The Rhetoric of Reaction
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| Author | Albert O. Hirschman |
|---|---|
| Country | USA |
| Subject | Conservatism — History |
| Publisher | The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press |
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Publication date
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1991 |
| Pages | Paperback: 224 p. Hardback: 212 p. |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 21972246 |
| 320.5209 | |
| LC Class | JA83 .H54 1991 |
The Rhetoric of Reaction: Perversity, Futility, Jeopardy is a book by theorist Albert O. Hirschman, which styles the rhetoric of conservativism in opposition to social change as consisting of three narratives: perversity, futility, and jeopardy, and that, further, these narratives are simplistic and flawed, and cut off debate. After a historical examination of his thesis, he discusses corresponding progressive narratives, and proposes a new framework.
Hirschman takes as a starting point the neoconservative critiques of social security and other social welfare programs. Recalling Thomas Humphrey Marshall's theory of the development of citizenship in the West by which civil, political, and social dimensions of citizenship are successively achieved, Hirschman illustrates the rhetoric of reactionaries through citing arguments concerning three major reforms: the French revolution, moves toward universal suffrage in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the concerns over the welfare state in his time.
Hirschman describes the reactionary narratives thus:
He argues that these are "rhetorics of intransigence", which do not further debate.
In the final chapter, Hirschman takes the opposite tack and discusses progressive narratives which are equally simplistic and flawed.
Hirschman advocates instead these "mature" bases for discussion:
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