Do Not Worry
Born in Vienna, Austria, in 1886, Karl Polanyi had a colorful career that in and of itself is worthy of a sociological review. Having begun to write The Great Transformation in 1930, it was not until 1944, when Polanyi was living in the United States, that it was first published during WWII. However, remaining in the United States was next to impossible due to his wife’s close affiliation with communism. Thus, Canada was to become their final resting place.
Written as a three-part economic sociology book, Polanyi argues that economy cannot be understood merely through the lens of economic theory as embedded deeply within are social and political factors. I found the six-point summary of Dr. Zaman helpful:
- “All societies face the economic task of producing and providing for all members of society.
- Market mechanisms for providing goods to members conflict with other social mechanisms and are harmful to society.
- Unregulated markets are so deadly to human society and environment that creation of markets automatically sets into play movements to protect society and environment from the harm that they cause. Paradoxically, it is this counter-movement, this opposition to markets, that allows markets to survive.
- Certain ideologies, which relate to land, labour and money, and the profit motive are required for efficient functioning of markets. In particular, both poverty, and a certain amount of callousness and indifference to poverty are required for efficient functioning of markets.
- Markets have been fragile and crisis-prone and have lurched from disaster to disaster.
- Market economies require imposition by violence — either natural or created.”[1]
In consideration of our ongoing conversations regarding capitalism, Dr. Clark notes the debate as to whether capitalism arose early or late in human history and its cause. He writes, “Polanyi considered capitalism to be a recent invention in human history where ‘the self-regulating market is a new human invention for which there are no parallels in past human history.’ Weber similarly considered capitalism a late arrival in human history, inextricably linked to the emergence of the Protestant church.”[2] Is capitalism beneficial? Or is it detrimental to the well-being of humanity? In line with what Dr. Clark noted, as to the newness of the self-regulating market, Polanyi writes,
Our thesis is that the idea of a self-adjusting market implied a stark utopia. Such an institution could not exist for any length of time without annihilating the human and natural substance of society; it would have physically destroyed man and transformed his surroundings into a wilderness.[3]
Continuing with this consideration of the detriment of a self-regulating economy, Dr. Zaman writes,
The market economy emerged after a prolonged battle against these traditions. As Polanyi clarifies, this is not a good development. The commodification of human beings and land required by the dominance of the market has done tremendous damage to society and environment. The value of human life has been degraded to their earning power.[4]
I have a few thoughts regarding this topic. First, let it be clearly understood that I do not consider myself an economist. Whether or not Calvinism gave birth to capitalism as Weber suggests, I cannot help but embrace the call to activism Beddington speaks of in his discussion on evangelicalism. Considering both principles taught by Weber and Beddington, I have little difficulty adopting Polanyi’s understanding that the self-regulating market is indeed a relatively new “economy.” Yet, reflecting on the pitfall of humankind since the fall of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3, I do not doubt that what good this new economy may have birthed, it also had tragic implications for the society in which it was to serve. Ironic, is it not?
I am far less a theologian than a practitioner , though I strive to be well informed. As Christ-followers, I believe we are to strive to practice orthodoxy and orthopraxy. To neglect one is to inadequately portray the gospel as Jesus demonstrated time and time again. Matthew 4:23 says, “Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.”[5] In summary, perhaps our current economy has its pitfalls, no doubt, but thankfully our focus is far grander and more certain. Herein lies our call and hope:
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”[6]
[1] Asad Zaman, “Summary of the Great Transformation by Polanyi,” Medium, August 25, 2018, accessed February 27, 2022, https://asaduzaman.medium.com/summary-of-the-great-transformation-by-polanyi-c329541e8532.
[2] Clark, “Evangelism and Capitalism,” 124.
[3] Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time, 2nd Beacon Paperback ed. (Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2001), 3.
[4] Zaman, “Summary of the Great Transformation by Polanyi.”
[5] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update.
[6] Ibid., v. Matthew 6:33-34.
11 responses to “Do Not Worry”
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Eric, I also read Zaman’s summary of Polanyi and found it helpful as this book was a tough one for me. I appreciate how you conclude with a realistic view of the pitfalls and opportunities around us. It’s easy to focus on the negatives but I’m thankful people can contribute to causes they believe in and receive an economic break to d so. I wonder how much the meeting of practical needs would change if that benefit disappeared? In our church, we are seeing more people wanting to do something positive to help those in need – are you seeing an increase in financial support and personal involvement in your work?
It is very likely that this will happen, that there are no longer benefits for philanthropy. In fact, there have already been some changes in the last few years. Here is my experience: people that are generous are generous no matter what, regardless of tax benefits. I am forever the optimist, but I am hopeful the work of the Church (through the church of Christian works – missionary work, NGO’s, etc.) would continue.
Eric: Have you found folks more generous that are connected to the church because of their faith and convictions or regardless of faith, they are generous when they are connected to the mission of your organization? Or perhaps it’s hard to analyze the motivations…
Good question. Unquestionable it has been my experience that people of faith are (in general) more generous than non-believers.
This conversation takes me back to what Lieberman and Long say about the work of dopamine in relation to giving and how giving is lived out differently for liberals vs conservatives.
Eric: You discuss the different author’s views about whether or not capitalism is a new development in human trade and business or not. It was an interesting argument to me but I think Polanyi is wrong here. The seeds of capitalism goes way back, even beyond Abram in the OT. Free trade, pursuing one’s interests, charging as much for your prices of your goods and services that the ‘market’ will handle, maximizing profit…all of this are elements of capitalism. But yes, as human society has become more sophisticated, so has economic theory and business practices. I find this big-picture thinking so interesting…
Good thought going back to Abraham, etc. I would tend to agree with that argument for sure.
Great reflection, Eric.
Of course, every generation and context of Jesus’ followers have faced the challenge of living in the way of Jesus while living among a broken world.
Economically, this is a unique challenge. We are workers, supervisors, and CEOs companies that often put profit over people and revenue over fair prices. For example, the leading cause of inflation right now is not lack of supply and demand, but corporations raising the cost of goods and see record financial margins. They are essentially increasing the cost because they can.
So how do we, as followers of Jesus, called love our neighbor in the way we live ourselves and God?m, abide in organizations that often contradict the way we are called to live?
Hey there Andy. I hear what you are saying, but I also tend to disagree (from the standpoint of the small business owner). The organization I run owns two LLC’s. One does make a profit, the other loses money at this time, but it is all missionally-based. From this experience, and that of working with many other contractors, business owners, etc., I can say that the increased costs of goods, labor, etc. have forced them to raise prices just to keep up with the rising costs. But truth be told, many of them are not capitalizing on this or making “a lot more money.” Does it happen? I am sure. Is WalMart doing well? You know it.
I also hear the struggle of our engagement with these companies that have unjust systems (child labor, imported goods, etc.), but I also struggle with how far we take that line of thinking? If we do that for every decision or engagement, from where we shop to where we buy clothes to whether we drive a car or not, it all becomes very complicated. While good intended, where do we draw the line?
Eric, I may be misunderstanding this conversation you and Andy are having….but as people of faith, the line is drawn based on what we consider is worth it once we count the cost. It is not the same for each person.
What might Jesus say to all of this if he was a small business owner?
Eric, thank you for sharing your perspective on this week’s reading. I too am not an economist and see myself more or a practitioner than a theologian. I would be interested to learn if you see any value in the SRM and how might it be benedictional in light of your reference to Genesis 3.