The Passions and the Interests: Political Arguments for Capitalism before Its Triumph - Twentieth Anniversary Edition

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. "Hirschman's volume stands as a principal contribution to the growing literature that is beginning to reshape our understanding of the legitimating beliefs undergirding the rise of the modern market economy." Robert Wuthnow, American Journal of Sociology "A fresh and exciting argument of a fascinating thesis." Nannerl O. Keohane, Journal of Interdisciplinary History 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. Some images inside the book are unavailable due to digital copyright restrictions. This text reconstructs the intellectual climate of the 17th and 18th centuries to illuminate the intricate ideological transformation that occurred, wherein the pursuit of material interests was assigned the role of containing the unruly and destructive passions of man. The book offers an interpretation of the rise of capitalism that emphasizes the continuities between old and new, in contrast to the assumption of a sharp break that is a common feature of both Marxist and Weberian thinking. Among the insights presented in the book is the ironical finding that capitalism was originally supposed to accomplish exactly what was soon denounced as its worst feature: the repression of passions in favour of the "harmless", if one dimensional, interests of commercial life. To portray this lengthy ideological change as an endogenous process, the author draws on the writings of a large number of thinkers, including Montesquieu, Sir James Steuart and Adam Smith Part One. How The Interests Were Called Upon To Counteract The Passions -- The Idea Of Glory And Its Downfall -- Man As He Really Is -- Repressing And Harnessing The Passions -- The Principle Of The Countervailing Passion -- Interest And Interests As Tamers Of The Passions -- Interest As A New Paradigm -- Assets Of An Interest-governed World: Predictability And Constancy -- Money-making And Commerce As Innocent And Doux -- Money-making As A Calm Passion -- Part Two. How Economic Expansion Was Expected To Improve The Political Order -- Element Of A Doctrine -- Montesquieu -- Sir James Steuart -- John Millar -- Related Yet Discordant Views -- The Physiocrats -- Adam Smith And The End Of A Vision -- Part Three. Reflections On An Episode In Intellectual History -- Where The Montesquieu-steuart Vision Went Wrong -- The Promise Of An Interest-governed World Versus The Protestant Ethic. Albert O. Hirschman. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.