The Great Transformation
The Great Transformation by Karl Polanyiby Karl Polanyi
Shares rank 2 of 5 economic history books by recommenders
Recommended as a historical look at how attempts to force a market society on England shaped modern economies, and as a book people feel is more relevant now than ever.
Recommended as a historical look at how attempts to force a market society on England shaped modern economies, and as a book people feel is more relevant now than ever.
3 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Explains how markets existed in ancient times
“Karl Polanyi "The Great Transformation" which discusses how though ancient markets existed”
Comment from 20 May 2026 in “We've made the world too complicated” Insightful view of forced market society
“has a great way of looking at the attempts to force "market society" on England”
Comment from 17 Apr 2026 in “The Future of Everything Is Lies, I Guess: Where Do We Go from Here?” More relevant now than ever
“which is a more important book now than ever, I humbly propose”
Comment from 26 Jul 2026 in “Claude Opus 5”
Other economic history books people recommend
The four most recommended other economic history books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debtby David Graeber | 19 | 2 | 90% | 7 | — | Approved |
| The Great Transformationby Karl PolanyiThis page | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| The Origin of Capitalismby Ellen Meiksins Wood | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| The Rise and Fall of American Growthby Robert Gordon | 2 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| The Almighty Dollarby Brendan Greeley | 2 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 3 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“which is a more important book now than ever, I humbly propose”
“Karl Polanyi "The Great Transformation" which discusses how though ancient markets existed”
“has a great way of looking at the attempts to force "market society" on England”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.