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Kevin Hylton - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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A People’s History of Leisure Studies: Old Knowledge, New Knowledge and The Philadelphia Negro as a Foundational Text
International Journal of the Sociology of Leisure, 2018Co-Authors: Rasul A. Mowatt, Myron F. Floyd, Kevin HyltonAbstract:There is a great realization that a professor teaching an introductory or philosophical foundations course in the field of leisure studies comes to, if that professor may not be from the dominant culture of most Western societies. This realization is as stark as their numerical presence in their respective departments. Why are the philosophical foundations of the field devoid of the experiences, voices, and perspectives populations of colour, or even more broadly, the populations of the global majority? The objectives of this manuscript are: 1) to briefly categorize the research in the field on Race and ethnicity; 2) to outline the key canonical Texts of the field; 3) to consider and reconceptualize a racially and ethnically inclusive foundation for the field utilizing W. E. B. Du Bois’ ( 1899 ) The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study as an example. Within the 520 pages of The Philadelphia Negro, the term leisure is mentioned 21 times. Recreation as a term is used 19 times; and, 4) to identify how the integration of The Philadelphia Negro could impact or realign the field’s history and master narratives and master concepts. What we are granted in leisure studies through the addition of The Philadelphia Negro as a Foundational Text is quite possibly the first sociological study, the first empirical study, the first large sample study, and the first mixed methods designed study.
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a people s history of leisure studies old knowledge new knowledge and the philadelphia negro as a Foundational Text
International Journal of the Sociology of Leisure, 2018Co-Authors: Rasul A. Mowatt, Myron F. Floyd, Kevin HyltonAbstract:There is a great realization that a professor teaching an introductory or philosophical foundations course in the field of leisure studies comes to, if that professor may not be from the dominant culture of most Western societies. This realization is as stark as their numerical presence in their respective departments. Why are the philosophical foundations of the field devoid of the experiences, voices, and perspectives populations of color, or even more broadly, the populations of the global majority? And, why is there an absence of historical discussions on the field’s role in perpetrating or condoning activities that hindered or constrained populations of color full access, enjoyment, and articulation of leisure? As we move forward in the field more globally, thinking and discussing the new and progressive ways that we can conceive the sociology of leisure, it is imperative that we rethink our philosophical foundations in reconciliation of the potential harm it may have caused (and may continue to harm) and the actual good it can invoke in assisting the myriad of scholars who are pushing more progressive efforts for a critical leisure paradigm (Spracklen, Lashua, Sharpe and Swain, 2017). The objectives of this manuscript are: 1) to briefly categorize the research in the field on Race and ethnicity; 2) to outline the key canonical Texts of the field; 3) to consider and reconceptualize a racially and ethnically inclusive foundation for the field utilizing The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study as an example; and, 4) to identify some of the specific areas that this change and inclusion would impact or realign the field’s history.
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A People’s History of Leisure Studies: Old Knowledge, New Knowledge and The Philadelphia Negro as a Foundational Text
International Journal of the Sociology of Leisure, 2017Co-Authors: Rasul A. Mowatt, Myron F. Floyd, Kevin HyltonAbstract:There is a great realization that a professor teaching an introductory or philosophical foundations course in the field of leisure studies comes to, if that professor may not be from the dominant culture of most Western societies. This realization is as stark as their numerical presence in their respective departments. Why are the philosophical foundations of the field devoid of the experiences, voices, and perspectives populations of color, or even more broadly, the populations of the global majority? And, why is there an absence of historical discussions on the field’s role in perpetrating or condoning activities that hindered or constrained populations of color full access, enjoyment, and articulation of leisure? As we move forward in the field more globally, thinking and discussing the new and progressive ways that we can conceive the sociology of leisure, it is imperative that we rethink our philosophical foundations in reconciliation of the potential harm it may have caused (and may continue to harm) and the actual good it can invoke in assisting the myriad of scholars who are pushing more progressive efforts for a critical leisure paradigm (Spracklen, Lashua, Sharpe and Swain, 2017). The objectives of this manuscript are: 1) to briefly categorize the research in the field on Race and ethnicity; 2) to outline the key canonical Texts of the field; 3) to consider and reconceptualize a racially and ethnically inclusive foundation for the field utilizing The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study as an example; and, 4) to identify some of the specific areas that this change and inclusion would impact or realign the field’s history.
