Double Movement

The Double Movement is a concept originated by Karl Polanyi in his book The Great Transformation. The phrase refers to the dialectical process of marketization and push for social protection against that marketization. First, laissez-faire reformers seek to 'disembed' the economy in order to establish what Polanyi calls a 'market society' wherein all things are commodified, including what Polanyi terms 'false commodities': land, labor, and money. Second, a reactionary 'countermovement' arises whereby society attempts to re-embed the economy through the creation of social protections such as labor laws and tariffs. In Polanyi's view, these liberal reformers seek to subordinate society to the market economy, which is taken by these reformers to be self-regulating. To Polanyi, this is a utopian project, as economies are always embedded in societies. The Double Movement is a concept originated by Karl Polanyi in his book The Great Transformation. The phrase refers to the dialectical process of marketization and push for social protection against that marketization. First, laissez-faire reformers seek to 'disembed' the economy in order to establish what Polanyi calls a 'market society' wherein all things are commodified, including what Polanyi terms 'false commodities': land, labor, and money. Second, a reactionary 'countermovement' arises whereby society attempts to re-embed the economy through the creation of social protections such as labor laws and tariffs. In Polanyi's view, these liberal reformers seek to subordinate society to the market economy, which is taken by these reformers to be self-regulating. To Polanyi, this is a utopian project, as economies are always embedded in societies. According to The Great Transformation, the development of 'market society' has been formed by the Double Movement. It has been found that this formulation is practical to analyze the last 30 year's Global development. For example, Laissez-faire has been the forerunner concept or movement of neo-liberalism or market fundamentalism.