labor (wage labour), and money (becomes universal medium of exchange).
Homo-economicus.
Homo economicus, or Economic human, is the concept in some economic theories of humans
as rational and self-interested actors who who make decisions based solely on the pursuit of their economic self-interest.
Assumptions of Market Society
▪ Money = gains (Growth = progress)
▪ Myth of the Self Regulating market
▪ Fictitious commodities:
*Land, labor, money
▪ Homo-Economicus
commodity fetishism
In Marxist philosophy, the term commodity fetishism describes the economic relationships of production and exchange as being social relationships that exist among things (money and merchandise) and not as relationships that exist among people
Satanic Mill
Polanyi represents the factories of 18th century England as a transformative space in which humans are degraded to labour providers.
