Rhetoric of Reaction

Albert O. Hirschman was Professor of Social Science, Emeritus, at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, following a career of prestigious appointments, honors, and awards. Perhaps the most widely known and admired of his many books are Exit, Voice, and Loyalty (Harvard) and The Passions and the Interests (Princeton).

• * Preface *1. Two Hundred Years of Reactionary Rhetoric * Three Reactions and Three Reactionary Theses * A Note on the Term "Reaction" *2. The Perversity Thesis * The French Revolution and Proclamation of the Perverse Effect * Universal Suffrage and Its Alleged Perverse Effects * The Poor Laws and the Welfare State * Reflections on the Perversity Thesis *3. The Futility Thesis * Questioning the Extent of Change Wrought by the French Revolution: Tocqueville * Questioning the Extent of Change Likely to Follow from Universal Suffrage: Mosca and Pareto * Questioning the Extent to Which the Welfare State Delivers the Goods to the Poor * Reflections on the Futility Thesis *4. The Jeopardy Thesis * Democracy as a Threat to Liberty * The Welfare State as a Threat to Liberty and Democracy * Reflections on the Jeopardy Thesis *5. The Three Theses Compared and Combined * A Synoptic Table * The Comparative Influence of the Theses * Some Simple Interactions * A More Complex Interaction *6. From Reactionary to Progressive Rhetoric * The Synergy Illusion and the Imminent-Danger Thesis *"Having History on One's Side" * Counterparts of the Perversity Thesis *7. Beyond Intransigence * A Turnabout in Argument? * How Not to Argue in a Democracy * Notes * Acknowledgments * Index

The Rhetoric of Reaction is a study of the reactionary’s tool kit, identifying the standard objections to any and all proposals for reform… Hirschman’s work changes how you see the world. It illuminates yesterday, today, and tomorrow… There can be no question about his most characteristic [book]: The Rhetoric of Reaction. The sustained attack on intransigence, the bias in favor of hope, the delight in paradox, the insistence on the creative power of doubt—all these prove a lot of people wrong.