The Double Movement in the Contemporary Era

Chapter 6 (“The Double Movement in the Contemporary Era”) explores the contemporary relevance of the double movement. It begins with an exploration of whether the post war and neoliberal interregnums constituted a new double movement cycle. In the second section, I explore the efficacy of a Polanyian framework to two key concerns of the present era: the scourge of insecurity and inequality as viewed through the works of Polanyi and Thomas Piketty; and the rise of right-wing populism. In a final section, I explore whether the double movement is likely to emerge as the “gear of social change” in the contemporary crisis and if, and when, a successor to neoliberalism is at all imminent.