Rasul A. Mowatt - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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A People’s History of Leisure Studies: Old Knowledge, New Knowledge and The Philadelphia Negro as a Foundational Text
International Journal of the Sociology of Leisure, 2018Co-Authors: Rasul A. Mowatt, Myron F. Floyd, Kevin HyltonAbstract:There is a great realization that a professor teaching an introductory or philosophical foundations course in the field of leisure studies comes to, if that professor may not be from the dominant culture of most Western societies. This realization is as stark as their numerical presence in their respective departments. Why are the philosophical foundations of the field devoid of the experiences, voices, and perspectives populations of colour, or even more broadly, the populations of the global majority? The objectives of this manuscript are: 1) to briefly categorize the research in the field on Race and ethnicity; 2) to outline the key canonical Texts of the field; 3) to consider and reconceptualize a racially and ethnically inclusive foundation for the field utilizing W. E. B. Du Bois’ ( 1899 ) The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study as an example. Within the 520 pages of The Philadelphia Negro, the term leisure is mentioned 21 times. Recreation as a term is used 19 times; and, 4) to identify how the integration of The Philadelphia Negro could impact or realign the field’s history and master narratives and master concepts. What we are granted in leisure studies through the addition of The Philadelphia Negro as a Foundational Text is quite possibly the first sociological study, the first empirical study, the first large sample study, and the first mixed methods designed study.
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a people s history of leisure studies old knowledge new knowledge and the philadelphia negro as a Foundational Text
International Journal of the Sociology of Leisure, 2018Co-Authors: Rasul A. Mowatt, Myron F. Floyd, Kevin HyltonAbstract:There is a great realization that a professor teaching an introductory or philosophical foundations course in the field of leisure studies comes to, if that professor may not be from the dominant culture of most Western societies. This realization is as stark as their numerical presence in their respective departments. Why are the philosophical foundations of the field devoid of the experiences, voices, and perspectives populations of color, or even more broadly, the populations of the global majority? And, why is there an absence of historical discussions on the field’s role in perpetrating or condoning activities that hindered or constrained populations of color full access, enjoyment, and articulation of leisure? As we move forward in the field more globally, thinking and discussing the new and progressive ways that we can conceive the sociology of leisure, it is imperative that we rethink our philosophical foundations in reconciliation of the potential harm it may have caused (and may continue to harm) and the actual good it can invoke in assisting the myriad of scholars who are pushing more progressive efforts for a critical leisure paradigm (Spracklen, Lashua, Sharpe and Swain, 2017). The objectives of this manuscript are: 1) to briefly categorize the research in the field on Race and ethnicity; 2) to outline the key canonical Texts of the field; 3) to consider and reconceptualize a racially and ethnically inclusive foundation for the field utilizing The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study as an example; and, 4) to identify some of the specific areas that this change and inclusion would impact or realign the field’s history.
