Description
Winner, 2023 Best Book Award, Italian Association for the History of Economic Thought
One of the most original social scientists of the twentieth century, Albert O. Hirschman led an uncommonly dramatic life. After fleeing Nazi Germany as a youth, he fought in the Spanish Civil War, took part in antifascist activities in Italy, and organized an underground rescue operation in Marseille through which more than 2,000 people, including Marc Chagall, Arthur Koestler, and Hannah Arendt, escaped Europe. Hirschman moved across topics, methodologies, and disciplinary boundaries as fluidly as he did among countries and languages. His work is marked by a deep suspicion of all-encompassing theories, valuing instead doubt and a sensitivity to contingencies and unexpected consequences.
In this intellectual biography, the economic historian Michele Alacevich explores the development and trajectory of Hirschman's characteristic approach to social-scientific questions. He traces the many strands of Hirschman's thought and their place in his multifaceted body of work, considering their limitations as well as their strengths. Alacevich puts Hirschman's ideas into context, following his participation in the major intellectual and political debates of his times. He examines Hirschman's pioneering work in development studies and his analyses of social change, the history of capitalism, and the workings of democracy alongside his activities in the postwar reconstruction of Europe and economic development in Latin America. A compelling intellectual portrait of a profoundly distinctive thinker, this book also reflects on Hirschman's legacy and lasting influence.
About the Author
Michele Alacevich is professor of economic history and the history of economic thought at the University of Bologna. He is the author of The Political Economy of the World Bank: The Early Years (2009), coauthor of Inequality: A Short History (2018), and coeditor of Hirschman's The Postwar Economic Order: National Reconstruction and International Cooperation (Columbia, 2022).
Reviews
The quietly vibrant and open-minded scholarship of Albert O. Hirschman, a mix of modesty and assertiveness about political economy, demography, the history of ideas, democracy and social movements, and analytical theory, deserves this book's bracing critical engagement. With a sympathetic yet tough-minded disposition, Michele Alacevich thoughtfully assesses the innovative and often inspiring achievements of Hirschman's field-stretching writings, as well as their lacunae and occasional overstatement. In so doing, his keen appraisal captures not just the range, depth, and verve of the writing but also the urgency of Hirschman's quest for grounded reform across a considerable range of geography and historical circumstances with an unremitting sense of realism. -- Ira Katznelson, author of Fear Itself: The New Deal and the Origins of Our Time
This wonderful book offers new insights on a giant of the social sciences. Alacevich places Hirschman's work in intellectual context and traces its long arc of influence to our day. The book sheds new light not just on Hirschman's scholarship but also his iconoclasm, deliberate provocativeness, often frustrating focus on the particular rather than the general, and 'propensity for self-subversion.' It therefore helps us understand the sharp contrast between the brilliance of Hirschman's contributions and his outsider status in the academic disciplines he inhabited or trespassed in. -- Dani Rodrik, author of Straight Talk on Trade: Ideas for a Sane World Economy
A superb examination of the vast legacy of a major 20th-century thinker. * Kirkus Reviews (starred) *
As a historian, biographer Adelman was less attuned to Hirschman's subsequent career as an economic theorist - of development, democracy, capitalism, and commitment. Alacevich has provided a perfect complement, a study of the works and life of the author of the classic, Exit, Voice, and Loyalty. -- David Warsh * Economic Principles *
The book serves as an excellent introduction and exegesis, yet also situates each episode of Hirschman's career within a broader, life-long stream of investigation. * Boston Review *
A most valuable introduction to the evolution and character of Hirschman's theories, innovations, and insights. * Society *
Fortunately, with Alacevich as our guide, Hirschman is here to teach us how to navigate responsibly a world that will forever surprise and even confound us. * International Affairs *
The book is written in a very accessible style and complex debates long gone by are succinctly summarized and understandable for a non-technical readership. * OEconomia *
The writing is clear, sharp, and precise. * History of Political Economy *
Those interested in the trajectory of Hirschman's contributions to the field of economics will benefit from this lucid and cogent account. -- Sumit Ganguly * Foreign Policy *
Extremely well written, informative and simply a pleasure to read. * History of Economic Ideas *
Awards
Winner of Best Book Award, Italian Association for the History of Economic Thought 2023.
