MYTH, UTOPIA, AND DEMOCRACY IN KARL POLANYI’S THE GREAT TRANSFORMATION

Resumo

Considering the concepts of myth, utopia and democracy, I shall center my analysis on three of Karl Polanyi’s contributions: the first of them focuses on the deconstruction of the myth of natural markets and of the economic nature of human beings; the second one centers on Polanyi’s defense of a market society as utopic; and the last one considers his double movement formulation as an expression of the European democracy. Ultimately I shall use these contributions to reflect on the financial and economic crisis of 2007/8 and its transformation in the sovereign debts crisis that led to the adoption of Austerity as a political project.