Power and Progress: The Swing of the Pendulum

This paper uses Polanyi's 1944 analysis of policy change—in which there are long-term swings from state regulation to markets and back again, as the consequences of one regime lead to political reactions that in turn reverse the policies. It shows how the Polanyi analysis continued to apply throughout the twentieth and early-twenty-first century, well beyond when he wrote, and that the swings also apply to developing country policy-making. It argues that there are new signs of policy change—this time against market domination—in a number of developing countries. The paper concludes that Polanyi's view of the conditions behind policy change—notably long-term political movements, political struggle and political conflict—needs to be introduced into the analysis of policy change for the promotion of human development and the expansion of capabilities.