Christopher Holmes (2018): Polanyi in Times of Populism—Vision and Contradiction in the History of Economic Ideas

Excerpt

I was born in the 1990s. One year after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Two years before the official end of the Cold War. Nine years before the introduction of the euro as a common currency. While the first three-quarters of the 20th century depictured images of division and conflict, the mood of the West seemed to shift towards visions of interconnectedness in its final quarter (see also Jasanoff 2001). At the same time, especially since the 1970s, faith in the “liberal creed” was restored. Although the financial crisis in 2008 seriously drew this faith into question, politicians failed spectacularly to respond adequately. Ten years later, we—a generation so much used to peace—are daily confronted by a rhetoric of “fire and fury” and statesmen calling immigrants “animals.” In light of our personal experiences of this short and peaceful stretch of history, it seems almost inexplicable how such antagonistic discourses could become not only accepted again but even successful at the ballot boxes. In his readable and thought-provoking book Polanyi in Times of Populism (Holmes 2018), Christopher Holmes suggests an explanation. He problematizes attempts—not least of the Left and liberals—to conflate processes of economic improvement and needs for habitation into one abstract vision. Here, the work of Karl Polanyi, who accentuated that people in a market society will need means for habitation and opportunities for improvement (Polanyi 2001, p. 36 [1944]), could provide crucial insights and answers. …