Fred Block

Fred Block is Research Professor of Sociology at the University of California in Davis. His previous book, with Matthew R. Keller, is State of Innovation: The U.S. Government's Role in Technology Deve

Karl Polanyi and twenty-first century socialism

Polanyi’s views were the exact opposite of his contemporary, Joseph Schumpeter, who famously defined democracy as giving people a choice over which elite group would rule over them.

By Fred Block

/ 22 May 2016

Is cruelty the key to prosperity?

According to many politicians, removing benefits is necessary to compel the unemployed to work even if their children suffer as a consequence. What’s the origin of this idea? Listen to a recorded audio version of this article courtesy of curio.io.

By Margaret Somers and Fred Block

/ 27 Oct 2014