Substantivism is an economic position that helps to explain the social relations embedded within the economy.
The formal meaning, used by today's neoclassical economists, refers to economics as the logic of rational action and decision-making, as rational choice between the alternative uses of limited (scarce) means, as "economizing", "maximizing", or "optimizing".
It refers to how humans make a living interacting within their social and natural environments.
A society's livelihood strategy is seen as an adaptation to its environment and material conditions, a process which may or may not involve utility maximization.
In these cases economic activities such as provisioning are embedded in non-economic kinship, religious and political institutions.