By "limited and unexpanding nature" --- is he saying the inflexible, the unadaptable here?

I take him as referring to local markets and their tendencies PRIOR to the transformation of the traditional society into a market society. Local markets were features of traditional societies and long distance trade was of limited impact on traditional societies UNTIL the increased productivity of machine driven production was empowered by the transformation of significance between the economic and social spheres that made the society a function of the economy, not visa versa.

Fordist productionism was the last stage of the socially beneficial aspects of the great transformation. It has now been abandoned and the financial sector is feeding on the productive functions of society.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."