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A People’s History of Leisure Studies: Old Knowledge, New Knowledge and The Philadelphia Negro as a Foundational Text
International Journal of the Sociology of Leisure, 2017Co-Authors: Rasul A. Mowatt, Myron F. Floyd, Kevin HyltonAbstract:There is a great realization that a professor teaching an introductory or philosophical foundations course in the field of leisure studies comes to, if that professor may not be from the dominant culture of most Western societies. This realization is as stark as their numerical presence in their respective departments. Why are the philosophical foundations of the field devoid of the experiences, voices, and perspectives populations of color, or even more broadly, the populations of the global majority? And, why is there an absence of historical discussions on the field’s role in perpetrating or condoning activities that hindered or constrained populations of color full access, enjoyment, and articulation of leisure? As we move forward in the field more globally, thinking and discussing the new and progressive ways that we can conceive the sociology of leisure, it is imperative that we rethink our philosophical foundations in reconciliation of the potential harm it may have caused (and may continue to harm) and the actual good it can invoke in assisting the myriad of scholars who are pushing more progressive efforts for a critical leisure paradigm (Spracklen, Lashua, Sharpe and Swain, 2017). The objectives of this manuscript are: 1) to briefly categorize the research in the field on Race and ethnicity; 2) to outline the key canonical Texts of the field; 3) to consider and reconceptualize a racially and ethnically inclusive foundation for the field utilizing The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study as an example; and, 4) to identify some of the specific areas that this change and inclusion would impact or realign the field’s history.
Myron F. Floyd - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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A People’s History of Leisure Studies: Old Knowledge, New Knowledge and The Philadelphia Negro as a Foundational Text
International Journal of the Sociology of Leisure, 2018Co-Authors: Rasul A. Mowatt, Myron F. Floyd, Kevin HyltonAbstract:There is a great realization that a professor teaching an introductory or philosophical foundations course in the field of leisure studies comes to, if that professor may not be from the dominant culture of most Western societies. This realization is as stark as their numerical presence in their respective departments. Why are the philosophical foundations of the field devoid of the experiences, voices, and perspectives populations of colour, or even more broadly, the populations of the global majority? The objectives of this manuscript are: 1) to briefly categorize the research in the field on Race and ethnicity; 2) to outline the key canonical Texts of the field; 3) to consider and reconceptualize a racially and ethnically inclusive foundation for the field utilizing W. E. B. Du Bois’ ( 1899 ) The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study as an example. Within the 520 pages of The Philadelphia Negro, the term leisure is mentioned 21 times. Recreation as a term is used 19 times; and, 4) to identify how the integration of The Philadelphia Negro could impact or realign the field’s history and master narratives and master concepts. What we are granted in leisure studies through the addition of The Philadelphia Negro as a Foundational Text is quite possibly the first sociological study, the first empirical study, the first large sample study, and the first mixed methods designed study.
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a people s history of leisure studies old knowledge new knowledge and the philadelphia negro as a Foundational Text
International Journal of the Sociology of Leisure, 2018Co-Authors: Rasul A. Mowatt, Myron F. Floyd, Kevin HyltonAbstract:There is a great realization that a professor teaching an introductory or philosophical foundations course in the field of leisure studies comes to, if that professor may not be from the dominant culture of most Western societies. This realization is as stark as their numerical presence in their respective departments. Why are the philosophical foundations of the field devoid of the experiences, voices, and perspectives populations of color, or even more broadly, the populations of the global majority? And, why is there an absence of historical discussions on the field’s role in perpetrating or condoning activities that hindered or constrained populations of color full access, enjoyment, and articulation of leisure? As we move forward in the field more globally, thinking and discussing the new and progressive ways that we can conceive the sociology of leisure, it is imperative that we rethink our philosophical foundations in reconciliation of the potential harm it may have caused (and may continue to harm) and the actual good it can invoke in assisting the myriad of scholars who are pushing more progressive efforts for a critical leisure paradigm (Spracklen, Lashua, Sharpe and Swain, 2017). The objectives of this manuscript are: 1) to briefly categorize the research in the field on Race and ethnicity; 2) to outline the key canonical Texts of the field; 3) to consider and reconceptualize a racially and ethnically inclusive foundation for the field utilizing The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study as an example; and, 4) to identify some of the specific areas that this change and inclusion would impact or realign the field’s history.
