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The study of how markets function as social institutions—not just as mechanisms for exchange but as systems of relationships, meanings, and power. Markets are often presented as natural and inevitable, but the sociology reveals that they're socially constructed, culturally specific, and politically maintained. The sociology of the market examines how markets are created (through laws, norms, infrastructure), how they're stabilized (through trust, reputation, regulation), and how they shape social life (creating winners and losers, defining value, organizing relationships). It also examines alternatives to markets—gift economies, commons, state allocation—and the ongoing struggle over what should be for sale and what shouldn't. Markets are not destiny; they're choices, made and unmade by societies.
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