The Significant Shift to Market Society

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214350888

SOSC1140 A

Professor Name

March 5, 2019

In the modern world, it has been tough for people to imagine a society without the

market. The reason for such is because the market economy has of late become a very significant
aspect in the lives of human beings and the society at large. Firstly, this paper can only better

understand the market society shift if they are explained with clarity and in detail, which this

paper will do. In writing this essay, four authors need to be in our minds as we discuss the

fundamental transformation. The authors who focus their work on exchange and production in

social relation which is referred to as material conditions are, Karl Polanyi, James Rinehart,

Robert Heilbroner, and Marx Weber, whose work has been summarized by Richard Bendix in

explaining the ideological circumstances that are stated in the text of "societies and economic

systems". This paper aims to focus on the reasons as to why the transformation to the market

society is of great significance through the integration of ideological and material conditions.

Such is shown through the explanation of the characterization of the market society; the way

market society differs from the previous social organizations' structures as well as the changes of

development that occur in the workplace. Regarding the ideological conditions, "economic

rationality" by Max Weber which is summarized by Richard by Bendix will be brought up

through the connection between the "spirit of capitalism" and "protestant work ethic." Finally,

this paper will end by summarizing the reasons as to why the shift to the market society is a

fundamental transformation.

Material conditions

As a way of making sense of the market society as well as the changes that occur, it is

first best to have a better understanding of the pre-market society. The reason for this is because

before market society, “the maintenance of social ties” was the primary interest of the people

with the economic reasons such as exchange and trading remaining secondary (Polanyi, p.169).

In the present day period of the market society, people’s only primary concern is economic,

whereas the social is secondary, which implies, “A market economy can exist only in a market
society” (Polanyi, p.176). Polanyi articulates that, “a market economy is an economic system

controlled, regulated and directed by the markets alone, in which the order in the production and

distribution of the goods and services is solely entrusted to this self-regulating mechanism”

(Polanyi, p.175).

For what is produced as well as what is distributed in the market society, it is the market

that is mainly responsible. Karl Polanyi admits and refers to the emergence of the market society

as "the great transformation." The reason as to why this shift to market society is the great

transformation is because it has resulted into a change in the way people work, the things they

value, what their main priorities are as well as the way they define their position in the society

besides what their purposes are. The way people work always refers to the different methods and

techniques including, new technology and machines in the completion of tasks to be able to

produce as well as distribute in the modern world. In modern life people live now, the

transformation makes us have a better purpose of making money in addition to the way we make

it in fulfilling our own needs and wants for survival.

Karl Polanyi argues that throughout the entire history, it was the industrial revolution that

kicked off the great transformation as well as the advancements in the market mechanism’s

development thereby resulting to the emergence of both the traditional and market society. Such

a transformation is inclusive of the industry's essential elements which are labor, land, and

money and which are additionally of much importance to the proper, efficient functioning of the

market economy. Land, labor, and capital can no longer be referred or classified as commodities,

although that is what makes them entirely fictitious. The market is however not able and will

never be able to function without such products since that is the way people make their income

in modern society. Nevertheless, there are so many changes that occur, before and in the market
society which the public has endured and gone through in terms of the social and economy

views.

In the discussion about the market society, it is of great significance to recognize the

difference in structures of the past and previous social organization as a way of stressing the

importance of such development. During such times, societies were ideally based on those

traditions that would solve their economic challenges in the previous social organization. The

completion of the needful tasks would be through the assigning of jobs of the parents particularly

the fathers to their sons which resulted to a hereditary chain being passed along the roles and

skills from one generation to the next. "The hereditary allocation of the tasks was the main

stabilizing force within the society" (Heilbroner, p. 169). This was, therefore, a simple way of

having a stabilization or equilibrium within the society. However, this hereditary tradition faded

away slowly, paving a way to the application of scientific management such as Taylorism in the

working process as well as the commencement of the fast pace assembly line production which

was referred to as Fordism. Such started having an impact on society's social organization.

Fordism refers to an organized and orderly way of working which besides being repetitive has a

continuous production of the commodity (Heilbroner, p.189). On the contrary, Taylorism is all

about an increase in production as well as the allocation of control in the labor process from the

workers to the managers or administrators as a way of cheapening labor. According to the

arguments by Rinehart, the said two scientific management, therefore, stress the significance and

importance of the new market society development.

