This website is a resource for those who believe that early 19^th century economic ideas do not work for a 21^st century economy. For the last thirty years, U.S. policy debates have been dominated by the market oriented ideas of Malthus and Ricardo that emerged in the first decades of the 19^th century. These ideas, refined in the 20^th century by Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman, and which we label “market fundamentalism”, insist that the government should allow the private economy to regulate itself by the laws of the market. It is this theory that lies behind thirty years of right-wing attacks on taxation, regulation, and government provision of services.

We intend to show that these obsolete ideas are both wrong and destructive. However, our focus is not simply to critique market fundamentalism. We also document and analyze the processes involved in the “innovation economy” that is being built through new forms of cooperation among government agencies, researchers in universities, government laboratories, and private businesses. This new innovation economy – both in the U.S. and in its leading global competitors – is powerful proof of the obsolescence of market fundamentalist ideas. Through an understanding of the interworkings of actually existing governmental and economic institutions, our ultimate goal is to construct a new paradigm of economic and social policies that would bring shared prosperity, social justice, and a renewal of our endangered global environment.

The name of this project, Great Transformations, is a tribute to Karl Polanyi, the mid 20^th century theorist whose seminal book, The Great Transformation, lays out a powerful and resonant critique of market fundamentalism.  We believe that by building on Polanyi’s ideas, we can contribute to the next great transformation.