The Life and Work of Karl Polanyi

Margaret Conrad is a professor of History at Acadia University, author
of No Place Like Home, and editor of They Planted Well: New England
Planters in Maritime Canada.

This book contains the proceedings of the Karl Polanyi Memorial
Conference held in Budapest in 1986. A Hungarian-born social scientist,
Polanyi is best known for his work titled The Great Transformation
(first published in 1944), in which he outlined the larger implications
for human history of industrial capitalism. Polanyi’s insights into
the social and political impact of the market-driven economy were both
timely and prescient, and have guaranteed him a place among the great
thinkers of the twentieth century. Unfortunately, like many
intellectuals living in difficult times, Polanyi was forced to spend
much of his life outside his native country. In the post-World War II
period, he resided in the United States and Canada. His ashes were
finally laid to rest in a Budapest cemetery in a ceremony planned to
coincide with the 1986 conference celebrating the centenary of his
birth.

The conference participants, who came from all over the world, were
asked to address the context, nature, and impact of Polanyi’s work.
The result is a happy blend of personal reminiscences and thoughtful
reflection. In the book’s first section, contributors locate Polanyi
within the context of his accomplished family and pre-World War I
Hungarian politics. Eight essays focus on The Great Transformation and
its reception. The final sections offer perspectives on his contribution
to economic anthropology and on the contemporary relevance of his work.
Edited by Polanyi’s daughter, a professor of economics at McGill, the
book also contains photographs, a list of Polanyi’s major works, and
even a family tree.

Much like the man to whom it is dedicated, this book is brimming with
information and insights. It is a good starting place for those wanting
to know more about Polanyi, and a useful source for anyone seeking to
understand our “interesting” times.