DuBois And Polanyi | EssayIvy.com

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DuBois and Polanyi

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In his 1903 book “The Souls of Black Folk” Du Bois first brought out the concept of

Double consciousness where he defined it as the feeling of having more than one social identity.

That is, the feeling that one’s identity is divided into many parts which further complicates and

makes it impossible for an individual or a society to develop a sense of self or a unified identity.

Karl Polanyi’s book “The Great Transformation” which was originally published in 1944,

defines the concept of Double Movement as the dialectical process of marketization while at the

same time seeking social protection against that same marketization.

The Double consciousness concept is clearly defined in situations such as where

subordinate groups in an oppressive society come face to face with the psychological challenges

of trying to see themselves through the eyes of the oppressing society – measuring one’s

capabilities on the oppressor’s scale! A perfect example would be the challenge that the racism

that African Americans experience under the white folk, and as Du Bois puts it "always looking

at one's self through the eyes" of a racist white society, and "measuring oneself by the means of a

nation that looked back in contempt". Double consciousness also comes out very clear in the

experiences faced by Du Bois while reconciling his African roots and being brought up in a

European-dominated society. Other than racism, social inequality is also another situation where

the Double consciousness concept can apply. An example would be for those women living in

societies or governments heavily controlled by men!

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Double movement happened in two phases. The first movement happened when the

bourgeoisie pushed for the creation of a market utopia – market removed from society and made

to stand on its own. Since social norms and morality are the core determinants of market,

Polanyi claimed that the liberals of the free-market wanted to do away with such rules instead

impose rules of the market on the society! The outcome of this would be the transformation of

natural resources as well as people (human beings) and giving them the name “fictitious

commodities” that is, land and labor and putting a price on them just like any commodity in the

market – they can either be sold or bought! The ill effects brought about by free markets

automatically led to spontaneous protests from all groups within the societies with the only

exception of the bourgeoisie! This reaction brought with it the second movement. The nobility

of the society was not comfortable with the sale of land as well as their tenants being displaced.

The peasants on the other hand were forced to migrate from their domain to the overcrowded

slums within the big cities. Cheap labor which was not in plenty directly affected the earnings of

the artisans who in turn rebelled against the same. Long working hours as well as child labor in

the farms were the concerns of the philanthropists who argued against such happenings while the

clergy were more concerned with the thoughtless materialism for gain which went against all

other motives. Polanyi captures double movement perfectly in one of his terse statement ‘"Free

markets were planned; planning was not’ bringing the conclusion that double movement deals

with disembedding of markets from one end and re-embedding of market from the other.

One way that Double consciousness and Double movement concepts might intersect or

even ‘talk’ to one another is through the strengthening of activist movements in the

contemporary world. Impacts brought about by global forces have led to protest and resistance

from various social groups. Double movement theory offers societies with democracy allowing

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its citizens to have the most basic political rights. This can be the best way to counter the

challenge of Double consciousness – one is able to identify him/herself with the best suited

political ideologies. Since Double consciousness theory applies to the subordinate members of a

society, political freedom brought about by the Double movement is of utmost importance to the

society. It further offers protection to the oppressed of the society while at the same time

allowing them to press their cases into the political arena. The full civil rights and political

representation that Du Bois believed in could perfectly be met through the theory/concept of

Double movement. Discrimination in both education and employment for the African-

Americans contributed immensely to the concept of Double consciousness. Since human beings

are believed to be social beings, Polanyi argues that they can therefore realize their full potential

and maturity in the most complex of societies. The two theories Double consciousness and

Double movement both try to effectively prevent power from only being held by a few people.

Both theories look at ways and means of preventing state’s from using the power which they

possess to oppress the subordinates of the society – they seek to prevent crude ways of using

power to drive their selfish agendas at the expense of individuals or interests being violated.

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