Substantivism

Here is an interesting school of thought

Karl Polanyi, Bohemian economist wrote in The Great Transformation (1944) in dispute to mainstream economists:

" (M)an’s economy, as a rule, is submerged in his social relationships. He does not act so as to safeguard his individual interest in the possession of material goods; he acts so as to safeguard his social standing, his social claims, his social assets. He values material goods only in so far as they serve this end. Neither the process of production nor that of distribution is linked to specific economic interests attached to the possession of goods; but every single step in that process is geared to a number of social interests which eventually ensure that the required step be taken. These interests will be very different in a small hunting or fishing community from those in a vast despotic society, but in either case the economic system will be run on noneconomic motives."

In another words, he disputed that human interactions are not,as purist economists would percieve, be determined by the economic integers of capitalsim; the rules of demand and supply etc. His school of thought, for me is very much akin to those who I idolize: the socio-economists such as Weber, Fogel and the great man Marx himself. I find this to be a more accurate portrayal and assessment of human interactions today, especially in the face of the global economic climate (downfall?) of the credit-based capitalist system.

It's all about the image, afterall...
I have a habit of having a desperately full bladder in the worst neighbourhoods. Public toilets have never really been an option for me, and this is a little trick I was recommending to my friends while out on that carzy Anti -Vday party last saturday;

As we got out of the black cab onto Thurlowe Place, looking for Mr, B's flat, there seemed to be some other lost souls looking for the same venue: they had been there for the past half hour looking up from door to door for the right bell to ring and have come up short.
I needed to pee
I walked into the nearest poshest looking hotel, with a broad smile on my face and asked for 'corporate rates of up to 50 patrons' They gave me a brochure, and of course I asked if I could nip into their bathroom. I also asked if they knew where the name of Mr.B's building was, they got the porter to walk me over (5 doors down, bless him) and I called out my friends

Lesson: dress well, talk the right talk, walk the right walk, and all is sorted. If i had gone in half slurring in a tracksuit I am pretty sure I'd be shown somewhere else.

Image and impression are everything;
Isnt that similar to the whole concept of 'credit' in the very first place?
In the past decade or so leading up to this economic mess,
you obtain 'credit' from what you own, the bigger the house, the higher the credit rating, and the larger the sum you will obtain upon remortgaging the place. repeat, and you end up with a long number in your bank account, enabling you to get more and more credit cards and so on.

So what happens when someone decides that house prices havent really increased in intrinsic value??- thats where we are now I suppose (along with other reasons of course)
So what will humans NOW do to protecet their social reputation and social assets?