The Economy Disembedded: Property and Development Today from a Polanyian Perspective

Authors : Zekeriya Eray Eser

Pages : 1816-1832

Doi:10.30586/pek.1791710

View : 67 | Download : 231

Publication Date : 2025-12-23

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :This article analyzes the link between property and economic development through Karl Polanyi\\\'s theories. The question is whether his fundamental argument, positing that capitalism is not a natural system but rather a constructed social order that deeply transforms societal structures, has any counterpart or validity in today\\\'s economy. Central to this is Polanyi\\\'s concept of \\\"disembedding\\\"—the process of separating the economy from its social and political foundations to function by its own self-regulating logic. A key mechanism of disembedding is the treatment of land, labor, and money as \\\"fictitious commodities.\\\" Forcing these entities into a market framework creates inherent instability, provoking protective \\\"counter-movements.\\\" Thus, state intervention is not a market distortion but an inevitable response to a disembedded economy\\\'s destructive effects. The article applies this framework to contemporary globalization, linking increased inequality to neoliberal policies (deregulation, privatization) that accelerated disembedding. In contrast, Polanyi\\\'s ideal of an \\\"embedded economy\\\" calls for markets to be reintegrated within social and moral norms. Consequently, modern inequalities are seen not as temporary failures but as structural flaws of capitalism. True development requires understanding the economy as part of social life, not its master.
Keywords : Polanyi, Mülkiyet, Kalkınma

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