Reading the Tea Leaves, An Ancient-Future Practice of Good Leaders
Considered to be one of the leading economist historians of his day, Karl Polanyi gives readers insight into the rise, thriving, and downfall of the many iterations of the Industrial Revolution, a period from around 1733 to 1914, along with the post-war eras of the 1920s to 1930s.
The Great Transformation cannot be read without understanding the context of the author. As an Austro-Hungarian refugee living in England, and later America, who fled his homeland over the fear of fascism, Polanyi experienced not one but two great wars. Living through what was said to be the war to end all wars, Polanyi had to live through the trauma of yet another great war that enveloped the world. He saw how politics, society, religion, and economics played into these conflicts. And lest we not forget a global pandemic during the first World War, 1918, and a Great Depression tucked in between these devastating conflicts.
You can sense his pessimism in the opening lines of his work, “Nineteenth-century civilization has collapsed. This book is concerned with the political and economic origins of this event, as well as the great transformation which it ushered in.”[1]
In talking about how the 19th-century civilization was not destroyed by external and internal attack or barbarians, World War I, Polanyi argued that society was annihilated by the action of the self-regulated market. [2]
What’s fascinating about Polanyi’s work is that he was writing as the tide of fascism is being pushed back by the Allied forces. He knows that this global conflict has changed the world, and he was writing to figure out what will happen next in the global economy.
The key to understanding his thought process is Polanyi’s concept of embeddedness, meaning the economy is not autonomous but subordinated to politics, religion, and social relations. [3] He presents this idea as a pushback against the idea of free-market capitalism, showing how civilization is interwoven relationship by which each sector affects the others.
The economist also showed how markets do not work in isolation but are interconnected, not just within a local society but around the world.
Polanyi was an expert that attempted to read the tea leaves for the future by looking back at the past. So how do you know what is next when you’ve experienced two wars, a global pandemic, an economic depression, and dramatic shifts in socio-political governing?
The Great Transformation is an exercise in understanding how we got to where we are as we attempt to figure out the future. It is a reminder that nothing happens out of nowhere. Everything about our world is an intricately interwoven quilt of culture, economics, politics, religion, environment, technology, and the human condition.
As Clarke argued, “Even more startling than that paucity of historical method, is the failure to consider the use of any historical accounts for understanding current situations. Economists are particularly prone to this failure.”[4]
While we are not in the thick of a great War, our world feels like it is at one of those inflection points where so much has happened in the last few years that the coming five years will be drastically different from what we have experienced before. So how do we read the tea leaves of our time to understand the future?
As faith leaders, Polanyi’s work reminds us, in a way, that spiritual discernment is a critical part of leading into the future. And, to be good students of not just the major historical events but also the cultural, economic, political, technological, and social fabric of the present can help us better understand the future.
[1] Polanyi, Karl. The Great Transformation. (Boston: Beacon Press, 2001), 3.
[2] Ibid, 257.
[3] Ibid, xxiv.
[4] Clark, Jason. Evangelicalism and Capitalism: A Reparative Account and Diagnosis of Pathogeneses in the Relationship. (London School of Theology, 2018), 123.
About the Author
Andy Hale
Associate Executive Coordinator of CBF North Carolina, CBF Podcast Creator and Host, & Professional Coach4 responses to “Reading the Tea Leaves, An Ancient-Future Practice of Good Leaders”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Andy, I appreciate your call to faith leaders having a broad view of issues as we seek to lead into the future. There are no simple answers in a complex word so interconnected. If you had to “read the tea leaves” when it comes to the financial future for churches, what predictions do you have? What changes, if any, do you see in a post-pandemic world for the economics in the ministry world?
Sadly, we very well may be on the verge of a great war! Just saying. An interesting read given the current situation and impact the Russian conflict has had (and will continue to have) for world economics.
I fully agree with your ending, that as faith leaders (or any leader for that matter), we must be good students of a broad spectrum of topics.
PS, I always enjoy reading you discuss history. It is always very informative and helpful!
Andy, first thank you for commenting on the importance of understanding the context of the author in order to appreciate the authors argument. I wish Bebbington would have taken time to understand Calvin’s context 🙂
As Eric and Roy said I appreciate your call for faith leaders to have the capacity to weave many subjects together while reading the tea leaves.
Considering our current context, what ways would you compare and contrast the the benefits/struggles of disembeddedness of religion/faith, consumerism, and being community?
Andy, thank you for your insightful post. I am curious about your context and how this week’s reading has helped you read your own tea leaves.