Presenting a profound and far-reaching analysis of economic, ecological, social, cultural and political developments of contemporary capitalism, this book draws on the work of Karl Polanyi, and re-reads it for our times.

Contents: Polanyian perspectives on the movements and countermovements of “our time”: an introduction Roland Atzmüller, Brigitte Aulenbacher, Ulrich Brand, Fabienne Décieux, Karin Fischer, Birgit Sauer PART I: Historical and theoretical reflections: Karl Polanyi, capitalism and society 1. A life-long search for freedom. From Budapest to America: a journey through Karl Polanyi’s life Kari Polanyi-Levitt interviewed by Michael Brie and Claus Thomasberger 2. “Plunges into utter destruction” and the limits of historical capitalism Beverly J. Silver 3. Crises and transformations: suggestions from Karl Polanyi’s works Michele Cangiani 4. Karl Polanyi as a theorist of disembedded markets Christoph Deutschmann 5. A Polanyian paradox: money and credit as fictitious commodities, financialization, finance-dominated accumulation, and financial crises Bob Jessop PART II: Contemporary developments of society and capitalism in Europe and beyond 6. Polanyian perspectives on capitalisms after socialism Dorothee Bohle and Béla Greskovits 7. Economy-society tensions in the Eurozone: the “anti-democratic virus” revived Maria Markantonatou 8. Political Islam as reactionary countermovement Ayşe Buğra 9. “Freedom’s utter frustration ...” Neoliberal social-policy reforms and the shift to the far-right through Polanyi’s theory of fascism Roland Atzmüller, Fabienne Décieux 10. Völkisch populism: a Polanyian-type movement? Karina Becker, Klaus Dörre 11. Cultural war 2.0? The relevance of gender in the radical populist-nationalist right Birgit Sauer PART III: “Fictitious commodities” and the challenges of ‘our time’ 12. Contested social-ecological transformation: shortcomings of current debates and Polanyian perspectives Ulrich Brand, Christoph Görg, Markus Wissen 13. Polanyi, nature and the international: the missing dimension of imperial ecocide Vishwas Satgar, Michelle Williams 14. Soy expansion and countermovements in the Global South: a Polanyian perspective Karin Fischer, Ernst Langthaler 15. Navigating between improvement and habitation: countermovements in housing and urban infrastructure in Vienna Andreas Novy, Richard Bärnthaler, Basil Stadelmann 16. The “fictitious commodity” care and the reciprocity of caring: a Polanyian and neo-institutionalist perspective on the brokering of 24-hour care Brigitte Aulenbacher, Michael Leiblfinger 17. The commodification of informal care: joining and resisting marketization processes Bernhard Weicht 18. Polanyi’s double movement and the making of the “knowledge economy” Antonino Palumbo, Alan Scott 19. Polanyi and the digital transformation of labour: on fictitious commodities and real conflicts Hans-Jürgen Urban Index