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A People’s History of Leisure Studies: Old Knowledge, New Knowledge and The Philadelphia Negro as a Foundational Text
International Journal of the Sociology of Leisure, 2017Co-Authors: Rasul A. Mowatt, Myron F. Floyd, Kevin HyltonAbstract:There is a great realization that a professor teaching an introductory or philosophical foundations course in the field of leisure studies comes to, if that professor may not be from the dominant culture of most Western societies. This realization is as stark as their numerical presence in their respective departments. Why are the philosophical foundations of the field devoid of the experiences, voices, and perspectives populations of color, or even more broadly, the populations of the global majority? And, why is there an absence of historical discussions on the field’s role in perpetrating or condoning activities that hindered or constrained populations of color full access, enjoyment, and articulation of leisure? As we move forward in the field more globally, thinking and discussing the new and progressive ways that we can conceive the sociology of leisure, it is imperative that we rethink our philosophical foundations in reconciliation of the potential harm it may have caused (and may continue to harm) and the actual good it can invoke in assisting the myriad of scholars who are pushing more progressive efforts for a critical leisure paradigm (Spracklen, Lashua, Sharpe and Swain, 2017). The objectives of this manuscript are: 1) to briefly categorize the research in the field on Race and ethnicity; 2) to outline the key canonical Texts of the field; 3) to consider and reconceptualize a racially and ethnically inclusive foundation for the field utilizing The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study as an example; and, 4) to identify some of the specific areas that this change and inclusion would impact or realign the field’s history.
Eduardo J. C. Beira - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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visual presentation of social matters as a Foundational Text of michael polanyi s thought
Tradition and Discovery: The Polanyi Society Periodical, 2014Co-Authors: Eduardo J. C. BeiraAbstract:This essay introduces Michael Polanyi’s 1936 lecture, “Visual Presentation of Social Matters,” which is an important document sketching Polanyi’s analysis of the need for education in economics. It led eventually to the creation of Polanyi’s 1940 film, Unemployment and Money, and Polanyi’s career change from chemistry to economics and philosophy. The lecture outlines Polanyi’s program to develop visual symbols that can be used in film to promote an understanding of modern complex economics for ordinary citizens. It makes clear Polanyi’s early effort to rehabilitate contemporary liberalism which he regarded as inadequate to promote a free society. [Editor’s Note: all quotations from “Visual Presentation” will be cited parenthetically as “VP,” giving the page numbers from this issue of Tradition and Discovery]. Introduction “Visual Presentation of Social Matters” is a Polanyi lecture delivered to the Association for Education in Citizenship in Manchester, England in June of 1936 (Scott and Moleski 2005, 164). The Polanyi biographers provide a lengthy summary (164-165) centered around the circular symbolic representation of the economy included in part of the lecture. The copy of this lecture in the Regenstein Polanyi Collection (RPC) has at the top of the page a handwritten note, “1937.” But I suspect that this date is not correct: I prefer Scott and Moleski’s date, which is the same as the RPC dating in the Cash Guide (Cash, 1996). The RPC includes the lecture in Box 25, Folder 9, and this is the same folder where the related documents “On Popular Education In Economics” (another later lecture) and “Suggestions For A New Research Section” are filed. All three of these documents are Foundational documents for understanding Polanyi’s early social thought, although none have been published until now.2 “Notes on a Film,” from October, 1935 (RPC, Box 25, Folder 10), is another important related document, and it apparently was the first one in this interconnected set of material to have been written.3 Below I review and briefly discuss the major ideas in “Visual Presentation of Social Matters.” Polanyi on the Importance of “Visual Presentation of Social Matters” The Foundational nature of this lecture is recognized by Polanyi himself in another document, the “Statement by Professor M. Polanyi On The Main Facts On The Genesis Of The Economic Film.”4 This document was distributed during the first screening of what Polanyi calls his “Economic Film” (Unemployment and Money: The Principles Involved) in London in 1940: Speaking at the time in the Association for Education in Citizenship in Manchester on the “Visual Presentation of Social Matters,” Professor Polanyi argued that the funTradition & Discovery: The Polanyi Society Periodical, 41:2 7 damental features of economics could be made widely appreciated by the public only by