A sociological interpretation of market.

The question of the market constitutes one of the fundamental problems of the sociology of economy. Since the 1950s markets have become the object of comprehensive and complex sociological studies. The first impulse came from K. Polanyi's work Trade and Market in the Early Empires presenting the genesis and functioning of the market in ancient societies. This study in the field of economic anthropology inspired many sociological studies of a contemporary market. The sociology of market has emerged under the socio-economic conditions based on economic freedom. A contemporary market is a combination of economic and social factors on the different levels of its functioning. Sociological theories define market in different ways. One of the early conceptions defines market as the realisation of a particular from of rationality determined by the rules of the market game. Another approach characterises market in the categories of a social institution. From another perspective market is compared to social organisation. In recent times a market has been interpreted in terms of a system. Sociological description also looks for a relationship between market and social life pointing to the significant of social communication. The sociology of market is a discipline in terms of which the relationship between its cognitive functions and applications is very strong. The results of research not only develop the cognition of the socio-economic reality but also determine its active transformation.