ANT378H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Karl Polanyi, The Formalist, Substantivism
Document Summary
Lecture outline: review of the rational economic actor, karl polanyi, historical context, polanyi"s analysis. *these ideas are under the theory of neoclassical economics. Substantivist economic model: key figure: bronislaw malinowski, assumptions, not always based on self-interest, not always based on utility/profit maximization, not always rational calculation, not always under conditions of scarcity, certain situations where goods and services are not scarce. *first four assumptions are responsive to the rational economic actor; human economic behaviour is shaped by cultural context and socio-political factors: these ideas influenced polanyi. Karl polanyi gave these two approaches two labels: formalist and substantivist economic. It is against this backdrop of inequality that polanyi formulated his argument. Note that the accumulation of wealth at the top correlated with poverty and inequality levels at the bottom; with the rise of social welfare states, you also saw trade union memberships rise. The trobriand islanders would travel between islands and engage.
