Self-Regulation/Laissez-Faire

The idea was propagated that markets are good for us and we should have comparative advantage and trade with each other instead of self-sufficient economy. Comparative advantage theory assumed to be more advantageous to get to higher production possibility frontier. It the ideology that markets are best for every individual was fed to people and it was opposite of what societies believed in until the transformation took place. Paternalistic societies were more inclined to humanism that if someone is unable to earn and fulfill needs then its responsibility of society to provide basic necessities. In market economy people cannot take care of each other because everything is for sale. Firm owners have to buy laborers otherwise they cannot produce in market economy and for this purpose it is necessary at the same time that laborers should be in need of work to fulfill their basic needs. Miserable conditions of laborers provide more labor to industrialists as it was seen in Industrial Revolution but instead of this if people took care of poor then nobody had worked in factories and faced terrible conditions there. So, it was necessary to learn to not take care of poor people so that industrialists can exploit them and can make profits out of there services. For this transformation it was also necessary to learn to not have sympathy in hearts for others as it was said that poor are necessary for the economy to function and if people start caring of the poor then everybody will be poor.

Polanyi says that market economy did not come through the natural evolutionary process but by crushing existing societies, values and cultures to became dominant. It was revolutionary but not evolutionary process. It is why to fight capitalism we need to have revolution instead to evolution through minor changes. There is dramatic conflict between market and society as these two are opposite forces. There was an ideological war that took place and in which markets came to dominate and in consequence of this everything is for sale which was not previously. There is currently ideological war going on and society is losing very badly.