Polanyi and Foucault on the Issue of Market in Classical Political Economy: Complementary Approaches to the Radical Theory of Social Control. (March 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Guizzo, Danielle; Vigo de Lima, Iara
• Is Part Of: Review of radical political economics. Volume 49:Number 1(2017:Spring)
• Page Start: 100
• Page End: 113
• Publication Date: 2017-03
• Subjects: Karl Polanyi -- embeddedness -- classical economic liberalism -- Michel Foucault -- biopolitics; A14 -- B12 -- B50; Economics -- Periodicals; United States -- Economic policy -- Periodicals; United States -- Economic conditions -- Periodicals; 330
• DOI: 10.1177/0486613415621745
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0486-6134

Abstract

Studies have pointed out that the value of markets is related to their impact on the character of a society. Karl Polanyi's thesis about social disembeddedness attributed to 19 th century economic liberalism the responsibility for consolidating the process of separating markets from society, which changed the dynamics between the state and population when economic rationality began dictating their connections. However, Polanyi only suggested analyses regarding power relations between these three elements and their effects on the social context. This paper argues that Michel Foucault's writings concerning technologies of power and biopolitics complement Polanyi's considerations insofar as they provide an understanding about how biopolitics emerged and how this led to a new posture of the state regarding population care and economic environment regulation.