The Great Transformation<\/p>\n
As we sit back and watch the economy change from year to year, one can’t help but wonder what the driving force is. There is constant talk of recession and prices are soaring in every industry. Who or what controls these changes? Some of the answers may become evident in what Polanyi explains in his writing. The Great Transformation is Polanyi’s explanation of what happened during the rise of the market economy. Within Polanyi’s writing, he talks about embeddedness. He argues that “the economy is not autonomous as it must be in economic theory, but subordinated to politics, religion, and social relations”[1].<\/p>\n
Knoco says that there are 4 types of embeddedness in-network practice:<\/p>\n
In relational embeddedness, different relationships among social networks influence how the economy will run. Their status or other social relationships gives them the power to make decisions for people without any say. This in turn creates problems for those not in power, particularly the poor. Economics is not really my strong suit and I don’t understand half the stuff that is talked about. I do know fairness though. When I say fairness I hear a famous preacher saying “Favor ain’t Fair” and neither is the control of the economy based on a social status. Do I know how to fix it, no I do not?<\/p>\n
In a perfect world I just believe that we should take care of each other. In the Bible the Lord asked Cain “Where is Abel, thy brother? And he said: I know not. Am I my brother\u2019s keeper?” The Lord answered that he was his brothers keeper. He wanted us to take care of each other and to help our brothers. He did not say to Cain form a network of your friends and control how your brothers and the others you care not about operate. I could go on but the truth is the Bible teaches how to have the best life but in greed we have chosen not to listen. We have made up our own rules. We divided into subgroups. We have attempted to dominate each other. We have not chosen to be our brother’s keeper. We have become a selfish society, so the economy is up and down all of the time. We are worried, anxious, and depressed because of our own behavior.<\/p>\n