Book Information
ISBN 9780231199834
Author Michele Alacevich
Format Paperback
Page Count 352
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press
One of the most original social scientists of the twentieth century, Albert O. Hirschman led an uncommonly dramatic life. After fleeing Nazi Germany as a youth, he fought in the Spanish Civil War, took part in antifascist activities in Italy, and organized an underground rescue operation in Marseille through which more than 2,000 people, including Marc Chagall, Arthur Koestler, and Hannah Arendt, escaped Europe. Hirschman moved across topics, methodologies, and disciplinary boundaries as fluidly as he did among countries and languages. His work is marked by a deep suspicion of all-encompassing theories, valuing instead doubt and a sensitivity to contingencies and unexpected consequences.
In this intellectual biography, the economic historian Michele Alacevich explores the development and trajectory of Hirschman's characteristic approach to social-scientific questions. He traces the many strands of Hirschman's thought and their place in his multifaceted body of work, considering their limitations as well as their strengths. Alacevich puts Hirschman's ideas into context, following his participation in the major intellectual and political debates of his times. He examines Hirschman's pioneering work in development studies and his analyses of social change, the history of capitalism, and the workings of democracy alongside his activities in the postwar reconstruction of Europe and economic development in Latin America. A compelling intellectual portrait of a profoundly distinctive thinker, this book also reflects on Hirschman's legacy and lasting influence.
About the Author
Michele Alacevich is professor of economic history and the history of economic thought at the University of Bologna. He is the author of The Political Economy of the World Bank: The Early Years (2009), coauthor of Inequality: A Short History (2018), and coeditor of Hirschman's The Postwar Economic Order: National Reconstruction and International Cooperation (Columbia, 2022).
Reviews
The quietly vibrant and open-minded scholarship of Albert O. Hirschman, a mix of modesty and assertiveness about political economy, demography, the history of ideas, democracy and social movements, and analytical theory, deserves this book's bracing critical engagement. With a sympathetic yet tough-minded disposition, Michele Alacevich thoughtfully assesses the innovative and often inspiring achievements of Hirschman's field-stretching writings, as well as their lacunae and occasional overstatement. In so doing, his keen appraisal captures not just the range, depth, and verve of the writing but also the urgency of Hirschman's quest for grounded reform across a considerable range of geography and historical circumstances with an unremitting sense of realism. -- Ira Katznelson, author of Fear Itself: The New Deal and the Origins of Our Time
This wonderful book offers new insights on a giant of the social sciences. Alacevich places Hirschman's work in intellectual context and traces its long arc of influence to our day. The book sheds new light not just on Hirschman's scholarship but also his iconoclasm, deliberate provocativeness, often frustrating focus on the particular rather than the general, and 'propensity for self-subversion.' It therefore helps us understand the sharp contrast between the brilliance of Hirschman's contributions and his outsider status in the academic disciplines he inhabited or trespassed in. -- Dani Rodrik, author of Straight Talk on Trade: Ideas for a Sane World Economy
A superb examination of the vast legacy of a major 20th-century thinker. * Kirkus Reviews (starred) *
As a historian, biographer Adelman was less attuned to Hirschman's subsequent career as an economic theorist - of development, democracy, capitalism, and commitment. Alacevich has provided a perfect complement, a study of the works and life of the author of the classic, Exit, Voice, and Loyalty. -- David Warsh * Economic Principles *
The book serves as an excellent introduction and exegesis, yet also situates each episode of Hirschman's career within a broader, life-long stream of investigation. * Boston Review *
A most valuable introduction to the evolution and character of Hirschman's theories, innovations, and insights. * Society *
Fortunately, with Alacevich as our guide, Hirschman is here to teach us how to navigate responsibly a world that will forever surprise and even confound us. * International Affairs *
The book is written in a very accessible style and complex debates long gone by are succinctly summarized and understandable for a non-technical readership. * OEconomia *
The writing is clear, sharp, and precise. * History of Political Economy *
Those interested in the trajectory of Hirschman's contributions to the field of economics will benefit from this lucid and cogent account. -- Sumit Ganguly * Foreign Policy *
Extremely well written, informative and simply a pleasure to read. * History of Economic Ideas *
Awards
Winner of Best Book Award, Italian Association for the History of Economic Thought 2023.
Book Information
ISBN 9780231199834
Author Michele Alacevich
Format Paperback
Page Count 352
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press