discovering an adequate visual symbolism for their presentation. A “Three Minute Film” of French origin was shown as an example of the technique to be used and an illustrated chart with the Flow of Money and the Counter flow of Goods gave a forecast of the scene and the actors of the Economic Film. The main contents of the film were, however, based on the views exposed by J.M. Keynes, in his great book The General Theory of Unemployment, Interest and Money which appeared a little later. The Lecture’s Basic Message Close to the end of the lecture, Polanyi sums up the message he wants to convey. In order to provide greater clarity, I have segmented Polanyi’s points but preserved his language (“VP,” 23): ● “the discovery of a symbolism, ● which I believe will consist in moving picture writing ● capable of representing economic life, ● will release us from fallacies and exasperation ● and will create economic consciousness.” Polanyi anticipates that the consequence of developing a “symbolism” that will “consist in moving picture writing” should be a new economic enlightenment which will produce a new source of social and political power bearing on a community “of work of which we are members.” That is, “[E]nlightenment will create power to control the structure of economic life; a power which at present is nowhere. . . This power will reside with the community.” Finally, Polanyi notes (italics mine), “I contend that it will achieve the promise of liberalism—freedom associated with complete co-ordination . . . of all free efforts” (“VP,” 23). Polanyi says before closing the lecture (italics mine) that “Publicity will fulfill the promise of liberalism, freedom and co-operation” (“VP,” 23). He is arguing here that using modern media as a tool to spread the enlightened message about the economic system can eradicate the popular economic fallacies accepted by ordinary citizens. Polanyi is not advocating the use of “propaganda,” but he does favor providing information through “publicity” (present in the public media). Polanyi’s lecture is organized around two main topics: one is a diagnostic that identifies economic fallacies and the “mental derangement arising from a state of continued perplexity, a perplexity which is so fatal to the society because...it involves the very basis of moral relations” (“VP,” 14). The second organizational focus concerns the basis for a symbolic representation of economic ideas that can enlighten and empower society, making liberal ideas self-evident by themselves. He contends that “a general economic education based on diagrammatic symbols will be free of all the current fallacies and will only contain self-consistent views” (“VP,” 21). This lecture provides also an agenda (Polanyi might say “a program”) concerned with the articulation of a new liberal framework, an agenda “to discover a new set of symbols appropriate to the purpose,” which is to invent “new tools of the mind” that express the meaning of economic elements (“VP,” 16). More on Polanyi’s Social Diagnosis About his analysis of society, Polanyi says: 1) “None can find comfort in a position which he fails to comprehend, and protracted perplexity leads to mental derangement.” 8 2) “While growing in mass the system grew in complexity and became increasingly confusing.” 3) “Political franchise could not give the people control over an economic system which they could not understand but only increased the repercussions of the rapidly growing confusion by committing the fate of the community to the exasperated minds of the masses.” 4) “But the most dangerous consequences of our blindness to our economic position lie in the moral conflicts in which that blindness involves us.” Polanyi argues that the “invisible hand” discussed by Adam Smith as the organizer of the economic system is not enough. He concludes that the traditional liberal framework needs to be revised, updated and extended: “the system of general laissez faire cannot work if people have no means to distinguish between such self-seeking which the Invisible Hand turns into the service of the community and the other forms of self-seeking which are destructive to the community” (“VP,” 15). The invisible hand alone, in Polanyi’s account, thus is not enough to solve the social and moral concerns of human beings: “as long as we live in a dark turmoil, governed by an invisible hand, the distinction between self-seeking which is, in effect social, and self-seeking which is destructive to society will remain as unreliable” (“VP,” 15). Nevertheless, human beings aim “to realize fully their social responsibilities and to act with a direct view to the social purpose” (“VP,” 15). Polanyi thus argues for the responsible, voluntary, informed (through economic education), empowered, individual action of each person in the economic system. A liberal economic system and a liberal society depend on these multi-empowered and free mutual interactions. The solution for the crisis is to empower the liberal person with economic awareness and knowledge so that the “free society” (a concept Polanyi later used extensively) will progressively emerge.
