{"id":39083,"date":"2024-10-24T12:58:11","date_gmt":"2024-10-24T19:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=39083"},"modified":"2024-10-24T13:17:21","modified_gmt":"2024-10-24T20:17:21","slug":"limited-capacity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/limited-capacity\/","title":{"rendered":"Limited Capacity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over two years ago, I inquired about the Doctor of Leadership in Global Perspectives (DLGP) program at Portland Seminary. I loved the program, but I was concerned I would not meet the requirements of having a relevant master\u2019s degree. During my application interview, I was assured that my leadership and ministry experience qualified me for the program, even with prior degrees in nursing. I knew I would not be a “typical” student in the program, but, as a rule, I do not mind being different. My science background has not negatively affected my studies –until this week. Polanyi! I now understand my patients when they ask me to \u201ctranslate\u201d medical terminology. When someone talks to you in English but uses vocabulary in a way you cannot understand, feelings of frustration, inadequacy, and even doubting one\u2019s intelligence cloud any sense of comprehension one may have otherwise had. This was my experience as I wrestled through Karl Polanyi\u2019s The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time.<\/em> \u00a0The book was full of vocabulary and concepts I struggled to understand. Reviews and critiques I read about the book were perhaps more incomprehensible to my non-economic linguistic skills. I looked up terms; just because you find a definition does not mean you know what it means. I used artificial intelligence (AI). I think AI was as confused as me. I tapped into the human resources and experts I know, which, not surprisingly, are few as many of my colleagues and friends are also in the medical field. In a final attempt to understand this alien world of economics, I tried to find a \u201cPolanyi for Dummies\u201d edition. The closest I found was a blog from a student last year in the DLGP. I know her. She, too, works in health care and appeared almost as befuddled as me in this subject.[1]<\/a> This was the fuel I needed to keep going. I was not alone in my struggle! Jana managed to write a blog; I can, too. Here is my attempt at a simple summary of Polanyi and what I learned through my journey in wrestling with his book.<\/p>\n

Karl Polanyi was a Jewish-Hungarian economic anthropologist. His book The Great Transformation <\/em>was first published in 1944. Polanyi addresses the economic history of the 19th<\/sup> and early 20th<\/sup> centuries, the rise of the self-regulating market (SRM), and the social effects of this change. The Great Transformation<\/em> is a historical view of Western economic and social history.[2]<\/a> Many of the reviews I read commented on the direct correlation and application The Great Transformation <\/em>has for today. One review states, \u201cThe social pathologies that we witness \u2013 social inequality, geopolitical volatility, virulent nationalism and conspiracy fantasies \u2013 are all reminiscent of processes that [Polanyi] analysed in The Great Transformation.\u201d[3]<\/a> Within these \u201csocial pathologies\u201d Polanyi also recognized the importance that Christianity had on society and economics through the Christian emphasis of the dignity and importance of each person unified under the Creator.[4]<\/a> Dr. Jason Clark nicely summarizes Polanyi\u2019s perspective on Christianity, \u201cChristianity for Polanyi was important because of its ability to unify individuality with sociality. For Polanyi, it was not any Christian reality that was important, rather, what was crucial was how Christianity dealt with eschatological questions, and the connectedness of individuals to ethical communities.\u201d[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

I appreciate that Polanyi recognized the importance of relationships and community, especially for Christians. History is important. Economics and money are imperative to society. However, the Bible encourages us to put our love for others as our priority.[6]<\/a> I spent hours struggling with this blog. After countless reviews, searches, and conversations, I hit a wall. I knew if I kept going on this unproductive trajectory, I was sacrificing time and energy that I should, could, and would prefer to use in living out my calling and relationships. According to David Rock in Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long, <\/em>the mental energy I was using up is not unlimited and must be prioritized.[7]<\/a> I need to prioritize my energy for the people in my life.<\/p>\n

With that said, I am ending this blog. A good leader knows her limits.[8]<\/a> I have reached my threshold of energy, mental capacity, and time that I am willing to take away from relationships to write. Perhaps one day, economics will not send me into a mental tizzy like it did today. I take hope from Shane Parrish\u2019s words, \u201cExceptional people know they can\u2019t change the hand they\u2019ve been dealt, and don\u2019t waste time wishing for a better one. They focus instead on how they\u2019re going to play the cards they have to achieve the best result.\u201d I am off to invest in those around me, still searching for the hope, community, and connection Christ offers.<\/p>\n

\n

[1]<\/a> Jana Dluehosh, \u201cThe Balcony View for Dummies,\u201d Doctor of Leadership in Global Perspectives: Crafting Ministry in an Interconnected World<\/em> (blog), accessed October 24, 2024, https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/the-balcony-view-for-dummies\/.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Anne Mayhew, \u201cThe Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time \u2013 Review Essay,\u201d Economic History Association, 2023, https:\/\/eh.net\/book_reviews\/the-great-transformation-the-political-and-economic-origins-of-our-time\/.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Gareth Dale, \u201cThe Great Transformation by Karl Polanyi Is a Classic Critique of Capitalism \u2013 but It Wasn\u2019t an Overnight Success,\u201d The Conversation, June 26, 2024, http:\/\/theconversation.com\/the-great-transformation-by-karl-polanyi-is-a-classic-critique-of-capitalism-but-it-wasnt-an-overnight-success-227727.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time<\/em>, 2nd Beacon Paperback ed (Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2001), 268.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Jason Paul Clark, \u201cEvangelicalism and Capitalism: A Reparative Account and Diagnosis of Pathogeneses in the Relationship,\u201d F Aculty Publications – Portland Seminary<\/em>, no. 132 (2018), https:\/\/digitalcommons.georgefox.edu\/gfes\/132, 139.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> See 1 Peter 4:8, 1 Thessalonians 3:12, John 15:13<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> David Rock, Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long<\/em>, Revised Kindle Edition (New York, NY: Harper Business, 2020), 11.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Shane Parrish, Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments in Extraordinary Results<\/em>, Kindle Ed. (New York, NY: Penguin Random House LLC, 2023), 58.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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