Market, state and world economy

In this article an attempt is made to consider the relationships betwen the market and the State as found in the capitalist system. The ideas of Polanyi as expressed in his book The Great Transformation are followed in order to make clear that an economy based on assumptions of a self-regulated market had not existed prior to the rise of the industrial revolution. so, hitherto, there had never been a market-controlled economy. The self-regulated market was to mean a profound transformation in the economy and in the society and in the face of market dominance different social groups, at the end of the XIX and beginning of the XXth centuries had to protect themselves against the dangers involved in a situation of this nature. This was to lead to higt economic growth compatible with a certain distribution of the benefits of the selfsame growth. From 1973 onwards, this model was to reach crisis point, at the same point as economic globalization intensified. From the onwards, the beneficial role of the state was questioned and the market gained ever-increasing importance. Consequently, we aim to analyse the causes of these facts and the negative consequences they are having as a result of the worldwide hegemony imposed by the market.