Polanyi\u2019s summary<\/b><\/p>\n
In my education, I have not taken a course in economics, so I found Polanyi\u2019s <\/span>The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time <\/span><\/i>to be arduous reading. It wasn\u2019t until the twenty-first chapter on \u2018Freedom in a Complex Society,\u2019 Polanyi\u2019s final words in his historical account, when my mind began to jolt. I think I have read page 268 twenty-five times. Is Polanyi saying what I think he is saying? Polanyi asserts that we are in a post Christian world where society is in need of finding freedom in resigning to organizing itself to a fascist ideology. In this blog I will give an account of Polanyi\u2019s views and counter them with lessons found in the Old Testament. Taking the Old Testament examples, I will apply this learning to the modern-day example of a teenager who is a leader in the making for our times.<\/span><\/p>\n I would like you to join me in reading Polanyi\u2019s words on page 268. I am curious if you will do a \u201cdouble take\u201d like I did as you consider the impact of his words:<\/span><\/p>\n The fascist answer to the recognition of the reality of society is the rejection of the postulate of freedom. The Christian discovery of the uniqueness of the individual and of the oneness of mankind is negated by fascism. Here lies the root of the degenerative bent. Robert Owen was the first to recognize that the Gospels ignored the reality of society.\u00a0 He called this the \u201cindividualization\u201d of man on part of Christianity and appeared to believe that only in a cooperative commonwealth could \u201call that is truly valuable in Christianity\u201d cease to be separated from man. Owen recognized that the freedom we gained through Jesus was inapplicable to a complex society. His socialism was the upholding of man’s claim to freedom in such a society. The post Christian era of Western civilization had begun, in which the Gospels did not suffice, and yet remained the basis of our civilization. [1]\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Who is at the Helm?<\/b><\/p>\n How does Polanyi assert that society can not benefit from the Gospel; only the individual might find reward within Scriptures? I have always assumed that society is a beneficiary of what is spelled out in Scripture in addition to the individual. Polanyi quotes Robert Owen who surmises that society will only find freedom outside of the Gospels. I would assert that the Gospel message is reflected in what is learned in the Old Testament, and there we will find examples that are pedagogical for modern society. It is through individuals that God chooses to work for His purposes to be accomplished in society. The ultimate example we have is found in Isaiah 9:6, \u201cFor to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Jesus is the individual who God works through in these verses, \u201cof the greatness of His government and peace there will be no end.\u201d Isaiah 9:7 Jesus will ultimately reign over all of society.<\/span><\/p>\n Joseph-the Exemplar<\/b><\/p>\n In addition to Jesus (whose life is chronicled in the New Testament), who came to save all of society, we have the example of Joseph who once was a ruler in Egypt. Joseph was the first exemplar I considered when thinking of how a society was impacted and recorded in Scripture, providing a template for us all. Joseph\u2019s story is a familiar one, but it is important to consider what took place in his life prior to Pharoah stating, \u201cI hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.\u201d (Genesis 41:41) Prior to interpreting the dream for the king, Joseph interpreted dreams for the cupbearer and the chief baker who were in prison with him. Genesis 40:8 \u201cJoseph said to them. \u2018Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.\u2019 Knowing God and knowing the gifts God gave him, Joseph takes initiative.\u00a0 Daniel Goleman, in his book <\/span>Focus<\/span><\/i>, describes a leader like Joseph:<\/span><\/p>\n Leaders who inspire can articulate shared values that resonate with and motivate the group. These are the leaders people love to work with, who surface the vision that moves everyone. But to speak from heart to the heart, a leader must first know (his) values. That takes self-awareness. [2]<\/span><\/p>\n Before a society is changed, a single person often is found rising to take leadership. God had placed Joseph in Egypt in order for this ancient civilization to be saved. Joseph told his brothers: \u201cDo not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.\u201d (Genesis 43:4) The good news of provision came to Joseph’s brothers. This Biblical account of Joseph is reflected in D.W. Bebbington\u2019s work <\/span>Evangelicalism in Modern Britain<\/span><\/i> where he states: \u201cCultural diffusion within Evangelicalism was normally a matter of the percolation of ideas down the societal scale. Ideas would often reach a congregation first through the minister.\u201d [3] Whether it be by an appointed ruler of Egypt or a minister of the Gospel in Britain, ideas and values are handed down to a society.<\/span><\/p>\n My son<\/b><\/p>\n I think Vincent Miller does a fantastic job in describing our society and can be summed up as the following:<\/span><\/p>\n People no longer hunger for salvation or an era of justice, but for the \u201cfeeling, the momentary illusion, of personal wellbeing, health, and psychic security.\u201d He attributes the genesis of this sensibility to the bureaucratic complexities of modern existence, which erode people\u2019s \u201ceveryday competence.\u201d The resulting dependence is manifested psychologically as narcissism, where a grandiose, narcissistic, infantile, empty self\u201d depends on others to validate its existence.\u00a0 Morality is replaced with a shallow ideal of psychic equilibrium. [4]<\/span><\/p>\n What is needed in this tide of \u201cshallow ideal of psychic equilibrium?\u201d Some hope is glimmering in my own home as the Gospel is getting hold of my son. My son is seventeen and the lead hitter on his Varsity baseball team at Lincoln High, but I don\u2019t believe my son would say that his ability to play baseball is what makes him who he is. He would say that it is his relationship with Jesus Christ that defines him. His life is marked by wanting to obey God in several areas: 1) Kyle has taken off all social media from his phone and has committed to having relationships that transcend the use of his phone. 2) Kyle has deemed young females a \u201cdistraction\u201d and intends on waiting to pursue a romantic relationship when he is older. 3) Kyle has committed to communicating with his peers in a loving way, not using the standard jocularity found in a locker room. 4) Kyle hosts a study on Apologetics, knowing that this knowledge will serve him well as he engages with a secular environment. 5) Kyle maintains that his parents are some of his best guides and mentors in his life and seeks their counsel. In his schedule, he regularly reads his Bible and goes to church as well. It is my hope that my son will lead in his generation, due to the individual that he is. Molded by the Gospel, he, too, will impact society. It is my prayer that he will be just like Joseph.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [1] Karl Polanyi, <\/span>The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time<\/span><\/i>, 1957, p.268<\/span><\/p>\n [2] Daniel Goleman, <\/span>Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence<\/span><\/i>, 2013, p.225<\/span><\/p>\n [3] D.W. Bebbington, <\/span>Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A history from the 1730\u2019s to the 1980\u2019s<\/span><\/i>, 1989, p.274<\/span><\/p>\n [4] Vincent Miller, <\/span>Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in a Consumer Culture<\/span><\/i>, 2008, p.85<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Polanyi\u2019s summary In my education, I have not taken a course in economics, so I found Polanyi\u2019s The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time to be arduous reading. It wasn\u2019t until the twenty-first chapter on \u2018Freedom in a Complex Society,\u2019 Polanyi\u2019s final words in his historical account, when my mind began […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":165,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2661,2233,383],"class_list":["post-31456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-genesis-41","tag-karl-polanyi","tag-the-great-transformation","cohort-dlgp01"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/165"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31456"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31457,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31456\/revisions\/31457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}