Description: Hirschman maps the diffuse and treacherous world of reactionary rhetoric in which conservative public figures, thinkers, and polemicists have been arguing against progressive agendas and reforms for 200 years. Ultimately, he shows that progressives are apt to employ related rhetorical postures, which are as biased as their reactionary counterparts.
Brief description: 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).
Review Quotes: 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.--Cass R. Sunstein "New York Review of Books"