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“Visual Presentation Of Social Matters” as a Foundational Text of Michael Polanyi’s Thought
Tradition and Discovery: The Polanyi Society Periodical, 2014Co-Authors: Eduardo J. C. BeiraAbstract:This essay introduces Michael Polanyi’s 1936 lecture, “Visual Presentation of Social Matters,” which is an important document sketching Polanyi’s analysis of the need for education in economics. It led eventually to the creation of Polanyi’s 1940 film, Unemployment and Money, and Polanyi’s career change from chemistry to economics and philosophy. The lecture outlines Polanyi’s program to develop visual symbols that can be used in film to promote an understanding of modern complex economics for ordinary citizens. It makes clear Polanyi’s early effort to rehabilitate contemporary liberalism which he regarded as inadequate to promote a free society. [Editor’s Note: all quotations from “Visual Presentation” will be cited parenthetically as “VP,” giving the page numbers from this issue of Tradition and Discovery]. Introduction “Visual Presentation of Social Matters” is a Polanyi lecture delivered to the Association for Education in Citizenship in Manchester, England in June of 1936 (Scott and Moleski 2005, 164). The Polanyi biographers provide a lengthy summary (164-165) centered around the circular symbolic representation of the economy included in part of the lecture. The copy of this lecture in the Regenstein Polanyi Collection (RPC) has at the top of the page a handwritten note, “1937.” But I suspect that this date is not correct: I prefer Scott and Moleski’s date, which is the same as the RPC dating in the Cash Guide (Cash, 1996). The RPC includes the lecture in Box 25, Folder 9, and this is the same folder where the related documents “On Popular Education In Economics” (another later lecture) and “Suggestions For A New Research Section” are filed. All three of these documents are Foundational documents for understanding Polanyi’s early social thought, although none have been published until now.2 “Notes on a Film,” from October, 1935 (RPC, Box 25, Folder 10), is another important related document, and it apparently was the first one in this interconnected set of material to have been written.3 Below I review and briefly discuss the major ideas in “Visual Presentation of Social Matters.” Polanyi on the Importance of “Visual Presentation of Social Matters” The Foundational nature of this lecture is recognized by Polanyi himself in another document, the “Statement by Professor M. Polanyi On The Main Facts On The Genesis Of The Economic Film.”4 This document was distributed during the first screening of what Polanyi calls his “Economic Film” (Unemployment and Money: The Principles Involved) in London in 1940: Speaking at the time in the Association for Education in Citizenship in Manchester on the “Visual Presentation of Social Matters,” Professor Polanyi argued that the funTradition & Discovery: The Polanyi Society Periodical, 41:2 7 damental features of economics could be made widely appreciated by the public only by discovering an adequate visual symbolism for their presentation. A “Three Minute Film” of French origin was shown as an example of the technique to be used and an illustrated chart with the Flow of Money and the Counter flow of Goods gave a forecast of the scene and the actors of the Economic Film. The main contents of the film were, however, based on the views exposed by J.M. Keynes, in his great book The General Theory of Unemployment, Interest and Money which appeared a little later. The Lecture’s Basic Message Close to the end of the lecture, Polanyi sums up the message he wants to convey. In order to provide greater clarity, I have segmented Polanyi’s points but preserved his language (“VP,” 23): ● “the discovery of a symbolism, ● which I believe will consist in moving picture writing ● capable of representing economic life, ● will release us from fallacies and exasperation ● and will create economic consciousness.” Polanyi anticipates that the consequence of developing a “symbolism” that will “consist in moving picture writing” should be a new economic enlightenment which will produce a new source of social and political power bearing on a community “of work of which we are members.” That is, “[E]nlightenment will create power to control the structure of economic life; a power which at present is nowhere. . . This power will reside with the community.” Finally, Polanyi notes (italics mine), “I contend that it will achieve the promise of liberalism—freedom associated with complete co-ordination . . . of all free efforts” (“VP,” 23). Polanyi says before closing the lecture (italics mine) that “Publicity will fulfill the promise of liberalism, freedom and co-operation” (“VP,” 23). He is arguing here that using modern media as