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A 3 page research paper that draws on Karl Polanyi's classic work The Great Transformation in order to his description of 4 methods of social provisioning and how this effects the classical concept of "economic man." No additional sources cited.
Page Count:
3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khpoly3.rtf
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there is an-- absence of the motive of gain; an absence of the principal of laboring for remuneration; the absence of the principle of least effort; and, especially the absence
of any separate and distinct institution based on economic motives (Polanyi, 1944, p. 47). Considering this, Polanyi asks "how, then is order in production and distribution ensured" (p.
47). To answer this question, Polanyi refers to four methods of social provisioning. The first two methods are principles of behavior that are not primarily associated with economics: reciprocity and
redistribution. Reciprocity, according to Polanyi (1944), works primarily in regards to the "sexual organization of society, that is, family and kinship," while redistribution is "mainly effective in respect to all
those who are under a common chief and is, therefore, of a territorial character" (p. 47). In discussing reciprocity in primitive societies, Polanyi emphasizes that a man, by furnishing his
relatives with food gains in reputation and his own family benefits. "The broad principles of reciprocity helps to safeguard both production and family sustenance" (Polanyi, 1944, p. 48). Redistribution is
also effective. This is because a substantial portion of all the produce grown on the island (referring to the Melanesian community) is delivered to the chief for storage (Polanyi,
1944). During communal activity, such as feasts, dances and other occasions, the chief distributes gifts to all and the "overwhelming importance of the storage system becomes evident" (p. 48).
Reciprocity and redistribution work in conjunction with two more methods of social provisioning that Polanyi refers to as "symmetry and centricity" (p. 48). He states that reciprocity is greatly aided
by the "institutional pattern of symmetry" (p. 48). By this, he means the "duality" that is often found in tribal subdivisions, which tend to incorporate "pairing out of individual relations,"
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