Societal Foundations of Economic Development

Abstract

This chapter argues that society and the economy should not be understood as two different realms in the social sciences. After all, economic activities are always embedded in prior social networks. Nevertheless, the implicit assumption that the pursuit of economic interest goes at the expense of social interests is still very much present in the deliberations of well-known economists, such as Dani Rodrik, who have been inspired by the work of Karl Polanyi.