An Examination of James Caporaso and Sidney Tarrow’s Theory of “Polanyi in Brussels”

This paper provides a critical response to James A. Caporaso's and Sidney Tarrow's paper, "Polanyi in Brussels: Supranational Institutions and the Transnational Embedding of Markets". The paper argues that Caporaso and Tarrow's premise is dependent on a selective reading of Polanyi which overlooks broader social transformations envisioned by Polanyi. Drawing on Karl Polanyi’s concepts of embeddedness, double movement, and labor, the analysis highlights selective use of Polanyi’s framework by Caporaso and Tarrow, questioning the ideological and theoretical soundness of their arguments. The paper argues that while the ECJ contributes to social rights and labor mobility, its function predominantly supports market productivity rather than the broader social transformation Polanyi envisioned. Ultimately, the paper calls for a more holistic understanding of the ECJ’s role and a recognition of the limits of applying Polanyi’s model to contemporary EU market governance.