Ideological conditions
 The primary objective of this paper is to clearly and exhaustively explain the market

society transformation. Since the material conditions have been discussed in the first part, this

second part of the article now illustrates the ideological aspects. In the people's worldview in the

market society as articulated by Weber is economic rationality. The economic rationality

commenced which was consisted of people who thought logically on the ways of making money

as well as using it more efficiently, in well-planned systems besides calculating every step very

carefully in their lives within the society. Such is the summary by Richard Bendix, who presents

the existing connection between the spirit of capitalism and the protestant work ethic. The main

aim and purpose of the "protestant ethic" is explaining the way faith in religion served in

converting into a rational pursuit of economic gain (Bendix, p.57).

Here, the life's economical aspect was given both spiritual and moral meanings. In the

afterlife, Protestants already knew what was to happen where they believed that people's fate was

already determined and hence God had determined that they were to be saved or even damned

since the day man was created. There is nothing an individual can do to change the truth of the

matter, although they can instead work towards increasing the chances they have of gaining

salvation in addition to having economic gain which is a secondary aspect of such ideology.

Again, the spirit of capitalism that is explained in the text is used in demonstrating that it is the

idea that favours "the rational pursuit of economic gain." Weber relates traditionalism,

behaviours and economic attitudes that prevailed before capitalism that involves speculative

pursuits of gain and hard work while also giving self-indulgence and pleasure. As such, Weber

states that "anything is worth doing at all is worth doing well" (Bendix, p.59). If the people had to

work, it is surprising that there was no input of hard work as a way of having a sign of virtue as

well as a source of personal satisfaction. Upon people starting to work hard, they became
determined both for-profit and eventually the hard work spirit leading to the progression of

capitalism. The text states that "man should work hard not because he had to but because he

wanted to" (Weber, p.106). Although work is considered a burden, such was avoided by

comforting and rewarding yourself. Both the spirit of capitalism and protestant work ethics have

similar motives where, in one way or the other, the connection is meant for making a profit in

society. Such a link is therefore either with the religious reasons means or even the self-

indulgence reasons.

For the ideological conditions, the summarization of Weber's "economic rationality" by

Richard Bendix was explained with the existing connection between the "spirit of capitalism"

and "protestant work ethic" in which both of them in one way or the other have the same motive.

Such a connection is for making a profit within the society which could either be through self-

indulgent or spiritual reasons. This paper has vividly explained the reason as to why the market

society transformation is of much significance by integrating the ideological and material

conditions. This was depicted by describing the market society characterization, the difference

between market society from the previous social organization's structures as well as the changes

in development that occurs in the workplace.

Conclusion

Fundamentally, the shift to the market society is, therefore, the great transformation since

it transformed the way people work, the things they value, what their main priorities are, the way

they define their position in addition to what their purpose is. The main priority or what people

value currently in the market society is fundamentally and mainly on how to make profit. In the

pre-market society, the hereditary chain system of jobs and skills were passed to the child from

the father. There was, therefore, a more social aspect to life as compared to economic.
Nowadays, market society functions under two scientific management which is Taylorism and

Fordism with the aim of making money in a repetitive and fast-paced work environment. To

conclude, this article has clearly shown that the shift to market society was never a natural

transformation, but gradually and slowly the change was in peoples' lives, economical to

traditional terms.

Works Cited

Bendix, Richard. ''Aspects of Economic Rationality in the West." Max Weber. New York:

Anchor

Books, 1962. Pp. 49-79 (Chapter 3).

Heilbroner, Robert. "The Economic Problem." The Making of Economic Society. Englewood

Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1993. Pp. 1-15.

Polanyi, Karl. "Societies and Economic Systems," "The Self-Regulating Market and the

Fictitious Commodities: Labor, Land, and Money." The Great Transformation. Boston:

Beacon Press, 1957. Pp. 43-55, 68-75.

Rinehart, James W. "Alienation and the Development of Industrial Capitalism in Canada.''

"Solutions to Alienated Labour." The Tyranny of Work. Toronto: Harcourt Brace, 1996.

Pp. 23-60, 153-156 (Chapter 3 and Selections from Chapter 6).