Description
Book SynopsisThe Essential Hirschman brings together some of the finest essays in the social sciences, written by one of the twentieth century's most influential and provocative thinkers. Albert O. Hirschman was a master essayist, one who possessed the rare ability to blend the precision of economics with the elegance of literary imagination. In an age in which
Trade Review"Adelman ... has done an excellent job of bringing together articles that express Hirschman's skepticism, as well as brilliant observation, often consisting of brilliant juxtapositions of unlikely sources... [T]hose who do sink their teeth into this work will be highly rewarded."--Choice
Table of ContentsIntroduction by Jeremy Adelman vii -- Development -- Political Economics and Possibilism 1 Underdevelopment, Obstacles to the Perception of Change, and Leadership 35 The Rise and Decline of Development Economics 49 The Changing Tolerance for Income Inequality in the Course of Economic Development 74 The Political Economy of Import-Substituting Industrialization in Latin America 102 The Search for Paradigms as a Hindrance to Understanding 137 A Generalized Linkage Approach to Development, with Special Reference to Staples 155 -- Markets -- The Concept of Interest: From Euphemism to Tautology 195 Rival Views of Market Society 214 Against Parsimony: Three Easy Ways of Complicating Some Categories of Economic Discourse 248 Three Uses of Political Economy in Analyzing European Integration 265 -- Democracy -- Opinionated Opinions and Democracy 284 Reactionary Rhetoric 293 Exit, Voice, and the State 309 Morality and the Social Sciences: A Durable Tension 331 Social Conflicts as Pillars of Democratic Market Society 345 Afterword by Emma Rothschild and Amartya Sen 363 Acknowledgments 369 Index 373
