Karl Polanyi's 1944 book, The Great Transformation, offered a radical critique of how the market system has affected society and humanity since the industrial revolution. This volume brings together contributions from distinguished scholars in economic anthropology, sociology and political economy to consider Polanyi's theories in the light of circumstances today, when the relationship between market and society has again become a focus of intense political and scientific debate. It demonstrates the relevance of Polanyi's ideas to various theoretical traditions in the social sciences and provides perspectives on topics such as money, risk, work and the family. The case studies present materials from around the world, including Britain, China, India, Jamaica and Nigeria. Like Polanyi's original work, the critical engagement of these essays will be of interest to a wide readership.

Review of the hardback:'There is much to recommend … the biggest virtue of this collection is the critical and constructive approach it takes toward both Polanyi and The Great Transformation. … Because it provides both an overview and examples of research in Polanyian economic anthropology, it has further appeal to sociologists who want to acquire familiarity with a discipline whose agenda offers fruitful overlap with research in economic sociology.'

Source: Economic Sociology

' …this volume is a worthy inheritor of Polanyi in its engagement with what one contributor terms 'grand sweeping theory' and its commitment to the 'imagining of alternatives'.

Source: Dialectical Anthropology