a tool to spread the enlightened message about the economic system can eradicate the popular economic fallacies accepted by ordinary citizens. Polanyi is not advocating the use of “propaganda,” but he does favor providing information through “publicity” (present in the public media). Polanyi’s lecture is organized around two main topics: one is a diagnostic that identifies economic fallacies and the “mental derangement arising from a state of continued perplexity, a perplexity which is so fatal to the society because...it involves the very basis of moral relations” (“VP,” 14). The second organizational focus concerns the basis for a symbolic representation of economic ideas that can enlighten and empower society, making liberal ideas self-evident by themselves. He contends that “a general economic education based on diagrammatic symbols will be free of all the current fallacies and will only contain self-consistent views” (“VP,” 21). This lecture provides also an agenda (Polanyi might say “a program”) concerned with the articulation of a new liberal framework, an agenda “to discover a new set of symbols appropriate to the purpose,” which is to invent “new tools of the mind” that express the meaning of economic elements (“VP,” 16). More on Polanyi’s Social Diagnosis About his analysis of society, Polanyi says: 1) “None can find comfort in a position which he fails to comprehend, and protracted perplexity leads to mental derangement.” 8 2) “While growing in mass the system grew in complexity and became increasingly confusing.” 3) “Political franchise could not give the people control over an economic system which they could not understand but only increased the repercussions of the rapidly growing confusion by committing the fate of the community to the exasperated minds of the masses.” 4) “But the most dangerous consequences of our blindness to our economic position lie in the moral conflicts in which that blindness involves us.” Polanyi argues that the “invisible hand” discussed by Adam Smith as the organizer of the economic system is not enough. He concludes that the traditional liberal framework needs to be revised, updated and extended: “the system of general laissez faire cannot work if people have no means to distinguish between such self-seeking which the Invisible Hand turns into the service of the community and the other forms of self-seeking which are destructive to the community” (“VP,” 15). The invisible hand alone, in Polanyi’s account, thus is not enough to solve the social and moral concerns of human beings: “as long as we live in a dark turmoil, governed by an invisible hand, the distinction between self-seeking which is, in effect social, and self-seeking which is destructive to society will remain as unreliable” (“VP,” 15). Nevertheless, human beings aim “to realize fully their social responsibilities and to act with a direct view to the social purpose” (“VP,” 15). Polanyi thus argues for the responsible, voluntary, informed (through economic education), empowered, individual action of each person in the economic system. A liberal economic system and a liberal society depend on these multi-empowered and free mutual interactions. The solution for the crisis is to empower the liberal person with economic awareness and knowledge so that the “free society” (a concept Polanyi later used extensively) will progressively emerge.
Jens Beckert - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Amitai Etzioni-Twenty Years of ‘The Moral Dimension: Toward a New Economics’
2008Co-Authors: Jens BeckertAbstract:This year, 2008, is the twentieth anniversary of the first appearance of Amitai Etzioni's The Moral Dimension: Towards a New Economics (New York: The Free Press, 1988). The book was a major Foundational Text behind the inauguration of SASE, the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics, from which Socio-Economic Review originated. The editors have asked four scholars working on the relationship between economy and society to assess the book's continuing importance. The Review Symposium concludes with a response from Amitai Etzioni.
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Amitai Etzioni—Twenty years of ‘The Moral Dimension: Toward a New Economics’
Socio-Economic Review, 2007Co-Authors: Jens BeckertAbstract:This year, 2008, is the twentieth anniversary of the first appearance of Amitai Etzioni’s The Moral Dimension: Towards a New Economics (New York: The Free Press, 1988). The book was a major Foundational Text behind the inauguration of SASE, the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics, from which Socio-Economic Review originated. The editors have asked four scholars working on the relationship between economy and society to assess the book’s continuing importance. The Review Symposium concludes with a response from Amitai Etzioni.