Embedded Economic Karl Polanyi Writing Assignment

Name
Embedded Economic
Karl Polanyi stated that, “the economic process… is embedded in noneconomic institutions”. This indicated that, in an embedded economy, the economic life is enmeshed and closely intertwined with the kinship, clans, associations, and the social, political and religious institutions. In the pre-modern era the non-market economies were the most common, but the concept of ‘economic’, was foreign to people at the time because the economic process was embedded in the non-economic institutions. The cultural forces influenced relations ad ritual practices at the kinship level, which was then associated with the production and consumption activities. The ‘economic’ was seen to be inseparable from other aspects of life in the non-Western societies, where kinship played an important role in the functioning of the economy. He contrasted this with the market society where land, labor and capital are commodified, but could not be produced for sale. Additionally, both economic and institutions are embedded in social relations where social ties determined exchange relations. Another aspect of the embedded economy that man interacted with the environment and he was able to satisfy his human wants. Even when the people share there is production and distribution, which indicates that there are economic activities, but the economic process is embedded in noneconomic institutions.
To Polanyi, “the economy was not designated by any one word conveying the significance of food supply for man’s animal survival” for the people sought stronger social ties, which helped the people, met their needs. Such is the case of the Arapesh society where the people exchanged goods, where the kinship ties served as an important noneconomic institution. There was no profit motive, and what one person had was shared among the close family members. For instance, wives would be feeding belonging to other people, and when a man smoked meat this was what had been killed by his close male family members. Sharing and cooperation are important among the Arapesh as they strengthen relations, where exchange was not aimed at making a profit as it was like giving a gift and receiving a counter gift. This necessitated the people to know each other and even relate, and the economy is embedded such the Arapesh rely...