An essential introduction and analysis of the contemporary significance of Karl Polanyi's work, written from the unique perspective of his daughter. Building on an intimate knowledge of her father's work, Kari Polanyi Levitt addresses both the "great financialization" of capitalism and the "great transformation" of the world economy by the emergence of the Global South. The author's approach reveals the striking contrast between the power of the historical method and the sterility of conventional economic theory based on trans-historical rationality.