The purpose of this chapter is to examine what Polanyi and the Durkheimians have in common when they study the economic point of view, what Polanyi labeled the “economistic fallacy” (Polanyi 1977) or the “obsolete market mentality” (Polanyi 1947). This may appear to be a paradox, since there is no trace of any direct influence that the French sociological school could have had on Karl Polanyi's thought. There exist a few cursory references to Émile Durkheim's works in some of his writings, but not a single one to François Simiand and Maurice Halbwachs, who were the leading Durkheimians in the field of economic sociology. More surprisingly, there is no reference to Marcel Mauss's path-breaking analysis of gift-giving processes among primitive societies, although Polanyi did read French. However, as we shall see, there is a point in considering Polanyi and the Durkheimians together since it enables us to advance our understanding of the functioning of the market system in a given setting.

I first consider how similar their comparative analyses of modern society are, with a particular emphasis on their move from history to anthropology. Then I focus on the role played by economic knowledge in the shaping of the contemporary economy, since both Polanyi and the Durkeimians' inquiries stressed the importance of this cognitive dimension of modern society, that is to say, the cognitive embeddedness thanks to which the market system works. Finally, I propose a comparative assessment of Polanyi and the French sociological tradition in terms of their sociology of economic knowledge, and suggest how the Durkheimian approach might enhance Polanyi's insights by providing a more accurate understanding of the role of economic knowledge in our societies.