The Great Transformation

Although not necessarily a character per se, the market emerges as the central discussion of Polanyi’s work and therefore should be considered as the major character of the work as a whole. Although markets arose prior to the nascence of the market economy as places of bartering and exchange, Polanyi uses the market as a character to exclusively refer to the economic liberal notion of the market as a system driven entirely by profit. The essence of the market is driven by the notion of price which, theoretically, should be able to regulate itself via supply and demand. Polanyi writes that:

The most startling peculiarity of the system lies in the fact that, once it is established, it must be allowed to function without outside interference. Profits are not any more guaranteed, and the merchant must make his profits on the market. Prices must be allowed to regulate themselves (44).

The economic liberal construction of the market requires that it be self-regulating in nature, as self-regulation becomes the essence of the market itself.

Polanyi argues that economic liberals construct the self-regulating market as a kind of divine force which overrides all other aspects of society. The market itself becomes the defining aspect of the economy, which then subjugates society to its profit-driven forces of supply and demand.