Karl Polanyi

4.41205 learners

In Karl Polanyi’s landmark work *The Great Transformation*, we explore the rise and catastrophic collapse of 19th-century Western civilization, anchored by four interconnected institutions: the balance-of-power system, international gold standard, self-regulating market, and liberal state. At the core of this structure was the gold standard, whose collapse triggered the chaos of the early 20th century. Polanyi dismantles the myth of the self-regulating market: treating labor, land, and money as "fictitious commodities"—not produced for sale—destroys human community bonds and natural ecosystems. As markets expanded unchecked, societies launched self-protective measures, from labor laws to tariffs, which undermined market autonomy, sparking a fatal conflict that shattered the 19th-century order. Polanyi traces how post-WWI attempts to revive the gold standard failed, giving rise to fascism and socialism as desperate responses to market failure. Blending history, sociology, and economics, this book challenges us to rethink the relationship between markets and human needs, offering urgent lessons for today’s global economy.

Milton Friedman；Anna Jacobson Schwartz

4.51098 learners

Co-authored by Milton Friedman and Anna J. Schwartz, *A Monetary History of the United States* is a landmark work spanning 93 years of U.S. economic and financial history (1867–1960). Through rigorous empirical analysis, the book traces fluctuations in the money supply and their profound, often underrecognized, impact on pivotal events—from the paradoxical Greenback Era where deflation coincided with rapid economic growth to bitter gold-silver debates, the creation of the Federal Reserve, the catastrophic policy failures of the Great Depression, and post-WWII monetary policy evolution. Challenging conventional wisdom, Friedman and Schwartz argue that changes in the money stock are independent drivers of economic booms and busts, not just passive responses to shifts. This seminal text redefined monetary policy’s role, offering timeless insights into how monetary decisions shape national prosperity and crisis.