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The Passions and the Interests: Political Arguments for Capitalism before Its Triumph

The Passions and the Interests: Political Arguments for Capitalism before Its Triumph

The Passions and the Interests: Political Arguments for Capitalism before Its Triumph
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ISBN-10:
0691160252
ISBN-13:
9780691160252
Pub. Date:
10/06/2013
Publisher:
Princeton University Press
ISBN-10:
0691160252
ISBN-13:
9780691160252
Pub. Date:
10/06/2013
Publisher:
Princeton University Press
The Passions and the Interests: Political Arguments for Capitalism before Its Triumph

The Passions and the Interests: Political Arguments for Capitalism before Its Triumph

Overview

In this volume, Albert Hirschman reconstructs the intellectual climate of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to illuminate the intricate ideological transformation that occurred, wherein the pursuit of material interests--so long condemned as the deadly sin of avarice--was assigned the role of containing the unruly and destructive passions of man. Hirschman here offers a new interpretation for the rise of capitalism, one that emphasizes the continuities between old and new, in contrast to the assumption of a sharp break that is a common feature of both Marxian and Weberian thinking. Among the insights presented here is the ironical finding that capitalism was originally supposed to accomplish exactly what was soon denounced as its worst feature: the repression of the passions in favor of the "harmless," if one-dimensional, interests of commercial life. To portray this lengthy ideological change as an endogenous process, Hirschman draws on the writings of a large number of thinkers, including Montesquieu, Sir James Steuart, and Adam Smith.

Featuring a new afterword by Jeremy Adelman and a foreword by Amartya Sen, this Princeton Classics edition of The Passions and the Interests sheds light on the intricate ideological transformation from which capitalism emerged triumphant, and reaffirms Hirschman's stature as one of our most influential and provocative thinkers.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780691160252
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication date: 10/06/2013
Series: Princeton Classics , #2
Edition description: With a New afterword by Jeremy Adelman
Pages: 192
Sales rank: 288,805
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Albert O. Hirschman (1915-2012) was one of the leading intellectuals of the twentieth century, renowned for his contributions to economics, the social sciences, and the history of ideas. He is the author of many books, including the influential Exit, Voice, and Loyalty and The Strategy of Economic Development.

Table of Contents

Foreword, by Amartya Sen ix

Preface to the Twentieth Anniversary Edition xxi

Acknowledgments xxv

Introduction 3

PART ONE. How the Interests were Called Upon to Counteract the Passions 7

The Idea of Glory and Its Downfall 9

Man "as he really is" 12

Repressing and Harnessing the Passions 14

The Principle of the Countervailing Passion 20

"Interest" and "Interests" as Tamers of the Passions 31

Interest as a New Paradigm 42;

Assets of an Interest-Governed World: Predictability and Constancy 48

Money-Making and Commerce as Innocent and Doux 56

Money-Making as a Calm Passion 63

PART TWO. How Economic Expansion was Expected to Improve the Political Order 67

Elements of a Doctrine 70

1. Montesquieu 70

2. Sir James Steuart 81

3. John Millar 87

Related yet Discordant Views 93

1. The Physiocrats 96

2. Adam Smith and the End of a Vision 100

PART THREE. Reflections on an Episode in Intellectual History 115

Where the Montesquieu-Steuart Vision Went Wrong 117

The Promise of an Interest-Governed World versus the Protestant Ethic 128

Contemporary Notes 132

Afterword by Jeremy Adelman 137

Notes 145

Index 155

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