"Philipp Ther joins sound wisdom to his formidable talents as a historian in this study of Europe's alarming drift towards populism. He knows that we cannot understand politics without serious attention to economics, he understands Europe as extending from Ireland to the Pacific and beyond, and he writes beautifully. His urgently needed book is a pleasure to read, and if its subjects are often grim, the lessons Ther draws illuminate a way forward."John Connelly, University of California, Berkeley"Philipp Ther has written a sad but clear-eyed tribute to the ethics of Karl Polanyi's The Great Transformation. His analysis of the social divisions that preceded political polarization and the spurious link between capitalism and democracy exposes the global fiasco of the West's neoliberal triumphalism."Maria Todorova, University of Illinois"Covering disturbing trends in Hungary and Poland, COVID, Brexit, Trump and the Ukraine war, [Philipp Ther's] observations... have a cautionary touch of Christopher Isherwood's 'I Am a Camera' approach, coupled with accessible, detailed analysis."Sydney Morning Herald
Preface: The Great Transformation after 19891. From Neoliberalism to Antiliberalism: The Enduring Relevance of Karl Polanyi2. Lost Social and Political Equilibrium: The USA after the Cold War3. The Price of Unity: Germany's Shock Therapy in International Comparison4. La Crisi: Italy's Decline as a Portent for Europe5. The West, Turkey and Russia: A History of Estrangement6. Eastern Europe as a Pioneer: Polanyi's Pendulum Swings to the Right7. Systemic Competition during the Covid-19 PandemicAfterword: A Bad End: The War against UkrainePostscript and AcknowledgementsNotes
Philipp Ther is Professor of Central European History at the University of Vienna.