Karl Polanyi - A Life on the Left

The narrative begins with Polanyi's childhood in the Habsburg Empire and his involvement with the Great War and Hungary's postwar revolution. It connects Polanyi's idealistic radicalism to the political promise and intellectual ferment of Red Vienna and the horror of fascism. The book revisits Polanyi's oeuvre in English, German, and Hungarian, includes exhaustive research in five archives, and features interviews with Polanyi's daughter, students, and colleagues, clarifying the contradictory aspects of the thinker's work. These personal accounts also shed light on Polanyi's connections to scholars, Christians, atheists, journalists, hot and cold warriors, and socialists of all stripes. Karl Polanyi: A Life on the Left engages with Polanyi's biography as a reflection and condensation of extraordinary times. It highlights the historical ruptures, tensions, and upheavals that he sought to capture and comprehend and, in telling his story, engages with the intellectual and political history of a turbulent epoch

Summary

A biography that connects the theorist’s maverick intellect and political commitments to the turbulent times in which he lived.

Report

"This much needed and accessibly crafted biography by a recognized authority on Karl Polanyi is well researched and supported by a range of sources, including archival material, interviews, and other contemporaneous scholars. The rich historical sourcing provides stimulating material for both scholarly audiences and general readers interested in the lives, contributions, and intellectual thought of fascinating individuals and scholars who lived through this particularly era." - Sally Randles, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Manchester Institute of Innovation Research

Product details

• Authors: Gareth Dale
• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.05.2016
• EAN: 9780231176088
• ISBN: 978-0-231-17608-8
• No. of pages: 400
• Dimensions: 160 mm x 236 mm x 27 mm
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology; Social sciences, law, business > Business > General, dictionaries; BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Historical, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / General, HISTORY / United States / 20th Century, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Educators, HISTORY / Europe / Austria & Hungary, Economic theory & philosophy, Political Economy, Biography: historical, political and military, Economic theory and philosophy, HISTORY / Modern / 20th Century / General